These changes are currently available for testing on the Experimental Branch, only on PC. After testing these changes and making other modifications, we will roll changes out to all players.

• Quake: Volleying to your ally deals 25 damage to that ally, and reduces the amount of Quake by 1. Quake also lowers by 1 at the end of your offense.

Quake has been added to replace all splash damage in the game (ie. secondary damage done to allies via moves like Explosion, Bang, and Mindfield, as well as the Echo trait). Splash damage in general has been the cause of many of the game's most unintuitive interactions with respect to how Beasties are wiped, points are scored, etc. It makes it easy to force opponents into unplayabale and unfun situations where both of their fielded Beasties are WIPED. And because splash damage scales with damage dealt to the initial Beastie target, it gave players a way to deal high amount of damage to ally Beasties that otherwise would resist their attacks, invalidating many defensive matchups. It never quite felt right or made sense, and it was time to do something a little more interesting.

Quake provides similar utility to splash damage (it often deals damage to Beasties that are allies of the one you targeted). However, it puts more power in the hands of the team that has had Quake applied to them, giving them the option to avoid damage by taking fewer actions instead. It's another tool that can be used by stall-focused teams to slow down the pace of the game and build up damage through means other than direct offense. It also offers more direct counter-play into teams that heavily rely on frequent passing or increasing their action count, strategies which have emerged as more popular than others over time.

We're eager to see what players can do with Quake and to get their feedback on this experimental new mechanic.

We've added a new menu purely for explaining game mechanics in a simple, readable format. This guide includes detailed reference information on different FEELINGs and Field Effects. It's available from your phone menu as well as during any sport match where no time limit is set, and it replaces some of the more dry and inaccessible NPC dialogue that we previously relied on to convey the details of some game mechanics. In future updates, we intend to add images to some guide sections so it isn't all just text.

The game will now account for your past Bash results and award you with in-game rewards based on your performance. You can collect these rewards by opening SportNet.

• Added a "copy to clipboard" button for Team Codes in the Team Setup > View/Edit Details menu

Many story encounters have been modified in accordance with below balance changes. In general our intention was to make use of new play and trait changes without affecting the game's overall difficulty balance. Final boss fights in the post-game Expedition mode have had their difficulty notably adjusted with the intention of making each Boss more equally threatning (some were overperforming and some were unerperforming).

• Wiped: Introduced a new RUSHED RECOVERY mechanic. Generally, anytime WIPED is cured by counting down to 0, Beasties fully restore their stamina. This recovery is now reduced by 10 STAMINA for each stack of WIPED above 1 on the Beastie if they recover earlier than they would naturally. So a Beastie recovering with 2 stacks of WIPED will restore to 90 STAMINA; 3 stacks to 80 STAMINA, and so on.
  
  The intention of this change is to reduce the effectiveness of some methods of recovery that circumvent the downsides of being WIPED OUT too easily, such as Team Chant and Torch Pass. WIPED is a special status in the game and any amount of this Feeling applied to a Beastie should be relevant.
  
  
• Tender: Beasties that are TENDER are now prevented from feeling TOUGH. If a Beastie is already TOUGH, TENDER does NOT remove the feeling.
  
  This small change adds some more usefulness to TENDER, which hasn't seen much use and is outclassed by many other Feelings.

• (NEW!) Rumble: Support play that applies 2 Quake to opponent’s field. Makes the user 1 angry.
  
• Explosion: No longer deals damage to the entire field. Instead applies 2 Quake to opponent’s field, and 1 Quake to your field.
  
• Mindfield: POW reduced to 35 (from 45). No longer deals damage to target’s ally. Instead applies 2 Quake to opponent’s field.
  
• Bang: No longer deals damage to target’s ally. Instead applies 1 Quake to opponent’s field.
  
• Updraft: Costs 40 STAMINA to use (from 34).
  
  Players have discovered many uses of Updraft that give a lot of value with very little drawback. This tweak gives opponents greater opportunity to limit how many times the play can be used, introducing more effective counterplay.
  
  
• Juggle: Now shifts its user sideways.
  
  This change means players need to plan a little more in order to make effective use of Juggle. Previously, the move was too easy to use in too many circumstances, giving players great benefit without any drawback.
  
  
• Dump: Target now always get an easy receive.
  
  Dump has been a little too easy to use, and difficult to play against. This adds a slight drawback to one of the strongest and most-used attacks in the game. It also better reflects the move as a simulacrum of a setter-dump in real volleyball.
  
  
• Bounce: POW increased to 80 (from 50). Now auto volleys to the target’s ally.
  
  Bounce was previously too similar to Careful Shot and Slice, without offering any interesting distinction. There also was no solid attacking option for Beasties hitting sideways using Body POW. This adjustment gives Bounce more of a unique niche, and indirectly buffs Goofsder, a Beastie that has been underperforming.
  
  
• Soulcrusher: POW reduced to 110 (from 120).
  
• Vigor Beam: POW reduced to 125 (from 135).

• Echo: No longer deals damage to target’s ally. Instead applies 1 Quake to opponent’s field.
  
• (NEW!) Welcoming: +40 Stamina to your ally as they Tag In. This is now Bongus’s recessive trait as it no longer gets Crafty.
  
  Crafty was seldom used and not very effective on Bongus, whose POW stats are overall lackluster. This trait better cements their role as a strong pivot and supporting Beastie.
  
  
• Performer: Boost to DEF increased to x1.5 (from x1.3).
  
  Surgus and Plumask, two Beasties with this trait, have been somewhat underperforming. Our intention is to give these two more of an edge and make them more viable relative to other Beasties.
  
  
• Tireless: Removed from the game! Seakit now has Hunter, Scrubbub and Grubiron now have…
  
• (NEW!) Momentum: 1.3x damage just after moving or tagging in.
  
  Tireless was not a very well designed trait. In the vast majority of circumstances, it was entirely useless. And when it was useful, it was overwhelmingly effective to the point where it had no interesting counterplay. Our intention is to offer these Beasties options that are more generally useful and better convey their theme.

• Slide: Added to Goofsder
  
• Rumble: Added to Tortanchor, Boldlur, Shloom, Demolipede, Millimine, and Yamyth

In general, since our last patch, Mind offense has been dominant in PvP. One of our overall goals with these changes is to bring the game to a more equitable balance where Mind attackers aren’t more effective than others.

• Across the board: Beastie’s “Ally training” values have been adjusted to better reflect each Beasties’ specialties and create more diversity among the cast.
  
