Development Update (v.50.1)

Official Patch Notes

## Note from the Developers

Hey everyone, FOREWARNED's first update of 2023 has arrived! This update focuses on enhancements made to each Mejai when they assume their physical forms, making the manifestation part of your expedition all the more exciting. We've also included changes to treasure collection, tools, and more!

As usual, we look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions in our Discord. Enjoy!

## Changes

* Mejai Enhancements
	+ Rathos the Damned
	Rathos, notorious to many as the most brutal Mejai to overcome, has received changes to his core behavior as well as additional tweaks that should balance his difficulty with the rest of the Mejai.
		- Rathos has received a complete visual overhaul, as well as entirely new movement animations and sound effects, making him clearly distinguishable from ordinary reanimated mummies / player mummies
		- Rather than relentlessly marching towards players, Rathos now follows a more "stalker-like" behavior in which he'll remain nearby and only attack a player if they aren't holding a lit torch
		- Rathos will no longer scream every time he comes in contact with a lit flame. Instead, his shrieks will occur more randomly, extinguishing any nearby flames. Don't let your guard down!
		- Rathos' "enraged state" can still occur if he screams too many times, in which his wraps will turn a golden-yellow and he will become more aggressive while pursuing players. However, the duration of his enraged state has been reduced and he will no longer ignore lit torches when enraged. Instead, he will be more likely to scream and close the distance between players while in this state
		- Additional effects will now occur when Rathos shrieks, such as a minor screen shake and dust falling from the ceiling
		- Improvements to Rathos' kill animation have been made
	+ Dekan the Lost
	While our last development update included some major changes to Dekan, we've added a few additional enhancements to his behavior and fixed the remaining known bugs.
		- When Dekan hears a sarcophagus opening/closing, he now has the ability to destroy it entirely, preventing it from being used again
		- Dekan now has the ability to hear the screams of reanimated mummies being burned and will charge towards their location
		- When Dekan attacks items on the ground such as radios, metal detectors, Geiger counters, or other items that make noise, visual sparks and audio effects will now occur
		- When a radio is attacked by Dekan and deactivated, it will sustain a "malfunctioning" state and won't be able to be turned on for a short duration
		- Dekan's stomping will now invoke a dynamic, subtle screen shake effect, increasing the closer Dekan is to the player
		- When Dekan hears a noise and charges towards it, any nearby electronics will become disturbed
		- Fixed an issue related to lag that could desync the perceived state of player footsteps (crouching, sprinting, etc.)
		- Fixed an issue that could cause Dekan to target the wrong player when someone else makes a noise
		- Fixed an issue where Dekan would erroneously target players after having played an expedition with Talgor as the Mejai
	+ Ouphris the Forgotten
	With a Heka amulet in a player's hand, Ouphris has been one of the easier Mejais to deal with. Because of this, we've decided to buff and tweak him in ways that should bring his difficulty closer to that of his peers. We'll be closely monitoring player feedback and will make further adjustments as development continues.
		- When a Heka amulet is used to deter Ouphris, all amulets in the map will incur damage and visibly crack. There is only so much damage amulets can receive before they break entirely, rendering them useless against Ouphris or any other foe
		- When Ouphris physically manifests, communication via the Smart Watch (global voice) will be interrupted, making only proximal voice chat usable for the remainder of the expedition
		- Ouphris will now try to blend in with the team even further, including the possibility of audibly speaking as well as randomly swinging its torch
		- Additional effects will now occur when Ouphris transforms into his real form
		- Ouphris now has an increased chance to spawn in with a torch being held
		- Ouphris' kill and walking animations have been improved
		- Additional whistling tune variety has been added to Ouphris' pre-attack state
	+ Necreph the Shadow
	We feel Necreph is fairly balanced at his current state, if not slightly too easy once his mechanics are fully understood. Therefore, we've included one major change that has been mentioned in his research notes for a while now that should make him a bit more terrifying to deal with...
		- Necreph's "DO NOT STARE" functionality has been fully implemented. Staring at him for too long, even through a tablet, will cause him to become enraged and attack. The duration you can get away with staring varies per difficulty, with brutal being a very short duration.
