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Soulframe Preludes 6


[DE]Sarah

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May you learn some taste, besides... Enchanté! The Witch Verminia can now be discovered in a work-in-progress state to the south of Fort Curlail. Be wary of Synod’s stormrider, who lingers in the clouds above...

Note: In co-op, clients may not see Verminia in their own Nightfold until entering their own solo session in some instances, even after completing the quest to discover her. Verminia will appear in Nightfold once you leave the host's session. We are currently investigating this issue.

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Combat continues to undergo reworks, focusing on smoother transitions, improved hit reactions, and enhanced visual and mechanical clarity of attacks. Expect less sliding, reduced clipping, and more grounded, connected movement, with refined root motion warping tied to lock-on targeting. AI combat has seen improvements, with enhanced ragdoll physics and increased responsiveness and fluidity for grunt Ode enemies.

  • Long Blades (such as Sollos-I) and Oryn-Umbr have been tuned and retouched for enhanced combat presentation, including animation and visual clarity. Other weapon types will receive similar updates in time!
  • Blue Ode soldiers received updates to their attack and stagger animations, while other enemies share similar staggering behaviours while they wait for their own unique animations.

Newly discovered secrets have emerged within the many cracks and caves underneath Midrath. Explore the Glades to stumble upon various new puzzles within these locations. Hint: These puzzles currently can be found only near the well you first discover a certain Sproutfolk...

New Sparrow’s Tales! Beware of increased Sinecure encounters in Alca’s dungeons:

  • The Dermak Undercity:
    • Fell the Mighty: Slay the Banneret
    • Spoilt Plunder: Clear the dungeon
    • Treasures Yet Uncovered: Retrieve a relic of Dermak
  • Glades of Andurin:
    • Synod’s Finest: Slay the Banneret and their patrol
    • Mock Nor Moan: Destroy the Ode n’ Moaners and Mockeries
    • Treasures Yet Uncovered: Retrieve an Andurian artifact

Keep those eyes peeled, Envoys... The winds have blown helpful hints throughout Alca! Collect these parchments to unlock the new Notes section in the Codex. These Notes will guide you toward discovering Ancestors and uncovering other hidden secrets in the world.

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Using Spectral Sight now automatically absorbs Arcanic Flow! Keep careful watch for enemies who may bear their souls...

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General Additions & Improvements:

  • Added Fragment previews to Tuvalkane’s crafting menu.
  • Added descriptions for Joineries and resources.
  • Added new areas to the Dermak Undercity and improved overall Undercity navigation.
  • Added Inverse Kinematics to Envoy foot placement.
  • Added new Bannerettes to Midrath encounters, while the existing Bannerettes have been relocated to the new Sparrow’s Tales.
  • Added a pulsing glow effect to Idol UI when ready to use.
  • Added stats to items being sold in Avakot’s Got’s.
  • Added a “No Items to Sell” screen when Envoys have no items available in the “Sell” tab at Avakot’s Gots.
  • Improved animations, sounds, and overall behaviour of Mockeries.
  • Improved Fragment, Rank Up, and Encounter HUD.
  • Improved Lady Deora’s fight animations to be faster and have stronger poses during The Torment Stag.
  • Swapped keybindings for emotes and consumables on gamepad: D-pad down now opens consumables, right stick for emotes.
  • Minor visual improvements to Spectral Sight.
  • Ongoing UI improvements to Regatta (a certain Sproutfolk’s favourite game...).
  • Continued improvements to the environment of Alca including updates to Midrath villages, the Dermak Undercity, foliage, dwellings, volumetric fog, lighting, shading and various ongoing level fixes. 
  • Ongoing audio improvements and fixes including new sound effects for enemies, combat, and environment.
  • Ongoing improvements to overall enemy AI behavior, animations, navigation, combat dynamics.
  • Ongoing level improvements throughout Midrath and the Dermak Undercity. 
  • Adjusted tent Encounters in Midrath to ensure proper combat navigation and avoid awkward prop placement.