  
• Bongus:
  • Spirit DEF: 90 (from 95)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 65 (from 60)
• Surgus:
  • Spirit DEF: 90 (from 95)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 65 (from 60)
• Illugus:
  • +Body POW: 65 (from 60)
    
  • -Mind POW: 90 (from 95)
    
    Compared to its family members, Illugus has been overperforming, particularly because it gets more value from its traits and plays. This change slightly reduces their stat efficiency to make up for their otherwise more effective playbook/traits.
  
  
• Armantis:
  • -Spirit DEF: 70 (from 105)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 105 (from 70)
• Bandicraft:
  • +Body POW: 67 (from 60)
    
  • -Mind POW: 85 (from 92)
    
    This slight change reduces Bandicraft’s overall stat efficiency to make up for their otherwise more effective playbook and traits compared to Hopra and Kassaleet. It brings Bandicraft’s effectiveness more in line with other Beasties that have the Captain trait (Beetlback and Tortanchor). It also better solidifies Bandicraft’s specialty as a supportive setting/passing Beastie.
  
  
• Blitzwift:
  • -Body DEF: 62 (from 68)
    
  • -Mind DEF: 47 (from 57)
    
    Since high-level players have discovered Blitzwift’s effectiveness as a supporter Beastie, it has made waves. These changes make Blitzwift a little more fragile, and easier for opponents to mitigate. In general Blitzwift has always had a stat total that is a little bit too high in tandem with a trait that is overwhelmingly useful.
  
  
• Conjarr:
  • -Body DEF: 63 (from 110)
    
  • +Spirit DEF: 85 (from 63)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 110 (from 85)
    
    Based on its playbook, Conjarr excels at disruption from the net, but its defenses made it particularly weak to offensive types that tend to target the front row, so Conjarr struggled to excel at its role. It also didn’t fully make sense for a small and wise Beastie to have stronger Body DEF than other stats.
  
  
• Debugly:
  • +Mind DEF: 99 (from 91)
• Goofsder:
  • -Body POW: 85 (from 90)
    
  • -Spirit POW: 25 (from 30)
    
  • +Mind POW: 95 (from 85)
• Riplash:
  • -Spirit POW: 29 (from 30)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 105 (from 100)
• Scauldra:
  • -Body POW: 20 (from 35)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 65 (from 50)
• Shloom:
  • +Body POW: 110 (from 100)
    
  • +Spirit POW: 110 (from 100)
    
  • +Mind POW: 110 (from 100)
    
    Shloom has been underperforming compared to most other Beasties, owing to how difficult it is to make good use of with its difficult trait. The intention of this change is to make it more threatening with a little less set-up.
  
  
• Varkabond:
  • -Spirit POW: 50 (from 55)
    
  • +Body DEF: 60 (from 55)
• Boldlur:
  • -Body POW: 86 (from 88)
    
  • -Spirit POW: 22 (from 30)
    
  • -Spirit DEF: 82 (from 87)
    
  • +Mind DEF: 55 (from 40)
    
    Boldlur is designed as a premier tanky Beastie, but its particularly weak Mind DEF meant that it was often WIPED quickly. The intention of this change is to neutralize its greatest weakness and make it more consistent.
  
  
• Duggout:
  • -Body DEF: 90 (from 95)
    
  • -Spirit DEF: 60 (from 65)
    
  • -Mind DEF: 75 (from 80)
    
    Duggout has proven to be an overperforming hyper-aggressive Beastie with a lot of quick setups into high damage. Its Unflappable trait particularly limits the counter-play available into it, making its defenses more operative in determining its longevity on the field. The intention of these changes is to make offense more effective into Duggout.
  
  
  Bug Fixes and Technical Changes
  Engine Fix Testing
  We found another area of the game's underlying engine (Game Maker) which was unstable and potentially buggy on some systems. The issue had to do with how memory was allocated in some circumstances, and could lead to sudden and unpredictable crashes, including when the game was starting up. Because this error is very hard to reproduce, we're interested to see whether this fix has any impact on some players' stability.
  
  
  Text Changes
  We have made a significant change to how ALL VISIBLE TEXT in the game is loaded and displayed, in preparation for the localization process. This may lead to new bugs - we will be on the lookout for reports of such issues.
  
  
  Other Fixes
  • Corrected mouse selection bounds and render positions for Beasties during sport matches, particularly in high-elevation areas.
    
  • Reduced how often the game checks for updates from the internet, lowering bandwidth usage.
    
  • Fixed an issue with Slide have boosted power on the Serve
    
  • Updated wording on some Recruit Conditions to be more clear
    
  • Fixed crash related to entering certain characters when naming Beasties
    
  • Fixed an issue with a certain save file/data corruption that could happen from the player respawning badly in a certain post-game area
    
  • The game now defaults to having "Borderless Fullscreen" enabled to prevent issues on some monitors (apparently; I'll be honest, I don't know what this means, but someone asked for it in a feedback report).
    
  • Working on improvements to the netcode to better and more consistently detect when a player has disconnected and end the game accordingly, rather than hanging forever. This change requires changes corresponding between the client and the server, so we can't fully implement changes until all versions of the game client are running matching updates.
    
  • Corrected issue with Craig giving players the Old Guidebook regardless of research progress.
    
  • Removed flashing effects from scenes in the Mermaid Club if flashing effects are disabled in settings
    
  • Corrected issue preventing Raymond from appearing in the lobby before story boss matches.
    
  • Adjusted spacing of some UI elements
    
  • Added clearer outline for Beastie stamina bars during sport matches
    
  • In-match effect popups now clear more quickly when Sport Speed is set to higher speeds
    
  • Adjusted collision on some tree models to prevent players from easily getting out of bounds in some area.
    
  • Adjusted some level layouts to prevent jank and out of bounds collisions. Made it possible to backtrack from a certain screen in a post-game area.
    
  • Fixed some typos

On Saturday we ran the very first Bigmoon Bash, a timed in-game event where players could matchmake against one another! We saw 557 participants play a total of 4,958 matches - the average player played about 18 games, with a median of 11. (!)



1. Dino (Bash Score: 3525)

2. Bolimar (Bash Score: 3354)

3. Arc Tech (Bash Score: 3225)

4. Wavewhyse (Bash Score: 3106)

5. ArtemTotem (Bash Score: 3105)

6. Sami (Bash Score: 3068)

7. SillyAshley (Bash Score: 3011)

8. Rutabaga (Bash Score: 2925)

9. ? (Bash Score: 2924)

10. Patatin (Bash Score: 2903)

We went into detail on the most-used and least-used Beasties on our official blog[open.substack.com] - check it out for all the extra details!

