We’d like to start with a hearty welcome to all the new players of Gods Unchained. This is the first major client update since so many of you have joined and it brings so much needed improvements to the game. We’ve seen some major growth over this quarter and it’s heartwarming to see so many mortals battling it out in the Arena.
This update’s focus is on the reconnect system: providing visibility around those who are having connection issues, and getting them back in the game. We also address the speed in which VFX are activating, and – as always – slay a slew of bugs.
Reconnecting right
The primary focus for this release, the reconnect system hasn’t just been updated – it’s had a complete overhaul. Previously, the client would silently try to reconnect during a match, but the whole process was hidden behind the scenes and made the results confusing for both players. What’s more? The game would also continue playing, meaning mortals would likely reconnect to a match at a disadvantage. With 0.29, we’re bringing more transparency and stability to the whole process.
When your opponent disconnects, you’ll now be notified that it’s happened and the match will pause. This gives the opponent a chance to reconnect without it affecting the outcome of the game. This time isn’t infinite though, as each player has 60 seconds of pause time to use up over the course of a match. This means if you disconnect multiple times, the clock will pick up where it left off, as opposed to starting from the beginning.
We’ll be monitoring this value closely in the coming weeks to see if it needs adjusting, but we’ve found 60 seconds to be a good amount of time without opening the system to abuse by those who would take advantage of it.
You will also be notified when your opponent reconnects to the game in progress...
...or if they are unable to reconnect you’ll be notified that you’re about to win.
If you happen to disconnect, the client will go through a clear reconnect flow, reloading the match in progress. This refactor of the system has come along with us addressing many reconnect bugs and issues. As with any system refactor, we expect we’ll encounter some new issues once it goes live, so please use the bug reporting tool (found in the top right of the in-game match screen) to help us track down any unexpected issues.
Tempo Tinkering
One of the key elements of any game is its tempo, and when it comes to creatures dying the game has been feeling sluggish. For this update we’ve re-worked the death visuals to ensure that creatures clear the board at a quicker rate, leading to more dramatic and less drawn out board wipes.
We’ve also addressed a number of soft-lock scenarios across the client. These are instances where the game freezes, but you can still move your cursor and interact with objects. A major goal with this update is to provide all of our players with more transparency around what’s going on behind the scenes. From this update on, it will be far easier for you (and us) to distinguish between soft lock issues and reconnect related issues.
We've also updated the visuals of the oh-so-handsome Citadel Herald in the game's tutorial. Why don't you go pay him a visit from time to time? It gets lonely in there.
Fixes
While we know we haven’t resolved all the bugs, we have done a lot of squashing and this continues to be a focus for us. We are continuing to deep dive internally on trouble areas where we know bugs are still lurking, particularly around turn changes where cards remain unresolved.
As always when you encounter an issue please submit a bug report with as much additional information on what led to the problem so we can reproduce and squash it.
Bugs Fix Highlights
- Resolved an issue where playing an ability close to turn end could cause a soft lock.
- Resolved issue with Neferu's Khopesh where it may pull the lowest mana cost creature instead of lowest strength.
- Resolved an issue where a “pick one” card may not be visible when played.
- Resolved issue where Jason, Medea’s Muse occasionally didn’t select creatures for the player upon reconnect.
- Resolved an issue where actions could be queued up in the wrong order and could cause a soft lock.
- Resolved an issue where “pick one” cards may not auto select at reconnect.
- Resolved an issue where some delves may not auto select at reconnect.
- Resolved an issue where some boards may not load at reconnect.
- Resolved an issue where mana pips may not load at reconnect.
- Resolved an issue where mana pips may not be usable at reconnect.
- Resolved an issue where actions could be queued up in the wrong order and could cause a soft lock.
Known Issues
- In the turn a player reconnects they will not be able to purchase cards from the sanctum.
- With very specific timing, pick-one" cards can cause the turn arrow to not properly flip, even though the turn has changed and the opposing player can play cards.
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