VALHALL: Harbinger News

[h2]Vikings![/h2]

We've been working on some very special features, but unfortunately we haven't been able to solve all the issues that come with them for this patch. They will arrive in future updates. We won't hype them up too much now with the details, but here's a hint.



* The GIF above shows work in progress. It's not included in the current patch yet but will be available in future updates and will have a more polished look.

In addition to combat improvements, we have building upgrades on the way. You will be able to build freely even crazy structures without the current limitations and with new elements. That will most likely be available in the next patch.

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. As usual, we have made tweaks based on it in this patch. If you find it difficult to reach the 10th wave in the Arena to reach Mjolnir and would like to play with it more, let us know.

Let's take a look at what today's Pre-Beta 0.9.8 patch brings!


[h2]Combat Improvements[/h2]

Procedural animations have been stabilized. This means that attacks have slightly more weight, are more controllable, and for those who thought the wrist movement was weird, it has become less shaky. We're still planning to make the swings a bit longer with other changes.

Equip-unequip animations are now much faster, which brings more dynamics to the field. You can now switch weapons more easily during a fight.

We fixed some dodge distance mismatches. The foot kick wound decalss have also been fixed.

Dead body ragdolls are now interactable with weapons.

In Deathmatch, health has been adjusted, so you kill and die faster now.


[h2]Parry Upgrade[/h2]



When you successfully parry an attack, your enemy cannot attack for a short time, but you can attack immediately.

We improved the block animation to cover a larger area. We are also considering shortening the time needed to activate the block after pressing the button.

We made some tweaks to the stamina balance so that block stamina doesn't drain as quickly.


[h2]More Wave Diversity[/h2]

Battle Arena now has more diverse enemy wave combinations.

Enemies now have slightly more health than before, which allows for more reactions from them but they are not too difficult to kill as there is not only one opponent. It may be a bit harder to kill them, but there are fewer opponents at the same time in most waves.


[h2]Map Improvements[/h2]

The Survival map has received visual updates. The mountains have been adjusted slightly, foliage materials have been improved to be more organic in the whole picture, the fog has been improved, and floating trees have been fixed.

The Arena now has updated collision, hits and ragdolls will make contact with objects more naturally.

The time before dead bodies disappear has been reduced per game mode, which positively impacts performance in certain cases.

Sharp shadow glitches that were mostly visible on foliage have been fixed.

The tree regrow time has been adjusted and now takes much more time.


[h2]Addressing the Shore Problem[/h2]

We know that getting out of the water is still problematic. Getting out of the lake should be much easier now. Shore has got little improvement, we will introduce a full solution in the next patch.


[h2]Building Object View Distance Fix[/h2]

Some building objects had issues with the view distance, but now they are fixed and won't disappear in a strange way.


We hope these improvements feel better and you enjoy it.


Skål!
Blackrose Arts

[h2]Vikings![/h2]

Just a hotfix for Pre-Beta 0.9.7 that addresses the issue of the days and seasons cycle not working properly.

Additionally, it fixes some glitches such as flickering fog and optimizes game disk space.

Skål!
Blackrose Arts

[h2]Vikings![/h2]

Today we have one more significant update!

First, we have improved combat and addressed various aspects mentioned in your latest feedback. Controlling attacks is now much easier, camera shakes can be adjusted using a slider, archers have been nerfed, and enemies are now more enjoyable to kill, among other improvements.

Our Deathmatch servers are now back online, you can fight with your friends.

The first iteration of the promised Survival map upgrade is here. It is larger and works on the UE5 World Partition system, which loads the world by chunks. Despite the increased size and updated appearance, there are some performance enhancements. All trees and stumps are now choppable, and the foliage is interactable, allowing your character to "touch the grass", among other changes.



Speaking of combat, this patch improves the experience a lot. However, we are preparing some exciting completely new features for upcoming updates. It's worth noting that the circle control system, which may feel a bit weird to some players at the moment, is still unfinished. It is a part of the features we are preparing, here's a sneak peek:



* The GIF above demonstrates a new physics control feature that is currently in development. It is not included in the current patch but will be available in future updates and will have a more polished look.

Now, let's take a look at the Pre-Beta 0.9.7 patch!