Thanks to everyone for making this event a success - we'd like to do more soon. :)

On Saturday, January 18 from 9AM to 9PM PST, Beastieball will see its first Bigmoon! During Bigmoon events, coaches can join a Bigmoon Bash to challenge opponents from all around the world.

Players of all skill level are invited! All you need to do to participate is to play the game on that day and join the Bash on SportNet! SportNet is typically unlocked within the first 2 hours of your adventure, after beating your first Ranked boss. And if you aren't confident in your own Beastie team, you can use a randomly generated one instead - just go to Team Setup and set "Random Team" as your current team.

During the event you'll have a Bash Rank, which will improve based on your performance. In future updates, you'll receive in-game rewards based on your participation, such as Social Battery and Sports Points.

• All Beasties are allowed
  
• First to 2 Points wins
  
• Standard time limit on move selection
  
• No Undos allowed
  
• Relationship Combos are disabled
  
• All Beasties are set to Level 50
  
  This event is a Beta test - we've never run a timed online event before! We'll be monitoring players' experience, feedback, and any technical issues that may arise.
  
  
  FAQ
  Why is this event for such a limited time?
  Although our community is incredibly energetic, it's also very small - we simply do not have the number of concurrent players it takes to support prolonged matchmaking events. By having a narrower time and date to play together, we can make sure more of our small community comes together at the same time to play. If players enjoy this event, we'll be able to scale the length of events up or down as needed to ensure that players always have a good experience.
  
  
  This time isn't convenient for me.
  We chose the specific day and time window based on periods when the game naturally experiences the highest number of concurrent players. If this beta event performs well, we'd be open to hosting future events at other days & times!
  
  
  Why are games to 2 points instead of 3?
  We're aware many community members who play competitive PvP prefer 3-point matches. However, with the convenience of open matchmaking, we've found that 2-point games have a much more satisfying pace. It makes landslide victories and miserable defeats a bit more tolerable, as you get to quickly move on to the next opponent. This also means you get to challenge more diverse opponents, and get points for your Bash Rank more quickly. It also greatly reduces the time that the average player spends waiting in queue for matches, since eligible opponents are entering the queue more often. For players who want longer, more focused 1-on-1 matches, you can always find an opponent in a Private Lobby or in fan-organized tourneys.
  
  
  Why are Undos disabled?
  The ability to undo your actions is an amazing convenience in the single-player adventure, but poses a large problem in PvP. With Undos disabled, every time a player makes a choice, they are committed to it, which means we can communicate their action to their opponent and let the opponent see their choice right away. With Undos enabled, any choice a player makes can be undone, so we can't let the opponent know their choices until they've selected all their actions and ended their turn. In practice, this adds many minutes of dead time during every match where you're waiting for your actions to replay for your opponent so that they "catch up." This significantly slows the pace of games.
  
  
  Why aren't Relationship Combos allowed?
  Relationship Combos are another feature which is fantastic in single-player but dreadful in PvP. There are roughly 10,000 unique relationship combo plays in the game and, frankly, they are NOT balanced. If allowed, combo plays would be very centralizing and would often determine which player has the advantage. From a team building perspective, it would be tiresome to try to develop specific relationships amongst your Beasties in order to get access to certain overpowered combos and gain a competitive advantage. We think the game in PvP is simply more fun without this particular system. However, if you disagree, you can always make your own Private Lobby and set the rules to enable these if you like.

We've uploaded a large new patch to the PC/Steam Deck build on the Experimental Branch! This patch features sweeping experimental balance changes. We'd highly encourage PvP-minded players on PC and Steam Deck to test out the new changes and give us your feedback on them! The best place to find opponents and discuss PvP changes is on our official Discord![discord.gg]

• Sport Detail View option which keeps sports matches in "detail view" at all times. We don't recommend this for most players, but some advanced players requested this...
  
• Freeze Camera accessibility setting, which removes world-bending effects, keeps the camera very static, and force-enables to above detail view setting. In effect, visibility in the game is reduced in a few places, but camera motion is minimized, which should make the game easier to play for those with extreme motion sensitivity.
  
• The title screen now has a fancy little news box! It may even link to patch notes like these sometimes; Wow!
  
  
  BALANCE CHANGES
  We've made a large number of changes with the goal of improving the game balance at advanced PvP levels.
  
  
  Feelings
  
  
• Tender: Changed the description wording
  
  
  Traits
  
  
• Protector: When triggered, increases Spirit POW by 2 stages (up from 1 stage)
  
  
• Ambush: When triggered, boosts POW by 2x (up from 1.5x)
  
  
• Goofy: Sideways attacks now do x1.5 damage (up from 1.3x)
  
  
• Protean: Now works for both POW and DEF boosts. If you boost a single POW stat, it will boost all POW stats. If you boost a single DEF stat, it will boost all DEF stats.
  
  
• Dauntless: Removed from the game.
  
  
• Fearless: Now also prevents Stressed. Removed from Daredillo, given to Supilero as a recessive trait.
  
  
• Heavy: Now known as Steadfast. Also now prevents opponents from lowering their stats. Steadfast replaces Dauntless for Waglash and Riplash.
  
  
• Flee: Shooga and Supassum now get this as a recessive trait.
  
  
• Power Forward: Added back to Armantis!
  
  
• (New!) Self-Assured: Stats can't be increased or decreased (by any source). Radillo and Daredillo now get this instead of Fearless.
  
  
  Plays
  
  
• Reach Shot: Changed the description wording
  
  
• Energized: POW increased to 45 (up from 15)
  
  
• Hex: Causes only 6 Tired now (down from 8 Tired)
  
  
• Set: Can only be used if the ball is hittable (aka "under control"). This is more in-line with how setting would work in real life, if Beastieball were real of course.
  
  
• (NEW!) Slide: Body attack with 75 POW. POW x1.5 if user MOVEs or SHIFTs before the attack
  
  
• Thriller: POW increased to 60 (up from 55). Changes to JAZZED from the previous patch made Thriller unintentionally weaker. This causes Thriller to be somewhat more in-line with easy to use Spirit attacks.
  
