Blade & Sorcery News

[p]Hello mates! Baron here, and the Sentara Update is officially upon us![/p][p]Update 1.2 is now live, and it wraps up everything we’ve been previewing over the last couple of news posts into one big Byeth release. This marks the 2nd of 4 free Byeth Updates, with the goal being to canonize some of the extended lore of Blade & Sorcery through additional content and maps. [/p][p]Of course I say that was the goal, but then as usual the update spiraled into a bunch of unplanned scope creep... ːamadeus_happyː But luckily things didn't get so out of hand that the ThunderRoad framework exploded, so it's all good, lol.[/p][p]Now, let's get into it![/p][p][/p][h2]Welcome to Sentara[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Sentara is a small maritime nation west of Eraden, known for its sailors, traders, pirates, and general seafaring shenanigans. We tried to incorporate those themes throughout this update, with the weapons, armour, maps, and even how water behaves.[/p][p][/p][h2]New Sentari Weapons[/h2][p]The staple of every Byeth update: a full batch of new themed weapons.[/p][p]Sentara is loosely based on the aesthetics of Mediterranean maritime nations, so we took inspirations from pirates, sailors, and privateers.[/p][p]The full weapon list includes a classic cutlass, stiletto dagger, a boarding axe, a harpoon, a dueling sword, and quite a lengthy sabre. [/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But of course… it wouldn’t be a pirate update without something extra.[/p][p][/p][h2]Sentari Firearm[/h2][p]We did it boyz; guns in Blade & Sorcery. But... not gunpowder.[/p][p]Rather than opening the can of worms that comes with real life musket simulation and long, complex reload procedures, we went with a lore-friendly, crystal-based firearm. It works by imbuing a base crystal with an element, then striking crystals together to unleash powerful effects.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Different imbues have different unique effects.[/p][p]A fire imbued firearm can set enemies ablaze and create zones of fire. [/p][p]I love all the imbues, but this one really rocks because it feels totally gnarly to shoot.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]A gravity imbued firearm does exactly what you probably expect, and hits enemies like a truck, blasting them and all surrounding objects in the cone of fire away.[/p][p]If you catch an enemy with enough force, you may also blow off a limb![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The lightning imbued firearm is the most insane of the three, in that it flat out gibbs enemies on impact, lol. Quad damage time![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Also, to preemptively answer a question I know folks will have - if you are wondering if the imbue retains when you holster the weapon - yes it does! [/p][p]You can keep multiple firearms charged and holstered, ready to fire just like real life pirates did.[/p][p]This is likely the point at which you may be thinking, "But Baron, these look wildly overpowered??"[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p] The rule of cool was very much in effect here, as is often the case with Blade & Sorcery design. The Sentari firearm was designed to be flashy, powerful, but most importantly, fun. Lyneca worked on this firearm, and he and I are very much each others enablers when it comes to circumventing game balance for the sake of cool, lol.[/p][p]However, jokes aside, I think you will find it is not as overpowered as you might expect. A good balance was struck between having a musket experience that was something between a real life 20 second reload simulator, and a magic boomstick. Feedback received was that the imbue reload on the firearm was just right for Blade & Sorcery gameplay.[/p][h2]
Sentari Concoctions[/h2][p]The bottles that some of you guys pointed out from previous news were not health potions; they were a whole big scope creep.[/p][p]Sentara introduces three new concoctions, designed to be playful, situational, and occasionally chaotic, just like the Sentari themselves.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Feather Draught[/h3][p]Temporarily makes you weightless, letting you “swim” through the air. Just remember, when it ends, gravity comes back.[/p][p]I guarantee there will be community posts about people falling to their death from this lol.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h3]Burning Draught[/h3][p]Causes the drinker to belch flames and briefly glow, which can be useful as a byproduct to temporarily illuminate dark areas of the dungeons if you have no torch.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h3]Shocking Draught[/h3][p]Triggers a short-term magnetism, pulling nearby metal objects into orbit. This is a very contextual and utilitarian concoction, since you can imagine how useful it would be if you are surrounded my metal-clad opponents wielding metal weapons. YOINK![/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]For the design of these concoctions we tried to go a direction that was not pure damage tools, since there is already a ton of that in Blade & Sorcery. So the idea here was that they are more utilitarian, and open up creative and emergent gameplay moments.[/p][p]But we were also aiming for just plain fun.[/p][p][/p][h2]Sentari Armour Set[/h2][p]Sentara’s faction armour leans more toward mobility and style than raw protection.[/p][p]The full outfit includes light cloth attire - a shirt, jacket, trousers, boots, hat, and some decorative jewellery. It’s practical for life at sea and has a bit of flair to it.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Sentari enemies will wear mix-and-matched variants of this armour, and players can equip the full set as well. [/p][p]The jewellery pieces are cosmetic only, for those wondering.[/p][p][/p][h2]New Faction Maps[/h2][p]One the very first Byeth announcement we stated that we were at risk of breaking our game framework (ThunderRoad) if we were not careful about the content we add in these updates. As such, you may remember me saying NO MAPS because maps are one of those risky things.