Elite enemies have, up to this point, simply acted like beefier versions of their normal counterparts, however this doesn't feel very fun in my opinion and at high difficulties the elite enemies simply replace the normal enemies.

With this update, I have completely changed how Elite enemies work, making them less common and more threatening by the addition of Affixes (similar to Diablo 3)

While I was originally going to save some of these mechanics for new enemy types, getting new enemy art+animations is a painfully slow process and I think this will add significantly more variety. Currently I have 7 different Affixes for elites, some are defensive, some are offensive. Each Elite enemy will now get a random affix when it spawns, so any of the elite enemies can get any of the affixes.

Additionally, at higher difficulties Elite Enemies will get additional affixes, currently up to a maximum of 4, which can lead to some very interesting combinations.

The Affix system is also very extensible and I plan on adding many more in the future whenever inspiration strikes! This will likely be a fantastic avenue for additional QuiVr content that is much less time consuming to implement compared to getting new 3D art.

I look forward to your feedback and suggestions on how to improve this system moving forward :D

• Optimized enemy spawn system
  
• Improved Static Shock performance
  
• Improved Baron launch location selection code
  
• Fixed archery practice leaderboard not saving

Three new items have been added to the item pool that add new effect types! All of the recent items have required additional development to add additional functionality to the ability system to handle these more unique and interesting effects. Hopefully this additional work will allow for more variety of abilities in the future with less custom work.

After watching a number of new players try to get comfortable with the archery system, it has become clear that one size does not fit all with respect to the hand offset while drawing the bow. For this reason the "Draw Offset" checkbox has been replaced by vertical and horizontal offset sliders so that you can fine tune your draw offset exactly how you like it.

• Fixed singleplayer arrows while dead
  
• Fixed divine barb text
  
• Fixed miss-effect trigger system
  
• Added Steam Invite system using friends list
  
• Fixed ability activation issue
  
• Adjusted orb progress circle color
  
• Fixed laser behind UI
  
• Updated armory display items
  
• Fixed issue with Private Game IDs
  
• Fix for slow enemies
  
• Updated Unity to version 2018.2.8f1
  
• Added more drum hit variations based on kill intensity
  
• Added increased difficulty for gates 50+

Two new items have been added to the reward pool! These items both use a new ability system and should provide a new form of RNG control on the battlefield. This new ability system will likely need some modifications in the future due to its layered functionality, so please let me know if any of the interactions have unintended consequences.

While QuiVr has had dynamically generated maps for many months, the system was not being fully utilized (having a random map seed for each week to make the leaderboards more fair). This decision severely detracted from the nature of the dynamic map system, and has been changed.
Now, each time you start a game the map will be different, including the Event Tile sequence. This change should increase replayability by providing significantly more variation between gameplay sessions.

This addition was made in the last update, but it was not included in the patch notes.
Another improvement in gameplay variety is the addition of Special Waves, these have a chance of appearing after closing a gate. Instead of the standard enemies that would normally spawn at that gate, a themed subset of enemies will spawn.

These themed subsets can include:

• Only Flying Enemies
  
• Squat Enemies (Warps and Duskers)
  
• Only charging enemies
  
• Quick Enemies (Zephyrs and Boosts)
  
• Shield Bearers (Escorts and Sentries)

And a number of other groups. This list will also be expanded upon in the future as more enemies are added and interesting combinations are found.

• Powerup display color fixes
  
• Fixed multiplayer time-scale issue
  
• Updated many ability particle systems for different quality levels

This update consists of a bunch of game optimizations made while fixing a disconnect and performance issue that was introduced during last update.

Thank you to all the players who helped work through the issue this week, scheduling testing times, submitting logs, and brainstorming solutions!

• Improved gate gem performance with new tiles
  
• Reworked player fading system for improved performance
  
• Fixed issue with movement speed affecting animations
  
• Fixed animation freeze when enemies moved between tiles
  
• Fixed issue with laser performance
  
• Improved multiplayer 'distance player' effect performance
  
• Improved armory item swap performance
  
• Improved teleporter setup performance
  
• Added graceful disconnection handling during gameplay
  
• Added simple reconnecting system after disconnect
  
• Fixed issue with elite enemy particles not respecting quality setting
  
• Improved fire tornado performance at low quality settings
  
• Improved Shield/Time Slow/Leech orbs at low quality settings
  
• Reduced network message overhead when gate closes in multiplayer
  
• Updated gate clearing system for client-side prediction
  
• Dramatically improved gate orb performance
  
• Disabled Void tiles while performance is improved
  
• Updated Photon Networking system
  
• Fixed PlayerSync errors
  
• Fixed issue with legendary item rewards

With these fixes out of the way, hopefully we can move on to some more fun additions for the next update :)

3 new items have been added to the game. A new arrow adds to the fire system, and a new quiver and mask expand the aimed-shot system for a more focused play style.

