As all things must, the year is soon coming to an end. However, that does not mean it has to be a time of dourness and darkness! Especially since another Haste update is here!
The team is working on a slightly bigger update, but they wanted to get this out the door while they finish what they're cooking up.
In addition to the usual bug fixes, this update has a special focus on tweaks to the various User Interfaces in the game, which is what makes this the Wrapping Paper update!
However, first there is one gameplay change I need to address. All Cooldown Reduction items now reduce a percentage of Cooldowns (-X%), rather than absolute values (-X seconds).
Now, before you get your pitchforks out because we've ruined Atomic Timepiece synergies, this doesn't actually change much for how these items interact with items with short Cooldowns. However, it makes a huge difference for how they interact with items with long Cooldowns! It results in Cooldown Reduction items being a lot more useful than before, when they were reliant on getting one of a handful of extremely powerful synergies.
For the UI updates, we have worked hard to make them more accommodating to the variety of screen sizes and resolutions out there, as well as to make them overall nicer to look at. If we're being honest, some of them were put together in quite a slapdash fashion, and gradually built up as the game has kept evolving since release. This was a chance to improve the feel of the game in a lot of little, subtle ways.
Personally, I think it has resulted in a more pleasant experience, even if I don't spend much time thinking about it!
The Shard Settings view has received a significant overhaul, with a top-to-bottom look that makes it easier to parse:
The Fragment Descriptions and Disruption notifications now look more coherent with the rest of the game's aesthetics:
A lot of other views have been adjusted, so play through and see if you notice a difference!
Balance:
Cooldown Reduction Items now reduce a percentage of other items' total Cooldown, rather than absolute values.
Fixes:
Sparks now stay where they are supposed to in Boss Fragments again
The game no longer soft locks when completing a Shard without the UI enabled (oooops)
Having too many items will no longer make the pause screen inventory go off-screen
Item Tooltip cards can no longer go off-screen (a common problem on lower resolutions)
The version number on the main menu now stays anchored to the logo no matter the aspect ratio
UI:
Improved Steam Deck (and other small screen) UI sizing overall
Updated the Shard Settings view
Updated the Antisparks Upgrade view
Updated the All-Time Stats view
Updated the Unlocked Items view
Updated the Hungry Weeboh view
Updated the Multiplayer Invite window
Updated the multiplayer Player List
Updated the PostGameScreen view
Updated the Fragment Description view
Updated several notifications, including the Fragment Disruption notification
Of course as usual we have a selection of very cool Community Art to show off, too!
Banane42 with this awesome Zoe Pixel art animation
Starboydave made me !!! And this beautiful Zoe hat !!! SO COOL !!
And of course, we can't finish the year without more Ishtheva art!