Blade & Sorcery News

[p]Hello mates! The Baron here, with news from the Warpfrog front that The Rakta Update is now available![/p][p]This is update 1 of 4 in the free series of "Byeth Updates" Warpfrog is planning, from now until the end of 2026.[/p][p]If you want to read more about The Byeth Updates, what they are and what we have planned, Warpfrog did a Q&A here.[/p][p]The Rakta Update focuses on the nation of Rakta, adding Raike themed content into the game, officially expanding the canon of the Blade & Sorcery universe.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Now, let's dive into what is new in the update! ːpraisesunː[/p][p][/p][p]The Rakta Update brings 8 new canon Raike weapons into the base game. Thematically they are inspired by an amalgamation of East Asian real life counterparts.[/p][p]Check out these renders of the new content:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]These exotic weapons can be purchased at The Baron's Bounty in Crystal Hunt, or accessed freely in Sandbox mode.[/p][p]It might have taken 7 years, but we did it guys - the katana is a canon part of Blade & Sorcery. ːsteamlaughcryː[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Physics bases shuriken[/h2][p]Among the new weaponry are physics-based shuriken (including a shuriken pouch).[/p][p]These shuriken will actually spin when thrown, with a little under-the-hood assistance to help ensure the blade actually sticks into the target. (annoying when you throw a weapon and it just bounces off an enemy ːsteamfacepalmː )[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Dual Spell Staff[/h2][p]My personal favourite addition to the update: the Raike Dual Crystal Staff.[/p][p][/p][p]Being a highly magical warrior nation, the Raike have developed a combat staff that allows for a dual imbue; one element on each end.[/p][p]This allows for some really cool and creative combinations! For example, you to have one end blasting a flamethrower spell while the other end is lashing a lightning whip.[/p][p]Or, double up on the element and unleash hell![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Available in Crystal Hunt to purchase in the Baron's Bounty, or freely available in Sandbox mode, for the first time ever, a non-Eraden armour is available to wear.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The armour reflects the warrior culture of the Raike, reflecting exquisite craftsmanship, functionality, and aesthetic.[/p][p]You can find the new armour under the plate section of the armour spawner.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Fight in Sandbox mode against Raike warriors, equipped with their Rakta attire and weapons. [/p][p]Currently we have it limited to 1v1 duels, but expanding this is a real possibility in the future, if not in minor patches then possible as a bonus in the future Byeth Updates.[/p][p][/p][p]You can find this special 1v1 wave in under the category Special > Rakta Elite Duel.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Rakta Update brings 37 achievements to find and unlock.[/p][p]A couple of the achievements are listed and you can see what is necessary to unlock them. These are the really obvious type achievements, like complete X in the game, or collect Y items. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]However, we really, really wanted to avoid these grindy type achievements, because our vibe is that those kind of achievements always feel like they are just there to waste your time and keep you grinding hours.[/p][p]So in the case that we have visible achievements, we tried to make them more landmark accomplishments (mostly relating to the end game) but mainly we opted to make most of the achievements hidden. The idea here was we wanted to make them more easter eggy, and something fun for the player to try and find in game themselves through discovery. Typically they relate to an in game secret, or are a reference to some community in-joke, so the objective is to explore the game, and see what you discover. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You can of course spoil the unlock conditions by simply revealing them on Steam, so no worries if you are a straight-up completionist type person and don't want to actually discover them for yourself.[/p][p][/p][h3]What about Unity 6 and OpenXR?[/h3][p]I mentioned in an earlier preview about the Rakta Update being the time when we would update the game to Unity 6 and OpenXR - this is a purely technical decision which will help Warpfrog handle the snowballing maintenance of Blade & Sorcery across so many headsets, but players would not actually notice any difference at all.[/p][p]However, the move to Unity 6 is a big one because it risks breaking all sorts of mystery things in the game, and indeed when we began the migration, we start to notice all sorts of stuff was breaking, from dungeons to VFX.[/p][p]Because of the bug risks involved, we would need to do a really massive QA pass over the whole game, and given that we didn't want to delay the update release, we decided to hold off on the Unity 6 / OpenXR switch for now and we will tackle it in the coming months instead.[/p][p]As said, the delay on this migration will be completely indifferent for players, except for one thing - full body tracking. OpenXR was likely to improve FBT, so this is one thing players will benefit from when the migration happens.