Manala: patch notes for September 25th

Everything below is in the free demo today!

Grittier world, more animated combat and new LARP weapons

• Windows menus, tooltips, HUD bars, the map and screens before you enter the world now look gritty
• Combat animations are more lively and card categories (attacks, defenses, spells, poisons etc.) now have their own unique animations
• 17 weapons and 3 shields now show up as LARP gear in the game

Four new cards and actions that come back

Every deck now holds one each of four new cards:

• Sharpen: your next attack hits for 3 more; costs no action
• Focus!: your next 2 cards that cost two or more actions cost 1 action less
• Sifting: draw two cards from your deck, keep one, put one back; you get 1 action back
• Press: in a duel with another player, their next card costs 1 more action

Additional tweaks to existing cards:

• Some guards and utility cards now give their action back
• When the fight makes a card cheaper or more expensive, the cost tab shows it
• The guard your opponent has up is now visible as a card on their side of the table
• All activities missing from the combat log previously are now listed there
• Right-clicking a card in the deck editor now flips its side
• Changing gear while viewing the card collection now updates stats on the go

A conquest duel no longer kills

Challenge someone for an area on the conquest map and the loser goes down but not dead. You get the win, they get put back in the room where they were before the challenge. If the duel times out or someone flees, that counts as a loss. Starting a conquest against a player or an NPC guardian ends your newcomer protection. A won conquest duel counts as a kill on the Killboard and in the Next Fest tournament on October 20 and 21.

The demo map opens up

The demo now opens 17 of the world's 23 areas. Darkwood, The Northlands, The Wasteland, Plaguelands, Ancient Forests and the OG Area remain off limits. You can walk into the Fort but its services stay closed in the demo.

And the smaller things

• Firelight indoors is visible, and rain and fog cover the whole screen
• The minimap route says when the way is up or down, and the quest being guided is marked in your quest list
• Carrying too much, you move once every six seconds, and the game tells you why you cannot move
• Clearer messages when Steam drops the connection or is not running

Larp News played the demo!

For LARPers, fans of Baltic myth, and anyone who appreciates raw, uncompromising indie grit, it earns an easy spot on the wishlist.

The full review: https://larpnews.org/demo-review-manala-equinox-war-turns-boffer-combat-into-turn-based-card-battling/ Wishlisting is what tells me the work is worth continuing: Come and complain or submit bug reports here, I read and reply to all of them: https://discord.gg/MS9vXquzMX