v0.7 Changelog

v0.7: MQ (1/3/25)

   CORE MECHANICS / INFORMATION / META
   - This new version's defining feature is the fateful introduction of working quest module functionality. Quests and quest-exclusive content (currently supporting NPCs and skills), outside of the game, are now handled separately from the main database. The content can be bundled together and freely redistributed as modules. Once the engine is booted up, though -- it all comes together, it all becomes one. The possibilities are endless. Contrasting with the previous version's exceedingly long name, the title for v0.7 goes straight to the point: "MQ", a concise celebration of the preliminary version of the Main Quest module, the very backbone of the game's progression.
   - More, even more, animal rebalancing... it never ends!
      Deterrence standards were changed back to 30~60, down from 40~70. Even small animals had become too tanky in the previous version! We will find the sweet spot someday.
      All animals with 95 Base HP or less are now encountered as animal collectives, changed from only amphibians, passerine birds, fishes of any kind, insects, rodents and shrewlike animals with 90 Base HP or less.
   - Introduced the concept of descriptors activating passive effects in the presence of active skills. Due to this, certain Passive skills have been assigned new types, while the passive effects previously granted by them are now handled by a certain descriptor or another skill. On similar principles, the regional variant mechanic is now tied to a monster's Talent itself, which reads the entity's learnset and then applies the appropriate changes.
   - Vital gain has been reworked to act as a mirror to Vital loss, extending HP or MP with absolute instead of percentage-based values. Both Vital gain and loss are capped at the same value as the entity's actual Vitals. Vital gain now cancels out Vital loss and vice-versa.
   - Starting CRD for all characters is now 150, down from 175.
   - Raised Impulsivity-based chance of creatures who are being talked to cease attacking to 100%/85%/70%/55%/40%, up from 100%/80%/60%/40%/20%.
   - Phased out the "Ruin" mechanic for Rune crafting.
   - Introduced six lovely mooks who will attack your party on ambush events! Each of them corresponds to one of the six classes unlocked on Level 2. Meet Bandit (Ranger), Fanatic (Magician), Hooligan (Brawler), Maverick (Fighter), Rebel (Rogue), and Renegade (Squire)!
      In a way, though unintended, this is like a throwback to the RPG Maker 2003-inspired origins of the monster roster. The RPG Maker 2003 RTP featured a few sprites representing human(-like) enemies, such as darkelf.png, necromancer.png, and sorcerer.png, among others. All of these human "monsters" were cut from the system right from the start, though berserker.png was adapted into the "Berserk" monster, and vampire.png became the "Vampire" (essentially similar, but with the permanent appearance of "batfolk", if you'll allow me the term, rather than a shapeshifting Stokerian vampire as originally depicted). darkknight.png ultimately evolved to become The Starlit Knight (initially "The Dark Knight" and later "The Stellar Knight"), who was himself treated as a monster up until v0.2. Deep. Well, revive the idea and throw in a little bit of my personal favorite, RPG Maker VX (from where we get a Bandit.png and one Fanatic.png, along with an even larger assortment of human battler sprites than in RPG Maker 2003) and here we have this happy accident.
   - General core nomenclature changes:
      Primary derived parameters are now called "Battle power parameters".
      Secondary derived parameters are now called "Battle success parameters".
      Tertiary derived parameters are now called "Other parameters".
      Field actions are now called "Activities".
      The "Core game events" are now referred to as the "main quest".
      Cities, as a whole, are now called "Settlements". Cities proper are still referred to as "Cities".
      The tentatively named "field options" are now called "modes" ("Look mode", "Move mode", etc.).
      Instances of the word "Medium" throughout the spreadsheet were replaced by "Average".
   - New Information entries: Revival.
   - New sheets: Parameters; Terms, Alt-Generic; and Terms, Nickname.
   - Sheets being phased out: Utilities, Dungeon.   

   CHARACTERS
   - Added or renamed Talents for: Deathblob (Thing That Should Not Be), Garuda (Honorable Mount), Golem (Handler's Bidding), Gorgon (Dreadful Company), Kraken (Sunken Dredge), Lamia (Temptress of Eventide), Manticore (Voracious Eater), Medusa (Tragic Protectress), Minotaur (Labyrinth Dweller), Oni (Hellish Mask), Qilin (Graceful Pose), Siren (Spellbinding Chorister), Vampire (Inside the Needle Veins).
