Hey gladiators, not a massive update today ( working on the iOS/Android builds and also patching the Classic Collection and other games over the next week or so ) but a few bugs were brought to my attention, so I've done a patch tonight.

The major thing in this update is something I'd meant to do but forgot in all the chaos ( it's even mentioned in the stats info too ) - vitality/stamina were meant to restore a little health and essence every turn, like in classic S&S. A lot more if you rest of course. This is now working.

Cheers everyone, thanks for the feedback I truly appreciate it - remember I'm a solo developer and this is a complex beast, so I appreciate the reports on the forums! Those who instead just leaving snarky reviews and refund the game without giving me a chance to either fix things or reply, good riddance - that is not the way of the gladiator!

Anyway, enjoy my friends. Oli


V 1.1.1.A (March 30 2023):

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• You now regain a small amount health each turn based on how much vitality and stamina you have.
• All gladiators in multiplayer now start with the Noob armour set ( minus a helmet )
• Slightly nerfed the final dungeon boss stats

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Changed incorrect tooltip info on Joy in Sorrow talent (it should be 100% chance of proccing, not 50%)
• Fixed a bug where the Automatons failed to drop certain reward weapons on defeat

--- MULTIPLAYER CHANGES ---
• Potential fix for NPC bots in multiplayer stalling

--- MISC UPDATES ---
• Added Android Compatibility for Multiplayer Cross Platform Gameplay
• Fixed a bug where Boss Rush mode would only trigger when you defeated the Starbound Gladiator (instead of just facing them)
• Fixed a bug where only the player's maximum health was shown in the dungeon, not their current health.
• Fixed a bug where you could die from a single hit in a dungeon after visiting a First Blood Arena

Hey mighty gladiators!

With the game now complete and stable, I've now turned my attentions to getting the mobile builds of the game up and running ( for iOS/Android ). These builds will be 'cut down' versions of the main game , no dungeons, In App Purchases, you know, the usual hallmarks of the wild west that is mobile gaming.

The good news is, the Android build ( so far !) can take part in multiplayer battles cross platform against gladiators on Steam. You'll now see a little icon next to a gladiator's name in the lobby to symbolise whether they are on a PC or on a phone. Being able to fight cross platform should really open up to the doors to more and more battles as right now the lobbies don't have many players , as is the case for many small multiplayer games.

Expect the Android build in the coming weeks - this Steam build is *infinitely* superior to that one but it may serve well as a companion build when you're on the move.

Today's patch is by all comparisons a very minor update, but here are the patch notes.

Thanks for being with me on this great journey!

Cheers,
Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios

V 1.1.0.F (March 27 2023):
• Added Android Compatibility for Multiplayer Cross Platform Gameplay
• Fixed a bug where Boss Rush mode would only trigger when you defeated the Starbound Gladiator (instead of just facing them)
• All gladiators in multiplayer now start with the Noob armour set ( minus a helmet )
• Fixed a bug where the Automatons failed to drop certain reward weapons on defeat
• Slightly nerfed the final dungeon boss stats

Hey mighty gladiators, version 1.1.0.A is here, and it's a big patch!

Woah, where to start. Boss Rush Mode, at last - I always wanted to have some endgame content for those who defeated the Starbound Gladiator, and here it is. Once one of your gladiators has faced the final boss in the game (win or lose) that mode will unlock for you. If you've done this already, simply go to the Load Campaign screen, and click back and the Boss Rush will unlock - it just needs to check your saves.

This is an endless mode where you can face off all of the champions, one after the other in either linear or random order. They progressively get tougher and you will ultimately fall, the challenge is lasting as many rounds as you can. A bit of fun for those who have beaten everything else.

Also by popular demand, you can now bring (some) of your solo campaign gladiators into multiplayer. This is a one-way conversion but should be a fun addition for those wanting to test their great heroes against other real gladiators.

So, this update represents the end of the major post-launch updates. I've basically put everything in the game that I had intended to now. Of course, with a game like this you could add stuff forever, but the time eventually comes when (especially as a solo developer) you need to start moving onto new projects to keep the business going, to ensure you can keep making games and supporting the family.

Now and again a developer has a hit like Vampire Survivor and can work on it forever ( or never work again if they wish!) but when you're in that middle space of 'successful enough to do this fulltime' but 'not successful enough to not keep releasing games often' , like I am, you have to keep agile.

That of course does not mean I will be abandoning this game at all, it just means that I'll slow down the updates and probably do weekly maintenance updates for the next while. I do plan on doing a proper DLC update with more content down the track too, possibly end of the year - so this is far from the end of the road.