[/p][p][/p][h3]Modwatch: will this update break mods?[/h3][p]The short answer: no! [/p][p]Of course you can't guarantee anything 100%, but the main concern was that Unity 6 threatened to break map mods and scripting mods. However, since we are not moving to Unity 6 right now, this is not an issue.[/p][p]This update has no major code changes and we are being deliberately careful so as not to break mods if it can be helped. [/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]That's it for now, folks! Coming down the line is likely to be some small bugfix patches, and a patch that switches the game to Unity 6 and OpenXR. Other than that, it is on to the next Byeth Update - The Sentara Update![/p][p]Cheers![/p][p] [/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Features[/h3][p]- \[New] Add Rakta Weapons[/p][p]- \[New] Add Rakta Armor[/p][p]- \[New] Add Shopkeeper Rakta Items voice lines[/p][p]- \[New] Add Achievements[/p][p]- \[New] Add Rakta 1v1 Wave.[/p][p][/p][h3]IMPROVEMENTS[/h3][p]- \[Improvement] Ensure video players don't drop frames[/p][p]- \[Improvement] Improve game mode title and description readability on the world travel map[/p][p]- \[Plugins] Improve Steam setting up callbacks for getting tickets[/p][p]- \[Plugins] Improve handling of Steam API error states[/p][p]- \[Plugins] Improve Mod.io error handling [/p][p]- \[Plugins] Reduce Mod.io logging[/p][p][/p][h3]CHANGES[/h3][p]- \[Change] Make the zipline return to you if you drop it[/p][p]- \[Change] Remove the Falchion and the Cupbending Cup from the Sandbox book[/p][p][/p][h3]FIXES[/h3][p]- \[Fix] Fix messages popup transparency[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix tutorial dungeon sometimes not showing up on the Shop map[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix Sepia grayscale not working with Hyperfocus on Nomad[/p][p]- \[Fix] Prevent NRE from hand overlap coroutine[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix OpenVR not being stripped from platforms that don't use OpenVR[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix double call back from Steam[/p][p]- \[Fix] Add blood content flag to slice flesh parent and slice flesh child effects[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix Notes lighting issues[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix missing shadows on mirror in Home and Shop[/p][p]- \[Fix] Add missing mesh collider to the Cliff Bridge of the Citadel[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix overlapping fabric mesh in the Shop[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix boat sail visual issue[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix the missing physics material on the skill orb[/p][p]- \[Fix] Remove duplicate creature spawner point in Castle RopeTraverse[/p][p][/p][h3]AI[/h3][p]- \[Fix] Fix Shopkeeper not saying the Falchion and the Baron Hat easter egg lines[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix for NRE if the item is despawned before the NPC can start aiming[/p][p]- \[Fix] Prevent NREs from BrainModuleRanged due to Throw, Bow brain modules dropping items[/p][p]- \[Fix] Prevent unconscious creatures sharing targets with nearby enemies[/p][p]- \[Fix] Fix navmesh issues on the Canyon, the DA Forge, and the DA Metal Storage[/p][p][/p][h3]MODDING[/h3][p]- \[Mods] Move manikin channel layers address out of ItemModuleWardrobe and into CreatureData[/p][p]- \[Mods] Fix golem activating player events on zones[/p][p]- \[Mods] Fix for NPCs not taking gravity modifiers into account when aiming[/p][p]- \[Mods] Fix for Note text loading[/p][p]- \[Mods] Remove runtime-only bool property from JSON in brains[/p][p]- \[Mods] Only snap creatures to the ground if they are properly grounded[/p][p]- \[Mods] Fix session prefab data[/p][p]- \[Mods] Fix skill menu not showing modded skills under certain circumstances[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add support for manual assembly resolving for multi DLL mods[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add mono cecil and use it to handle sorting assembly dependencies[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add condition to allow creatures to be made immune to stun[/p][p]- \[Mods] Add GetHandAngularVelocity method[/p][p][/p][h3]SDK[/h3][p]- \[SDK] Add new editor tool to setup armor items[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add AssetPostProcessor to ensure modders asset bundle groups get moved to Assets/Personal so they are ignored by the SDKs git repo[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add button to open platform export folder for each asset bundle[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix GUI errors when building bundles[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add export mode so that modders can export directly to a folder[/p][p]- \[SDK] Change assetBundleGroup list to buttons to edit the groups easier[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix catalog files not exporting to Nomad[/p][p]- \[SDK] Expand merge events for crystals[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add proto shield rack and proto bow rack[/p][p]- \[SDK] Remove Steamworks from the SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix