So, let's see how long we keep this up. ;P
General
- The game client on pawdgame.com now uses a preloader, instead of simply displaying a black page while loading.
- Hunters can now reach level 20.
- Guilds now have a guild board that they can place messages on. Any guild member that can set the guild message of the day can also edit the guild board. (Suggested by Pike)
- The graphics for the guild log and the bank log were updated.
- http://my.icyworlds.net/db/crafting now shows what items can be crafted into what arrows.
- Once queued, all battlegrounds (except the Battle for Schwartzwald Castle, which shows the schedule) now display the level bracket (such as level 18-22) that you are queued for.
- When hunters attack from camouflage, their arrows (and particular where they come from) will be visible to other players.
- Hunters can now learn Eagle Eye, which temporarily increases the stealth detection of themselves and any nearby group members.
- The damage caused by Double Strafe has been reduced.
- - In addition, strength no longer increases the damage from ranged attacks, which is what the dexterity stat is for.
- The Schwartzwald General now provides arrows to the attacking group. These arrows are a step down from regular arrows, only work in Schwartzwald Castle, and are dropped upon getting knocked out.
- The logo in the screenshots has been replaced with a Paw'D logo.
- Frigus can now drop hunter-specific items in easy and regular mode.
- The hate you generate by attacking while in camouflage is now reduced slightly.
- Using backstep instantly reduces the hate of any monsters you step away from.
- Packages can be now be returned, if you do not (or cannot) to pick up any items attached to it. (Suggested by Pike)
- The General in Schwatzwald Castle has been scaled down for battlegrounds lower than level 25.
- - Furthermore, if the General is lured too far from its spawn point, it will automatically abandon any targets and reset to full health.
- If an item has been taken from the mail, its faded-out image on the mail states that fact when hovered over.
- The client will now check for an updated map at least the first time after it is was loaded, even if the map itself was cached already.
- Hunter's direct-target arrow skills (such as Double Strafe and Piercing Arrow) will do reduced damage against targets closer than the minimum shooting range of 6 metres.
- Eagle Eye now also affects group members that are in combat.
- Group spells that fail for whatever reason (stronger spell already in effect, ...) only give at most one error message, no matter how many group members the spell could not be applied on.
- Spells and buffs that are used automatically (for example, through spirit bottles) no longer result in an error message if they cannot be applied.
- Pike drew a portable Christmas Tree, which has been added to Rudolf.
- The Christmas and New Year events will end after this weekend - hopefully everyone had time to get whatever they wanted - if there is anything you are still going for, make sure to get it before Jan 28.
- Several spelling mistakes have been found by Bramble and have been corrected.
- Potions of Obedience and Charming Potions are no longer classified as combat pet items, and hence no longer share cooldown with the respective items either.
- The beginner area has been touched up slightly; Jack is now watching over Bluebells near Sylvana, who finds players after their escape from the mine, and sells some basic items.
- The effectiveness of Growl Level 3 and 4 has been increased slightly.
- Because 11pm GMT seems to be a really really difficult time for people to make it on, TvT now starts 30 minutes later, at 11:30pm GMT.
- Guild banners have been placed in Saliko and Ashaya to display the logos and the names of the guild that conquered Schwartzwald castle.
- Priests can now learn Exorcise, an area spell that hits ghost, undead, demon and dark targets.
- While fighting Terechia in hard mode, spores can be seen in the air.
- The effectiveness of Determination has been reduced slightly.
Level Scaling
- Level and item scaling have been added for groups with highly diverse levels that enter a much lower level dungeon.
- - Both of these conditions have to hold, otherwise no scaling is applied. If a full group of level 32s enters the Hollow Tree, they will not be scaled down. If a group of level 32s enters the Hollow Tree with a level 20, they will be.
- - If scaling is applied, item stats and levels are scaled to appropriate values based on the lowest level group member. The effects of buffs that give stats are reduced as well due to design reasons.
- - Skill levels that are not available for a player with the scaled level will not function; instead, the highest available level will be used. For example, if a priest is scaled to level 20 and uses Heal Level 8, Level 6 will be cast instead, because that is the highest heal level available for level 20s.
- - Skills that are not available at all for the scaled level will cast at level 1.
- - Each dungeon that is affected has a lower boundary below which it won't scale.
- - The lower bound is still reasonably higher than the intended level of dungeon. For example, the Hollow Tree will not scale anyone to below level 19.
Bug Fixes
- One of the optimizations in the game client caused characters to sometimes be displayed in front of scenery that should actually hide them. This should no longer occur. (Reported by Pike)
- Instance portals were displayed in the wrong colour (and sometimes switching between colours) as a result of another optimization, which has been fixed.
- A glitch in the stealth code caused the minions of world bosses to sometimes fade out of view while they were not in combat.
- Gaining a level that unlocks new quests should now be properly update any NPCs on the map. (Reported by Goldy)
- A gap in the platforms of Schwartzwald castle has been closed. (Reported by Goldy)
- A bug in the random map generation code caused platforms to be missing in certain situations. This has been tracked down and fixed. (Reported by Pike and Silverstream)
- Fixed a glitch that triggered when being teleported at just the wrong moment while on a loading screen.
- Minor platform display issues have been fixed in the Attic of Ashaya's Robot Factory.
- The attacks of the Frenzied Whelpling could be completely negated by summoning a pet and desummoning it if necessary. This has been fixed. (Reported by Pike)
- Fixed a regression bug of Healing Springs not displaying properly.