Here are the patch notes, enjoy!|

Cheers, Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios

V 1.1.0.A (March 24 2023):

--- NEW FEATURES ---
• Boss Rush Mode! This is a new game mode unlocked when any gladiator completes the game ( all you have to do is have fought the Starbound Gladiator , whether you won or not does not matter - either way the Boss Rush will unlock.) The game will scan your saved gladiators when you first click "Load Gladiator" to check and see if one qualifies.
• Boss Rush Mode allows you to select any gladiator and take part in a challenge where they face every arena in the game, one after the other in combat. Much like the "Survival Round" arena rules, you cannot regain armour or heal between battles. This game mode never ends, the challenge is seeing just how far you can get!
• You can now load Single Player campaign gladiators to Multiplayer gladiators ( Full Launch version or later, no Early Access gladiators can be converted unfortunately ). This is a *ONE WAY* conversion that can be done at any time after creating your gladiator, so you can then use them to fight in multiplayer battles.

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Removed 999 essence cap on skills ( no maximum cost now )
• Increased all essence regeneration by 30%
• Hardy talent increased to 60% ( up from 30% )
• Salute of honour enrage removed
• Fixed a bug where Virtuoso did could potentially do less damage than intended on bosses
• Sword , Axe, Bow, Club and Polearm Mastery are now 3% per point up from 2%
• Increased damage done by two handed melee weapons
• Slightly increased the damage done by bows
• Leap of Lions move distance is now tied to your strength
• Reduced cooldown on Ghost Strike to 4 turns
• Reduced essence cost of default attacks slightly
• Adjusted skill essence costs across the board

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Laser gun is now treated as a two handed weapon
• Better randomization on which limb is lost in battle
• Fixed a bug where Combat Ready talent did not work in Single Player campaign
• Overload talent now functions as designed

--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where learning a skill on multiplayer mode would take you back to shop selection and not the Training Dummy

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug with XP percent showing 0%
• Fixed an bug where characters could select subclasses not allowed by their species
• Fixed a bug where you could keep fighting even past the final hours of the day at camp.
• Adventures will no longer spawn on the overworld map from day 298 onward.
• Switched the positions of Observatories 2 and 3 on the map
• Alignment now shows on Load Character panel
• Undead can now select hair/beards in character creation

Hey gladiators! Another big patch today, V1.0.6.A ! This patch represents probably the second or third last of the 'big post launch patches' until I park the game for a while and let it breathe.

I never quite got around to doing 'everything' I wanted for the game by launch date ( in a game like this you could add content forever ) and there was a few subclasses I never quite got built. So, here they are - they are a little experimental at this stage and may find themselves buffed / nerfed depending on player feedback - but we have 6 cool new subclasses with their own unique talents, from tough Pit Brawlers to the most useless of them all, the Fool!

By popular demand I've coded up a very simple minimap to help you find your way around dungeons too. There are also some more multiplayer syncing fixes and lots of bugfixes , so this is a good patch I think.

Cheers all , thanks for all the great feedback on the game so far. Almost done!

Oliver Joyce
Whisekybarrel Studios

V 1.0.6.B (March 21 2023):

--- NEW FEATURES ---
• Six new subclasses , one for each character class. Pit Brawler, Dark Paladin, Spellblade, Zen Monk, Thug and Fool.
• Six new talents , one for each new subclass.
• Added a simple mini-map to the dungeon for easier navigation
• Added a Clear Achievements Button to the Settings panel - this will clear your earned achievements (locally only, not on Steam) so you can trigger them again. Use this if you found you were unable to trigger an achievement on Steam for whatever reason and want to try again - the Steam achievements will *NOT* be cleared online, just your own local record of them.

--- MULTIPLAYER CHANGES ---
• You can now visit any level room regardless of what level your gladiator is.
• More potential fixes for de-syncing battles
• Yield skill removed from multiplayer ( too buggy for now )

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Fixed a bug where Know Thy Sword used the enemy's talent tree to calculate whether to add damage or not
• Grave Pact now clears all status effects when used
• Simplified Whirlwind as it was too buggy / exploitable / underused. It's now just a more powerful Barbarian Storm, there are no longer multiple turn charge ups etc
• Meaty Burp now treated as sonic damage and not necrotic
• Doubled the Paladin's holy damage talent
• Fixed Aria of Respite so it regains 50% of essence not 40%
• Dark Paladins and Thugs can only ever be evil and gain no good alignment points (can never spare enemy).
• Paladins and Zen Monks can only ever be good and gain no evil alignment points ( can never slay enemy).

