Hey gladiators, at long last, the Observatory Update has gone live!

For as long as the game has been in Early Access, observatories have been on the world map. Little radar tower icons our gladiators were told about but could never visit - until now. Whenever you defeat a Grand Champion, take a stellar crystal to one of the five observatories on the world map!

So, what are these observatories? Set up by the benevolent robotic Automatons, these radar towers can be used to weaken or delay the arrival of the evil Starbound Gladiator. Use your Stellar Crystals here and you can potentially change your destiny. There are two minigames you can play , one to weaken the Starbound Gladiator's stats when they finally arrive, and another to delay their arrival and buy yourself crucial time.

In addition, you can challenge one of the five Resident Observer Automatons to combat, potentially winning powerful new gear!

Also in this patch, I have attempted to streamline the game a bit by removing the Loading Screens by default. If you have an older machine and / or you find the game now feels 'choppier' when you switch between screens, this is the reason why. You may prefer the smoother fades between areas while the game loads more data - if so, you can certainly turn Loading Screens back on in the Settings Menu, and I recommend you do if you are having any issues at all!

I really hope you enjoy the Observatories update. From next week, work finally begins on the last major section of the game ... Dungeons! ( Well.. the last other than Multiplayer which is being developed concurrently by another skilled dev ) .

Until next time, bye for now!

Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios

V 0.7.5.A (October 28 2022) Patch Notes:

--- NEW FEATURES ---

• Added five Observatories to visit ( They require Stellar Crystals which you can gain via defeating Grand Champions)
  
• Visiting Observatories can now weaken or delay the Starbound Gladiator on their journey ( Player choice )
  
• Added five new Automaton Champions to challenge
  
• Added two new Observatory minigames to play
  
  
• *NEW* You now have the option to disable loading screens. Be aware that this is experimental and has been disabled as of 0.7.5.D - you may experience a bit of stutter when you go between screens while data loads … if this is too noticeable (especially on older screen) or you prefer the old, smooth fade transitions, in that case switch Loading Screens back to ON in Settings.
  

--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---

• The Urban hit chance / penalties have been reduced from 20% to 10% ( because there are so many Urban fights in the game considering champion bosses etc )
  
• The first Arena Champion Huge Charles now has less health , making him easier to defeat
  

--- SHOP FIXES / CHANGES ---

• Significantly increased the price and level requirements of all Steeds in the game. This is done to make them harder to obtain and increase the tension of the days as they count down to the Starbound's arrival