  
  Combo Plays
  
  
• Blitzwift Rival:
  
  - POW x 1.5 if the user just MOVED or SHIFTED
  
  
  Movesets
  
  
• Musselbound
  
  - Removed: High Five
  
  
• Woollie / Fetcham
  
  - Removed: Torch Pass
  
  
• Kaleidarn
  
  - Removed: Doze, Set
  
  
• Servitt / Servace
  
  - Added: Counter (via level-up)
  - Removed: Burnout
  
  
• Noizard
  
  - Removed: Cyclone
  
  
• Scrubbub / Grubiron / Beetlback
  
  - Added: Battle Cry, Updraft, Clear Field, Call Out
  - Removed: Dive
  
  
• Waglash / Riplash
  
  - Added: Launch, Trait Dance
  
  
• Petula / Flowish / Orgella
  
  - Added: Shake Off
  - Removed: Tough Front
  
  
• Skibble / Skorock / Boldlur
  
  - Added: Pump Up
  
  
• Gremlur
  
  - Removed: Cyclone
  
  
• Radillo / Daredillo
  
  - Added: Slide, Overpower
  
  
• Leobro / Broslidon
  
  - Added: Slide
  
  
• Punkchirp / Magpike
  
  - Added: Slide, Kneebender, Net Rush, Steal
  
  
• Maraptor
  
  - Added: Slide, Kneebender
  
  
• Blitzwift
  
  - Added: Slide
  
  
• Sprecko / Bongus / Surgus / Illugus / Shloom
  
  - Removed: Set
  
  
• Axolati / Hopsong / Hopra
  
  - Added: Faith
  - Removed: Set
  
  
• Grazada
  
  - Added: Set
  
  
• Crawlurk
  
  - Removed: Set
  
  
• Mudslee
  
  - Removed: Set
  
  
• Yamyth
  
  - Added: Burnout, Turnabout
  
  
  Stats
  
  
• Goofsder
  
  - Body POW: Increased to 90 (from 85)
  - Spirit POW: Reduced to 30 (from 40)
  - Mind POW: Increased to 85 (from 80)
  - Body DEF: Increased to 55 (from 50)
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 100 (from 95)
  - Mind DEF: Increased to 85 (from 80)
  
  
• Turogue
  
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 83 (from 40)
  - Mind DEF: Reduced to 40 (from 83)
  
  
• Turtaneer
  
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 94 (from 45)
  - Mind DEF: Reduced to 45 (from 94)
  
  
• Tortanchor
  
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 115 (from 55)
  - Mind DEF: Reduced to 55 (from 115)
  
  
• Skiffrig
  
  - Body POW: Reduced to 20 (from 23)
  - Mind DEF: Increased to 69 (from 60)
  
  
• Magpike
  
  - Spirit POW: Reduced to 21 (from 31)
  - Body DEF: Increased to 50 (from 40)
  
  
• Platypulse
  
  - Spirit POW: Reduced to 51 (from 66)
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 85 (from 75)
  - Mind DEF: Increased to 120 (from 115)
  
  
• Cherrily
  
  - Spirit POW: Increased to 55 (from 50)
  - Spirit DEF: Reduced to 90 (from 95)
  
  
• Mistic
  
  - Body POW: Reduced to 15 (from 20)
  - Mind POW: Increased to 85 (from 80)
  
  
• Skulkapi
  
  - Body DEF: Reduced to 50 (from 89)
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 89 (from 50)
  
  
• Armantis
  
  - Body DEF: Increased to 80 (from 75)
  - Mind DEF: Decreased to 70 (from 75)
  
  
• Grazada
  
  - Body POW: Increased to 55 (from 45)
  - Mind DEF: Increased to 65 (from 55)
  
  
• Handicoot
  
  - Body POW: Decreased to 43 (from 45)
  - Spirit POW: Decreased to 22 (from 25)
  - Body DEF: Increased to 52 (from 50)
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 68 (from 65)
  
  
• Debugly
  
  - Body POW: Decreased to 45 (from 55)
  - Spirit POW: Decreased to 20 (from 25)
  - Body DEF: Increased to 79 (from 74)
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 65 (from 60)
  - Mind DEF: Increased to 91 (from 86)
  
  
• Maraptor
  
  - Body POW: Increased to 89 (from 84)
  - Spirit POW: Decreased to 19 (from 29)
  - Mind POW: Increased to 87 (from 82)
  
  
  New Mechanic: Receive Weariness
  This mechanic is not explained in the game, and probably never will be as it's quite obscure.
  
  How does it work? If the same Beastie receives any attack 7 times in the same point, then that Beastie will begin to take 10 bonus damage from each successive attack, starting with the 8th. On the 17th receive, they will always take 100+ damage, ensuring the point ends.
  
  This interaction will almost never come up in a typical game where both players are trying to win. We evaluated matches with slow-moving stall-focused teams, and even in these sorts of games, the same Beastie would rarely or never receive an attack more than 7 times before the point ended by some normal means. However, in extreme edge cases, this ensures that all points end somehow, eventually, no matter what and that no player is ever able to create a game state that never ends.
  
  
  Other Fixes and Changes since the previous patch notes
• Reduced the price of higher-level Jerseys
  
• Away Teams now appear more often after defeating all Ranked coaches
  
• Adjusted the layering on Dread field effects so that Beasties' stamina isn't covered anymore
  
• The variable Power of some attack plays are now correctly factored into visual effects and recruit conditions
  
• Refactored how Beasties from past encounters are saved and stored for future rematches. For players updating from old versions, this might mean that some Beasties you've encountered before this update will have a slightly different appearance in subsequent matches (ie. the color of Kaz's Beasties might change, etc). However this change significantly improves performance and reduces save file size for players with a lot of playtime.
  
• Adjusted mouse selection of overlapping Beasties in sports matches
  
• Raremorph Beasties that are discovered via rumor from Indie are now properly randomized (previously all were generated from the same starting seed, resulting in similar vibes, colors, etc)
  
• Fixed having the correct Beastie as the server at the beginning of Kaz's new Sports Problem. Before this fix, the puzzle wasn't conventionally winnable.
  
• Adjusted controls displays while on Steam Deck to never show mouse input options
  
• Changed crash behaviour on Steam Deck so that crash data is submitted without requiring mouse clicks
  
• Enforced online features being disabled when playing in Clown randomizer mode
  
• Fixed an issue where item sorting wasn't properly saved/loaded
  
• Fixed issues with Diggum hills / Weald ball shrooms, which could spawn Beastie clones if a players quit and reloaded after recruiting a Beastie found within.
  
• Changed how Beasties spawn from Trash bins to be in line with other special spawn objects. Trash bins now sparkle when they contain a raremorph, and if you save/load in front of a trash bin it remembers the Beastie that was inside. Trash bins also now contain Beasties more often than before, and will always shake if they contain a Beastie. (Previously there was an issue stopping them from shaking until they were hit with trash).
  
• Rivals Combo Attacks now display the attack type the corresponds with the Beastie using it. Previously the attacks were changing type based on the user, but not updating the type that was displayed, causing confusion for some players.
  
• Fixed an issue with boss team generation in Grand Expeditions, which made far fewer varieties appear than we intended. Bosses in Expeditions will now be much more diverse.
  