menus for tools[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make methods in BrainModuleStance virtual[/p][p]- \[SDK] Improvements to making Groups in SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Move crystal shader into SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Update MOES maker and improve it to allow splitting existing mixed-channel textures, improve GUI[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix Detail map toggle not working on LitMoss shader[/p][p]- \[SDK] Hide the set compressed button in the SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add SDK tools to help modders switch platform + quality setting[/p][p]- \[SDK] Fix setting the gitignore on the SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add new compile checker, fix compile errors[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add DrawGizmosCircle into common for throwspinner gizmos[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make Odin stubs editor only[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make sure onvalidate is run on the assetbundlegroup before building[/p][p]- \[SDK] Ensure the AssetBundleGroup folder name is never empty[/p][p]- \[SDK] Expose Play() method on AudioContainerPlayer[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add reveal shared bundle to save modders bundle size[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add water enter/exit events for creatures/items[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add offset transform field to PhysicbodyForceApplier[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add level load/unload events to GameEventLinker[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make OptionBase use name as a JSONMergeKey[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make boneHash a property with a backer field which is set on get[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add release item method to item magnet[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add holder filter to container saver[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add method to creature tool to run all ragdoll part actions[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add comments to discombobulate, add condition to allow creatures to be made immune[/p][p]- \[SDK] Make some fields on skill tree crystal public[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add CustomSkillData class[/p][p]- \[SDK] Call PhysicBodyZoneChange in force item/creature enter/exit methods[/p][p]- \[SDK] Add snap item and snap item silently methods for public SDK[/p][p]- \[SDK] Expose methods in ItemMagnet by moving them out of ProjectCore[/p][p]- \[SDK] Invoke blackboard update event on SessionBlackboardTool when setting variables[/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello mates, The Baron here! I have good news to share that The Rakta Update will be available for PCVR on October 7th. [/p][p]This will be update 1 of 4 free "Byeth Updates", bringing canonized weapons and armour from the extended Blade & Sorcery lore into the base game.[/p][p]The Warpfrog team are closing in on a final build, though the guys are still trying to iron out the last of the bugs in the update. However, nothing critical has appeared so far, so the team are feeling confident enough to set a date for release. [/p][p][/p][h2]Rakta Armour[/h2][p]I mentioned last time that by this news we should have the Rakta armour completed so that I can share a preview, and indeed I can![/p][p][/p][p]This armour will be available to purchase at The Baron's Bounty in Crystal Hunt, or you can access it freely in Sandbox mode.[/p][p]We also have a special Rakta wave so that you can fight enemies wearing this armour in Sandbox mode.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Achievements testing[/h2][p]You might notice some strange activity on Steam in the next few days, where it will appear as though the game has achievements available even though the update hasn't dropped. [/p][p]This is just the team testing the achievements on a live (unreleased) build, so just ignore that for now. All of the achievements will be hidden while they are being tested, but I would advise against using any cheat unlockers to unlock them early, because I believe that will irreversibly spoil them for yourself when they actually become available. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]That's it for now folks, just a small news today! [/p][p]There is no exact time of day set for the release, but more than likely it would be later in the day GMT.[/p][p]Cheers![/p][p] [/p]

