In this weeks update, and by popular demand, new gladiators can now select the UNLIMITED DAYS game setting. In this game mode, your gladiator has as many days as they require to defeat all 12 Grand Champions and trigger the Starbound Gladiator fight.

This is of course not the 'default' game mode because by design, there should be some urgency to the game as the ultimate enemy races towards you. However, I believe players should be able to play the game they way they want, so I try to give as many options as I can. Just remember, you need to start a new gladiator to toggle this option on.

The other big update for this week is all about adding a little vibrance, atmosphere and imagination to the world in the form of all new background pictures for every single homeland and town location in the game ( over 50 ! ). I was never really happy with the murky, washed out homeland backgrounds before so I've gone back and redone them all.

I hope you enjoy seeing these pictures as you enter each town, to give you a little sense of where you are in your journeys through Brandor.

I've also been working on the Observatories update this week but that won't drop for maybe another week or two. I'll keep you all posted - meanwhile thanks to you all for the kind reviews and great feedback, it does not go unnoticed! As a solo dev, it really does motivate me to keep powering away at the game until the finish line.

Cheers, Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios

Here are the full patch notes for this week's update.

V 0.7.3.A (October 12 2022):

--- NEW FEATURES ---

• New gladiators now have the option to select Unlimited Days as an option - meaning the Starbound Gladiator will not arrive until you are ready. This is off by default as it removes a lot of the tension and suspense of the game.
• All new background art for every character homeland and town on the map. These will show when you first enter a town to help create a sense of the wider world around the gladiator.

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---

• When used against Grand Champions or Arena Champions, Virtuoso will no longer insta-kill. Instead it will take off 20% or 30% of total health respectively.
• The Starbound Gladiator is now immune to Virtuoso

--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---

• Fixed a bug where you could not use bows in 'Non Melee' Arenas (bows are considered ranged, not melee, for the purpose of the game)
• Fixed a bug where random rules could still apply during the Starbound Gladiator battle
• Fixed a bug where players did not rejuvinate / reset after the Starbound Gladiator battle.

--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---

• Improved chance of gaining more powerful gear at higher levels gear slightly

--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---

• Added option to skip "Bad Ending" Cutscene once you have already seen it once.
• Redesigned the "New Game" challenge setup panel
• Changed Campfire wake up scene to show background picture of the current town you are in
• New background pictures will also appear when you arrive at a town ( only if cutscenes are on in your game settings )