   - Added/removed monsters:
      Poltergeist (#127) added.
      Dullahan (#129) removed.
         The Dullahan has been repurposed as a new regional variant for the Wight (#31).
      Jackalope (#160) removed in favor of Carcolh (Slime/Terrestrial).
   - Changed animals:
      Anaconda (#8), Boa (#45) and Python (#294) now have Animal Wringer as a default attack, changed from Animal Appendage.
      Cat (#66) now has 100 Base HP, down from 105; and 20 Base Speed, up from 18.
      Cat (#66) and Dog (#106) now resist Light and Darkness.
      Cheetah (#72) now has 3.5 Speed Growth, down from 3.6; and 33 HP Growth, down from 34.
      Civet (#79) now has 115 Base HP, up from 100.
      Genet (#138) now has 110 Base HP, up from 100.
      Leopard (#202) now has 200 Base HP, up from 170.
      Lion (#202) now has 260 Base HP, up from 220.
      Macaw (#213) now has 130 Base HP, down from 145.
      Mackerel (#214) now has 90 Base HP, up from 80.
      Marlin (#222) now has Animal Tusk as a default attack, changed from Animal Mouth.
      Pistol shrimp (#285) now has Animal Claw as a default attack, changed from Animal Projectile (now discontinued). It now has an exclusive Passive skill that adds effects to its default attack to make it work more like the old skill.
      Racer (#298) now has Animal Wringer as a default attack, changed from Animal Toxin.
      Serval (#328) now has 140 Base HP, up from 125.
      Tiger (#382) now has 280 Base HP, up from 240.
      Added Speed values to all remaining insects. Insects with the same Talents all share the same Speed Growth curve, but their respective Base Speed values may still vary.
      All animals with 95 Base HP or less are now encountered as animal collectives. Adjusted HP values on animals who would or wouldn't mesh well with this new criterion.
         Araçari (#20), Coot (#88), Lapwing (#195), Partridge (#270), Petrel (#277), Roadrunner (#309), Skua (#339) and Toucanet (#387) are now encountered as "flocks". 
         Axolotl (#23), Frog (#133), Gecko (#137), Newt (#249) and Toad (#384) are now encountered as "swarms".
         Carp (#63), Cod (#84) and Pickerel (#280) are no longer encountered as "schools".
         Chicken (#75), Duck (#111), Eider (#119), Loon (#207), Olingo (#255) and Razorbill (#303) now have 100 Base HP.
         Colugo (#86), Fruit bat (#134), Loris (#208) and Vesper bat (#395) are now encountered as "colonies".
         Kiwi (#187) now has 105 Base HP.
         Meerkat (#226), Mink (#230), Mongoose (#235) and Weasel (#407) are now encountered as "packs".
         Jellyfish (#180), Minnow (#231) and Pollock (#287) now have 90 Base HP.
         Platypus (#286) now has 110 Base HP.
         Rabbit (#296), Sablefish (#312) and Salmon (#313) now have 95 Base HP.
   - Changed classes:
      The Knight class now has 110 Class HP, up from 105.
      The Paladin class now has 105 Class HP, up from 100.
      The Harbinger class now has 95 Class MP, up from 90.
   - Changed NPCs:
      Changed The Starlit Knight's affinity set to VSA (from SVA). Take a close look at his row on the "NPCs" tab to find out why!
   - Changed monsters:
      Flittermouse (#002) is no longer weak to the Ice element.
      Jiangshi (#128) and Banshee (#129) have had their IDs changed due to the addition and removal of certain monsters.
      Dryad (#143), Doguu (#154), Metamorph (#162) and Nepenthes (#13) all lose 10 ♂%, now having 10, 20, 30, and 40 ♂%, respectively.
      Tiamat (#106), Bahamut (#107), Satan (#108), Archon (#224), and Prophet (#225) are now properly identified as unique monsters.