• Fixed buzzing sound and slowdown when checking certain map icons in Randomizer modes
  
• Reese now warns you if you attempt to set a radar when one is already active
  
• Repeatedly asking the same character for favors now displays their dialogue each time, rather than only the first time
  
• Changed certain conditions for a certain event you can do with Platypulse to make it work with "High Five"
  
• Changed the wording on Skulkapi's recruit condition
  
• Adjusted to ensure the correct message displays when the player is recruiting multiple Beasties and has recruited all of them, OR run out of usable jerseys.
  
• Changed how secondary attack effects are resolved on point win, such that Beasties with Superorganism now still are affected by secondary attack effects on point-ending hits
  
• Changed how Keyboard/Controller configs work to be more robust and enable setting ESC/Select as an input
  
• Fixed a broken scene ending that could occur after beating a late-game boss in Ironman mode
  
• The game window now centers itself anytime resolution updates/changes, to prevent the window from going off-screen and becoming inaccessible
  
• Fixed a few story flags on scenes around Valerie Stride so her introduction doesn't happen twice in certain story routes
  
• Changed some story phone conversations to not occur if the player crosses certain story progression thresholds while already registered for the Crown Series
  
• In Ironman mode, gifts that would contain jerseys now contain water instead. In previous versions, these gifts were set to appear as if they'd already been opened, which confused some players.
  
• Adjusted Marlin's AI in Ironman mode to prevent softlocks if the player begins the tutorial boss match with a wiped Beastie
  
• Added a double confirm when the player presses "back" while recruiting a Beastie in the Grand Expedition if they already have 5 beasties in their squad
  
• Fixed movesets on some Beasties in Tower Tourney/Draft Challenge which were missing
  
• Fixed movesets on Beasties in Tower Tourney/Draft challenge being broken in Randomizer modes
  
• Fixed "Sports Problem" Beasties movesets being broken in Randomizer modes
  
• Removed the "Victory Option" from Draft Challenge matches
  
• Removed an invisible "Skip Drafting" button from the initial draft in Draft Challenge
  
• Beasties recruited in the Draft Challenge now only know the exact 3 plays they have equipped, and no others
  
• Prevented opening the Team Order menu in Draft Challenge or Grand Expedition when the player doesn't have any Beasties
  
• Fixed an issue where skipping one Sport Problem would automatically treat the subsequent ones as skipped as well
  
• Removed an extra space added to player's team name when their descriptor is left blank
  
• Adjusted sizing of Beasties/bonds displayed on a Beastie's detail page, so that they don't obstruct important info
  
• Added more safety checks to prevent players from double-triggering the Draft challenge, resulting in a crash
  
• If a Beastie with the "Launcher" trait is previewing a Sideways attack, the preview now correctly shows the attack as going straight instead
  
• Fixed a few issues with private lobbies getting desynced during different disconnection states
  
• Added a timer to the Team Rotation/preview which precedes PvP matches
  
• Adjusted the display of a Beastie's coached % so that there are no decimal places
  
• Fix for some plays not being learned by level-up when using an item at a Gym and skipping scenes very frequently
  
• Away Teams that were downloaded in older game versions but are no longer compatible in newer versions are now silently removed, rather than lingering on the player's map forever
  
• Removed an old debug sign from the entrance to a post-game area
  
• Added a small number of extra reactions/interactions/lines in dialogue for certain obscure situations
  
• Adjusted some Beastie pose animation states to remove some weird stutters and ensure Beasties are in their Wiped pose after being wiped out by an attack
  
• Added and fixed a bug where the damage calculation of Airblast and Launch wasn't based on the correct Beastie position
  
• Added and fixed a bug that made some Combo Attacks usable when they shouldn't have been, and unusuable when they should have been
  
• When a Beastie attacks with Airblast, and is forced off of the field (ie. by Cyclone) before the attack lands, the attack no longer gets the net power bonus, making it more consistent with other attacks
  
• Fixed player respawn positions when interacting with environmental effects such as wind
  
• Fixed typos
  
• Changed wording in several places to have consistency on the Rutile Preserve's name (which was sometimes called a "reserve" instead).
  
• Changed the color used to represent Grazada for stamina bars and other UI elements
  
• Adjusted layering on some player customization beards
  
• Adjusted some area layouts to fix weird area transitions, collisions, and camera issues
  
• Some areas were changed a bit more substantially; one puzzle in Eburbean Cavern has been completely redone. Too many other changes to remember/list them all!
  
• Removed debug file output related to networking, which should improve PvP performance for some players
  
• Fixed a softlock that could happen in the tutorial if a Beastie with Launcher is chosen as a starter
  
• Added more safety checks to hopefully prevent some common crashes
  
• Found and fixed one more potentially major memory leak
  
• Added a safety check which disables shadows when the game is run on very old GPUs that don't support our lighting textures
  
• Updated credits with some missing names in Character/Beastie voices
  
  Many other fixes were added in a mid-December patch, which I documented here!
  Other fixes are... still coming! Gosh darn, this game is big. Why did I make this game so big?!
  
  Thank you for playing. It means the world to me and the team. :)
  
  

We've been making small regular patches since the last major update! Here's what we've been up to.

Note that fixes are always delayed when coming to Mac versions.

Aaron Melcher, our assistant programmer who occasionally helps with low-level problems and handles our Mac porting, got source code access to GameMaker Studio (our engine) and fixed several bugs in it! He found areas in common functions that could very, very rarely cause memory corruption, which would then lead to unpredictable errors and strange game behaviour. We've noticed that players tend to play Beastieball a LOT, in VERY LONG sessions, to the extent that it's statistically anomalous among all games on Steam. These factors (unusually long game sessions x rare memory corruption issues) would eventually lead to unusual errors.

We also fixed several memory leaks in our own game code.

We hope this patch will substantially increase the game's stability over long sessions!

Several fixes and changes have been applied to match replays.

• You can now save replays of games played online
  
• Replays from older balance patches now are labelled as such and have a warning about possible wrong behaviour
  
• Replays now correctly work with the "Level Cap" setting. NOTE: If you change the "Level Cap" setting during a match, replays of that match will be disabled.
  
