As previously we previously mused about, the big 2017 patch is here. Some of the thoughts that went into the big changes in this patch can be found by clicking here:
We are looking forward to discussing all the changes with you on discord!
Gameplay Changes
- Overflowing Blocks on the top of the board are no longer cropped during a clear. After cascading, if a block is still left overflowing on top, the player loses the match.
- Orb Clearing mechanics have been changed. Magic orbs can now only match with each other as a match 3 color or they can be cleared via horizontal or vertical explosions.
- Normal playable blocks now come in only 3 colors.
- Off-color blocks only appear in specific spells such as Luna’s “Luna Punishment” spell.
- Board dimensions changed to 21 by 10.
- Added a myriad of new pentaminos.
- Orb and Exploder spawn location rearranged on play pieces.
- Adjusted block clearing combo multiplier to be more aggressive.
- Garbage lines generated by each player’s combos now cancel each other out before being applied.
- Timer till Panic Mode is increased from 150 to 200 seconds.
- Players start with an empty board now.
Rebalancing
- Adjusted many spells to accommodate different board dimensions.
Known Issues
- There are some performance issues in this build mainly due to an engine upgrade.
- There are some board glitches where the incorrect block will be displayed for a short period of time during cascading effects, brick magic and other parts of the game
- There are some UI layer issues littered throughout the game.
- There is a slight lag to the game when a player is invited to a private match.
- There are some errors to displayed combo Hits calculations.