[/p][p]But it just didn't feel right! [/p][p]We knew before Rakta release, and we surely knew after, that there was a hole missing there and it left us uneasy to be adding lore elements from different parts of the world yet you don't even get to see what that part of the world looks like. [/p][p]We felt this omission would be something that would disappoint the players, and that made us feel bad. So here we are in 1.2 and we are releasing faction-specific maps. (plural!) [/p][p][/p][h3]Sentara Map[/h3][p]Being a maritime nation, you surely guessed the Sentara map would involve some sort of ship! [/p][p]The enviro team had a lot of fun making and designing this environment.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]A Sentari ship, marooned against a crumbling lighthouse, cracked open to reveal a mysterious crystal. [/p][p]The lighthouse has some fun effects for you to discover, but I will let you explore it yourself![/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]The map is a lot bigger than you probably realize, as it includes the ship deck, a captains quarter, a below deck, and a small island with the lighthouse. [/p][p]There are fun parkour opportunities as well since there are lots of rigging, sails and things to swing on.[/p][p]Crazy design detail note: the window frames on the ship are designed to mirror the Sentari flag. Absolutely insane attention to detail by the one and only Kaou from enviro team.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h3][/h3][h3]Rakta Map[/h3][p]The Rakta are a highly magical and martial people, with their aesthetic being loosely based on an amalgamation of east-Asian cultures.[/p][p]This new map is a Raike dojo, located deep in the southern tropics of Rakta, where their fierce warriors train for warfare.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]This map was an interesting lore expansion for us. Up to now, the only mention of the Raike are from the perspective of the shopkeeper, who describes their homeland as a snowy and mountainous. [/p][p]But with this Rakta map we wanted to expand on the idea that the Rakta Empire is quite large and expansive, much like Eraden, so this map is located in the southern reaches of the empire which crosses into a more tropical climate.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Both maps are playable in Sandbox, and both can appear in Crystal Hunt as special opportunities to fight for money. [/p][p]For lore logic, the faction maps lock enemy types - Sentari in Sentara, Raike in Rakta - but Sandbox still lets you mix and match freely, because why not. Sandbox is always a great for "what if" type scenarios in my opinion.[/p][p]Each future Byeth update will include one faction map, but 1.2 gives you two since the Rakta map is a retroactive bonus.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Before you ask, yes you can ring the gong! This was a critical inclusion, lol.[/p][p]There are also mounted katana all along the walls of the dojo; great for when you need a weapon quick.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Mapboard Rework[/h2][p]To support these lovely new locations, the mapboard has been redesigned.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The new layout is cleaner, more readable, and introduces tabbed world maps. You can now switch between Eraden, Rakta, Sentara, and future regions via the nice little icon tabs, with the background map updating to match the lore.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This system is also modder-friendly! [/p][p]Space has been reserved so modders can add their own tabs and custom regions if they want. Hypothetically, a modder could add an entirely new region and have all their location icons neatly grouped there. [/p][p][/p][h2]Survival Mode Rework[/h2][p]A little scope creep that went out of control; introducing the new and improved Survival mode, which has been completely reworked.[/p][p]In summary, the new system is highly customizable and progression-based. There are tons of goodies you can tweak, but to give an overview, some of the things that are new:[/p]

• [p]Earn skills as rewards[/p]
• [p]Unlock armour sets or full themed bundles[/p]
• [p]Retain and accumulate power across waves in a roguelite fashion. Will you focus on becoming the ultimate glass canon fire mage, or will you diversify your skillset?[/p]
• [p]Play a chaotic roulette-style mode where you pick one reward per wave, which resets after every round. One round you may be blasting with a meteor and the next you are reduced to a rusty dagger.[/p][p][/p]

[p] [/p][p]However as I say, the beauty of this new Survival mode is that it is highly customizable, so you can tailor it however you want and by doing so create new scenarios.[/p][p]For example, perhaps you would like to unlock only weapons as rewards, disabling skills and magic.[/p][p]Or perhaps the opposite, maybe you wanna do a mage run only where you accumulate magical power with each incremental reward.[/p][p]Maybe you want to tweak it so you can or cannot take enemy weapons.[/p][p]For true freedom, there is even an option to allow you to enter the Survival with sandbox equipped gear and skills, in case you wanted to do a very specific custom build run or even if you just wanted to give yourself a starting boost.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Our main goal in the redesign was to give players who have played Blade & Sorcery to death a new way to experience the game. We also wanted to provide a little structured challenge to those who crave it, yet without telling anyone how they should play or have fun.[/p][p]Another beauty is that the Survival mode works on all maps, including the new faction maps. And best of all, we made it so it’s very easy for modders to plug their own content into the reward system. That means you could play the Survival mode where you are unlocking modded weapons and spells![/p][p][/p][h2]Buoyancy Simulation[/h2][p]Sentara wouldn’t be complete without water behaving properly.[/p][p]What started as a small "I wonder" project evolved into full buoyancy simulation, based on weight and material, and yes, that includes bodies! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New Music[/h2][p]Two beautiful new tracks have been added to the Byeth faction maps, composed by our very own Glamdok, the same composer behind the original soundtrack. