Blade & Sorcery News

Hello folks! U9.2 is now available; mainly fixing bugs, including the issue with SteamVR force launching the game in Oculus mode and more performance optimizations on some maps.



[h2] Enhancements[/h2]

• Added infinite arrows option in debug menu (spawn an arrow when a bow string is grabbed)
  
• More performance optimizations on Citadel, Market, Ruins and Canyon
  
• Game window resolution will now reset to 1080p on start
  

[h2] Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed issue preventing the game to be updated on Oculus store
  
• Fixed ashes color on fireball impact
  
• Fixed some warnings on start
  
• Fixed steamVR/Oculus launch on Steam
  
• Fixed arm gap on plate armor
  
• Fixed spectator cam using inputs from VR controller thumbstick
  
• Fixed water splash effect not playing in canyon
  
• Fixed console scaling issue
  
• Fixed issues with some small stones and plants in Canyon
  
• Fixed navigation issue around the dead tree on Citadel
  

[h2] Modding[/h2]

• Updated SDK for update 9.2
  
• Prevent an error causing the weapon to not spawn when a paintable is not correctly configured
  

Hello folks, hope you are all enjoying U9 so far! A small U9.1 patch has now been released and contains some nice little enhancements and bugfixes. U9 mods will not be broken, no worries! :steamdance: Please see the changelog for the full list of changes.

If you having any U9 issues be sure to check the pinned help topics in the Steam Community Page "Issues and Troubleshooting" section or do a quick search in that board and very likely you will find the solution already listed.

EDIT: Hi guys! How could we not do an April Fool's joke when releasing on April 1st, hahaha. So as you all have figured out, the original changelog was of course just a joke, but the update is very much real!
Below is now the *real* changelog.

• Telekinesis can now be used to grab rewards in survival mode
  
• Misc improvements to feet climbing IK
  
• Added physics-based lanterns to Market
  
• Added blood decals to Potion and Baguette Sword
  
• Adjusted bottom of well in Market to remove glowing ground
  
• Small adjustments to props in Market
  
• Added character and item decals toggle in options (for low-end computers)
  
• Setting max env. decals to 0 in the options will disable environment decals completely
  
• Quivers now store 50 arrows (instead of 12)
  
• Infinite arrow option now automatically spawn an arrow when the bow string is grabbed (instead of setting the quiver infinite)
  
• Updated to XR plugin
  

• Fixed some issues when picking rewards in survival mode
  
• Fixed an issue where Survival items were despawning when the limit of dropped items was exceeded
  
• Fixed plate armor shoulders not spawning correctly
  
• Fixed an issue preventing the game to load when paint was disabled
  
• Fixed multiple issues when reveal was disabled
  
• Fixed some performance issue with feet climbing IK
  
• Fixed sliced limbs doing too much damage and knocking down others NPC
  
• Fixed post processing not disabling correctly
  
• Fixed ragdoll colliding with hands when ungrabbing
  
• Prevent waves and items UI selector to cause a CPU spike when being enabled
  
• Fixed animation issue when NPC are hit while standing up
  
• Fixed a shader issue which may have impacted performance on maps
  
• Fixed scores not working correctly with survival mode
  
• Fixed character shirts using incorrect shaders
  
• Fixed male character underwear using an incorrectly configured material
  
• Fixed missing ropes in market
  
• Fixed some grabbable stones colliding with player locomotion collider
  
• Fixed some decals issues
  
• Fixed heartbeat audio not playing when health is low
  
• Fixed incorrect physics materials on arena
  

• Added a safeguard to avoid paintable to be enabled for pooled items (will prevent possible mods memory issues)
  
• Added additional holder points support for items / holders
  
• Added an option to transfer maps (textures) to reveal on RevealDecal
  
• Added game lit and reveal custom shaders in the SDK to replace paint on weapons (see BasSDK wiki for more information)
  
• Holders can now store more items than the available slots (extra items will be saved as ContainerData.content)
  
• Moved ItemModuleQuiver logic into holder interactable (custom quiver mods will need an update)
  
• Automatically set the custom shader bundle name prefix to export folder name to avoid duplicates GUID with the auto generated builtin shader bundles
  

Oh and in case you were wondering, the only two true statements in the joke changelog were about swinging on the marketplace lanterns and then the statement about the true statement itself, heheh.