   - Renamed monsters:
      Drone (#003) is now called "Horntail".
      Scolopendra (#008) is now called "Arthropleura".
      Dakuwanga (#040) is now called "Megalodon".
      Titan (#089) is now called "Deva".
      Archdemon Dragon (#224) is now called "Archon".
   - Changed Talents:
      I Am a Chondrichthyan! now adds 8 Evasion, down from 12. Effect is still doubled in aquatic biomes.
   - New Barracks unit: Trooper (Service Town, Rozvian Nation).
   - New Main Quest NPCs:
      Bandit, Fanatic, Hooligan, Maverick, Rebel, Renegade.
   - New Manifestations:
      PPP: Thank Your Lucky Stars (The Starlit Knight).
   - New monster regional variants: Torch of Madness Shadow (Hellenian nation), Black Harbinger Wight (Hibernian nation).
   - Renamed the "Properties" column in the Classes tab to "Descriptor system".
   - Removed the "Offense" column in the Entities tab. Animals may now have alternate attacks with differing Power values from their default attack.
   - Removed the "Regional variants" and "True identity" columns within the "Other mechanics" grouping in the Monsters tab.
   - Corrected instances of "Ouroboros" being spelled as "Oroboros" throughout the spreadsheet.
   - In a small reformulation of the lore, Titans are now called "Devas". Jeanne and Montezuma give way to Beowulf and Cleopatra as Devas; Semiramis gives way to the non-unique Deva Einherjar; and Cybele and Gaia give way to Anahita and Demeter as Goddesses.
      Only non-unique Asuras (Apsara, Daitya, Danava, Gajasura, Rakshasa, Vanara) and Devas (Bodhisattva, Einherjar) will be found in random encounters at night on Encounter Zones 7 and 8.
   - The Austro and Tramontane High Kings, Leveche and Mistral Senior Presidents, and Gregale and Sirocco Prime Ministers are now proper main quest NPCs instead of alt/generic characters!
      Samael is no longer a main quest NPC.   

   INVENTORY
   - Added items:
      Trump (Throwing), Wild Card (Card).
   - Changed arms:
      Globe (Special) had its element changed to Water (from Earth).
      Urn of Temperance had its type changed to Special (from Gun).
      Vega (Sword) now adds 3.3 Attack per Level, down from 3.8.
   - Changed gear:
      Altair (Headgear) now adds 0.8 Defense per Level, down from 1.1.
      Betelgeuse (Top Armor) now adds 1.0 Defense and 1.6 Speed per Level, down from 1.1 Defense and 1.9 Speed.
      Deneb (Bottom Armor) now adds 1.0 Defense and 1.7 Speed per Level, down from 1.1 Defense and 1.9 Speed.
   - Changed items:
      Arambai, Bola, Dart, Kunai, Shuriken, Sling and Tomahawk (Throwing) had their Weights lowered to 130, down from 140.
      Mushrooms are now grouped into the new item type "Food / Toadstools".
   - Renamed gear:
      All of the mainline Heavy I Top Armors previously suffixed by "Armor" are now suffixed by "Cuirass" instead.
   - Renamed items:
      Spirit, Specter, Ghost and Wraith (Soul) are now called "A Spirit", "A Specter", "A Ghost" and "A Wraith", respectively.
   - Monsters #111-#171 and #208-#215 now each drop their unique ????? items, adding 69 new entries to the Items tab.
   - Switched around the properties of the Arambai (Throwing), Dart (Throwing), and Kunai (Throwing). Arambai's new status as the odd one out of the Throwing items (for having the ninth attribute, Stab) is meant to reference Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas (2016), where the newly introduced Arambai unit was considered overpowered in competitive play - an analogue to the way the Stab attribute has increased effectiveness against fellow human players.
   - Removed the "Ruin" column under the "Rune info" grouping in the Items tab.
   - Introduced the Training info column to the Arms tab. Initiation of Training regimens is now handled generically by the Property system and Training mutations are now handled by the Training regimen itself instead of the equipment that initiated it.   

