June 27th Developer Note

1. Preparation for the Official Release (1.0)

"Although the Early Access period lasted for only about 2 to 3 months, during the preparation for the patch, we determined that the depth of gameplay and overall polish of the game had significantly increased to a level fully ready for official service. Rather than applying a simple, minor patch, we decided to refine the game as a whole and finalize work to elevate it to the official release (1.0) version. As the official build requires thorough optimization and balance verification, a preparation period will be needed before release."

Official Release Price Increase Notice

With the launch of the official version, the game's price will be slightly increased. Please keep this in mind if you plan to purchase the game.

Target Schedule for Official Release

Our target is to release the game by late July at the earliest, or between August and September at the latest. We will inform you as soon as the final release date is confirmed.

Continuous Reflection of User Feedback

We are constantly reviewing player feedback shared through various channels, including the community, discussion boards, and reviews. The gameplay experiences and suggestions you share will be thoroughly reviewed and continuously reflected until the final stages of the official build's completion.

Save Data Reset and Leaderboards

Due to the extensive system overhauls and balance adjustments, existing single-player save data will be reset upon the official release. However, the previously recorded leaderboard ranking data will be preserved. The top 3 rankers from the Early Access season (Season 0) will have their nicknames permanently registered on the Hall of Fame main panel in the in-game lobby. Season 1 of ranked matches will begin anew with the official release.

In particular, starting from this patch, characters (classes), weapon types, and combo animations unlocked through stage climbing will be permanently preserved and will not be reset even if the save data is initialized. However, random temporary special abilities acquired during a run will be completely reset upon death, encouraging players to devise new strategic builds for each run.

Temporary AI Resource Replacement & License Information

The generative AI-based combo icon images temporarily used in the Early Access version have been entirely excluded from the official release version. All graphic images, UI resources, and character models used in the 1.0 build do not utilize generative AI at all. They have been completely replaced with safe and transparent official resources that pose no licensing issues.

Upcoming Promotional Videos

Official gameplay trailers and actual play videos will be released sequentially to align with the official version's launch schedule.

2. Key Gameplay and System Changes

"The official release version will introduce systems that will drastically change the flow of gameplay and improve control responsiveness."

Gold Currency Abolished & Play Point (PP) System Introduced

Previously, gold acquired by clearing stages was used to unlock combos, unlock characters, and trade with the Mystic Merchant. However, as characters and combos are now automatically unlocked upon reaching specific stages, the utility of gold was reduced to weapon upgrades and shop purchases. Consequently, we are abolishing the gold currency, which was reset each run and difficult to accumulate. In its place, we will introduce a new currency, Play Points (PP), which accumulates permanently and is not lost even if the player dies and starts over.

To keep the acquisition difficulty consistent, the balance has been adjusted so that 1 Play Point is unconditionally awarded for every stage won. Furthermore, when returning to the hub after resurrection, players can convert their Play Points to Trait Points, or vice versa, at a 1:1 ratio, enhancing climb convenience and growth.

Class Weapons and Fighter Special Upgrade System

The existing Warrior's sword and shield, Swordsman's sword, and future classes Samurai and Lancer each equip their respective exclusive weapons to fight. On the other hand, the unarmed Fighter class maintains a form that does not have separate equipable weapons. To ensure fairness and balance with other weapon-wielding classes, the Fighter class will not search for and equip weapons. Instead, a special upgrade system (Fist Upgrade) that directly boosts stats by upgrading their fists will replace weapon equipment. We are continuously adjusting class balance based on player feedback to address performance gaps, including the Fighter's upgrade balance. In line with the Play Point overhaul and stage reward balancing, the Fighter's fist upgrade cost table has also been reasonably adjusted to a burden-free range of 1 to 10 PP.

Stage-Based Unlock Integration

Previously, combo unlocks had to be purchased with gold in the shop, and characters (classes) were only obtainable by meeting complex conditions or purchasing them. Now, we are restructuring the acquisition route so that reaching specific stages through climbing will instantly unlock various characters (classes), powerful combos, and diverse weapon types.

Random Special Abilities and Equipment System

To enrich the fun of stage climbing, a special ability system will be introduced. A large number of useful active and passive special abilities will be added. During the climb, players can acquire these special abilities randomly at certain stages and equip them to build unique combat synergies for each run.

Class Transfer and Appearance Change System Overhaul

We plan to apply a system that allows players to change to different class styles (Warrior, Fighter, Samurai, etc.) through class transfer. To address the previous limitation where the appearance (skin) was completely fixed for each class upon resurrection, we are preparing to allow players to freely reselect their desired appearance and weapons, enabling a more colorful class transfer experience.