[p]Hello mates, Baron here and today I am going to be showing you what's to come in the first of the free Byeth Updates: The Rakta Update. [/p][p]As mentioned in other news, The Byeth Updates are a series of free content updates from now until the end of 2026, adding lore-canon weapons, armour and some small features to the sandbox and crystal hunt gamemodes. [/p][p]For this update, the focus was Rakta. Rakta is an amalgamation of East Asian cultures, so this was the design inspiration for the team.[/p][p]Now let's get into what is included.[/p][h2]New Weapons[/h2][p]Let's cut right to the chase... you all knew it was destined to happen... You know it, you love it - [/p][p]How could there not be the classic katana! ːlunar2019piginablanketː[/p][p]After dozens of mods, you can now finally say the katana is officially canon in the universe of Blade & Sorcery.[/p][p][/p][p]Next, for some thrown weapon variety, one of the featured weapons being added are throwing shurikens![/p][p]You may have noticed a limitation in Blade & Sorcery where throwing things feels a lot more like "pushing away with telekinesis" versus how you might expect a thrown weapon to work in real life. This was always just a limitation with the way the physics work in the game, so thrown weapons in Blade & Sorcery kind of shot forward like Magneto pushing a dagger rather than spinning like a throwing axe.[/p][p]However, with a little bit of dev trickery the shuriken is different in that it actually throws and actually spins! [/p][p]It's also designed to be as little finicky as possible, so that the blade actually penetrates and doesn't just bounce off the enemies.[/p][p][/p][p]In smaller one-handed weapons, the team added some dagger-like sai and kama inspired weapons.[/p][p]The kama is particularly unusual for Blade & Sorcery, as curved weapons is not something we generally add due to the complexities of the colliders.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Meanwhile, in terms of large weapons the team went for a kanabo design to add a nice meaty blunt weapon into the game. [/p][p]For polearms, the inspiration was a guandao type glaive.[/p][p] [/p][p]The team also took inspiration from some more interesting weapon designs -[/p][p]Check out this unusual zhanmadao-inspired weapon.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, with the Raike being highly magical warriors, we wanted to add something a bit interesting for their magical category.[/p][p]The team came up with a cool concept for a Raike staff that is a dual-crystal bo-staff, capable of being imbued on both ends to wreak absolute havoc.[/p][p]You can fire each end independently and even mix-match elements![/p][p] [/p][h2]Armour[/h2][p]As well as weapons, there will be a brand new Raike armour to go along with the Rakta update.[/p][p]Unfortunately I don't have any previews that show the final product as it is still under development, but I should have something ready for the next news.[/p][p]Stay tuned![/p][h2]Achievements[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]And now, a little surprise feature: Achievements will be added to the Rakta update! ːsteamsunnyː[/p][p]As opposed to the typical "grind to unlock" or "just play the game" type achievements, we tried to do something a bit more engaging with ours and turned a part of it into little scavenger hunt of sorts. [/p][p]You will still have a few "collect all xyz" type unlocks, but for most of our achievements we made them more easter-eggy, Players will not know the secret conditions of the unlocks, so you will have to play around, experiment, and try uncover hidden things to discover them. [/p][p]We set the conditions to be things that B&S fans will have an edge in knowing, either because they are long running community gags or they are classic B&S easter eggs. [/p][p]Can you find them all? ːpraisesunː[/p][h2]Release Date[/h2][p]The team are still bugfixing the update, and despite the appearance that it might be nearly ready, in reality some of the weapons still have big issues like collider issues and phasing due to their thin design.[/p][p]As such, we are really reluctant to give a solid release date because you never know how smoothly or not smoothly bugfixing will go. That said, we are feeling okay about giving a ballpark for now, and that ballpark is an October release.[/p][p]I will be able to confirm an exact date the closer we get to a release.[/p][p]--[/p][p]That's it for the Rakta news today, folks![/p]

[p]Hello mates! The Baron here, bringing you some cool news from the Warpfrog front after a little hiatus.[/p][p]The first thing I wanted to let everyone know is that Warpfrog are officially working on our next game![/p][p]It is way too early to do any kind of reveal, so we are going to keep this under our hats for now and keep cooking. Then in the future we can do a big reveal announcement or trailer, so that will be exciting. Oh and only because many will probably assume, I will nip it in the bud and tell you it is not Blade & Sorcery 2! ːtmntdonː [/p][p]However, what I can reveal is that the new game will share a lot of DNA with Blade & Sorcery and you will probably find it "feels like a Warpfrog game". Similar to B&S, our next game will be VR, physics-based simulation, as anti-gamey as possible, and super modder-friendly. It is shaping up to be cool! [/p][p]We are also going to be using our new and massively improved Thunder Road 2 game framework for developing this game, so it's a great opportunity for us to avoid the spaghetti code mistakes of Thunder Road 1; the largest obstacle that prevented us from doing any major expansions for Blade & Sorcery. ːsteamsadː [/p][p]So, with the team buckled down to work on the new video game, that brings me to Blade & Sorcery. [/p][p]It's been just over a year since 1.0 release and although there has been 7 post-1.0 patches, you will likely have heard me say many times how 1.0 was going to be our last content update... or was it? ːamadeus_happyː[/p][p]If you have been a follower of the studio, you will know Warpfrog has a terrible condition called scopecreep-itis, where we literally cannot leave things alone or follow our own production plans, lol.