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]This will be case for the future Khar-Tib and Madlu maps as well.[/p][p]You can check out the full game soundtrack in this Blade & Sorcery OST playlist over on YouYube.[/p][p][/p][h2]Survival Achievement Change[/h2][p]A small QOL change, but worth it's own section because of how annoying this achievement was. [/p][p]Those of you who achieved the the “Wildfolk Stamina” achievement: I salute you. For everyone else who tried and gave up, you surely experienced how incredibly draining the achievement was, as it required you to last 50 rounds in one sitting.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The main gripe here was not even that it was too hard, it was that it was too boring and grindy, which is something we are always looking to avoid. Even if you sat there spamming the "kill all" dev cheat, you are still gonna be sitting there for about 30 minutes.[/p][p]With the 1.2 change, surviving 50 waves no longer has to be done in a single run. Progress is now cumulative across play sessions, so you can earn it over time without losing everything on wave 49. This makes it much less of a chore.[/p][p]To those who already broke their backs unlocking the achievement the old way, you get the 0.1% bragging rights![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]That’s the Sentara Update, folks![/p][p]As always, thank you for playing, modding, and being part of the Blade & Sorcery community. And of course, thanks for all the positivity. It really boosts the team to read all the kind support! [/p][p]We hope you enjoy exploring Sentara, but for us, we are on to the next Byeth update! [/p][p]Next stop: Khar-Tib.[/p][p]Bye for now![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]The Sentara Update - Full 1.2.0 Changelog[/h2][p][/p][h3]FEATURES[/h3][p]- \[New] Add Rakta Dojo level[/p][p]- \[New] Add Sentara Ship level[/p][p]- \[New] Add Sentara Weapons[/p][p]- \[New] Add Sentara Armor[/p][p]- \[New] Add Shopkeeper Sentara Items voice lines[/p][p]- \[New] Overhaul survival mode with multiple presets for roguelike mechanics, plus options for customization[/p][p]- \[New] World map region tabs to view maps for other regions[/p][p]- \[New] World map level options board redesign[/p][p]- \[New] Implement water physics, including simulated wave mechanics, drift, undertow, orbitals, plus buoyancy on items and ragdolls[/p][p]- \[New] Implement AI for NPCs to be able to swim when dropped into water, allowing them to return to land[/p][p]- \[New] The survival achievements now tracks waves done over multiple sessions instead of just in one session.[/p][h3]IMPROVEMENTS[/h3][p]- \[Improvement] Various cpu and memory performance improvements[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Audio memory usage optimizations[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved memory usage on imbue vfx point caches from 8MB > 64KB per item imbued[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Player menu optimizations[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved localizations[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved and reduce logging[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved wrist stat placement with thicker clothing[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved imbue transfer vfx[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Rebalancing/Handling Changes to some Rakta Weapons[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Emissions rework on Rakta Weapons[/p][p]- \[Improvement] End Tower lighting improved greatly and reduced lightmap memory and disk usage[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved lightmap quality across various assets[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Reduced asset bundle size[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improve azure start visuals on Nomad[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Switched to optimized ladders on citadel[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Added improved azure star reflections in the ocean[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improved Flamethrower vfx[/p][h3]CHANGES[/h3][p]- \[Change] Added damagers to corks[/p][p]- \[Change] Add voice volume slider to options menu[/p][p]- \[Change] Added rakta pottery loot tables[/p][p]- \[Change] Add chicken drown sound effects[/p][p]- \[Change] Make chickens easier to drown[/p][p]- \[Change] Update throwing star bag and Throwing Dagger quiver tiers to T2 to match their contents[/p][p]- \[Change] Adjusted holster rotation for some single edged weapons[/p][p]- \[Change] Made all branches available to be put in all slots[/p][p]- \[Change] Using focus will no longer have a fixed minimum cost when activated before it starts to tick down[/p][p]- \[Change] Added zipline wheel to sandbox player containers[/p][p]- \[Change] Reduced minimum velocity needed for axes to damage[/p][p]- \[Change] Added hat-covered blendshape to all hairs[/p][p]- \[Change] Slashing staff can now dismember on its stab[/p][p]- \[Change] Add expiry time to projectiles[/p][p]- \[Change] Add amplitude curves for voice audiocontainers for lip syncing / haptics[/p][p]- \[Change] Add spinning blade puff vfx[/p][p]- \[Change] Show the male and female variants for the battlemage gloves on the one picture on the book[/p][p]- \[Change] Updated Apple item preview image on the item book[/p][p]- \[Change] Buffed the imbue stats for the Ancient Dalgarian Tool weapons - the Gravity imbue will last longer and the weapons are easier to handle[/p][h3]FIXES[/h3][p]- \[Fix] Fixed npcs getting stuck on amphora spawn points in Metal Storage 1[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed a baked shadow issue on beach stairs in home[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix shopkeeper clipping through ground when he spawns[/p][p]- \[Fix] Add missing Rakta Duel wave localizations[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed issue with player getting stuck when moving out of water[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix UIEndGameMenu race condition causing end game menu to not show up[/p][p]- \[Fix] Avoid