		- New sound effects have been added when Necreph attacks, as well as when he teleports in and out of view
		- Additional visual effects occur when Necreph teleports in and out of view
	+ Talgor the Perilous
	Talgor can be a difficult Mejai to overcome, so we've made some changes that will make his presence more apparent when he's nearby, as well as additional means to see and deter him.
		- Talgor's deterrent methodology "Slowed by speech" has been broadened to "Slowed by sound," in which radios
		- can be now used to slow his movement as well. Note that he can still be slowed by speech, but the usage of the radio will provide players an additional means of halting him
		- When Talgor is successfully halted by a radio, the radio itself will malfunction (noticeably) and won't be usable again for a short duration. This duration is affected by the item level of the radio, with higher lever radios malfunctioning for a shorter duration
		- Talgor will no longer constantly disturb your Tablet's night vision. Instead, the night vision will randomly become disturbed for very short durations at a time, making it a viable option for keeping an eye out for him
		- As Talgor gets closer, he will begin to drain color from the environment around you. Additionally, any lit flames near Talgor will visibly be absorbed in Talgor's direction
		- New sound design has been added for Talgor, also increasing in intensity the closer he gets to players
	+ Ataimon the Abominable
	Ataimon, still the newest of the Mejai, has received a couple changes to make facing him more thrilling.
		- The flash from Photo Cameras can now also stun Ataimon
		- Ataimon has been enlarged, making him a towering mass of limbs and horror to overcome
		- Additional visual effects will occur when Ataimon summons abominations
* Treasure Collection
We've made both functional and design changes to the current treasure collection system
	+ Notes from past explorers, such as those containing hints and experiences written in a modern language, can no longer be turned in. Instead, players only need to collect hieroglyphic documents , distinguishable by their unique appearance as shown in the new designs below.
	+ Hieroglyphic pages are now more rare to spawn. However, successfully retrieving one will yield higher rewards than before (200% more XP and 250% more gold per page).
	+ The collection trays for the relic, treasure, and hieroglyphic pages have all received visual upgrades
	+ An additional "turn in" table has been placed near the entrance of all tomb entrances where hieroglyphic documents and treasure can be placed, saving players from having to make the long trek back to the jeep in larger-sized maps. Only the relic needs to be brought to the jeep.*Developer Note:We found that newer players would pick up and immediately turn in past explorer documents without reading them, even ones containing hints on how to solve certain puzzle rooms or the ritual itself. This also led to many trips back and forth to the jeep as well as inventory management frustrations. With hieroglyphic pages themselves now more rare and valuable to collect in terms of XP and gold, as well as having a closer turn-in spot, the process of finding them should feel more fun and rewarding*
* Tool Changes
	+ The Tablet I now possesses night-vision capabilities by default, giving newer players a chance to navigate a Necreph-haunted tomb earlier on
	+ All upgrades of the Tablet tool now have greatly increased night vision range/clarity
	+ The lighter has received new animations and sound effects when players ignite their torch
	+ The flashlight's light color now contains a whiter hue, while the held angle is more centered
* Additional New Content
	+ A new visual effect will appear when the Mejai approaches the tomb exit in pursuit of players
	+ Crocodiles will now stop pursuing players if they have been chasing them beyond a set duration
	+ Added hints for new players when entering the inner tomb and facing a Mejai for the first time
	+ Performed general AI improvements across the board for a smoother appearance when chasing and attacking players
	+ Optimized the Cursed Sand Ruins map in a way that will result in a 20%+ FPS boost
	+ Performed design improvements to the tomb variation #1 firestand
	+ Updated the research notes, death recaps, and loading screen hints accordingly to reflect the new changes to the Mejai
	+ New table designs have been added in the lower tomb where the ritual notes are found
	+ The tomb variation #3 firestands have received a new design

## Fixes

* Fixed an issue that prevented players from crouching during screen shakes
* Fixed an issue in which the hard hat light would not be affected by the electronic disturbance phenomenon in tomb variation #1
* Fixed an issue that would prevent players from being properly repositioned if they fell through the map
* Fixed an issue that made treasure chests in tomb variation #1 difficult to open in certain cases