This update adds many performance improvements to the game, particularly in multiplayer by optimizing the 'player' object. Additionally, the progress orb that floats above the canyon has been completely redesigned, with a new animated material and reactive particle pulses replacing the previous amalgam of particle systems that lead to the blown out visual effect. Not only is the orb more visually interesting and thematic, but the new effects are much better for performance.

• Fixed issue with flat lighting
  
• Removed unused game shaders
  
• Fixed material settings
  
• Fixed issue with leaving a game during next-wave countdown
  
• Removed texture quality setting due to Unity issue not loading textures
  
• Fixed issue with reforging cost
  
• LIV SDK now activated through settings menu instead of on by default
  
• Improved enemy animation speed system
  
• Fixed issue with fast enemy navigation
  
• Fixed issue with leaderboard saving

Edit: Fixed issue with enemy attack distance and multiplayer performance -> 1.0.48

Over time it has become clear that the pacing of QuiVr is difficult to handle, demanding almost constant physical engagement for long periods of time. Many updates have tried to address this issue in less obvious ways (ebb and flow of enemy spawns, event tiles, pop-in/out spectator mode) however the issue of continual intense combat persisted.

This update adds a new system that should more directly address the issue of continual intensity while providing veteran players a way to continue progressing without being hampered by artificial delays.

After a new gate closes, there will be a steadily increasing delay before the new area's enemies begin spawning. It starts around 15 seconds and ramps up to 30 seconds after each gate. This should give you some time between gates to rest your arms and position yourselves for the oncoming enemies.

The delay can be skipped if desired by shooting the target above the delay message. In multiplayer at least half of the players must shoot the target to skip the delay.

This new delay system will hopefully improve the pacing of the game, particularly for new players and lead to fewer instances of jelly-arms. Please let me know if there are any unintended negative consequences with this new system either in the forums or on the official QuiVr Discord[discordapp.com]!

Thanks to the help of some fantastic players, a number of bugs related to item drops have been found and fixed. In particular:

• Items will be correctly awarded after losing a game
  
• Item drop rates will no longer plummet after earning all uncommon items
  
• Items of particular type+rarity combo will no longer be extremely rare

This update also transitions QuiVr to Unity 2018. This engine update brings with it a multitude of performance and crash fixes. In particular there have been significant improvements to particle effect performance. Graphics Jobs have also been turned on for this update due to stability improvements to dramatically increase CPU performance (Please let me know if you experience DX11 related game crashes, as this is most likely the cause).

Over the next few weeks I will begin implementing some of the more advanced Unity 2018 optimizations to improve performance to a greater extent, for now I am still making sure that the engine update itself has not introduced any new bugs.

• Fixed purple slow powerup
  
• Initial LIV sdk implementation
  
• Fixed large bomb powerup display
  
• Fixed Haunt player targeting system
  
• Fixed combat text for target dummies
  
• Aimed shots now affect archery range scoring
  
• Updated Map Seed

Remember that updates still go out on an amlost-daily basis to the beta branch! To keep up with the current developments and find other players to play with in multiplayer be sure to join us at the official QuiVr Discord[discordapp.com]!

Thanks to everyone who has joined the community and given feedback during the first week of full release! Lot's of great insights from new players for improving the first-time-play experience.

With that in mind, here's the first release update for QuiVr!

The previous loading area had not been updated since the beginning of 2017, and it actually contained no assets being used in the actual game. This increased both the loading time and the build size.
The new Loading Area uses assets from the mountain summit, creating a cool, familiar atmosphere while reducing load time (those assets don't need to be loaded in again) and reducing build size since the game no longer contains the tower and mountain models/textures.

One of the comments I've gotten about the aimed shots are the lack of visual feedback for using one, particularly in multiplayer.
This update adds a new trail+particle effect for Aimed arrows that is distinct from normal arrows and visible at a distance in multiplayer to see when your teammates are using aimed shots as well. This should make using aimed shots feel more powerful and impactful.

