Hello Sinners, Following on from our [url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/774361/announcements/detail/2719563557124885797]Torment, Penitence and Amanecidas post[/url] earlier this week we wanted to take the opportunity to share even more with you on what’s coming in The Stir of Dawn! When creating The Stir of Dawn the team were keen to read through player and community feedback to see what you really enjoyed about your Blasphemous playthrough, as well as what you thought could be further built upon or adjusted to improve your experience with the game. The team spent a lot of time discussing what we learnt from the community and where possible we have implemented it into The Stir of Dawn! To begin, let’s start with one of the most commonly requested feature updates - The Map! [h1]Map Overhaul & New Features[/h1] Rejoice, the map screen you currently know has been fully overhauled! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35061675/18d3185a37464d3a27be5c7e7e3556dc4db19bbb.jpg[/img] When looking at how to improve the map for The Stir of Dawn we approached it from the angle of improving overall usage, readability, practicality and usefulness to the player. We are pleased to confirm the following features in the map overhaul: [list] [*][b]Complete rework of the old screen[/b] - Out with the old, in with the new! [*][b]Tile Resolutions[/b] - Choose between different handmade tile resolutions to get your ideal setting. [*][b]Map Markers[/b] - Manually mark points of interest and other useful locations to aid you in your journey through Cvstodia. [*][b]Map Completion[/b] - Wonder no more! The percentage of rooms completed will be visible on the map. [/list] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35061675/6369fa1ba71fed8069361fa46380ec67fda2865b.jpg[/img] Now we’ve revealed the new map and how it works, let's take a look at another hotly requested improvement - expanded fast travel! [h1]New Warp Points & Shortcuts![/h1] [b]Warp Points[/b] Upon installing The Stir of Dawn update new fast travel options will be available to all players whether they’re playing on ‘New Game’ or ‘New Game+’ modes. On top of the existing fast travel system, players will now be able to upgrade the Prie Dieu altars throughout Cvstodia. Upon doing so they will gain a new look, activating the ability to travel between any previously visited Prie Dieu altars. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35061675/54d649c27cbd46582cc4785f44cabfcf8a341b41.gif[/img] This new feature offers a lot of versatility and travel options, minimising excess backtracking and allowing you even more freedom to explore the map. [b]Shortcuts[/b] Whispers travel through the townsfolk of Abero, rumours of new shortcuts that are on the cusp of being discovered by the keen eyes of the Penitent One… These new shortcuts which we’ll be leaving for you to discover allow for some natural transitions between certain areas to aid you in your travels, if you can find them that is! [h1]Prayer Buffs, Enemy Behaviour and Passive Effects![/h1] [b]Prayers[/b] Most of the Prayers in the game have received blessing from the Miracle, increasing their damage or effects for the Penitent One. To reflect these changes their costs have also been tweaked. You should also notice some new visual flair for them too! [b]Rosary Beads, Sword Hearts and Ranged Attack![/b] During our own pilgrimages through Cvstodia we noticed that some of the Sword Hearts and Rosary Beads weren’t applying their bonuses as intended. This has now been fixed! We’ve also given the Penitent One’s ranged attack some attention, rebalancing it so that it now scales in damage and cost based on Mea Culpa’s level. [b]Enemy Behaviour & Executions[/b] Whilst going through your feedback we saw that some players, whilst enjoying the combat, felt that more could be done to make it feel smoother, more responsive and ‘fairer’. In The Stir of Dawn we’ve revisited some enemies who will now feature better anticipation and recovery times. On top of this we’ve already updated the behaviour of some enemies to create a better combat experience that will feel smoother and reduce the occurrence of situations where the player feels they were beaten unfairly. To further highlight the importance of the above point we have also adjusted the player hitbox to make combat fairer and reward skilful / risky plays! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35061675/1b1b4eac188a5b46767acc94be30246a223e338e.gif[/img] We were really pleased to see how popular executions have been for everyone. We also saw how many of you wanted to see more instances of them, so we’ve added a new mechanic that will allow you to instigate an execution through skilled use of your abilities. On top of the existing system, Charged and Lunged attacks can now stun enemies in certain situations, such as a counter attack or striking a foe during the wind up of their attack. Please note, this stun mechanic only works on enemies that can be executed! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35061675/b7aada360c821e7183aeeb26476389574d11b8d2.gif[/img] [h1]Environmental Improvements[/h1] Before we sign-off for the weekend and head towards Dawn, we also wanted to highlight that many areas of Cvstodia have received a visual update. We don’t want to spoil these as we think you’ll greatly enjoy seeing as the world has evolved, with new furniture, decorations and background NPCs really bringing the world alive. We will leave a little peek for you below though… [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//35061675/4d5fb9c64d8668ecf6bb11cf073b30037df577b9.gif[/img] Penitent be the heart.