General Fixes:

  • Fixed an issue where Envoy’s torso could flip around after death due to lock-on.
  • Fixed a bug where new players were sometimes incorrectly prompted to use M4 instead of Alt to activate Spectral Sight during the tutorial.
  • Fixed a bug, seen notably with Dhonu, that could prevent Idol usage while in the middle of a melee attack.
  • Fixes for Ode Sinecure Hunter ability visual effects.
  • Fixed audio-related inconsistency issues with Mockeries.
  • Fixed players who began crafting Rook before Soulframe Preludes 5 Hotfix 2 being unable to claim it due to Fragment requirement changes.
  • Fixed a bug where Envoys could sometimes acquire more than five Health Elixirs if they log in or enter a dungeon with none.
  • Fixed skin tone inconsistencies between Ode Sinecure body parts.
  • Fixed a chest near a campfire that could not be opened due to being too close to a small tree.
  • Fixed loot racks clipping into walls in Midrath. 
  • Fixed specific spots in Midrath where Envoys could revive and fall through the ground. 
  • Fixed Dendrit Hood, Graceplate of Rood, and Cloven Hose clipping into Envoys.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Vasp-IV weapon to shrink when attacking from a holstered position.
  • Fixed an issue where blocking during the holster animation could result in blocking without a weapon, and the weapon would remain holstered.
  • Fixed attack animations occasionally not completing and repeating rapidly when viewed by other players in multiplayer.
  • Fixed an issue where Envoys could get stuck in a partial attack animation if attempting to loot while attacking.
  • Fixed instances of teleporting Ode Battle Dogs.
  • Fixed a bug where clients would encounter incorrect lighting upon exiting the Undercity and returning to Midrath.
  • Fixed a brazier stuck in a wall near the Garren Shrine entrance.
  • Fixed Resonance (Lore Fragments) spawning too close to one another in some instances. 
  • Fixed persisting Fey VFX not being removed on shields.
  • Fixed log-in animal sounds persisting after skipping the log-in cutscene.
  • Fixed audio inconsistencies with the Fey Bow’s charged shot.
  • Fixing Ode Battle Dogs patrolling at a different speed than their Ode companions.
  • Fixed hair glowing in the dark.
  • Fixed only the party leader seeing the objective completion UI.
  • Fixed a pond near Oro's Well causing the map to switch from Midrath to Undercity upon approach.
  • Fixed AI getting caught on a small ledge in the Undercity.
  • Fixed a bug where the post-death mode sparrow VFX trail could disappear before a player revives.
  • Fixed a bug which allowed the post-death mode sparrow to fly out of bounds in Midrath, the Garren Shrine, and boss arenas. 
  • Fixed an issue where the post-death mode sparrow was controlled by the wrong joystick on controller.
  • Fixed an issue where movement in sparrow form would start off slow and then speed up during ascent or descent while sprinting, causing an inconsistent acceleration experience.
  • Fixed a UI bug in Fenn Jotar’s Mote menu where Pact levels are incorrectly displayed as “0”. 
  • Fixed Oro’s Well marker not appearing on map.
  • Fixed arsenal screen showing extra Helmless options. 
  • Fixed sizing and placement of “!” UI marker in Tuvalkane’s “Assembled” tab. 
  • Fixed weapon-throwing HUD persisting after death. 
  • Fixed Revive Shrine UI persisting if a player was revived using Bellow. 
  • Fixed Envoy health bar UI not always displaying empty upon death.
  • Fixed a delay between Deora’s transmission and rewards when completing Encounter missions. 
  • Fixed mouse callouts being visually confusing by updating the UI to use green highlights.
  • Fixed a bug where "Aim for the Eye" and "Stolen Breath" encounters could auto-complete upon entering a nearby dungeon. 
  • Fixed Moaners sometimes not spawning for the “Aim for the Eye” encounter, causing an auto-complete if the encounter in some instances.
  • Fixed a bug in the ‘Clear the Camp’ Encounter where enemies outside the College of Pensives and other locations were actively included in the mission objective. 
  • Fixed a missing ‘Clear the Camp’ Encounter objective tracker in the HUD. Fixed a multiplayer bug where the chests guarded by ‘Stronghold’ Encounters only granted rewards to the Envoy opening it.
  • Fixed "Tear Down" encounters located East of Oro's Well having unreachable objectives, preventing players from completing.
  • Fixed some map markers not being removed after the ‘Tear Down’ Encounter.
  • Fixed an issue during the “Aim for the Eye” encounters where Moaners spawned in unreachable locations, preventing players from completing the encounter.
  • Fixed /unstuck in Nightfold causing Envoys to be sent back to Alca and are unable to return to Nightfold.
  • Fixed a visual issue where the sparrow would glitch while trying to perch in the Nightfold. 
  • Fixed players getting trapped inside Ancestor stations if standing on them as they rise out of the water in Nightfold.
  • Fixed a bug where Ancestor stations would not fully materialise if players left Nightfold during the rising cinematic.
  • Fixed players being able to duplicate weapons in the Nightfold by throwing them and selecting new ones in the arsenal screen.
  • Fixed a bug where Idols would not fire after collecting and completing Avakot’s “Find Friends” Dungeon Deed.
  • Fixed RB/LB controls not switching between “Buy” and “Sell” tabs in Avakot’s Gots.
  • Fixed multiple Envoys being able to interact with Avakot in Hilly-Den at once, sometimes resulting in a soft lock for clients in multiplayer sessions.
  • Fixed a bug where entering Nightfold while interacting with Avakot caused Envoys to be locked in Alca and unable to enter Nightfold.
  • Fixed clipping of Tuvalkane’s arch in Nightdfold.
  • Fixed enemies being able to kill Envoys while interacting with Avakot’s Gots.
  • Fixed an instance where the transmission for Avakot’s Hidden Harvest Deed would not play upon completion.
  • Fixed Avakot’s name and Dracs being the wrong colour in Inventory.
  • Fixed a slash being displayed through Dracs on the Avakot Got's UI.
  • Fixed an instance where Avakot could sell zero potions.
  • Fixed a bug where pressing the Escape key after Avakot's introductory dialogue during The Torment Stag could skip the item-giving cutscene.
  • Fixed encounters not spawning after completing The Torment Stag until restarting the game.
  • Fixed Garren Rood missing part of its head mesh during the Torment Stag.
  • Fixed Envoys getting blocked by vines at Garren Shrine’s entrance during the Torment Stag Fable replay.
  • Fixed an instance where Garren could become unresponsive during the Torment Stag boss fight if the player died.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur while talking to Avakot during The Torment Stag. 
  • Fixed Ode'n Moaners becoming invisible but still destroyable, showing only floating eyes, after completing The Torment Stag.
  • Fixed a script error that could occur if an Envoy died while talking to Avakot.
  • Fixed a script error that could occur when using Tuvalkane’s crafting menu caused by missing textures. 
  • Fixed a rare script error that could occur when using arrows.
  • Fixed a crash related to terrain materials.
  • Fixed a crash caused by using Bestone. 
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when attempting to interact with Tuvalkane in Nightfold. 
  • Fixed a crash that could occur after switching weapons.
  • Fixed crashes related to Fey and Ode Tempest Arcanics.
  • Fixed a crash related to GPU particles.
  • Fixed various script errors.
  • Like 15
  • Thanks 3
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I'm really enjoying the game in general, my only issue is the extrange english used in any text inside the game, be it descriptions or lore. I do not have any issue with regular english so I'm curious about how should I approach trying to understand what things do or reading lore without my brain overheating xD.