Gamepad Compatibility and User Interface (UI) Overhaul

All User Interface (UI) designs are being redesigned to fully support and be compatible with Xbox gamepad navigation. To improve gamepad control consistency, the control schemes and visual designs of the entire UI will be heavily modified, and all UI icon assets in the game will be updated with high-quality visual renewals.

In-game Special Effects Quality Up

To elevate the visual polish and feedback of combat, all in-game special effects (such as the spark visual for successful parries, blade trajectories, etc.) will be upgraded with more dynamic and high-quality visual effects. Along with these visual enhancements, we are actively optimizing performance to address frame drops and ensure visual comfort.

3. Enemy Character Movement and AI Patterns

"We are refining awkward enemy movement behaviors and modifying them to respond in a much more intelligent and threatening manner."

Cautious Approach During Standoffs

We are fixing the movement pattern where enemies would blindly rush straight toward the player upon contact. Instead, enemies will gauge the distance to the player, circling around diagonally to seek openings and approach cautiously.

Jitter and Stuttering Movement Bug Fix

We are fixing a bug where enemies would occasionally stutter, moving back and forth, when approaching the player from a certain distance. In the official version, they will close the distance smoothly without stuttering.

New Attack Pattern Based on Player's Stamina

We are preparing a new attack pattern where enemies recognize when the player's stamina is completely depleted or insufficient, unleashing fierce consecutive attacks without delay.

Natural Motion Transitions in All Directions

We will refine animation interpolation to ensure that enemy motions and rotations do not cut off awkwardly when moving in all directions, including diagonally, resulting in smooth and natural transitions.

"Regarding the overall difficulty and attack cycles of enemy AI, we are carefully analyzing the feedback left by players to find and apply the most engaging balance that both beginners and veterans can agree on."

4. Option Settings Menu Convenience Improvements & Bug Fixes

"We are modifying the settings menu to allow players to freely customize and rebind all control keys to their liking. When key binding settings are changed, the visual key icons shown on the in-game UI—including the control guides in the training map—will dynamically update and sync in real-time, building a highly user-friendly system."

Clean Toggle Buttons Replacing Checkboxes

The existing checkboxes will be replaced with intuitive toggle buttons that display clear "Enabled" or "Disabled" text status at a single glance when clicked.

Tooltips for Individual Options

We are implementing tooltip description windows that show up when hovering over options, explaining exactly what visual effects each setting controls in an easy-to-understand manner.

Selectable Frame Rate Limits

Players will be able to choose and lock their frame rate limits from a dropdown menu of 60, 120, 144, 165, 180, 200, or 300 FPS (Default: 60).

Standardized Brightness Gamma Control

The post-process brightness adjustment formula is being corrected. Centered at 0, negative values (-) will make the screen darker, while positive values (+) will make it brighter.

NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation GPU Usage Fix

We are fixing a compatibility issue where turning on NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation ignored VSync and frame rate limit settings, causing GPU usage to spike excessively. Frame limits will now function properly with DLSS enabled.

Unsaved Changes Warning Popup

We will stabilize and reinforce the warning popup that alerts players that changes will be lost if they attempt to close the settings menu without applying modified options.

"We are also actively listening to requests for finer graphic settings tailored to different hardware environments and display specifications, examining additional feedback details for in-game rendering scaling controls."

5. Xbox Gamepad Support & Vibration

"To allow players to enjoy the action with greater immersion, we are officially supporting the Xbox Gamepad."

Upcoming Situational Vibration Feedback

• Guarded Hit: Vibration felt when successfully blocking a heavy enemy attack.

• Light Attack Hit: Vibration felt when landing quick, light attacks.

• Heavy Attack Hit: Vibration felt when landing heavy slashes or strikes.

• Parry Success / Parried: Vibration felt when successfully parrying an attack or being parried by an enemy.

• Guard Break Stun: Vibration felt when your guard is broken, resulting in a stun.

Vibration Intensity Option (Weak / Strong)

We will introduce a new setting in the controls options to toggle vibration on or off and choose the intensity between Weak or Strong. Selecting 'Weak' will scale the vibration strength and duration down to approximately 50%, providing softer feedback to reduce wrist fatigue. We also plan to continuously tune controller support coverage and haptic sensitivity based on user input feedback.

Once again, we bow our heads in deep gratitude to all players who have shown immense interest and provided precious feedback during our brief Early Access journey.

In the remaining time, we will do our absolute best to review bugs and polish the game so that it delivers a smooth and fun experience worthy of its official release.

We will share another update as soon as the specific schedule for the official release is finalized.

Thank you.