[/p][p]Therefore, I am here to announce the upcoming "Byeth Updates" for Blade & Sorcery![/p][p] [/p][h3]What are the Byeth Updates?[/h3][p]Byeth is the name of the planet on which Blade & Sorcery takes place.[/p][p]The Byeth Updates are going to be a series of 4 free content updates for PCVR and Nomad that expand upon the other nations of Byeth - Rakta, Sentara, Khar-Tib and Madlu - by bringing official canon weapons and armor from these nations into the game. [/p][p]If you own the game you will receive these updates as free content when they are ready.[/p][p]The first of the updates (The Rakta Update) will release later this year, likely towards the end of this year.[/p][p]The Sentara Update, Khar-Tib Update and Madlu Update will follow next year, leading all the way up to the end of 2026.[/p][p]\[New Rakta armour concept art][/p][p]We love, love, love Blade & Sorcery, the journey that brought us here, and the fanbase. As mentioned, it is really hard for us to step away, but Thunder Road has made it impossible to continue expanding significantly on Blade & Sorcery to the point that if we tried, you would end up with updates that were spaced a years apart and it would be unsustainable for the studio. [/p][p]However, as we are now entering a heavy development period for our new video game, we know we would feel bad to leave Warpfrog fans waiting long for something new to look forward to from the studio. [/p][p]We felt these content updates would be a feasible middle ground. Most of the Warpfrog team is working on the new title, but a small dedicated skeleton crew are staying behind to work on these B&S updates.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]What to expect[/h3][p]Things the updates will definitely include will be new canon-lore weapons and armour, representative of the other nations of Byeth. [/p][p]New gear will be purchasable in the Crystal Hunt shop and likely the shopkeeper will have a little lore to share in each update about how he came by them. You will also be able to freely access all the new gear in sandbox too of course. [/p][p]To go with this, it is likely that each update will also include some kind of little feature, and by "little" feature I mean something that won't be likely to cause mega bugs or break the game. So this means no massive overhauls or complex mechanics.[/p][p]\[Some untextured WIP weapon models for The Rakta Update][/p][p][/p][h3]The risks involved and what not to expect[/h3][p]Fans of Warpfrog will know, we explicitly try not to BS our players by over-promising for the sake of marketing and we actively try to underhype to temper expectations, so I wanna hit you guys with some information on what not to expect! [/p][p]These updates need to have a spec-ops level of precision and demonstrate restraint in what we can and cannot add; as mentioned before about the complexities of Thunder Road 1, adding any type of change to the game is an absolute nightmare right now - everything is excruciatingly slow to work with, and when you add one thing and it breaks ten other random things, so we have to be super careful here. Adding something new is like placing a block on top of an already wobbling Jenga tower.[/p][p]So with that said, what won't be included in the updates is anything feature heavy that could break the game. That means nothing like new dungeons, maps or major mechanics - the emphasis is going to be on weapons and armor type content. [/p][p]The goal here is to desperately avoid creating any instability where Warpfrog devs start getting pulled off the new game development to go back and fix newly created Blade & Sorcery bugs, as well as avoiding adding anything so code heavy that it causes a mod-apocalypse and nukes all mods.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]If you were a fan of the Crystal Hunt lore and collected the journal entries, you may already have an idea of what the other nations of Byeth are about. [/p][p]But for those who don't know, here is a little overview of who is who, which may also give a little window into what you might expect thematically from each update:[/p][h2]Eraden[/h2][p][/p][p]There is no "Eraden Update", but you can't talk about the nations of Byeth without mentioning Eraden since this is where the entirety of Blade & Sorcery takes place.[/p][p]Eraden is the despotic monarchy that stretches along the coast of the western continent of Byeth, featuring an ecologically diverse landscape that ranges from lush green lands, to more arid areas (Canyon) and even snowy mountains (Sanctuary).[/p][p]Aesthetically, Eraden was mainly inspired by medieval Western Europe; places like France, Ireland, etc, with a Celtic influence in the designs. However there was also inspiration from places like southern Spain.[/p][h2]Rakta[/h2][p][/p][p]The landscape of Rakta is harsh and dangerous; craggy and mountainous, with swampy lowlands, creating a hardy people. It is a feudal empire, ruled by a crystal-obsessed Emperor. In Raike culture, crystal sorcery is idolized and a part of daily life.