Hello mates! If you are wondering what U9 is, it is essentially the 8.4 beta as a now completed and stable version. We decided to rename it as U9 and ripple the other updates because what was intended to be a small incremental patch ended up being huge amount of additions, and the difference between 8.4 and 8.3 was so massively significant that it really seemed like its own update. ːsteamdanceː

The roadmap will change accordingly. This name change should also help clear up a lot of modding confusion going forward about what mods work with what version. Instead of a trying to figure out if a mod works with U8.X beta XYZ, the latest version will now simply u9.

So the beta period is over. This will be the live version until the next big update, and as such this should be a good stable version for long term mod reliability (ie mods made for this version won't break as often as they would in betas). And because I know people will ask - mods should not have broken between 8.4 beta 8 / beta 9 when upgrading to U9.

If you have not been following the beta period and are coming straight from U8.3, you will be in for quite a surprise! Here are some of the more major features included in this update:

  [h3]Performance enhancement! [/h3]
This is the big one and the whole reason for the lengthy past beta. The lag spike on spawn issue that plagued U8 has been eliminated thanks to remaking the character system, so the game should be running dramatically better than it was in U8, with performance more in line or better than U7. If you are suffering performance issues in U9 that are not simply spec related, be sure you have removed your mods and checked the pinned topics in Steam Discussions "Issues and Troubleshooting" for some solutions.

  [h3]New wound and gore decals[/h3]
Character decals has been completely reworked, they are now optimized, consume way less memory and look better!

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[h3]Armour denting decals[/h3]
Decals are not limited to skin and wounds and you will now see dents when you hit plate armor.

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[h3]Burn decals[/h3]
At last decals now support emissive and overtime effect, perfect for fire and burning. ːsteamdanceː

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  [h3]Death animations (similar to U7 but new and enhanced)[/h3]
Death animations were noticeably missing from U8; this is what gave the combat that visceral and gritty feel that many people missed since U7. It allowed for the player to get that short window to complete a cool John Wick type execution, rather than a 100% pure ragdoll experience. Now with a mix of ragdolls and animations, we are happy to say it is better than ever before!

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[h3]Blood spurt effect on neck[/h3]
Slashing or piercing the neck deep enough has always been fatal in B&S; now you can enjoy some visual effects when you manage to do it.

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    [h3]New customization parts for player and AI[/h3]
Player customization is still not complete and more and more content will be added as it is made, but for now there are new beard and hairstyles for both the player and AI. The AI now have the chance to spawn with a wide selection of hair and eye colours for variety.

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[h3]Jumping to view direction while climbing[/h3]
Preparing our work for the incoming dungeon update, we added the possibility to jump to the direction you are viewing while climbing, allowing you to reach more places as well as improving agility while climbing

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 [h3]Piercing has a visible exit wound[/h3]
A long requested feature has finally being added; you can now see the exit wound if your blade goes through the whole body!

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  [h3]Self collision (dev option for fun only)[/h3]
This option is available from the dev menu (monkey icon) and is solely for goofing around as opposed to a gameplay mechanic feature. It makes your full body a collidable object for your own weapons so you can hurt and stab yourself. Why would you want to do this? We have no idea, but you guys seem to like it. ːwftogrinː

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    [h3]Player has visible wounds and potions will heal them[/h3]
Being hit will also display wounds on your own body. Thanks to the new decals system, drinking potions will heal the wounds so you can look new again. Be aware however, it will not repair your clothes! Weapons will also clean themselves when holstered after some time.

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[h3]New and improved audio effects[/h3]
If you have not played the beta, this should be very noticeable! Much cooler sounds have been implemented, especially for metal and shields, to make the combat feel more meaty and impactful.

  [h3]Reworked ragdolls and better penetration[/h3]
Ragdoll Physics Overhaul mod has been integrated (big thanks to SketchCritic for letting us use his work!)
Enemies should fall down in a more realistic fashion, and combined with better penetration and the return of death animations, you should be better able to skewer enemies properly and have less instances where the enemy gets launched backwards when you try to run them through.

[h3]New waves[/h3]
Waves have been broken out into enemy categories such as Bandit, Knight, Gladiator, as well as new waves added for each class that are 1v1s and melee only. There are a whole bunch of new warzone waves if your PC can handle it and classic modes like "Circle of Death" and 1v1 escalating difficulty have been re-added.

