Althera Update v2.1.1

This week was heavily focused on the summon system, hero architecture, UI polish, and animation improvements.

Implemented

• Heroes are now fully JSON-driven
• Models, textures, and animations can now be loaded dynamically directly from JSON definitions
• Added support for optional assets with proper fallback handling
• New summon follow AI behavior
• New custom melee combat system with synced attack animations
• Added attack animations and animation speed adjustments
• Added Aria as the first fully animated and modeled hero
• Summons now properly spawn with full health after rituals
• First settings screen implementation
• Added options to hide HUD and disable saves/interventions
• HUD now remains active while the player owns a summon
• Improved status screen visuals and organization
• Added summon name display and clearer summon acquisition messages
• Added internal armor/defense scaling based on hero progression and ranking
• Added several useful commands
• Improved internal naming standards and overall code organization

Temporary Limitation

For now, hero availability has been intentionally limited while the new animation/model pipeline is stabilized. Aria (EX Rank) is currently the main playable showcase hero, featuring custom visuals, animations, and combat behavior, although the system itself is still actively being refined and expanded.