Community Update - December 2023

[Majora]

Greetings Skylords!

A new month; a new Community Update! It's time to bring you up to speed with everything going on in Skylords Reborn!

 

• Skylord Reborn 3rd Anniversary

The 3rd anniversary of Skylords Reborn is almost here! After returning to the world of Nyn on the 18th of December 2020, our volunteer team has worked tirelessly to expand upon the original BattleForge with new content, quality-of-life changes, and new features. Skylords Reborn has expanded upon the original game by adding quests, achievements, cosmetics, reforging, new enemy factions for rPvE, overhauls of the community map sections, UI improvements, brand-new cards, new voice-lines, many balance changes, and much more!

We are grateful that we were not only successful in bringing the game back, and are now able to celebrate its 3rd anniversary with this lovely community. For this occasion, we would like to give you a sneak peek of an upcoming new campaign map, planned for release in 2024.

To do so, we invite all of you to join us on Monday, the 18th of December, at 20:00 CET for a special anniversary stream on our official Twitch channel. Alongside some information about our upcoming content, there will also be giveaways and a Q&A. So come chill with us!

Whether you have been with us all this time, or only recently stumbled upon the project, thank you! We hope you celebrate both the past and the future with us on the 18th!

 

• Changes to the recommended system requirements

BattleForge is an old game; it released all the way back in 2009. As Skylords Reborn continues its development, we are having a look at its system requirements. We have decided to remove our minimum system requirements, and increase our recommended requirements. Of course, removing a minimum system requirement does not automatically mean anything lower than the Recommended will not work.

We are dropping the Minimum system requirements
• CPU: Single Core 1.8Ghz
• CPU Speed: Core 1.8Ghz
• RAM: Windows XP - 512MB, Vista and Windows 7+ - 1GB
• OS: Windows XP (with service pack 2) Vista, Windows 7 or higher.
• Video Card: 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series+ / ATI Radeon 9500+
• Disk Space: At least 13GB. 

Instead, these are now the Recommended system requirements:
• CPU: Core i3 7400T / Ryzen 3 1200 (X86 compatible)
• RAM: at least 6GB
• OS: Windows 10 or higher.
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 / ATI Radeon HD 7770 (Direct X 11 compatible)
• Disk Space: 14GB of free space.

Notes and reasoning
While we don't want to exclude potential players, constantly keeping old and outdated systems in mind is increasing the chance for issues and delaying development. Even so, we'd like to take a moment to explain our reasoning for increasing each requirement.

Skipping over 16 years of CPU might seem like too big of a jump. However, people will default to maximum details on 10+ years old game, and they will play it on significantly bigger resolutions. Back then, 1024x768 was considered big screen, while these days 1920x1080 is considered entry level resolutions, which have 2.64 times more pixels. The same reasoning applies for the GPU. 

A recommendation of 6GB of RAM might seem like an overkill, but we are adding features that consume RAM, and it shouldn't be a problem for most modern PC's to meet this requirement. Rest assured this will never increase again, because the game can't use more than 4GB of RAM (the remaining 2GB are for OS and other applications running alongside Skylords Reborn). 

We are also dropping support for Windows 7. Technically, Windows 7 should still work just fine, but due to the very low % of players running this operating system, we will not be rolling back major updates for it anymore. Lastly, the Disk Space increase. We are currently at 13.3 GB for game files, and community maps, logs, etc. can easily be in 100's of MB. Its likely this requirement will further increase in the future. 

 

• New Card Reveal - Lost Manabeast

A while ago, we showcased some upcoming changes and reworks coming to the Lost Souls faction. We are happy to announce we are nearing completion on this faction rework. Alongside implementing those changes, we have also been working on a new card to add to the faction to further enhance its playstyle. Introducing: The Lost Manabeast as a player card!