  [h3]New gamemode: Survival (arena, ruins and market only)[/h3]
Introducing a new gamemode for those who want more challenge and structure. Choose from the randomly generated weapons that spawn with the pedestal and then survive the waves. The Survival mode is selected from the map that is on the table (it's on the left hand side) in the home.

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That is it for the highlighted features! Going forward, U9 will have small incremental patches as is the usual with updates. To give you an idea of what to expect in the next coming months, check out the revised roadmap. (subject to change, as always!) https://steamcommunity.com/app/629730/discussions/4/1743355067106410776/

The Dungeons Expansion will not be this update; that will be it's own huge update (hopefully U11).

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Below you will find the changelog that resume all the work that has been done since the first beta!

⠀⠀⠀⠀    [h2]U9 Changelog[/h2]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀    [h2]Features & Enhancements[/h2]

• Performance optimizations
  
• Character system overhaul
  
• New decal system for characters
  
• Improved dying animations
  
• Added tone mapping post processing option
  
• Moved the wave spawner next to the table in arena
  
• Added and reworked some weapon collision sounds and effects
  
• Piercing stuff with a weapon imbued with fire will now emit a sound and generate smoke
  
• Ragdoll materials (flesh, leather, chainmail, plate) are now used for NPC environment damage
  
• Player wounds are now visible
  
• Holstering a weapon will clean them after some time
  
• Drinking health potion will now heal wounds visually
  
• Reworked penetration system and damage calculation
  
• Added skewer detection, now piercing through a body will do a decal and effect on the other side
  
• Added self collision debug option
  
• Piercing or slashing neck will now show a bleeding effect
  
• Hats are now using the new character system
  
• Reworked gravity grab visual effect
  
• Added 2 male and female hairs
  
• Added 2 beards
  
• Reworked all waves
  
• New Buckler Model
  
• Survival gamemode added
  
• Updated LIV to 1.5.4
  
• Updated Unity to 2019.4.21

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀    [h2]Balancing[/h2]

• Hips move back a bit more when looking down
  
• Improved Shields and Shield Bashing
  
• Increased slash damage on bladed weapons
  
• Adjusted pierce damagers to be overall better
  
• Adjusted damage for all part types (hands and feet should take less damage)
  
• Nerfed Slow-Mo Punch force a bit
  
• Blunt weapons feel more powerful
  
• Daggers can now dismember (though it is harder than usual)
  
• Ragdolls no longer one-shot enemies
  
• Blades and Axes can now pierce wood easier
  
• Sand is now pierceable in the arena
  
• Rapiers now use their own slash damager
  
• The player takes less damage from arrows and fireballs
  
• Adjusted probability of all classes. You should now see more melee than archers and mages
  
• Made Warzone less randomized on faction spawns
  
• Misc balancing changes

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀    [h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed infinite loading when loading a save with an item not existing
  
• Added misc error checks
  
• Fixed thumbstick not working with HP Reverb G2
  
• Fixed some lightning issue on maps
  
• Fixed clipping issues on some outfits
  
• Fixed texture issue on Rapier
  
• Fixed an audio issue after player death
  
• Fixed missing jump sound
  
• Fixed missing fall damage sound
  
• Fixed hand going through objects after ungrabbing
  
• Fixed axes penetration
  
• Fixed some Out-of-bound access areas in Citadel
  
• Fixed NPC dying animations
  
• Fixed some NPC navigation issues
  
• Fixed an issue causing weapons and projectiles to unpenetrate when the NPC play some animations
  
• Fixed haptic causing performance issue on Oculus
  
• Fixed mesh particle warning spamming the console
  
• Fixed some missing physics materials
  
• Adjusted Navmesh in arena to prevent NPC getting stuck on the wave spawner
  
• Fixed navmesh that caused NPCs to get stuck on a rock in Canyon
  
• Fixed Water rendering over the waterfall effects in Canyon
  
• Fixed weird lighting of doors inside the sewers of Citadel
  
• Fixed hole in Citadel
  
• Fixed rope at the scaffolding in Citadel
  
• Fixed misc errors and warning

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀    [h2]Modding[/h2]

• Reworked default and mod directories
  
• Effects JSON gradients replaced by colors
  
• Added fleePoint component to manage NPC flee locations
  
• Reworked collision system to make it easier to maintain and update.
  