NRE from the player in the options and end game menus[/p][p]- \[Fix] Make dropped items in home able to be deleted on the book[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix NPCs skipping animations if grabbed or pushed when standing[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix for Gravity Hammer affecting sliced parts[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix gravity imbue being invisible[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix ethnicities failing to apply body materials[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix issue causing player to get multiple instances of spells from the skill menu[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed images not rendering on the UI Display Message[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix android imbue transfer vfx spawning at the players feet[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix chicken tail using chicken neck interactable[/p][p]- \[Fix] Prevent NRE on golem head crystal effect controller[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix NRE on the Inventory UI when changing language[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed: coins stacks added to inventory adding individual coins to your stash[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix hand poses not being reset when exiting a merge early or after casting it[/p][p]- \[Fix] Handle potential NRE on SpellMergeData unload[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix Wrist Menu visibility according to the ShowWristStats option[/p][p]- \[Fix] Add null/empty/whitespace check for item data category string before checking if shopkeeper dialog dict contains it[/p][p]- \[Fix] Show the skill tree and infuser skills popups texts in the selected language[/p][p]- \[Fix] Force set isShooting and isReloading to false when the bow module's stop ranged attack method is called[/p][p]- \[Fix] Removed references to brick1 in all rooms and replaced them with breakable rocks[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix mod io settings error in log[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed Ocean in Main Menu edge being too extreme[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix negative colliders in LootChest_Large_Static.prefab and LootChest_Medium_Static.prefab[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix colliders on static chests[/p][p]- \[Fix] Remove duplicate Manikin MeshPart from Human Male Officer Shoulders 01 and 02[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed missing physics materials on chests[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed Canyon Water Wheel Unassigned reference exception[/p][p]- \[Fix] Crate_0.7m_Closed_LOD2 wrong rotation fix[/p][p]- \[Fix] Removed locomotion collider from arena and citadel blocking out of bounds[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed torch flipbook texture outlines[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed Shop mesh holes and Buy Point Cloth clipping[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed Chapel small holes in entryway[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed Granary general meshing update (fixed clipping meshes and bad lightmapping)[/p][p]- \[Fix] Assign main handle left to improvised wrist, officer legs[/p][p]- \[Fix] Set handled mass on all chicken ragdoll parts (Fixes NaN mass causing infinite velocity)[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed fabric in Library being affected by wind[/p][p]- \[Fix] Removed nonexistent reference to "DungeonHumansNormalMelee" in dalgarian gate[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fixed Barrel meshing/collider issue by splitting the mesh from the item.[/p][p]- \[Fix] Madene, Kharese and Sentari head skinning fix[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix large objects not blocking NPC sight[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix for brain NRE when more creatures are spawned than the pool has in it[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix NPCs running at hyperspeed when they come out of the pool[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix zones applied forces staying on items/npcs after they are despawned then spawned again[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix creatures being affected by slow zones even after despawning and respawning[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix issue with zone still applying to items/creatures that are despawned/holstered when they have multiple colliders[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix NRE from despawning creatures if they never had their multipliers/modifiers initialized[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix Hinge Drive NRE[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix for statuses causing NRE[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix performance bug in Item.GetLocalCenter, affecting most radial or cone item searches[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix underwater effects persisting after teleport[/p][p]- \[Fix] Add navmesh obstacle to ingot pile prefabs[/p][p]- \[Fix] Add navmesh obstacle to large loot chest prefab[/p][p]- \[Fix] Strip enlighten keyword from shaders on windows to reduced shader variants[/p][p]- \[Fix] Strip _USE_SSS_ON on android to reduce shader variants[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix ragdoll slicing errors[/p][h3]MODDING[/h3][p]- \[Mods] ThunderEntity.SetPhysicModifier now takes an optional `originPart` parameter to avoid applying modifier to detached parts[/p][p]- \[Mods] Make effects gradients public[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add ModOption ApplyOnLoad check, so that mods can disable having their option applied when the savegame/mods are loaded[/p][p]- \[Mods] Pull a few skill utilities out to static methods[/p][p]- \[Mods] Runtime blendshape activation for ManikinParts (Hat-covered hair blendshapes)[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add missing Interactable Action methods[/p][p]- \[Mods] Handle customPhysicBody property fixes[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add event manager item touch mouth