So it’s finally time to release LBKR 2.26! There are 449 changes / improvements / new implementations for this release and 138 bugs have been fixed in total, but to avoid posting a wall of text I’ll just summarize some of the more important stuff.

Graphics & Visuals
The UI has been more or less completely overhauled with new layout and look. Furthermore all UI elements are less opaque to avoid the game environment bleeding through, making some texts nearly impossible to read.

The UI initialization behaviours have been optimised and more detailed tooltips and easier navigation has been implemented.
Most visual fx have been improved along with all gore visuals, including a new splatmap texture used by all monsters that will paint blood stains on their meshes when killed. (Requires gore to be enabled in Game Settings.)

Overall optimizations done to most in-game particle systems, shader used for nearly all in-game nature / foliage objects now receive lights and the water shader has been replaced by the standard Unity engine water shader. While this water shader does not look as awesome as the previous one, the z-depth bug that made particle systems and transparent materials flicker if rendered above a water surface has disappeared.

Gameplay
4 new story chapters have been implemented, you may now continue your characters adventure by entering the escape pods found at the end of chapter 5 (The Bridge).
On top of this more than 150 new world chunks has been created, new secret areas and 13 new (randomized) world events and 7 new missions.

The Procedural item generator has been greatly optimised, now consuming only 50% of the memory it required in previous versions, all item generation members have been improved and balanced, weapons now go through additional stages before dropping to further randomize its properties.

A new game mode has been implemented called “Badass”. Characters created for badass mode still play through the storyline but opposed to the default game mode, death is permanent, better loot is dropped and game statistics are saved up until the time your character drops dead.

On death the game will calculate an overall “Badass-score” that will be saved for your scoreboard, aswell as a summary of your character’s set of skills and inventory by the time you died.

AI

• 5 new monster attacks

• Champion monsters now form packs that work together in combat

• 8 new unique monsters (ultra-rare)

• 2 new bosses

• 6 new common monsters

• 1 new wandering merchant (Baal’no Tanuk)

Items
Exquisite items ( ie. the most rare ones ) now have a “super modifier”, the super mod is unlocked by purchasing all common item modifiers attached to the item. Super modifiers provide you with powerful effects that can have both passive and active effects.A new (equipable) item type has been created, called “Runes”.

Your character hold 3 rune slots in which runes can be equiped. An equiped rune provide your character with a variety of skill and vital buffs, but can also give your character passive bonus-attacks.
The runes can be generated in three states: Corrupted, Adequate and Ancient.
Adequate runes are the most common and have relatively balanced properties, Corrupted runes are slightly more powerful than adequates, however atleast one of the corrupted runes properties are reversed and will instead of buffing be debuffing your character.

Ancient runes provide the best properties but require a sacrifice to be used, ie. reduced health, inflicting damage on the user over time, reducing your armor rating etc. etc.

• 20 new common runes implemented

• 6 new exquisite rated runes implemented
  Apart from runes there are,

• 2 new consumable items: “Tier Chip” and “Property Modifier”, both used to upgrade gear

• 1 new blueprint: “Property Modifier blueprint”

• 7 new armor pieces (where as 3 are exquisite rated)

• 5 new weapons (where as 2 are exquisite rated)

  

  Other things worth to mention
  Overall, alot of optimisation’s been done, among other things numerous improvement’s been done to physics handling, world collision and geometry for all maps.
  Lots of gameplay elements have been balanced and improved, also the algorithm calculating the monster level has been improved, and to this- item tiers are no longer determined by the players level, but has instead been nested into the monster level algorithm to make sure that the player can’t go to low-level areas and farm crazy-good gear.
  Oh, right! I’ve also added 20 new achievments!