• Removed materialDamage and materialEffect JSON
  
• Materials is now handling effects and materialDamage is replaced by damageModifier JSON.
  
• Reworked penetration damage logic
  
• Reworked penetration dampening, added temporary modifiers to improve piercing
  
• Added filters into effects JSON to help simplify the collision system
  
• Added audio playing delay option to EffectModuleAudio
  
• ColliderGroups with the same name will no longer override each other's ImbueGeneratedMesh
  
• Fixed Custom Holsters/Quivers making them crash the game
  
• (C# plugins) The struct "CollisionStruct" is replaced by a class "CollisionInstance"
  
• Reworked effects logic, added filters and imbue filters to effects to simplify collision management
  
• Blades and crystals physic material is no longer changed when imbued with a spell
  
• Potion liquids are now moddable (derive from the "Liquid" class)
  
• Removed creature DamageModifier and moved variables to Ragdoll.PartData
  
• ItemPhysic and ItemSpell are now merged into ItemData
  
• Added game mode support
  
• Removed quantity on ContainerData.Content
  
• Added sliceSeparationForce and sliceVelocityMultiplier to creature json
  
• Added loadorder support
  
• Moved back velocityDamageCurve from material damage to damager JSON
  
• Added self damage multiplier on damagers JSON
  
• Reworked container, loot and creature table JSON
  
• Moved avoidance priority from brain to creature JSON

Hey guys, this beta is a bugfix and improvements patch, and hopefully the last step on the 8.4 journey. If there are no major issues with this beta update, it will likely become the 8.4 live version (likely along with one or two additional fixes). This beta update should not break any mods from beta 8.

Some of the more notable improvements in this small update include jumping to view direction while climbing, HP Reverb G2 support, more player customization options, randomized npcs hair, eye colours, etc, and slightly faster spell charging. There is also some changes to prevent the infamous dreaded "infinite loading" screen when you are missing a mod item or spell. This will not make out of date mods work of course, but it will allow the game to load at least.

LIV players - LIV is still broken but it is being worked on and KospY is communicating with the LIV devs. We are hoping it will be fixed for the live version.

As always, this is an opt-in WIP beta, so active testing is occurring and patience is appreciated!



- Added decal support on shields, arrows, quivers and bows
- Hair, eyes and skin color player customization is back
- NPC hair, eyes and skin color are now randomized
- Reduced default character height in character selection
- Adjusted depth for Bardiche and Northern Axe
- Increased spell charging speed a bit
- Adjusted fireball throw direction
- Increased arrow tip length
- Lowered velocity threshold for blade penetration on wood
- You can now jump while climbing in the direction you are looking
- Jumping while climbing will automatically ungrip hands
- Jumping while climbing is now possible with only one hand gripped (not only feet)
- Added a bit more force to jump while climbing
- Separated Wood pierce value from chainmail for axes in damageModifiers
- Improved buckler model and textures
- Improved Axe Depths to make axes easier to pierce, while making it harder to take out
- Updated LIV to 1.5.4
- Adjusted Containers for Berzerkers and Rogues to use LootTables rather than Items defining for weapons.



- Fixed infinite loading when loading a save with an item not existing (often happen with mods removal)
- Fixed gap and LOD issue on female mage armor
- Fixed clipping issues on female mage glove
- Fixed hand going through an object gripped with the other hand
- Fixed some skinning and clipping issues on bandit hand gloves
- Fixed some lightning issue on Citadel
- Fixed player height not saving correctly
- Fixed new carts missing audio
- Fixed thumbstick not working with HP Reverb G2
- Fixed texture issue on Rapier
- Fixed missing climbing grip sound
- Fixed missing penetration exit effect for fire imbued weapons
- Fixed handles not applying blood decal
- Fixed issue causing the character to disappear when changing hair
- Fixed an audio issue after player death
- Fixed missing grip sound while climbing
- Fixed missing jump sound
- Fixed missing fall damage sound
- Fixed hand going through objects after ungrabbing
- Fixed baron hat color
- Fixed axes not being able to penetrate wood
- Fixed some Out-of-bound access areas in Citadel



- Added disallowDespawn option for ItemSpawner and ContainerSpawner
- Added CreatureTableSpawner

Hello mates! 8.4 Beta 8 is now released, featuring the much anticipated, new and improved blood and wound decals, plus the return of the dying animations. The re-addition of dying animations is what contributed massively to the visceral and cinematic feel of combat in previous versions, versus the pure ragdoll experience as has been the case in U8 up to now. This means no more stabbing guys where they get pushed back; you can now properly skewer enemy again. Combined with some more big performance improvements, this should make the combat similar to the "U7 combat feel" that many players loved, but now with all the goodness of U8 additions, like armour and new models, etc.