event[/p][p]- \[Mods] Fix itemspawner spawnOnLevelLoad not actually calling Spawn[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add some new json params to item and collider group[/p][p]- \[Mods] Added merge keys for ContainerDatas, CreatureTables, LootTables, WaveDatas, and BrainModuleHitReaction to allow modders to override specific entries in lists[/p][p]- \[Mods] Load sessionprefab prefab in LoadAddressableAssetsCoroutine[/p][p]- \[Mods] `Creature.airHelper` removed, moved to `Player.airHelper`[/p][p]- \[Mods] Added PID-based physics movement controller, named `PIDController`[/p][p]- \[Mods] Added new Survival-related `SkillData` properties[/p][p] - canSpawnAsReward: Whether the skill can appear in any survival mode[/p][p] - allowInRouletteMode: Whether the skill can appear in Roulette Mode[/p][p] - Generally this should be true if the skill cannot kill enemies if you only have it and its dependent skills[/p][p] - combatSkill: Whether the skill has a use in combat or is more utility[/p][p] - allowOnFirstWave: Whether the skill can ever show up on the first wave of combat[/p][p]- \[Mods] Bundles[/p][p] - New CatalogData type, allows for spawning of groups of items and skills[/p][p] - Bundles support Items, Skills and can have LootTables that will be randomly picked on spawn[/p][p]- \[Mods] Loot Table Rework[/p][p] - Loot Tables can now include Skills and Bundles[/p][h3]SDK[/h3][p]- \[SDK] Change Odin to TriInspector[/p][p]- \[SDK] Added new catalog editor[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make bow string audios addressable[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix armor part wizard not showing monoscript field, fix missing root issue[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix the address references in ItemModuleBow being unused[/p][p]- \[SDK] Catch specifically if a modoption fails due to a nullable attribute being used[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add overload to prevent mods breaking when accessing Creature.airHelper[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix ID map arrays not generating in SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Ensure Creature UVs are wrapped around when sampling from the IdMapArray[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add default value field for part blend shape activators[/p][p]- \[SDK] Remove missing references from hand overlap colliders list on Handle awake, prevent NRE from missing references[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix ItemModuleAI ranged weapon data being force-populated[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add code to find and/or remove duplicate IDs from text datas[/p][p]- \[SDK] Generated permutations of features for lit moss so variants are compiled for usage by modders[/p][p]- \[SDK] Update wpn materials to all use the SDK reveal textures. Remove old references to a MossMetalMode metallic map[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello mates, Baron here! The guys are doing the last pass of bugfixes on The Sentara Update, so we are feeling confidant enough to announce the release date for that as February 24th. ːpraisesunː [/p][p]The release of 1.2 will mark the 2nd of 4 free "Byeth Updates", which are all about canonizing parts of Blade & Sorcery's extended lore by bringing these foreign weapons, armours and maps into the base game. [/p][p]In 1.2 we will be releasing a Sentara and Rakta themed map, so as mentioned in a previous news, here is an early preview of the Sentara map OST.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Now we play the waiting game! But thankfully the 24th is not too far away.[/p][p]In the meantime, I wanna throw a little spotlight on the recent Rakta modding competition - modders competed to make Rakta-themed mods that were lore fitting and vanilla-inspired, and we got some great content as a result.[/p][p]While waiting for the Sentara release, why not check out their mods![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]That's it for now, folks![/p]

[p]Hello mates! Baron here, and as promised, I am back with the preview news for the Sentara Update. If you didn't catch the news last time, check it out here because it has the preview for the other half of content coming to 1.2.[/p][p]Still no release date confirmed, but we are feeling fairly confident about an end of February ballpark.[/p][p]Update 1.2 is going to be all about the nation of Sentara, so let's jump into what is to come![/p][p][/p][h2]Sentari Themed Weapons[/h2][p]The staple of every Byeth Update - new themed weapons.[/p][p]As you may have guessed, the Sentari weaponry are inspired by maritime and pirate weapons.[/p][p]To kick it off in the sword category, we have a nice dueling sword and sabre.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But it's not just swords, a new boarding axe joins the roster, and an unusual entry to the spear category; the harpoon. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]In small daggers, we have a fancy looking stiletto.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And of course, as revealed in the last news, the classic cutlass. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But wait there's more! [/p][p]It is a pirate update after all, so you may have guessed it - we have a surprise weapon:[/p][p][/p][h2]Sentari Firearm[/h2][p][/p][p]This was a huge question mark weapon because it opens a can of worms on whether or not to add gunpowder into the world of Blade & Sorcery, and what would that mean to do so.[/p][p]It also raised a big question that if we were to add some kind of realistic musket, would it involve a full blown loading and firing simulation - if it didn't, that wouldn't seem right, and if it did, it would end up making the weapon too laborious for players for players to find useful (despite 18th century being my favourite time period and muskets are my favourite weapon, even I think having the player load a gun for 20 seconds via a complicated procedure would be too much)[/p][p]With all this in mind, we opted to not add gunpowder into the world of Blade & Sorcery, for all the complications it creates. Instead, we leaned into a lore-friendly solution for Sentari firearms being crystal-based. [/p][p]But since the Sentari are not particularly magical, this is not "shoot a fireball from your fingertips" type of magic, this is more "banging crystals together to make a boom" type of magic. ːamadeus_happyː[/p][p]The result is something that is SO FUN, and that was the most important thing for us.