[h2]Fixed Deathmatch multiplayer[/h2]

The Deathmatch servers are now back online. We have addressed the multiplayer issues that arose after the recent combat updates. The experience should now feel more responsive and smoother as well.


[h2]Combat control upgrade[/h2]

There are many systems that influence the feel of combat control, and we continue to improve them. In this patch, it is now much easier to aim your attacks while in motion and keep your opponent in view. We have also added the ability to control your movement during special attacks and dodges. The Circle UI is now turned off by default, but you can switch it on in the options.


[h2]Camera shakes intensity slider[/h2]

We conducted a poll on camera shake intensity previously, but now we have the ultimate solution: the slider option. You can adjust it to your liking!


[h2]Dodge upgrade[/h2]

We have adjusted the system to allow for different dodges for each direction and added more animations. Additionally, we have implemented a small cooldown to prevent spamming and fixed the issue with dodging during a jump.


[h2]Block upgrade[/h2]

We have increased the speed of the next hit after a successful block and made the character move slower during it. We have also fixed the issue with blocking not working after a clash.


[h2]More hit reactions[/h2]

Added more hit reactions for different parts of the body.


[h2]FOV slider[/h2]

Now you can adjust the field of view if you need.


[h2]Enemy AI improvements[/h2]

The AI now feels more lively and has received a stats upgrade that changes the feel of fight. As many players requested, archers have become easier targets. We have also adjusted the arrow hits to be less deadly.


[h2]Arena waves adjustment[/h2]

We have adjusted the types of enemy waves and their quantity to make it easier to reach Mjolnir (the 10th wave) and to enhance the overall gameplay experience. Should be more fun now.


[h2]Survival map upgrade[/h2]

This is the first iteration of a series of coming upgrades to this map. There are mountains, fjords, fields. The map is large, and some areas may appear empty, but we will be filling them. Some content such as warrior hiring will return in future updates. Performance has improved.



All trees, stumps, and rocks can now be chopped or gathered without exception.

If you encounter any issues, you may need to restart the save. Thank you for understanding.




[h2]Chopping upgrade[/h2]

The timber axe is no longer limited to two angles, and it has been improved to feel like it sticks to the tree. Additionally, its hit collisions have been corrected to make chopping easier.


[h2]Fixed water[/h2]

There were several water-related bugs, such as the game losing track of water in certain areas, causing players to walk underwater. We have fixed these issues, so walking underwater should no longer be a problem. Additionally, swiming in random map point bug shouldn't be possible anymore. However, we know that swimming can still be a bit strange at times, we are working to improve it.


[h2]Fixed ship not spawning or drawning at spawn[/h2]

Spawning a ship should no longer be a problem. However, we are aware that there are still other issues with the ship that need to be fixed.


[h2]Fixed incorrect drop[/h2]

Animals used to drop incorrect items instead of meat and fat, but this has been corrected now.


[h2]Fixed foot kick issues[/h2]

Previously, when kicking with a foot, a bloody trail would appear on the weapon, and when chopping a tree or mining a stone, the leg would also give resources. These issues have been fixed now.


[h2]Fixed lack of blood effects from stabbing and special attacks[/h2]

This includes effects, wounds and ground decals.


As always, thanks a lot for your feedback guys. Hope these improvements feel better and you enjoy this update!


Skål!
Blackrose Arts

[h2]Vikings![/h2]

We're excited to announce that our game has made the transition to Unreal Engine 5!



This upgrade brings a lot of significant improvements to the game. Some of the benefits you can feel today, while others will become available in the future.

Players can now experience a whole new level of graphics. To fully take advantage of these new visuals, we recommend to check out the new graphics settings that have been added.



This patch will reinstall the entire game, so please be aware that this process may take some time. The existing saves should remain, but if you encounter issues, please clear them. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

We've taken care of most of the problems that came up during the transition, but there may still be some remaining issues or performance instabilities that we will work to improve. The Survival map will also see significant updates in the future utilizing the capabilities of UE5.

UE5 makes possible an unprecedented level of detail and we will use its power to change our building system and add a variaty of elements. Nanites will allow placing a big amount of them without killing performance.



Certain elements of the combat system, such as camera animations, were temporarily removed during the transition. Also, some animations may currently be stuttering in multiplayer. However, the upcoming patches will prioritize and greatly improve the combat experience with the new features that will be added.

