Combat Update

Hey everyone,
This update took longer than I expected but improves a lot. I ended up rebuilding a lot of the game’s foundation so everything feels smoother, clearer, and more consistent — and so future content updates can roll out faster.

Here’s what’s new:

The biggest shift: combat now builds Lust instead of reducing Health.
To support this, I redesigned every connected system:

• Completely reworked debuffs and spells

• Added Cure and Love spells

• Removed outdated Heal and Lifesteal spells

• New debuffs: Poison, Bleed, and Demise Points

• All debuffs now have new visual indicators

This change aligns the combat loop with the game’s identity and makes everything more readable and responsive.

The rhythm engine got major polish:

• Notes now score by accuracy: Perfect, OK, Miss

• Added shatter effect for successful hits

• Fixed the issue where notes drifted near the end of songs

• Expanded the lust bar for a future reward system

• New win condition: Fill the Lust bar before the song ends

• Player input now ends at the end beat, so you can’t lose after the final beat

Every level in the game has been completely rebalanced to fit the new combat mechanics and to provide a more consistent difficulty curve.

Timing, debuff pacing, spell interactions, and note patterns were all adjusted to match the new systems.

The engine now supports dynamic end-of-level events, which change based on whether you win or lose.

• Every level now includes victory and defeat images

• New voice lines for those outcomes

• Some older levels have been reskinned with updated visuals

Visuals got a solid upgrade:

• UI now has a subtle, clean drop shadow

• Background effects no longer affect UI elements (distortion or camera sway)

• Updated rendering pipeline for more powerful visuals

• Notes/dots now shatter on hit

This update isn’t about big new content drops — it’s about strengthening the foundation so future development is faster and cleaner. While I wanted to add more content, this rebuild will let me create more engaging levels going forward.

I’m also shifting my focus toward improving the sound, look, and feel of the game. You’ll already notice nicer effects and particles, and I plan to keep pushing that further.
The focus spell and Yuri's level have both been temporarily removed as I'm still reworking them.

Thanks for sticking with me. See you soon!