 

Design notes: Lost Souls has an odd T3 in that it has two ground XL-units and one flying L-unit with conditional siege range. Of these, only Lost Horror is widely used in PvE, Lost Grigori sees some PvP play, and Lost Vigil is mostly unused except in niche situations. Most factions have a wider variety of viable options in PvE at this point, and Lost Souls lacks a low-cost ground L-unit, forcing players to rely on cards like Ashbone Pyro to fill the gap. We therefore wanted to provide a Lost Souls unit to fit this role for those players who want to play a purely Lost Souls deck, while also adding something to synergize with Lost Souls's unique revenant mechanic. Our first thought was to add in Lost Manabeast, since it has an existing model and artwork. Because the unit was primarily designed for PvE usage, we decided to make it a ranged unit as a player card. From here, we thought about how to make it work with Revenant's Doom without directly stepping on the toes of Revenant's Blessing. Revenant's Blessing extends the lifespan of all revenant units, similar to how Ice Age works with Ice Shields, but once it ends, the timer continues to run down as it did previously. For Lost Manabeast, we decided to create an ability called Immortalize that would refresh the lifespan of a revenant back to 25 seconds. This should allow players to alternate between using Manabeast's free ability and Revenant's Blessing. Immortalize is also usable while Lost Manabeast is a revenant, which should enable players to maintain fully revenant armies more easily and efficiently.

 

 

 

Let's break down the card: 

 

Ectoplasmic Shock
Every 3 seconds, the unit launches deadly ectoplasm that deals 230 damage to enemies in a 10m radius around its target, up to 345 in total. The ectoplasm lingers for 5 seconds, absorbing the life essence of any enemy that dies in the area. Additionally, enemies in the area are slowed and may only move at normal walk speed.
 

Immortalize
Active to refresh the duration of every Revenant's lifetime in a 25m radius. Needs to have gathered the life essence of 7 enemy units first. Reusable every 15 seconds.

 

Revenant's Doom
Activate to bestow the unit with a curse that will make it resurrect in case it dies. The resurrected revenant will only be a shadow of its former self, but it will be endowed with the same abilities and equal in strength. After 25 seconds, the revenant will then die once and for all. May only be triggered once.

 

For the artwork, our artist Tweeto made some adjustments to the NPC-artwork currently in the game, mostly adding that classic Lost Soul flame to the look. Lost Manabeast will be a rare, drop from boosters, and can be reforged into. It will not have different affinities. It is planned for a release in our next content patch. We hope you are looking forward to it!

 

• How to Help - a Community Guide


Kapo made a lovely overview of things a community member can do to help out the project. Ranging from something as simple as giving a like to our official trailer, all the way up to joining the team and helping out as staff. Due to the nature of this volunteer project, community members can make a huge difference for both new and current players. Hopefully some of these suggestions speak to you, and inspire you to take some action: find out more.

HOW TO SUPPORT

Skylords Reborn is truly by the fans for the fans, so we hope we can count on you to make this the best community it can be!

 

• Events

In between our monthly Community Updates, we host various events and tournaments, so be sure to keep a close eye on the in-game event tab and the forum calendar to stay informed and not miss out on any exciting events!

 

• NEW - Battle of Tactics #5: Show Me What You Got - 10-12-2023
Battle of Tactics is trying something new: Time for a Tactical-Tome-Tournament! Every player gets a selection of boosters (how many depending on your ELO-rating!) and has to build a PvP deck to compete for prizes! More information.

 

 • FIRST PHASE - PvP AI programming contest
We are gathering players for a new type of event. Get ready for an AI Programming Tournament, where the submitted programs will face off in an epic showdown to find the ultimate AI strategist! More information.

 

• FINISHED - Official 1p rPvE Contest - Resurrection of the Lost Soul
Our official PvE contest has concluded and prizes have been sent out, including the new Soulstone cards. Ultralord also showcased the winners in a video. 

 

In between our monthly Community Updates, we host various events and tournaments, so be sure to keep a close eye on the in-game event tab and the forum calendar to stay informed and not miss out on any exciting events!

 

• Host your own tournament / event
Want to host a tournament or event? Please reach out to our other Event Organizers, @Metagross31or @Minashigo Hiko. We can help you out with various topics and are glad to discuss potential ideas. We can also sponsor the prize pool for your event. If you have a cool idea for a PvE event, or want to host a PvP tournament, please don't hesitate to reach out to us, we will gladly assist you.

 

• Community Spotlight - Masters of the Forge

In this podcast-like series, Kapo interviews various staff members to discuss the project and personal stories about their interaction with BattleForge and Skylords Reborn. There are currently 7 episodes to watch:

• Episode 1: Dutchy, Lead Moderator - Watch now.
• Episode 2: Majora, Project Coordinator - Watch now.
• Episode 3: Volin, Testing Coordinator -  Watch now.
• Episode 4: RadicalX, Faction Designer - Watch now.
• Episode 5: Ult, Server Developer - Watch now.
 

