August 12 Dev Update: Bard Overhaul, New Achievements, and Quality‑of‑Life Fixes
Bard system finally matches the original design
After a thorough audit we fixed three orphaned headline features: watching a performer no longer gives “no buffs,” the Inspiration meter now persists across logouts, and songs stop buffing pets when the performance ends. The rework also adds the long‑awaited combat bard songs Dirge of Dissonance and Requiem of Ruin, which lower physical and magic resistance for nearby enemies. Buff fortification now scales with watch time on two axes, while Flourish and Dance each drive separate bonuses. Group Dance now requires a band, specialization lengthens all effects, and the Inspired bonus caps at a solid 15 %. In short, the bard experience is now end‑to‑end as originally envisioned.
Music‑focused proposals: “The Unplayed Score”
We published a 30‑item deep dive into music and sound features. Highlights include a new Songbook window, a functional mute button, band tokens, a “jam‑in” system, MIDI‑keyboard support, and an Orchestrion Box that can play your compositions while you’re offline. There’s also an honest ladder for player voice. All proposals are open for community voting, so let us know which ideas you’d like to see implemented.
Achievements and kill tracking get a major upgrade
The old fixed list of twenty‑eight counters has been replaced by a data‑driven system. The game now records exactly what you killed, not just that something was killed. We added 248 new achievements, including a kill ladder for every creature family that can carry one and a deed for each of the 84 named bosses. This gives players more granular goals and recognition for the variety of foes they defeat.
Party kill credit is now fair
Kill credit has moved to the server and now rewards every party member who contributed experience to a fight, rather than only the player who landed the final blow. This change ensures that teamwork is properly recognized.
Quality‑of‑life and bug fixes
House sales: Decorated houses can now be sold independently of the lot deed; the house deed and all interior decorations transfer to the buyer while the seller retains the lot.
Instrument crafting: The “masterworking crafted instruments” issue at the carpentry table (flute dead‑end) is resolved for the next build.
Basement entrances: The system now enforces the one‑entrance limit, preventing stacked entrances.
UI improvements: Container windows cascade correctly, the decoration‑animal‑names option now applies to placed pets, and container permission failures caused by windows locking themselves have been traced and fixed.
Bug sweep: 28 reported bugs were closed in a single pass, with 8 more set aside for further clarification.
Overall, today’s work tightens up core gameplay loops, expands meaningful content, and smooths out many of the small frustrations you’ve reported. Keep the feedback coming, and happy adventuring!
Summarized from Chris "Atos" Spears' work log at Catnip Games.