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Sentari firearm operates by imbuing a base crystal with an element, and then striking crystals to produce different effects.[/p][p]A gravity imbued gun will blast an arc of enemy away with extreme force, meanwhile a fire imbued gun can ignite enemies and create fires.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And of course, the lightning blast, which is quite something to behold, lol.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The rule of cool was in full design effect here, though despite being incredibly powerful, I think we struck the perfect balance between the firearm being fun and useful, without the reload and single shot mechanic being too laborious.[/p][p][/p][h2]Sentari Concoctions[/h2][p]Some of you guys were commenting on my little sneak reveal of the bottle in the last news and I read a bunch of comments from people saying it was probably just a new health potion.[/p][p]And nice and very reasonable guess, but you should know better from Warpfrog! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Nope, this ended up being an entire scope creep addition lol, so I present to you, Sentari concoctions![/p][p]When designing these, we specifically did not want to add potions that were purely offensive tools, since there is a ton of that already in the game. So with these, the goal was adding something more fun, but that also may have a bit of latent utilitarian use.[/p][p]The concoctions come in three different varieties:[/p][p][/p][h3]Feather draught[/h3][p]My favourite! Used by Sentari sailors to quickly scurry up masts and rigging, this potion allows the drinker to become temporarily weightless and "swim" though the air. [/p][p]But be careful because when it runs out, there is no featherfall![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Burning draught[/h3][p]Often banned by Sentari captains due to repeated mishaps while are sea, this spicy fire brew causes the drinker to belch out flames. [/p][p]A nice little passive bonus effect is that it causes a short period of illumination from the drinkers body, which is good if you are stuck in a dark location with no torch.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Shocking draught[/h3][p]A classic prank to pull on fellow sailors at meal time, this zingy brew will cause the drinker to experience a short period of magnetism, pulling all nearby metal objects into orbit. [/p][p]In terms of gameplay, you might imagine how this could be utilitarian when surrounded by a bunch of metal armoured enemies wielding metal weapons![/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Sentari Themed Armour[/h2][p]As with all Byeth Updates, there will also be a faction themed armour.[/p][p]Here is a render of the full outfit![/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]For Sentara, it was super fun to watch the art and modeling team work on these because it was a bit less traditional in design to do a full cloth attire with a little razzle- dazzle.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]The outfit is lightwear comprised of a shirt, jacket, trousers, boots and hat, as well as some jewellery pieces. [/p][p]Some of you eagle-eyed folk noticed the jewelry pieces on the player's hands in the previous news - well spotted! Just to clarify, they are purely cosmetic pieces![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Sentari faction AI will also wear this armour and mix-matched variants of it. [/p][p]You will be able to fight the Sentari faction in both sandbox and in Dungeons.[/p][p][/p][h2]Sentara Themed Map [/h2][p]I mentioned last time that the Sentara Update will feature two new faction themed maps.[/p][p]Last month I showed you the Rakta map that we are adding retrospectively, so this month I am now pleased to show you guys the Sentara map![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The map will be available in both sandbox and as one of the playable arena maps in Crystal Hunt.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]If you are wondering what is the deal with the lighthouse, there is some fun for you there. I don't wanna spoil too much because we wanna let you explore that on your own. ːtmntdonː[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]New Music[/h2][p]To go along with our new maps, new themed tracks are included with each map, and all future Byeth maps will have a new music too. [/p][p]The songs are composed by Glamdok, our same composer who did all the original game music.[/p][p]Here is one of the songs as a taster -[/p][p]
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Buoyancy Simulation[/h2][p]You can't have a water themed map without simulating floating![/p][p]What started off as a small simulation test got surprisingly deep (no pun intended!). Included in Sentara, objects will now simulate floating in water depending on various factors such as weight and material.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]And if you are wondering if that includes bodies, yes it does![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Honestly, it was a weird December, lol... Wully went down a strange rabbit hole of madness with this for a couple of weeks. [/p][p]Checking in to see how he was doing and you would find him crunching numbers to try determine the most realistic calculations for how a dead body would float, lol. "But what if the body is chopped up??" ːsteamlaughcryː[/p][p][/p][p]Exhibit A: evidence of Wully's madness[/p][p][/p][h2]Survival Achievement Rework[/h2][p]Not so much a big thing, but worth mentioning because I know it was a pain for many of you guys -[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]One of the achievements, "Wildfolk Stamina" involves surviving 50 waves of survival mode consecutively. Even before release there was a bunch of dissent from the team on this achievement, as besides being incredibly hard, it is also just too grindy to have to power through 50 waves. Even if you are farming achievements and use a cheat to insta-kill all waves, you are still gonna be sitting there for about 20-30 mins.