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The game feels a lot different now. Aside from good combat changes, the world looks better overall. The new "soul steal" finisher also feels great. Open sky dungeon looks gorgeous. A new enemy with white soul that you need to catch, looks insanely good.

So much stuff added in one update. That's impressive. Good job, DE.

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1 hour ago, Vadim_K said:

A new enemy with white soul that you need to catch, looks insanely good.

The mockeries aren't new, they've been in the game for a while, same with the glades, these have been here for a few months at this point.

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1 hour ago, Vadim_K said:

So much stuff added in one update. That's impressive. Good job, DE.

I apologize for saying this, but I feel kind of the opposite. Not much change or content added. Feels like too much focus has been spent listening to people complain about combat. I personally feel combat animations should be one of the last things to polish. Why polish animations if there's no content?

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On 2024-09-14 at 11:18 AM, Jnuh said:

Why polish animations if there's no content?

My friend, good question.

But it begs the follow-up question; What is an Alpha build? We're in pre-Alpha right now, so what constitutes an Alpha?

Traditionally, it's when the mechanical game elements, such as the physics engine, the NPC AI and any traversal mechanics are ready to stress test. A Beta would then be where actual Content has been added to provide a more rich slice of what the objectives and overall progression is supposed to look like.

This then means that, in order for Soulframe to be a full Alpha, of course the combat needs to be working properly. The quests, progression and overall hooks to get players to like the game longer term are then added to make it the Beta.

The verbal focus on it in the patch notes is specifically so that the players here can go back to the people that saw the criticism and say 'Oh, yeah, that's fixed, you should check it out now.'

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On 2024-09-14 at 5:18 AM, Jnuh said:

I apologize for saying this, but I feel kind of the opposite. Not much change or content added. Feels like too much focus has been spent listening to people complain about combat. I personally feel combat animations should be one of the last things to polish. Why polish animations if there's no content?

Combat will apply to the entire rest of the game, including how it affects any enemies added in the future. Working on making the foundations better now is exactly the point of testing things in this early stage.

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Curious to see where the game heads in the future. The atmosphere and artistic styling of the game feels great, and the commitment to improving combat seems like some more time is needed before really judging things. I appreciate the transparency in the development of this game. I just hope there are better disclaimers so that players outside of the Digital Extremes ecosystem understands where we are at with Sou

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