• Replays are disabled when random damage is enabled
  
  
  PvP-RELATED CHANGES
• Fixed an issue with team shares being blocked due to bad data on the server
  
• The "Show/Edit Details" screen now shows Beastie stats as if they were level 50, so you can make more useful comparisons
  
• Sligh cleanup of the details display and layering with Beastie art
  
• Fixed softlock when both players in a lobby forfeit at the same time
  
• Fixed issues with the "Ban Duplicates" setting checking your current party rather than your selected lobby team (this caused issues and, in some cases, crashes)
  
  
  NEW DIALOGUE
  We added dialogue filling in a few specific scenarios where players reported expecting new text. Some of this is genuinely new, and some of it was written into the game but wasn't triggering correctly due to bugs. You may spy new text here:
  
• Talking to Reese in Mythwood if you skipped getting sponsored
  
• Talking to Marlin just before the story's final match
  
• Losing a match to one of Elena's fans
  
• Talking to Kaz after a certain hangout event
  
• Talking to Riley after accomplishing some post-game story bits
  
• Talking to Raymond when you have a #99 Beastie but they're away training with Gene
  
• Elena reaction to your performance during a certain hangout
  
  There are many more situations like this I still want to address, but I'm always balancing my time adding new things with handling new bug reports.
  
  
  GAME MECHANICS
• Added enforcement and warnings around recruiting your 1000th Beastie, preventing you from having more than that.
  
• The "Armored" trait was changed to trigger when stamina is "full," rather than 100 or more, creating fewer interactions with high-stamina bosses in Randomizer mode or Mountain Expeditions
  
• Seakit and Petula now metamorph by level when in Randomizer mode if their usual method is not available due to randomization
  
• Corrected the description for the Crafty trait
  
• Beasties at level 100 will no longer feel FIRED UP
  
  
  OTHER FIXES
• Added safety checking for player inputs when loading a save file, preventing corruptions or issues that removed key inputs
  
• Adjusted issues and missing assets in several hairstyles that were added in the December Update.
  
• Fixed a crash that happens when backing out of the final reward in Grand Mountain Expeditions
  
• Fixed an issue with the opponent ignoring WIPED if it was applied using unusual methods during your turn during a Grand Mountain Expedition
  
• Fixed the message for recruiting every Beastie after a match
  
• Fixed an issue with double-triggering certain post-game challenge modes if you were mashing the interact button
  
• Removed the "Send Feedback" prompt on Steam Deck, so that the game may be Deck Verified
  
• Updated one of the "sports problems" in a hangout with Kaz
  
• Added many more safety checks to prevent user input during AI turn selection, preventing many possible bugs with AI and Auto-Mode in particular
  
• Improved spacing on tooltips in the Settings menus
  
• Improved spacing on large question/answer dialogue boxes
  
• Improved spacing for large Beasties when they metamorph
  
• Crown Series matches no longer count toward your Ranked career totals (causing a discrepancy between the title screen and the in-game coach menu display)
  
• Fixed issues with serve damage preview being incorrect sometimes when the level cap setting is enabled
  
• Fixed an issue with map icons selection audio/slowdown when in Randomizer modes (or potentially other situations)
  
• Fixed volume on the GAME OVER musical stinger
  
• Fixed issues with Randomizer modes breaking designs for "sports problems"
  
• Added stronger enforcement ensuring that relationships between Beasties that are both on your current squad never break
  
• Fixed a rare crash with building walls, potentially from certain combos and/or being forced to tag out by an opponent
  
• Safety checking ensuring the player's rank is set correctly when loading a file that has skipped major sections of the game
  
• Fixed an issue with Jack appearing floating in the air before a certain scene that can happen in the Solanum Weald
  
• Fixed an issue with scheduled hangouts appearing on the map when that character isn't available for plot reasons
  
• Fixed an issue in the description of combo attacks that force the target to tag out
  
• The level cap feature is now disregarded during Grand Mountain Expeditions
  
• Adjusted the layout of a couple areas
  
• Changed the color used to represent Heliath for stamina bars and other UI elements
  
• Away Teams no longer appear in some dungeons that don't appear on the map
  
• Fixed an issue with Beastie statistics showing the wrong text for plays learned via favor
  
• Fixed an issue with Reese giving the player a tutorial during bossfights if certain sequences were skipped
  
• Beasties with the Plucky trait no longer get yearnings for feelings if they can't make themselves feel it
  
• The pool of possible Beastie nicknames has an entry that was just "["
  
• Corrected many typos
  
  I still get dozens or hundreds of new feedback reports every day! I'm doing my best to keep up with it all while also trying to work on cool new things. :) Thank you to everyone for your continued support and patience with our tiny team doing big things.

Today's update brings a bunch of new features, changes and fixes to the game!

• Daredillo clean poses added
  
• Noizard clean poses added
  
• Opposur poses added
  
• 9 new hairstyles added to player customization
  
• 9 new options added for player face feature customization
  
• 11 new hats added to player customization (some are not available by default and can be found in shops)
  
• 11 new tops added to player customization (some are not available by default and can be found in shops)
  
• Riley character art cleaned up
  We'll continue adding more art and animation throughout Early Access. Lots more stuff is actively in progress and on its way for future updates!
  
  
  Level Cap Setting
  This is available in settings menu at any time, from the beginning of a new game or even in the middle of any match. This setting will artificially reduce the levels of your Beasties when they exceed the level of your opponents. They'll still receive EXP as usual.
  
  Beastieball was intentionally designed with peaks and valleys of difficulty; we think there's great joy in venturing to difficult areas, growing stronger, and then returning to easier areas where you can win matches easily. But some players would prefer an experience that's more difficult, slow and consistent. By enabling this setting you can ensure that you're never "overlevelled" and always have an interesting strategic match whenever you encounter any opponent at any time in your adventure.
  
  
  Random Team
  In Team Setup (available in Sportnet or during certain post-game challenges), you can save pre-set teams or download teams created by other players. There's now a "Random Team" option on this menu, which will generate a new random team for you at the beginning of every match you play. You can use this new option to quickly jump into high-level PvP matches without building your own team!
  
  
  Mountain Expedition Redux
  This Roguelike post-game challenge has been particularly popular among players, and we thought it could use a little more TLC, so we spent some time adjusting it. In particular our goal was to enable a greater diversity of playstyles and better reward careful planning. The original version was great fun but pushed players towards using only a small handful of Beasties to succeed. The new version is completely reworked and a lot more strategic! We hope you enjoy it.
  
  Note that records set in previous versions will have to be wiped if you want to continue playing Expeditions. We don't intend to wipe progress like this with every update we make, but in this case we felt it was necessary since we've changed how the mode plays and also how it scores a "win" for some Beasties.
  
  
  Other Little Things
• After completing the story, players earn significantly more Social Battery from defeating Away Teams or their own reserve Beasties.
  
• Tower Tourney and Draft Challenge now yield much more SP, especially after defeating bosses
  
• You can now preview opponent Beasties' Free Ball
  
  
  Balance Changes
  This is the first of what will be many adjustments to balance.
  