This update also includes a small but meaningful addition to the dynamic music system: Kill-Stings
This is the first iteration for this system and will be expanded upon in the future. The general idea is to make the music feel more intertwined with the gameplay. Each time you kill an enemy, the music will swell momentarily, bringing in some additional drums to signify the event. It is much more responsive to gameplay than the overall music system, responding within 1/4th of a second (16th note) so as to still remain in-time with the music.

We hope to expand this system with a wider variation of musical hits to differentiate kills (killing a small enemy vs killing an elite enemy with an aimed headshot). I would love to get your feedback on this system and ideas on how it could be improved and expanded upon!

• Disabled user profiles if none already saved*
  
• Fixed worm TP out of bounds
  
• Debugging added to help find no-reward issue
  
• Added more Worm event rock sound variety
  
• Reduced elite particle density
  
• New map seed

* "User Profiles" were being misunderstood and had a serious bug where username of a profile could be reset. The Profiles feature was used infrequently and the issue severe enough that it has been disabled (button is gone) until it can be correctly fixed. However, if you already have user profiles saved to your account, the button will still be there for you to use and log in.

Edit: 1.0.11 - Fixed music volume slider not working, aimed shot trail in MP, and adjusted aimed shot starting effect intensity

We did it! After two years of development we are leaving Early Access! Thank you to everyone who has participated in QuiVr’s initial phases of development. We’ve come a long way since the game was just a wall to shoot from and the indie VR landscape was just starting to be explored. It has been a long journey that would have been impossible without your help.

I do not have the words to express how much I appreciate your support and feedback in evolving QuiVr into what it is today. It is truly a blessing to have such a helpful and insightful community of players.

This is not the end of the journey! While QuiVr will no longer be getting such rapid updates (of which there were over 430 since releasing into Early Access), the game will continue to see content updates, new features, and improvements. We are currently working on a PSVR version of the game, have plans for additional environments and map tiles, and of course - new items, enemies, and events are already in development!

• Fixed main tutorial end portal activation
  
• Summit book now closes after leaving station
  
• Fixed item fading for book
  
• Fixed Armory tutorial owl location
  
• Replaced recenter button icon in Armory

Thank you all again for the enthusiasm you've shown for this game, it means the world to me. I hope to fight along side everyone in the canyon!

A new enemy has joined the hordes! Boosts are quick, low health enemies that have a continual energizing aura around them which speeds up nearby enemies. In large numbers they can swiftly collect spread-out enemies along the canyon into a collected force moving rapidly toward your gate!

This enemy brings with it a complete rework to the enemy speed-modification system. Previously all enemies had a simple "speed multiplier" that would be changed based on the last ability that affected it (freeze, slowing pool, etc). Now however, each enemy has a list of speed multipliers that can be added to/removed from, resulting in all of the status effects stacking up and interacting in a consistent fashion instead of overwriting the speed multiplier based on the last ability effect to be applied.

This will be the final patch in Early Access! We are planning to release on June 18th now that there are enough events in the game to provide varied playthroughs each week.
I wanted to take this opportunity to outline the plan for next week and subsequent few updates:

Thank you for helping - First, I want to thank everyone who has participated in the Early Access phase of QuiVr. Anyone who plays the game before the 18th will receive a bow (created by community member Pengu!) as thanks for giving feedback, squashing bugs, and helping to improve the game.

Pricing Plan - After over a year in Early Access, the game has changed quite a lot, with many new features being introduced and significantly more content added. We believe that the game is worth more now than it was when we first entered Early Access. However due to Valve & EU rules about store discounts, we cannot release QuiVr with a launch discount and increase the base price simultaneously. We feel that a launch discount would be better than a price increase on release from Early Access. So we are planning on increasing the price of QuiVr to $24.99 30 days after the sale ends (Valve + EU time requirement). We want to be transparent about this since, to an outsider, it could look like we are arbitrarily increasing the price of an already released game - but we feel there is merit behind the change. So the current base price will remain $19.99 for the launch out of Early Access on June 18th with a launch discount to $15.99, then 30 days after the sale ends the base price will increase to $24.99.

Update Schedule - With the release out of Early Access comes the end of the 'update-a-week' schedule that we have followed since 2016. This will let us work on more interesting, larger-scale content additions for the future, as well as ensure that the game remains stable between updates. There are still a number of things being worked on (more powerups, new dynamic music system, more environments, etc) and QuiVr will continue to improve and evolve during its life after release!

• Changed climb event starting sequence
  
• New fix for map sync issue
  
• Adjusted Gravity Event rock angle
  
• New check for multiplayer in-event flag
  
• Fixed mote display after game end or item pedestal
  
• Updated Map Seed