Patch 0.6.0 - Unleashing the Playtest Build. Steel yourselves for the climb!

Greetings Swordsmen!

In preparation for the third playtest going live on the 30th of September, Patch 0.6.0 has been deployed to the playtest build, here are all the changes alongside the trailer:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Gameplay Features & Mechanics[/h2]
[h3]Loot & NPC Updates:[/h3]

• Added loot tables for All NPCs and Chests in the Tower.
  
• NPCs have a chance to drop loot crystals.
  
• Looting players' unbanked items when harvesting their soul crystals after killing them in the tower.
  
• Chest loot quality scales up over time if not looted.
  
• Time loss on death in the tower now scales based on progress depth.
  

[h3]New Tower Area:[/h3]

• A major new section was added to the tower, larger than existing areas, and interconnected with other parts.
  
• Several new NPC types were introduced, including a new Mini-Boss.
  
• New spike traps added.
  
• All new NPCs give reasonable tower time when killed.
  

[h3]Crafting System:[/h3]

• Added crafting stations in the tower for infusing crystals with essence.
  
• Added a shard merging station to turn lesser shards into minor shards.
  
• Void storage crafting station introduced, allowing access to banked items.
  
• Added a new crafting area in the T2 dungeon for working with 2nd-tier materials.
  
• User Interface & Visuals
  

[h3]UI Updates:[/h3]

• Updated tower climb server select screen with a brief explanation of tower mechanics (UI aesthetics to be improved).
  
• Fixed UI bug with dodge cooldown not displaying properly.
  
• Improved error handling for interactions with Steam inventory (more useful offline information).
  
• Fixed a display issue in the summary popup when runs end with zero essence.
  

[h3]Visual Effects:[/h3]

• Added VFX/SFX for activating secrets.
  
• Upgraded all animations to use the new 5.4 Engine retargeting and foot placement system, and redid the idle animations for improved realism.
  
• Upgraded textures with nanite tessellation.
  
• Added new VFX for chests and coffins, optimized for better performance.
  
• Redesigned chest smoke and coffin VFX.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]
[h3]General Bug Fixes:[/h3]

• Fixed camera clipping during emotes.
  
• Fixed navmesh bug causing NPCs to get stuck on the staircase outside the puppeteer room.
  
• Fixed bugs with barrier and bind statues not respawning or dimming properly.
  
• Fixed various map issues, such as floating objects and misaligned textures.
  
• Addressed a rare crash that could occur when switching levels.
  

[h3]Server & Networking Fixes:[/h3]

• Fixed server transfer issues with players following friends through red portals but not spawning within the same spawn point.
  
• Improved server performance, including optimizations for kata orbs, lights, and candles.
  
• Fixed a server maintenance notification bug.
  
• Added error handling for potential network errors during dungeon traversal.
  

[h3]Steam API Fixes:[/h3]

• Addressed retry handling for Steam API failures in specific cases.
  
• Resolved issue where Steam inventory service wouldn’t load item quantities correctly for players with over 65,000 items.
  

[h2]Optimizations[/h2]
[h3]Performance Enhancements:[/h3]

• Fixed performance issues with particle system culling, significantly boosting performance.
  
• Optimized dedicated server performance for kata balls and particle systems.
  
• Improved FPS in busy dungeon areas by optimizing lights and candle effects (switched to Niagara effects).
  
• Added tesselation toggle, with tesselation now defaulted to on for new users.
  

[h3]Hotfixes:[/h3]

• Removed heterogeneous smoke volumes on coffins and chests that caused FPS drops, but the rework of chest smoke VFX is pending.
  
• Disabled corpse smoke VFX for improved performance and aesthetics.
  
• Adjusted AI to better punish players who stun themselves with reckless kiai.
  

[h3]Decoration & Polish:[/h3]

• Ongoing work on adding small details, trim, and baseboards to various areas of the tower and dungeons.
  
• Still decorating new tower areas—missing wall decorations and baseboards.
  
• Future work includes polishing crafting stations and finalizing features for upcoming playtests.
  

[h3]Miscellaneous:[/h3]

• Made the jump in the new starting area easier to take.
  
• Fixed a mispositioned collider in the tutorial area.
  

And that concludes our sneak peek of Patch 0.6.0, don't forget you can still sign up for the playtest via the Store page.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2321890/Swordai/