[/p][p]We knew the odds were high that this achievement was going to be overbearing, and indeed it was. As a result, a change is coming in the Sentara update to alter how the achievement works: The 50 waves will now be cumulative.[/p][p]That means you could do 20 waves in one play session, another 15 here, another 15 there, and it will all total up to 50 to unlock the achievement. You won't have to do it all in one run, or worry about losing your run because you died on wave 49.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]That's it for now, folks![/p][p]Next time I post a news, there should be a release date. ːpraisesunː [/p][p]Bye for now![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello mates! Baron here, and before we all break for the holidays I wanted to give you guys a little sneak peek at the upcoming 1.2 update.[/p][p]The Rakta update is now fully complete, so the team have already moved onto the next in the Byeth series releases - The Sentara Update.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This update is themed around Sentara, the small maritime nation west of Eraden, renown for its sailors, mercantilism, and piracy! [/p][p]--[/p][p]This news is only going to be a little preview of things to come. I will do a deeper dive in January, and our hope / ballpark is that this update will be ready for release around the end of February, 2026.[/p][p]But for now, let's get into this news![/p][p][/p][h2]New Weapons and Armour[/h2][p][/p][p]The meat and potatoes of every Byeth update is going to be new weapons and armour, and you can count on every update having these.[/p][p]In Sentari weaponry, the design direction was inspired by Mediterranean maritime nations, drawing influence from sailors, pirates and privateers.[/p][p]I will save most of the previews for later, but here is one little teaser to keep you going; the cutlass![/p][p][/p][p]There will be 8 weapons in total, ranging across categories from blades to axes to spears.[/p][p][/p][p]In terms of armour, Sentari attire is more suitable for sailing than it is for fighting, so their outfit will consist of lightwear that is more oriented towards mobility and comfort over protection.[/p][p]And dare I say, it is quite fashionable![/p][p][/p][h2]New Sentara Faction[/h2][p]Following up on the additions we made in 1.1.1 by making Rakta playable in dungeons and adding more waves, I can confirm that the same will be true for Sentara. [/p][p]In 1.2 there will be Sentari waves in the sandbox arenas, and their faction will also be possible to select as the enemy faction in sandbox dungeons. ːpraisesunː[/p][p]We will do this for all the future Byeth factions too.[/p][p][/p][h3]And now, a big surprise...[/h3][p][/p][p]You know at Warpfrog we like our little secrets... You heard me say a million times, we need these Byeth updates to be tight and not succumb to scope creep because we don't wanna break the game or sidetrack from development on our new game. However... we couldn't resist... something didn't feel right...[/p][p][/p][h2]New Byeth Faction Maps[/h2][p][/p][p]The absence of faction maps was simply too glaring an omission from the Byeth updates to leave alone.[/p][p]After chatting with the environment team, the guys were really awesome and took a break from working on our next game to jump back to Blade & Sorcery and design some new maps for each of the Byeth factions![/p][p]And yes, that includes Rakta, which we will add into 1.2![/p][p]A sneak peek of Rakta for you:[/p][p][/p][p]The maps will be playable in Sandbox mode, but you will also be able to access them in Crystal Hunt - they will appear as random opportunities for player to visit and fight for money, same as when the maps for Citadel, Canyon, Arena, etc, appear. [/p][p]However the big difference is that for lore logic you will only fight Raike in the Rakta map, Sentari in the Sentara map, and so on, whereas in the vanilla maps you can fight Outlaws, Wildfolk, Eraden, and The Eye.[/p][p]In Sandbox mode however, you are free to mix and match as you please! Sandbox is always a good "what if" mode. ːlunar2019piginablanketː[/p][p][/p][p]Each update will have one faction oriented map, but in 1.2 you are getting the added bonus of receiving both Rakta and Sentara maps. The enviro team worked under tremendous pressure here to get two entirely new maps created in such a short amount of time, but they crushed it.[/p][p]Now you are probably now thinking, okay, so then where is the Sentara map preview?? Well I will save it for the next news! ːwftogrinː[/p][p][/p][h2]Mapboard Rework[/h2][p][/p][p]To go along with these new maps, we needed a way to have player access them, but you may recall the mapboard was a map of Eraden, so it didn't really make sense to have Rakta and Sentara map locations slapped on there.[/p][p]In thinking about this solution, it led to a bit of a redesign spiral (but so worth doing!) and as such the mapboard was redesigned in layout and functionality.[/p][p][/p][p]As you can see, the interface is much cleaner and legible thanks to the new layout, but you also might have noticed the little tabs down the bottom. This is our solution for the Byeth faction maps.[/p][p]These are a nice and immersive little way to change areas of the world map, by clicking on the action icon tabs. When you do this, the background world map changes to the canon lore map too.[/p][p]For example, switching from Eraden to Rakta:[/p][p][/p][p]You might also have noticed the tab for Sentara is there too. ːtmntdonː As we add new maps around Byeth, we can add more tabs, for example for Khar-Tib and Madlu.[/p][p]But something else cool about this new system is that it is modder friendly! [/p][p]Space has been reserved so modders can add their own custom tabs and maps. So for example, a modder could add their own tab for some brand new place and then add all their own maps under it.[/p][p][/p][h2]Survival Rework / New Game Modes[/h2][p][/p][p]Survival mode has always been a pretty underused gamemode among players and it is fairly understandable why, as it had a lot of similarity to Sandbox which didn't add a ton of motivation for players to play it.