  In general, our goal with these changes was to reduce the effectiveness of some combinations which could consistently create 1-turn 50/50 or no-win scenarios regardless of matchup. Combinations which were strong in the previous patch should still be strong, but slightly easier to play against, allowing for more diverse match dynamics. These changes are subtle and will only impact players deep in postgame or PvP, such as those competing in the upcoming fan-organized Bring the Heat! tournament.
  
  We also aimed to better distinguish some Beasties' roles by adjusting their plays/traits/stats. Kassaleet and Broslidon now have clearer separate specialties, while other Beasties like Armantis and Musselbound have been given more options to expand their playstyles.
  
  
  Core Mechanics
• Rival Combos: The power of some rival combos was mistakenly higher than intended. They’ve been adjusted to match their intended values. Some have also been made a touch stronger.
  
• Across the board, text has been updated in Trait descriptions to better distinguish how damage is calculated by different factors. This goes hand-in-hand with the following damage calculation changes.
  
• Jazzed: Now adds +50% to your POW instead of multiplying the resulting damage by 1.5. This change keeps Jazzed in-line with other similar buffs.
  
• Rally: Now adds +50% to your Spirit attack POW instead of multiplying the resulting damage by 1.5. This change keeps Rally in-line with other similar buffs. Note: Mind attacks under Rally still have their damage multiplied x3/4
  
  The difference between "+50%" and "x1.5" is subtle but meaningful. For example, in previous versions, if a Beastie was at the net (+50%) and jazzed (x1.5), their power bonus would be 100% + 50% x 1.5 = 225%. Under new balance change, where jazzed is +50%, the same state would yield a power level of 100% + 50% + 50% = 200%.
  
  Effectively this means that power growth will be more linear rather than exponential when stacking certain effects.
  
  
  Traits
• Avenger: Attacks are now 1.2x stronger when an ally is Wiped (from 1.3x)
  
• Determination: Attacks are now 1.3x stronger when user has a bad feeling (from 1.5x)
  
• Blocker: Name has been changed to “Power Forward”.
  
• Performer: Defense is now increased 1.3x during Rally (from 1.25x)
  
• (New for Armantis!) Monster Block: Using “Block” also makes the target feel 2 Shook.
  
  
  Plays
• Juggle: Although its type is still "Volley," this play no longer counts as a "volley" for most calculations. This impacts many areas including relationship building, as well as interactions with certain plays such as Zigzag, which will no longer be strengthened by juggling.
  
• Airblast: POW reduced to 115 (from 130)
  
• Blaze: Spirit POW Boost reduced to +2 (from +3)
  
• Hex: Tired inflicted increased to 8 (from 4)
  
• Hyperspike: Tired inflicted on self increased to 3 (from 2)
  
• Patience: Now grants +1 to user's DEF stats after clearing stat changes
  
• Pump Up: Body POW boost reduced to +1 (from +2). The move now also advances the user toward the net.
  
• (NEW!) Ricochet: Mind Attack with 80 POW. Used from net. POW x1.5 if user received the ball.
  
• Shake Off: Stamina recovery increased to +20 (from +15)
  
• Toppler: Damage multiplier increased to +100% POW for every boost on the target (from +50%)
  
• Ultimate Attack: POW increased to 220 (from 200)
  
  
  Movesets
• Armantis:
  - Added: Ricochet, Spike, Quick Set, Distraction (now learned by level up)
  - Removed: Mighty Yell, Roll Shot, Shake Off
  
• Skibble / Skarmok / Boldlur:
  - Added: Ricochet
  
• Leobro / Broslidon:
  - Removed: Quick Breath
  
• Calcroach / Debugly:
  - Added: Numbshot
  - Removed: Telekinesis
  
• Kichik / Ostrisigh / Kasaleet:
  - Added: Smack
  
• Sefren / Zefyre:
  - Added: Net Rush (now learned via level-up)
  - Removed: Cut Shot
  
• Musselbound:
  - Added: Patience, Grit
  - Removed: High Five, Pump Up
  
  
  Stats
• Broslidon:
  - Body POW: Reduced to 100 (from 105)
  - Spirit POW: Increased to 50 (from 45)
  - Spirit DEF: Increased to 58 (from 53)
  - Mind DEF: Reduced to 75 (from 80)
  
• Armantis:
  - Spirit POW: Reduced to 23 (from 27)
  - Body DEF: Reduced to 75 (from 85)
  - Mind DEF: Increased to 75 (from 60)
  
  
  Other Fixes
• Fixed crashes that occurred for some players visiting the Team Setup menu or attempting to download a team
  
• Fixed an issue with trash cans not appearing in Geo City on some operating systems
  
• Beasties that come from trash cans don't float anymore
  
• Fixed an issue preventing some Beasties from metamorphing via special conditions if their metamorph was rejected previously
  
• Away Teams server logic has been updated to correct a few issues that caused incorrect teams to be distributed in some cases (spoiler Beasties, wrong level, etc).
  
• Fix for issue where away teams would appear on the map before spawning in the game world
  
• Away Teams that have been waiting for longer to find an opponent now get a boost in priority for spawning. This means lower-level teams may sometimes appear for players, but in general Away Teams should spend less time waiting to find opponents.
  
• Fixed an issue/crash with loading/unloading Beastiepedia field sketches. This fix might have also fixed several other seemingly-unrelated issues with broken models appearing in some places and other random issues/crashes.
  
• Fixed a softlock that was possible during an endgame story sequence
  
• Fixed some control description UI not updating correctly to custom controls
  
• Fixed an issue with mixing keyboard/mouse input on the name entry in the character creator, which would close the menu when a player typed a letter corresponding to a "back" button
  
• Fix for render order on the crown of captain Beasties in captains mode
  
• Fix for player face frozen on a concerned expression if they talk to certain NPCs in Rutile after getting their first jerseys
  
• Fix to Riley being uninteractable during a particular hangout if it's initiated after registering for the Crown Series
  
• On the file select, Beasties now render behind important labels noting ironman/randomizer settings
  
• Beasties establishing a new close bond and breaking an old one are now ~500,000x more likely to break a relationship with a Beastie that isn't on your active lineup
  
• The player can no longer clap while hugging
  
• When booting up on Steamdeck, the game always sets itself to fullscreen regardless of ingame settings. This is to correct a potential issue with switching between devices; on a console like Steamdeck we expect players would never want to play windowed.
  
• Stopped away teams from spawning in Cordia Lake as this is inconvenient
  
• Enforced scenes that should be skippable which sometimes weren't. This was mainly impacting speed runs.
  