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• "Hits in a row" as used by Ultimate Warrior now only refers to physical attacks , not spells etc
• Increased weapon range of polearms slightly
• Added a Fight Selector button to the end of regular battles so you can skip the battle caravan and return straight to select a new fight
• Fixed a bug where Gaseous Wind did not proc with the Trickster Ability
• Fixed a bug where Combat Ready was reversed ( lowered your chance of going first instead of adding ! )
• Fixed a bug where regular attacks ("quick/normal/power") etc didn't target arms
• Fixed a bug where Spiritual Hammer didn't show attack chance

--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---
• Blueprints no longer generate talents that can go above the max talent level ( eg you can no longer get an "Ultimate Warrior + 2" ) blueprint
• Fixed a bug where final resale amount returned was lower than the amount on the button
• Capes are now listed under Chest armour when searching for items

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Gladiators of greater than a certain height now appear smaller in the portrait window so you can see their heads
• Extra Chinese language translation
• Reworked some boss character subclasses to use the new character subclasses

Hey guys, just a quick hotfix this morning before I work on the bigger 1..0.6 patch later today / tomorrow. This one mainly fixes the multiplayer battles issue where it would say one gladiator did not have a weapon equipped after they had equipped an enchanted weapon.

--- MULTIPLAYER CHANGES ---
• HOPEFULLY - Fix for battles not starting because of enemy gladiators not appearing with their equipped weapons

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Meaty Burp, Fart and I Am Fartacus now properly have the chance of proccing with the Jester's Trickster skill
• This Is Brandor now has a 4 turn cooldown and works with a ranged weapon equipped

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where reward panel items appeared offset
• Fixed a bug where magical reward weapons from Champions did not appear
Fixed a bug where the All Hallows event ended prematurely at 199 days rather than 249

Hey mighty gladiators, too tired for detailed explanation of patch notes ( long weekend but got a few hours in tonight ) , but check it out and I hope it provides a few fixes for some of the reported issues.

Big week next week, the last 'real week' of big updates before I park the game and let it breathe for a while.

Cheers Oli

Patch Notes V 1.0.5.N March 19 2023)

--- MULTIPLAYER CHANGES ---
• More anti-cheat measures
• Battle Intro screen now includes tiny version number so I can see what version players are on if I need to debug
• Proper warning text in Battle Intro now tells you if either you or your enemy has no weapon equipped and cannot do battle.

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• All gladiators in single player mode now start off with at least 10 stars
• Ultimate Warrior Talent nerfed to +10% per hit in a row ( down from 20%)

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Shadows and Dust movement now scales slightly with agility

--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---
• Potential fix for low value items

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• You can now add blueprints and runes to Unique items.
• Removed common armour/weapon items from boss rewards
• Most recently created gladiators now show up first in the load panel
• Multiplayer characters no longer show up to load in single player load game menu and vice versa
• Fixed offset position of King Lionel's weapon

Hey gladiators, there was some issues that arose from the most recent patch just around loading savegames crashing. Hopefully this patch fixes it but if not I'll have something else later tonight.

V 1.0.5.H March 18 2023):

This patch *should* fix some savegame corruption issues that have arisen since V1.0.4. Fingers crossed.

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Fixed a bug where you sometimes were shown the defeat screens on victories after loading a character
• "Hopeless" spirit type no longer triggers in multiplayer
• Status effects should no longer remain after battles in multiplayer mode

--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where the Alterations panel charged you for armour/skin alterations even if you hadn't selected any
• Extra checks on incorrect value items appearing in shops

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Added gladiator's power score to load game panel
• Potential fix for single player characters exiting to multiplayer lobby on end fight

Hey mighty gladiators, the last big patch for the week. I'm not working this weekend so don't expect any major changes over the next 2 days or so but if anything catastrophic happens with this update, I'll be sure to hotfix it as best I can.

Firstly, apologies for the rapid rate of updates - to tell the truth, there was a lot of stuff I wanted to get into the game before the launch but honestly I had set a deadline and just ran out of time. So all these patches are just there to improve the game, continue to balance and bugfix it based on your suggestions.

This patch includes some cool new gradient options for your gladiators ( visit the tavern !) so you can make them look more like the Arena Champions. The armour gradients will override the colours for magical armour, just be aware, but I think that's kind of cool, makes the gladiator look much more streamlined I think.

Finally too, a fix for the dungeon softlocks when you ran into walls! Plus a bunch of other changes, Sellsword changed to Ronin , and more.

The patches will slow down a lot in a week's time or so as I'm nearly finished with what I wanted to add in and the game is pretty much complete ( until I do a DLC some day !) , but be sure to hit me up in the Steam Forums with feedback on balancing and so on - I really appreciate it ( especially rather than just long posts and thumbs down reviews, they do nothing to help ensure the longevity of the game, so you can stop with those - ha!)

Anyway gladiators, enjoy the new customization options and see you in the arena!

Cheers, Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios

V 1.0.5.A (March 17 2023):

--- NEW FEATURES ---
• New special skin gradient and armour gradients for players! You can now customize your gladiator so all their armour will appear uniformally the same colour you choose. You can also add special skin gradients to further make your gladiator look unique. Visit the Tavern Keeper's Alterations panel to find out more.