[/p][p]We addressed this and went a bit overboard in doing so - coming in 1.2, we have a whole new survival mode that is super-customizable so you can tailor really cool and unique gamemode experiences.[/p][p][/p][p]To start, we added a bunch of totally new functionality to the Survival mode - now you can earn skills as rewards and accumulate power across each wave like a progression mode, unlock new armour sets as a reward, or acquire entire themed bundles as rewards for unique playstyles! [/p][p]We even added elements so you could play a completely unique roulette gamemode for a truly roguelite experience; choose one reward per wave and whether good or bad you can only use that reward for the round, then it is reset on the next wave. So one round you could be fighting off a wave with a rusty dagger but then annihilating with molten beam the next round.[/p][p]But best of all, in the true Warpfrog spirit, we don't like to tell you how to have fun! We added lots of customization options so you can tailor survival any way you like. Maybe you want to get just weapons and armour as rewards but not skills; no problem! Or how about magic only, but you are not allowed use enemy weapons; go for it! Or if you even wanna play survival mode but with your character kitted out with weapons and skills acquired from sandbox spawns; do it![/p][p]If you really wanted, you could even tailor it to be like the old Survival mode for nostalgia purposes and come full circle, lol. [/p][p][/p][p]Our hope is that players who have played Blade & Sorcery to death can enjoy this mode a new way to experience the game that the player may not have previously considered or been motivated enough to self-enforce in sandbox. [/p][p]This way, player can tailor the game to give them a little structure or limitations to motivate them towards playing a playstyle they might not normally be used to playing.[/p][p]You will be able to play the new Survival mode on any map including the new maps.[/p][p]I should also note, the gamemode is very modder friendly! It is really easy for modders to add their own modded weapons or skills to spawn on the reward pillars. [/p][p][/p][h2]More Surprises![/h2][p]
This is not even everything![/p][p]I have some more really juicy stuff to share but I am going to save some goodies for the January news, so stayed tuned for more surprises to come. In the January news I will also be able to do a deeper dive into all the aforementioned new stuff.[/p][p]--[/p][p]From all of us at Warpfrog, we hope you guys all have a great time over the holidays and we will see you next year![/p][p]Bye for now![/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello mates, Baron here! The last patch of the year is here, but it is also the last of the Rakta patches. After this, the next update you will see is the Sentara Update, which is shaping up lovely by the way! I should be able to drop a sneak peek of that just before Warpfrog break for Christmas.[/p][p]But for now, check out what we have in store with patch 1.1.2 - this small update contains a bunch of fixes for Rakta, but the more juicy news is that it actually brings a whole bunch of great QOL improvements to the mod manager.[/p][p]The most notable change is that overall loading and previewing will be dramatically faster. This is due to a variety of changes we made for how mods display, including dynamic loading of previews, which as well as being faster will also give a boost in performance for weaker machines.[/p][p]Check out this comparison gif to see how it stacks up to the last update:[/p][p][/p][p]Full video of the demonstration here:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink](thanks Wully for the video!)[/p][p][/p][p]If you have a ton of mods, your loading time may still be longer than the video, but nonetheless it will still be dramatically faster than your 1.1.1 loading times.[/p][p]As well as this, the mod manager has gotten plenty of general improvements in stability and functionality, so overall it should simply play nicer. ːlunar2019piginablanketː [/p][p][/p][p]For a full list of changes in 1.1.2, the changelog is below![/p][p][/p][h3]Additions[/h3]

• [p]Mod previews now dynamically load, providing a major performance increase[/p]
• [p]Mods are now culled when no longer in view, increasing performance[/p]
• [p]Thumbnails are now loaded when you can see them, speeding up scrolling and loading times[/p]
• [p]If a mod fails to download, the mod manager will now re-attempt 3 times before giving up[/p]
• [p]Updated to modio v2025.10.1, bringing improvements and fixes[/p]

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed large mods freezing your game while installing[/p]
• [p]Fixed stability when cancelling mods downloading[/p]
• [p]Fixed the report mod button not working[/p]
• [p]Fixed mods needing to be moved around causing frequent layout changes[/p]
• [p]Fixed like/dislike button showing both as coloured[/p]
• [p]Fixed inconsistent mod manager font sizes[/p]
• [p]Fixed uninstall/install not updating the mods display[/p]
• [p]Fixed the mod manager not refreshing mods properly to keep their state up to date[/p]
• [p]Fixed uninstalling mods sometimes not properly unsubscribing/removing[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with mods (especially larger ones) getting stuck on ~99%[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the error window could overlap the mod browser window[/p]
• [p]Fixed a potential race condition when cleaning mods up during install[/p]
• [p]Fixed potential errors that could occur when mod displays are removed[/p]
• [p]Fixed a visual bug where like/dislike counter could overlap on mods with huge numbers[/p]
• [p]Fixed skill tree ring vfx not showing[/p]
• [p]Fixed infuser lightning video[/p]
• [p]Fixed blood not showing on Guandao weapon[/p]
• [p]Fixed draw cuts on axes[/p]
• [p]Fixed some vfx showing green/NaN[/p]

[h3]SDK[/h3]

• [p]\[SDK] Fixed missing custom snap method implementation[/p]
• [p]\[SDK] Expose pierced spawner pierced method[/p]
• [p]\[SDK] Expose Load, ClearLinkedHolders, LoadFromContainerId, and LoadFromPlayerInventory methods[/p]