• New: Episode 6: Ultralord, Video Editor - Watch now.
In this episode, Kapo and Ultralord talk about his numerous videos he made for the Skylords Reborn Team, as well as his other projects like the Battle of Tactics or his streaming efforts.

• New: Episode 7: Zyna & Ladadoos, Admins - Watch now.
In this episode, Kapo is joined by both Ladadoos and Zyna, Developers and Project Leads who have been stuck around with Skylords Reborn since a very, very long time. They discuss what it's like to lead such a big volunteer team, old and new changes to the core systems of the game, and take a look what the future may bring in the upcoming months and years.

Episode 8 will be hosted live on the 2nd of December and feature Maze, Web Developer. Tune in live on Twitch, or watch back on YouTube the day after.  

 

• Contribute

Skylords Reborn is a community-driven project fuelled by the passion and dedication of over 45 volunteers. We are always on the lookout for like-minded individuals. If you have a passion for gaming, programming, design, or marketing, we invite you to have a look at our open positions!

We are especially looking for an active and passionate outreach coordinator, helping us reach new Skylords by contacting streamers, influencers, media, and other potential parties. This role can make a drastic impact for Skylords Reborn, so please consider applying.

• Marketeer / Outreach Coordinator
As a Marketeer / Outreach Coordinator, you are responsible to spread the word and create awareness about Skylords Reborn, attracting veteran and new players alike. 

Your tasks will include actively researching and reaching out to potentially interested streamers, YouTubers, Discord channels, game magazines, among others. You will be responsible for the communication to and from interested parties and for any promotion deals (for example involving scratch codes). Please note that Skylords Reborn cannot do any paid promotions. 

More information. 

 

• In Conclusion

That's all for this Community Update! We appreciate you taking the time to read through it.

As is tradition, we're including a scratch code as a small token of our appreciation for your support.
The code will reward you with a General booster: LOST-ANDF-OUND-MANA

The code is valid until January 1st, when we will bring you another Community Update. 

We're always looking for ways to improve and value your feedback. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to share them with us. We'll be back next month with more updates on our ongoing projects and upcoming features. You can also sign up to our e-mail newsletter here. 

Archive
• Skylords Reborn Documents (Deep Dives, Behind the Scenes, PvP Guide)  
• Overview Community Updates
• Community Update November 2023

[Metagross31]

That Manabeast ... it has such beautiful eyes ... 🙂

[Kapo]

44 minutes ago, Metagross31 said:

it has such beautiful eyes ... 🙂

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kapo

[DDrazard]

Superb news! Great work!

[fShark]

Lost Manabeast addition is absolute great news for Lost Souls fans! We can dream about Lost Hulk and Lost Drake in the future... thanks!

  

[JiiPee]

And yet another rare card...

 

We have currently:

- 175 unique commons

- 161 unique uncommons

-156 unique rares

- 71 unique ultra rares

 

At this rate there will be quite soon more unique rare cards that uncommon and even commons.

[WindHunter]

I would recommend reading this if you are interested in our approach to rarities: SkylordsRebornDesign_Rarities.pdf

As regards the ratio, the original ratio between the various rarities is 3-3-3-1, and based on that ratio, the number of rare cards in the game is substantially less than it is supposed to be. While it is unlikely we can ever properly fix the ratio due to the overabundance of ultra-rares, many of which do not justify their own rarity, we do intend to equalize the disparity between common/uncommon/rare. 

It is also important to differentiate between the amount of a certain rarity in the entire game and the amount of a certain rarity within a faction. In terms of Lost Souls, if we do not account for affinities: there are 7 common cards, 6 uncommon cards, 4 rares, and 2 ultra-rares. So even within Lost Souls itself, there are a lack of rare cards. 

[Carofex]

Threre is a mistake in the description of Immortalize ability. The first word has to be "Activate". Just in case the implemented card has the same typo.

[honorabili]

Thank you for the update!

[Hrdina_Imperia]

    

[Majora]

Greetings Skylords,

We unfortunately have to make the difficult decision to delay our upcoming Anniversary stream due to crucial staff members currently being sick. It seems even the mighty Skylords are not immune to the Twilight curse. 

We have moved the stream from Monday, December 18th, to Friday, December 29th. 

During the stream, we will share information about our upcoming content, and there will be giveaways and a Q&A. We hope you will join us to celebrate another year of Skylords Reborn on the evening of the 29th of December on our official Twitch channel.