[/p][p]Rakta is the greatest antagonists of Eraden; the Emperor's expansion into the northern agrarian lands of Eraden is driving the native Wildfolk south, creating strife with Eraden settlers. This is the backdrop to the Wildfolk faction in Crystal Hunt. [/p][p]The aesthetics for Rakta are inspired by an amalgamation of East Asian cultures.[/p][h2]Sentara[/h2][p][/p][p]Sentara is a compact merchant republic with a far reach due to their skilled mariners and traders. [/p][p]Trade brokering between all nations of Byeth but getting entangled in the politics of none has allowed the Sentara to punch far above its weight class diplomatically, and generate great wealth through unrestricted trade. [/p][p]Meanwhile, notorious pirate guilds flourish unchecked, filling in the market gaps through the distribution of illegal trade goods. This is the backdrop to the Outlaw faction in Crystal Hunt, as the Outlaws are seeking to secure and distribute crystal shards.[/p][p]The aesthetics for Sentara are inspired by Mediterranean maritime cultures, but with a heavy pirate influence.[/p][p]Fun fact: the shopkeeper from Crystal Hunt is Sentari![/p][h2]Khar-Tib [/h2][p][/p][p]Khar-Tib is not so much a single nation as it is dozens of micro-nations, each diverse in customs and laws, but symbolically held together by shared cultural ties. [/p][p]A blistering desert land, the clans of Khar-Tib have been historically led by local strongmen, typically those with strong ancestral roots to the clan. But recent events in Khar-Tib have created a new, rapidly-rising power; word is spreading of a powerful warlord who has managed to unite and organize the disjointed clans under one banner, creating a new existential threat to Eraden's position of power in Byeth. [/p][p]The aesthetics of Khar-Tib are inspired by Arabic cultures.[/p][h2]Madlu[/h2][h2] [/h2][p]Madlu is probably the closest living comparison to the Dalgarians; a culture that is highly magical, highly technological, and highly precautionary. [/p][p]Following the crystal corruption of their homeland, the Madene spent many years as a migratory people. Eventually, Madene refugees would settle on the northern continent, where their knowledge of crystal technologies afforded them survival against the dangers on the frozen tundras. [/p][p]Wishing to avoid a repeat of past mistakes, the Madene hold the crystal in great reverence, using it only out of necessity and as part of their technological survival. The use of personal crystal sorcery is strictly forbidden.[/p][p]The aesthetics of Madlu are inspired by African and Inuit cultures. [/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]The move to OpenXR and Unity 6[/h3][p]Coinciding with The Rakta Update but unrelated to the actual update itself, there is going to be a big technological change under the hood for Blade & Sorcery; the move to OpenXR and Unity 6. Though it is a big challenge for us, players won't actually notice it. However, it's still worth mentioning because it carries some mod risk.[/p][p]Why this has to happen - Unlike a regular PC game development, VR has the extra complication of needing to support many different headsets which involves endless plugins - Steam OpenVR, Meta SDK, Pico SDK, HTC SDK, etc, etc.[/p][p]Instead of supporting loads of different plugins, OpenXR standardizes everything. Manufacturers work with OpenXR so that the devs can get rid of all the individual plugins and just use OpenXR. ːpraisesunː[/p][p]It's critical we do this because it is the only way we can stay on top of the snowballing maintenance support required for the endless number of headsets B&S plays on.[/p][p]As for Unity 6, on top of receiving any new Unity bugfixes (at least you would hope... looking at you, Unity ːeagleangryː), OpenXR uses features from Unity 6, so it is compulsory for us.[/p][p]So this probably all sounds good, but here are the complications for mods -[/p][p]Moving to a new version of Unity means IL2CPP (aka scripting) will need to be updated. We will be working on this new scripting bridge, but you never know, there may be disruptions for scripting. Scripting is only relevant for Nomad, so this will only be relevant to Nomad players and not PCVR. Just mentioning it here because Nomad players read Steam news too.[/p][p]Any mods that use input controls may be impacted by OpenXR and need an update. Not sure exactly what mods are out there that do this, but a mod that utilizes knuckles controllers would be an example.[/p][p]Finally, Unity 6 will mean map mods will need updating - map modders would need to setup their navmesh with the NavMeshSurface component, configure, then rebake.[/p][p]And that is it! Everything else should be okay for mod, so not too bad but I just wanted to mention it all in advance nonetheless.[/p][hr][/hr][p]That's all for now, folks! [/p][p]Next you will hear from me is when The Rakta Update is more developed and I will be able to share some previews of the new content. I will likely have a better idea of when the update will drop around then too.[/p][p]Cheers![/p][p][/p]

Another little hotfix today, guys - this small fix is to address a problem some users were still having with mod.io authentication. This should iron out any remaining issues some folks were having.

Cheers!

[h3]Changelog - 1.0.7.682[/h3]

• Fixed bug with Mod Manager not remembering if the user accepted the terms of agreement when it reauthenticates with mod.io