• Adjusted/updated many Beastie encounter movesets to reflect the new balance changes
  
• Added safety checks to prevent various other common crashes
  
• Many typos and area adjustments
  
  
  Thanks!
  These first few weeks have been exhilarating for the team! Working on the game and adding all these things feels extra amazing thanks to the enthusiasm and encouragement of players. More to come!!!

This is a quick note that the post-game Mountain Expedition has been radically updated in the experimental branch. This new update will clear your past records to reflect the large difference in gameplay.

We don't want to punish players who found fun ways to play the Expedition previously, but we're trying out new changes in an effort to increase run diversity and make a greater range of Beasties/team comps viable.

We welcome any feedback on it as we continue to adjust the balance!

I've been updating the game regularly in the background for the last week amidst some days of vacation and celebration with the team.

+ Trat now can learn "Whistle"
+ Crawlurk now can learn "Mark"
These plays were previously excluded because of an oversight; we always intended these Beasties to have access to these plays. Until our Mac build is updated sometime in the next 24 hours, PC and Mac players will not be able to play PVP together since they are temporarily operating on different balance patches.

• The Team Setup menu (used for online PVP and postgame challenges) now has a "Random Team" option. You can try this out in PVP lobbies to get a quick-made team without needing to build your own; the feature also may be fun/useful as an easy local multiplayer option.
  
• Fixed the issue some players saw just after the patch last week that made save data appear to be corrupted on the experimental branch
  
• Expanded the text explaining the experimental level cap feature a bit more.
  I still have some reports regarding damage previews interacting with the level cap feature which I need to look into.
  
  
  Yearning Fixes
  I fixed several issues related to Yearnings. Then accidentally added several new issues to Yearnings, and fixed those too... I think this covers the issues which players have reported which are now fixed
  
• Jellibat no longer displays a blank Yearning at later levels
  
• Beasties that are held back from metamorphing no longer display previously-completed Yearnings
  
• Punkchirp, Petula and Seakit all get a Yearning at certain levels to help players figure out their metamorph condition. This was intended as a feature at launch but was missing due to an oversight. Kudos to players who worked these out without any hints! It's still possible to figure these out without hints, but this feature is intended as a safety net for players whose Beasties get to an advanced level without metamorphosing.
  
  
  Expedition Changes
• Fixed an issue where it was possible to exit the Expedition with a mis-timed right click
  
• Beasties now metamorph correctly from the "free" level ups you get after each match
  
• You can no longer gain rewards from Seeded routes.
  
• SP awarded by Gene has been reduced by 20%
  We're really happy to see players enjoying this post-game challenge. We're aware of a lot of other feedback which we have yet to address, and have a some other ideas on how we want to expand this mode; for now these are just quick band-aid changes just to bring the economy balance a little more into line.
  
  
  Speedrun Changes
• The cutoff time for certain story scenes swapping to their "Speedrun" version was made a little less strict in light of some routes not engaging with story until later
  
• Added and then rolled back an AI feature intended to make Diggum easier to recruit early in the game for certain speedrun routes
  
  
  Everything else...
• Selection ranges for highlighting Beasties using keyboard or controller during matches have been tweaked. This corrects a few reported issues of certain Beasties being unselectable in certain situations. These types of interactions are extremely difficult to resolve all of outselves due to the immense variety of Beasties sizes and positions which we need to account for, so we appreciate players reporting these obscure moments where menu selection doesn't work.
  
• Certain post-game scenes were missing for a period of a couple days between patches, preventing Beasties from getting injured or recovering from injury if they were already injured; these are fixed now (apologies)
  
• The ability to exit replays with ESC was temporarily disabled due to an oversight; this should be back in now (I forgot to test this one, oops)
  
• Having a lure spray active now prevents reserve Beasties from appearing
  
• Having a lure spray active now dramatically expands the color range of Bindiva which appear, regardless of current fashion trends
  
• If a rareorph Jellibat metamorphs, Froofulks will now be marked as having its raremorph recruited as well in the Beastiepedia
  
• Adjusted a commonly complained-about platforming section in a wintery post-game area
  
• Wandering Beasties and away teams no longer appear on certain post-game areas that are sandwiched between platforming challenges
  
• The player's Beasties now space away from blocking view of cutscene characters more aggressively, especially during certain scenes where this was a common reported issue
  
• Attempted fix for the common issue on Mac where Beastie colors change during matches (will be live when the Mac build updates sometime soon).
  
• Disabled fast-travelling during a brief moment in a lategame story section where players aren't meant to be able to fast-travel
  
• Fixed a couple issues with Riley calling you during unintended story matches
  
• Fixed an issue with the merch guy stopping you entering the Crown Series from the wrong elevation
  
• NPCs on Gamboge now correctly vanish during sport matches
  
• Tool no longer displays a lane target preview while the ball is airbore (previously it showed a lane visualization in a completely random places)
  
• Reese's contact is now added to your phone in some story paths which unintentionally skipped this
  
• Fixed an issue where Riven wouldn't challenge the player if you were partway through her story before finishing the Crown Series
  
• Fixed an issue with not being able to complete Sunsoo's story in the post-game if certain interactions were skipped before the Crown Series
  
• Fixed the Crown Series "Game Over" track overlapping with BGM
  
• Adjusted control layers such that the "Run" button can overlap with "Left Tab"
  
• Fixed a layering issue with a certain facial hair option and certain clothes
  
• Fixed an issue with Player Beasties rarely erroneously displaying an Away Team name above their head
  
• Fixed an issue with certain story phone calls happening in the Gamboge Beastieball arena when they shouldn't
  
• Turned down certain SFX during the Legend of Office final boss
  
• Wild background Webbounces no longer squeak during matches
  
• Added another safety check to prevent softlocks related to standing on the wrong side of Jack during impassable matches
  
• A certain character is now correctly recognized as being onscreen when making certain phone calls in the post-game
  
• Fixed the %age displayed for research completion when sorting Beasties by research level in the Beastiepedia
  
• Updated the render order of elements in the Research Complete screen
  
• Proper message for trying to create an Away Team when you have <2 reserves
  
• If a raremorph Diggum has any Shooga-family Beasties on their team, they will use custom AI intended to make Shooga-family recruit conditions easier to meet.
  
• Added one new gift in an oft-requested location
  
• Many area layouts tweaked, including ball shrooms getting added to many more screens
  
• A couple of Beasties in lategame encounters were assigned incorrectly and are now fixed
  
• Fixed many typos
  
• Some (very) minor variations were added to dialogue in the denouement to better reflect individual player choices
  
• Extra safety checks preventing certain obscure crashes