With all the changes and additions, U8.4 has actually almost become it's own full update where it was supposed to be a small incremental update... ːeaglegagː But we think you guys are gonna love how the combat feels now. The end of the beta period is very near now and assuming everything looks good, this is looking like it will be the last beta and the 8.4 live version should be released soon. Then finally on to U9!

If you are unsure how to opt into the beta, instructions are here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/629730/view/2957137317359486739

And as usual, it is a good practice to clear out your mods on new beta versions in case any break. If you find your game not loading, you can follow the help here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/629730/discussions/2/2450469119947281759/

• Added the new character and weapons decal system
  
• Added new pierce, blunt, slash and burn decals on characters
  
• Improved dying animations
  
• Added tone mapping post processing option
  
• Moved the wave spawner next to the table in arena
  
• Added and reworked some weapon collision sounds and effects
  
• Piercing stuff with a weapon imbued with fire will now emit a sound and generate smoke
  
• Ragdoll materials (flesh, leather, chainmail, plate) are now correctly detected for NPC environment damage
  
• Reduced Max Alive for most waves
  
• Player wounds are now visible
  
• Drinking health potion will now heal wounds visually
  
• Holstering a weapon will clean them after some time
  
• Reworked penetration system and damage calculation
  
• Added skewer detection, now piercing through a body will do a decal and effect on the other side
  
• Added self collision debug option (for fun, not recommended for normal play)
  
• Misc performance enhancements
  
• Piercing or slashing neck will now show a bleeding effect
  
• More weapon balancing
  

• Fixed NPC dying animations
  
• Fixed head shadow missing in first person view
  
• Fixed character locked in jump animation when game is paused
  
• Fixed wood penetration with bladed weapons
  
• Fixed ungrab causing the NPC to float sometimes
  
• Fixed issues in survival mode
  
• Fixed navmesh issue on stairs in Market
  
• Fixed blood effects on Ragdoll impacts when gore is disabled
  
• Fixed Dismember via TK still occurring when dismemberment was turned off
  
• Fixed gravity ring on NPCs being flipped the wrong rotation
  
• Fixed hands being seen through the rounded shield
  
• Fixed an issue causing weapons and projectiles to unpenetrate when the NPC play some animations
  
• Fixed minimum stabbing depth in arena sand
  
• Fixed Minor Navmesh issues on Arena, Market, Ruins and Canyon
  
• Fixed orientation issue when grabbing alive NPC
  
• Fixed NPC neck issues after beheading
  
• Fixed haptic causing performance issue on Oculus
  
• Updated Unity to 2019.4.19
  

• Reworked (again) collision system to make it easier to maintain and update.
  
• Removed materialDamage and materialEffect JSON. Materials is now directly handling effects and materialDamage is replaced by damageModifier JSON.
  
• Reworked penetration damage logic, added extra damage at specific depth and/or when piercing on the other side
  
• Reworked penetration dampening, added temporary modifiers to improve piercing for thrown weapons
  
• Added filters into effects JSON to help simplify the collision system
  
• Added audio playing delay option to EffectModuleAudio
  
• ColliderGroups with the same name will no longer override each other's ImbueGeneratedMesh
  
• Fixed Custom Holsters/Quivers making them crash the game
  
• (C# plugins) The struct "CollisionStruct" is replaced by a class "CollisionInstance"
  
• Reworked effects logic, added filters and imbue filters to effects to simplify collision management
  
• Blades and crystals physic material is no longer changed when imbued with a spell
  
• Reworked potion liquid logic. Potion liquids are now moddable (derive from the "Liquid" class and override "OnLiquidReception" method), then custom liquid can be set from the Item module JSON
  
• Removed creature DamageModifier and moved variables to Ragdoll.PartData
  
• Fixed zone events
  
• ItemPhysic and ItemSpell are now merged into ItemData. Old ItemPhysic json should be still compatible but ItemSpell will need to be redone (you will have to do an ItemData and add an ItemModuleSpell)