Patch Pre-Beta 0.9.5 is here, let's take a look!


[h2]Transition to Unreal Engine 5[/h2]

Next-gen Unreal Engine 5.1 features such as Nanite, Lumen, Virtual Shadow Maps, and Temporal Super Resolution are now available in the game.

We recommend to experiment with these new graphics settings to find the perfect balance between visual quality and performance for your hardware.

Nanite provides highly-detailed geometry rendered from millions of polygons without huge performance impact. DirectX12 is required to run Nanite.

Lumen provides real-time global illumination and high-quality ray traced reflections on glossy materials and water.

Virtual Shadow Maps enable highly detailed shadowing. Every leaf and modeled detail will cast a shadow, and the self-shadowing of characters is extremely precise.

TSR is an upgrade over Temporal Anti-Aliasing, a high-quality upsampling technique.

FSR is currently not available as we are waiting for it to be updated to UE5.1.

Going forward, players on PC will need to use Windows 10 or a higher version in order to play the game natively. Windows 7 and 8 will no longer be officially supported.

The graphics is one aspect of the transition, but it is not the only one - the physics, destructions, and all future updates will take advantage of the capabilities of UE5.


[h2]New Arena[/h2]












[h2]New Deathmatch[/h2]

The Loki's Maze Deathmatch mode has been replaced with a requested more traditional arena-based Deathmatch mode. The Loki's Maze feature will be updated and re-introduced in a new form in the Survival mode.


[h2]Improved basic lighting in Survival[/h2]

We received a lot of feedback that the lightning during different weather conditions was too dark. We've made it brighter, so that storms should no longer cause complete darkness. The lighting during overcast and rainy weather has also been improved. Overall, the lightning and post-processing has been enhanced. We will continue to make further improvements.


[h2]Almost all stones can be collected[/h2]



You can now destroy and collect most of the stones on the map. Large rocks and small stones cannot be collected using a pickaxe.


[h2]Main menu update[/h2]




[h2]Parkour on built objects[/h2]




[h2]Fixed quests issues[/h2]

The problems preventing the completion of the assault quest and sending the player to the end of the map have been resolved. If the issue persists, a save restart may be required.


We would like to thank you for your support and patience as we work to improve the game. We appreciate your feedback and participation in the form from the game. We can't wait for you to see what's next!


Skål!
Blackrose Arts

[h2]Vikings![/h2]

Today we have great news, we haven't mentioned it before, but we are finishing up the transition to Unreal Engine 5.

And this Valhall upgrade will be already available in the next patch!

What's to come is just mind-blowing. Next-gen graphics, a larger and more optimized world, improved physics and much more.



Despite how it looks, your computer won't explode, the visuals and optimizations stay balanced.






The electricity situation here in Ukraine is hard, but we keep pushing progress and the updates ahead will be significant. Today's patch is not very big, but some of you will definitely like it.

Patch Pre-Beta 0.9.3 is here, let's take a look!


[h2]Better dodge[/h2]

Dodge got accurate movement instead of instantaneous, updated animation, smoother blending, lower stamina cost. You can see it in the GIF above.


[h2]Hit reaction update[/h2]

New body parts based hit response with extra movement and longer recovery.


[h2]FOV adaptation[/h2]

FOV now adapts to screen resolution. On the ultra-wide monitor, the field of view was distorted and uncomfortable to play, now it is as it should be.


[h2]Unstuck feature[/h2]

A useful feature for when you accidentally get stuck somewhere, we've heard feedback that this is not uncommon.

Firstly, there is now an "Unstick" button in the pause menu, which will help your character get out. What is important, it does not just teleport you forward, but takes into account the environment and does not let you into locked places, for example, houses.

In addition, in some cases, it automatically detects the stuck position and helps you without need to press the button.




[h2]Fixed random parkour and character flying[/h2]

Yes, parkour caused many problems, this time almost all of them should be fixed and your character should no longer fly erratically.


[h2]Additional improvements[/h2]

UI adjustments. Added Command wheel rebinding.


Thanks to everyone for sharing their feedback and filling out the form from the game.


May the upcoming holiday season bring happiness and joy to you!


Skål!
Blackrose Arts