--- MULTIPLAYER CHANGES ---
• Serverside stability issues - these will remain ongoing in the days ahead to fix issues with gladiators who have trouble re-logging in after going AFK , desyncing etc. Stay tuned.

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Defence stat now increased to 1.1 per point (up from 1.0)
• Quick/medium/power attack base hit chance increased by 5%
• Increased all damage done by two handed melee weapons (not ranged/guitars)
• I Am Fartacus talent changed to do damage and knock back your enemy ( no poison, acts as taunt with taunt bonuses)
• Meaty Burp talent changed to do damage and stun your enemy for a turn ( same as Fartacus, acts as taunt)
• Man At Arms talent changed (too buggy) to give you 40% physical resistance to start the game.
• Arcane Blast and Flame Hands now scale with Intellect (not Charisma, was a bug leftover from when Charisma scaled magic damage)
• Reduced Little Fat Kid hit chance to 25% base (down from 60)
• Sellsword class has been replaced by Ronin
• Ronin's talent Know Thy Sword increases physical damage when fighting with any sword by 33%.
• Fighter's Combatant Talent increased to 25% (up from 20)
• Increased scaling agility damage of Shadows and Dust and Ghost Strike
• Increased Salute of Honour hit chance to 40% base up from 33%
• Increased Salute of Honour's damage and added Intimidate effect to it
• Lowered Heart of Fear's cooldown to 6 turns from 9

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Alignment penalties no longer apply if you cause a limb loss fatality in the heat of combat.
• Fixed a bug where modifiers could move a dice roll below 1
• Fixed bug where certain talent defence chances were not being added / shown in tooltips
• Fixed a bug where Simulcrums did not have their holographic shader
• Fixed up inconsistencies in Spirit Effect cutscenes with Battle Poet

--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where some shop items were cheaper on reload
• Fixed a bug where you could get softlocked if you pressed the 'talents' button after resetting all your talents

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where the game could softlock if you were using the mouse buttons to move around in the dungeon and you hit a wall. (Also, remember you can also move with the ASDWQE keys, much faster!)
• Doomtrek Portal Stars cost now maxxes out at 40 Stars.
• Fixed a bug where Doomtrek was offered as a teleport option by the LFK
• Replaced Whispering Farnsey's sonic Claymore with a lightning based Claymore
• Fixed a bug where Emperor Cygnus was not wielding his Honour's Edge blade
• Extra anti-cheat measures on before battle screen
• Fixed a bug where Cycladians showed a white glowing eye instead of a red one if unholy

Hey gladiators, today's patch is not as earth shattering and interesting as yesterday's monster, but still contains some important updates to the game.

First and foremost is a new load game system ( see notes )- it loads slower , especially if you have tons more gladiators, but it is WAY more reliable as there's no way of it losing the files in your saved directory anymore like some users reported happening.

Secondly, I hope this update fixes some of the de-sync issues people have had ( where you won't see the battle ready button in the before battle screen , see the notes below ). The multiplayer fixes are a work in progress, there's also some serverside stuff we need to fix too, especially if your character goes AFK for a long period of time you can still be locked out of the game - dont delete your character in that case, will find a solution at some point soon hopefully.

There's also some other fixes to hitchance from talents etc and prettying up of the tooltips from yesterday.

Enjoy!
Cheers, Oli


V 1.0.4.A (March 16 2023):

--- NEW FEATURES ---
• Redid how loading characters work. It now scans your directory for save games, rather than relying on data based in the settings file. (Players were finding they were losing gladiators if they removed/cleared their settings file) , this way is much more robust - but you will find it is slower to display all your loaded gladiators if you have a lot ( it now has to cycle through them manually , a small price to pay for the increased security/stability)
• Added new Automaton voice set to Automaton masters ( several of them will use it )
• Replaced some arena champion voice sets to more appropriate ones
• Hit chance stats are now colourized for easier viewing

--- MULTIPLAYER CHANGES ---
• Potential fix for enemy armour/weapons not loading before battle ( this is when you don't see the 'Battle Ready' button, it won't let you fight if that is the case. This new version hopefully is better synced.
• Save and Exit now takes you back to the Title Screen. This is still a work in progress and may cause reconnection issues but I'm working on it!

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Replaced Iron Will Talent so it now gives Physical Resistance (the only talent in the game to do this) - basically reducing physical damage (melee weapons etc) by 12% per point
• Galvanized buff now affects all healing, not just rest amount

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Fixed some incorrect hit chance displays in the tooltip ( the final number was correct, just not the text summary )
• Fixed enemy defend chance being capped at 100 , now only final attack hit chance is capped between 0 and 90.

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Xor Gogris arena changed to Survival / First Blood combo ( from 15 turn time limit )