Many thanks to players that have been sending me bug reports and requests for enhancements, I've tried to put as many of those in as possible. And there's a big list for this update. I keep a running list of changes here:
https://www.infinitedungeoncrawler.com/release-notes/, but I'll detail the most significant below.
I added ORCS, including the ORC WARLORD, to the game. You'll see them now in every world except The Abysmal Furnaces (they don't like heat). I remember back in my D&D playing days orcs were the cannon fodder of battles, and I've tried to keep to that spirit. You're more likely to dull your weapons on them than get killed by them. But they are fun to fight and with an Orc Warlord at higher levels can present a challenge. They love to scream and run into battle --- whether that decision is wise or not.
A more challenging foe that has been added is the SKELETAL COMMANDER. You'll encounter this guy at level 5 and above in many places you would normally encounter skeletons. Skeletal Commanders were strong warriors in life and continue to be such in undeath. They carry two-handed swords and have many of the common two-handed battle skills such as SWEEP ATTACK, RIPOSTE, and PRECISION STRIKE. Plus they like to MARK targets to have minions attack. They also have a good amount of armor.
Another big change that you will see almost right away is that open worlds (The Hidden Realm and The Frozen Expanse) now have ruins that monsters will use as dens. Many of these ruins are crumbling and falling apart, but they have something that is new to the game: ROOFS. This now goes for the ruins in The Abysmal Furnaces as well. This means that ambient light won't go all the way into the buildings and they can be dark inside. This will change how you approach them as most players have darkness penalties and many monsters can see perfectly fine in the dark and thus do not have the penalties. Similar to The Caverns of Grimlock, lighting conditions become a tactical consideration. I had fun enhancing the lighting in the game to allow for some light to seep in through openings and windows. Some of the creatures that can't see in the dark are also likely to have a campfire or torches, which will provide some light.
I've made some significant improvements to monster AI. First, based on intelligence, creatures won't like standing in a negative static effect (e.g., fog, fire, etc.). This means that they may choose to move out of it, not just stand there because their target is in the next square. Or even better ... they may move out of it, behind you, then try to push you into it. Also, monsters are now much more opportunistic in their attacks. While they can still choose to target someone further away, if they pass by someone closer they may choose to attack them instead. Lastly, many monsters with ranged weapons will try to seek partial cover behind a low object, which lets them shoot over the object but blocks most incoming melee attacks. This also includes when they're using a melee weapon with extended range, like a spear or polearm.
Its not a big deal, but a visible one. Plate armors can now be ENAMELED in silver or gold. It doesn't change their functionality or properties (other than cost more). But it does change their looks.
Finally, to hit the most visible changes list, you'll now see some tiles are SWAMPY. These can be moved through, but they'll use more stamina to do it. You'll be able to tell when you're in one because the player's feet will appear to be in ankle-deep water, and the walking sound will change to a squishy sound. They're also fairly obvious because they look half grass and half water.
There are a bunch of other bug fixed here and there. Again, refer to the full list with the link above.
On another note, I have got a lot done on the new world ... The Swampy Isles. I have the world generation working and am about halfway through creating all the monsters. One of my favorites so far is the BULLWUG, which is a frog-like humanoid. They love to hide in ferns and sneak up on you. I also like the DROWNED MEN. They are near a shipwreck and they're undead that can heal when in shallow water. Quite challenging. I have also added quite a few new armors and weapons, plus over 40 new facial features to add variety (e.g., hair styles, noses, eyes, jaws, etc.). I've also added many new abilities, like WATER WALKING (very handy in this wet world). I'm hoping to release within a month or two here. Very excited about it.
The game has seemed fairly stable since the last update fixing some of the memory leaks. I can't say its perfect. I've verified that there are cases where my game releases memory but Java doesn't release it back to the system. That is out of my control. But my own experience (as well as reports from players) is that the crashes are few and far between. But if you are still getting frequent crashes, I recommend turning down the GRAPHICS QUALITY and the FRAME RATE. That can make a big difference.
One last note: Steam is good about automatically updating game content, but if you ever see an update notice and your build # (down in the lower-left corner of most screens) doesn't match, check your settings for the game in Steam and make sure updates are turned on. One trick I've found to force it to update is to go to the game listing, then MANAGE, then GAME PROPERTIES. Under LOCAL FILES click on the button for VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES... I've found that that will force the update to the latest.
Changed files in this update