   ENGAGEMENT
   - Added skills:
      Animal Wringer (Attack); Butcher, Harvest, Hero's Burden, Stalk, Watch (Command); Antibiotic Jab, Black Harbinger, Ghost Helmsman's Scream/Ghost Ship Stewardess, Heaven's Remnants, Pororoca, Rainbow Rush, Torch of Madness (M-Tech); Aggressive Mantis Squad, Black Swan Event, Blastoff Claw, Casuality Agent, Cat Loaf, Commander's Option, Cygnus of Balance, Descendant of Ymir, Don't Tread on Me, Every Good Boy Deserves Favor/All Good Lassies Deserve Favor, Hangry Herbivore, Heavy Panting, Nine Lives Cat's Eyes, Serious Gaze, The Western Pools, Thumb Splitter, Vision of the Valley, Welcome to the Cage (Passive).
   - Added Training regimens:
      Marksmanship Arts (Equipment).
   - Changed skills:
      Aim Shot, Anti-Materiel, Company Fire, Lucky Shot, Neutralize and Skewering Shot had their types changed to W-Skill (from Technique).
      Aim Shot (W-Skill) now has 120 Power, up from 100. Its secondary effect has been revised and streamlined: when using a Bow, binds the target's arm that corresponds to the user's dominant arm; the Crossbow will bind the opposite arm. Using a Pistol, Rifle or Shotgun, binds, respectively, target's legs, head or body.
      Apex Predator (Passive) now causes the user's attacks to always ignore target's block if they're humans or animals that don't also have the skill.
      Champion of Terra had its type changed to Command (from Passive).
      Fatal Eye had its type changed to M-Tech (from Passive).
      Manifestation: Starbound: All Burnt Out and Manifestation: Starbound: Nowhere to Go had their types changed to Command (from Passive). Additionally, the effect sets associated with their names have been switched around (that is, All Burnt Out now gives a second wind, Nowhere to Go now gives persistent damage reduction).
      Smasher Lineage and Spearer Lineage (Passive) now hit a Technical weakness if target is weak to, respectively, Crush or Pierce.
      Sleep One Eye Open (Passive) now wakes the user up after its effect has been procced.
      "Tier 6" Black Magic (Burn, Chill, Paralysis, Soak, Stone, Vacuum) has had its cost reduced to 10 MP, down from 18.
      "Tier 7" Black Magic (Incinerate, Lightning Wave, Oxidize, Terra Power, Wash Out, Winter Bone) has had its cost reduced to 14 MP, down from 32.
      "Tier 8" Black Magic (Air Lock, Blue Flame, Dry Ice, Ensnare, Hydrolysis, Night Air, Phosphenes, Static) has had its cost reduced to 16 MP, down from 22.
   - Changed states:
      Primary Parameter buff and Primary Parameter debuff are now superseded by the new "Battle power change" entry.
      Vital gain and Vital loss are now superseded by the new "Vital change" entry.
      Minor changes in how states in the "Changes in parameters" subset are standardized and described.
   - Removed skills:
      Animal Projectile (Attack).
   - Renamed skills:
      Early Man (M-Tech) is now called "Fatal Eye".
      Good Boy (Passive) is now called "Revitalizing Lick".
      Hand of Our Lord (Summon) is now called "Hand of Justice".
      HaSar HaGadol (Passive) is now called "Rav'malakh".
      Manifestation: Stars of the Cover (Command) is now called "Manifestation: Stars of the Lid".
      Prayer (M-Tech) is now called "Creature's Prayer".
      Rav'malakhim (Passive) is now called "Exalted Angel".
      Veil of Our Lady (Summon) is now called "Veil of Mercy".
      Whirlwind Shot (W-Skill) is now called "Anti-Materiel".
      With One Eye Open (Passive) is now called "Sleep One Eye Open".
   - Renamed states:
      The Knockout state is now called "Fallen".
      The variant state previously known as Knockout2 is now called "Revive Seal".
      Weather conditions with alternate versions ("Sunny/Starlit", "Harsh sunlight/Heat burst"...) now feature slashes instead of dashes in their names.
      The appropriate state groups are renamed to take into account the name change that Primary and secondary parameters went through.
   - Split the Requirements/notes column into two separate ones on the Training tab.

   GEOGRAPHY
   - Changed urban areas:
      Anthem City had its initial zone changed to Cabin (from Farm).
      Beautiful City had its initial zone changed to Zoo (from Sawmill).
      City of Dreams had its initial zone changed to Zoo (from Factory).
      City of Gardens had its initial zone changed to Sanctuary (from Factory).
      City of Minerals had its initial zone changed to Mine (from Sawmill).
      Fishing Village had its initial zone changed to Wharf (from Marketplace).
      Forest City had its initial zone changed to Cabin (from Marketplace).
      Green Town had its initial zone changed to Tour Agency (from Alchemy Station).
      Heavenly City and Prosperity City had their initial zones changed to Residential Area (from Textile Facility).
      King's Town had its initial zone changed to Restaurant (from Smithy).
      Marching City and Military City had their initial zones changed to Barracks (from Ranch).
      Origin Town had its initial zone changed to Restaurant (from Alchemy Station).
      Plume Town had its initial zone changed to Wharf (from Resort Hotel).
      Seaside City had its initial zone changed to Tavern (from Mine).
      Service Town had its initial zone changed to Tour Agency (from Smithy).
      Shining City had its initial zone changed to Bank (from Mine).
      Smoke Village and Windy City had their initial zones changed to Postal Service (from Tannery).
      Spire City had its initial zone changed to Block Apartments (from Resort Hotel).
      Wetland City had its initial zone changed to Block Apartments (from Sawmill).
      Wildlife Town had its initial zone changed to Sanctuary (from Farm).
      Willow City had its initial zone changed to Sawmill (from Mine).
   - Renamed services:
      Board plane (Airport) is now called "Board airship".
      Pro smith (Smithy) is now called "Resident smith".
   - Made changes to sectors 3 and 4, allowing Hope Village, Solsidenian nation to be reached via coastline!
   - Made changes to sectors 28 and 36, allowing Faraway Village, Polynesian nation to be reached via coastline!
   - Made changes to sectors 45 and 54, allowing City of Sails, Aotearoan nation to be reached via coastline!
      All manageable cities in the game are at long last connected. From where you are, you can reach them all. Go, wherever you can be. The world is your oyster.
   - Tiles at coordinates (82,0), (100,0), (101,0) and (102,0) are now Coast tiles. Gone is a long-running, tiny oversight having to do with the vertical wrapping of the map!
   - Updated day/night cycle mechanics and "Photoperiod" chart. For the time zone mechanics, there are now four times as many longitudinal and latitudinal subdivisions (a total of 36x24), and four times as many different terminator curves over the in-game year, which now get updated every in-game month, and also during the final days of all in-game months where seasonal changes happen (for a total of 16).
   - Added coordinate view to all three "Map*" tabs.
   - Added "Climate zone data" table to the Geology tab.

   GAME FLOW
   - Renamed activities:
      "Go scavenging" is now called "Look for organic waste".
      "Look for uncharted settlements" is now called "Look for hidden settlements".   

   CUT ACROSS THE WORLD LIKE A STAR
   - HNY updated to revision 0.15, encompassing Episodes 1-7 (Chapters 1-55). Episode 7 will be released in more than one installment.*
      Tweaked some wording on Chapters 31, 32, 41, among many others.
      Changed Hana's suggestion to Radim on Chapter 41 to make the events of Chapter 51 more impactful.
      Changed various terms related to religion throughout the novel, reflecting my new worldview and my increasingly clearer vision for the lore. Chapter 14 has the most changes related to this issue.
      Cultural allusions and references are no longer highlighted in bold text. This was a drastic, but necessary decision in many fronts. First, it eases the pressure of deciding when to tag text, seeing as there are many excerpts which aren't exact matches to the original text. What standard should be used? It always changed. It also frees me from the burden of missing references by ignorance or forgetfulness. The new format acts as a Genius Bonus for the few who catch the allusions but doesn't confuse the people who don't. And finally, it keeps the reader perpetually wondering... "was that a REFERENCE"?
      * Chapter 50 was released in January 3, 2025, as revision 0.15a.