Update 0.9.0: "Fights and Trades"

I decided to give this update a name, since it turned out to be quite ambitious. Why not? This update introduces new ways to fight enemies, a full-fledged trading system with merchant companies, new textures, and updates to existing features. So... let's go through them one by one...

Cutlasses

Cutlasses are a new weapon that pirate skeletons now spawn with. After all, they are pirates. Cutlasses allow the player to fully block an incoming attack, after which the ability goes on cooldown. This lets the player withstand heavy blows from weapons like axes or maces. However, they cannot block arrows or other projectiles. By the way, there’s an even cooler version of the cutlass!

Captain's Cutlasses

Captain's Cutlasses are upgraded versions wielded by captain skeletons. Their main difference from standard cutlasses is that, in addition to blocking attacks, they allow for sideways dashes to improve maneuverability. Unlike standard cutlasses, they cannot be crafted. However, you can obtain them by fighting skeleton captains, buying them from the Skull Merchant, or upgrading a standard cutlass at a smithing table using a "Captain's Upgrade." If you think this is the last new weapon, well...

Daggers

Daggers are a new type of throwable weapon available to the player for combat, primarily at medium range. They differ in many ways - such as damage, stack size, charge speed, and more. They deal significant damage upon hitting a mob and then bounce off, embedding themselves in the ground where they can be picked up. Each dagger has a chance to break on impact, so they are considered consumable items. So... what about trading?

Doubloons

Before we move on to the new trading interface, let me tell you about the new currency. Doubloons! These are obtained by selling items to trading companies and can also occasionally be found in sea fortress chests. They stack in piles of 9. For convenient storage, there is also a doubloon pouch; it functions like a standard pouch but holds only doubloons - and it has infinite capacity. So, how does trading work?

New menus for trading companies + reputation system

When you want to sell your skulls and buy cool gear, you’ll encounter a new sales menu. You’ll see a single slot for selling your valuables. The "Order of Souls" accepts trophy skulls and treasure chests (it is best to sell chests that have already been opened). Selling treasure, rewards you with doubloons and company reputation experience. From this menu, you can switch to the offers menu, where you can purchase items offered by the trading company. Quests, emeralds, new cutlasses, daggers, and other items become available for purchase based on your reputation level. Sell more treasure and level up the trading company to unlock new offers.

A quick note:

Currently, Treasures of the Dead features one trading company. Future updates may be released very infrequently; more on this at the end of the changelog.

Other changes:

• Rebalancing of skull values and other items: in short, the Villainous Trophy Skull is now rarer, while the values of the Foul Skull and Disgraced Skull have increased. Overall, the value of all skulls has gone up. Reward values at the fort and the standard contents of treasure chests have also been adjusted.
• Treasure chests now have a 25% chance to contain 3 random trophy skulls.
• All treasure entities now require 5+ hits to drop as an item.
• Skeletons carrying powder kegs now drop the barrel upon death. It retains the state of its fuse exactly as it was when held by the skeleton.
• Powder kegs can no longer be extinguished once lit (though they can still be ignited - break them if you don't want to explode).
• (Bugfix) The keg no longer drops down when lighting the fuse in first-person view (though the fuse itself is not animated).
• Sea Fortresses update: Skeletons that fall into the water are teleported back to the fort after a short delay.
• Added new variations for the rooftop storage room.
• Most loot tables have been modified (slightly).
• Skeleton pirates now spawn in the world equipped with cutlasses.
• Spawn rates for different skeleton types in camps of varying difficulty have been slightly adjusted.
• Skeleton pirates now look around and "talk" to other pirate skeletons.
• Adjusted the maximum horizontal head rotation for skeleton pirates (75° -> 45°).
• Skeleton captains have a small chance to drop a pouch of doubloons (applies only to random captains).
• Adjusted skeleton arm positioning in the model (12 -> 11.5) to ensure cutlasses display correctly.
• Added a cooldown for the Blunderbomb, configurable via the mod's .toml file.
• Redrawn textures for Golden Skeletons.
• Redrawn textures for Blooming Skeletons.
• Redrawn textures for Shadow Skeletons.
• Also updated the rendering of Shadow Skeletons while in their shadow state.
• Updated the texture for the Foul Skull.

Huge thanks to the wonderful NotYourLynLyn for redrawing both the old and new textures. Without her, this update might never have been released.

Settings

A huge number of settings have been added to the mod's .toml file. Customize cutlasses, daggers, and bombs however you like. You can also configure the items bought and sold by trading companies (look for the sell_prices.json and shop_offers.json files in data/treasures_of_the_dead/trading_companies/order_of_souls/…).

This is the end.

This turned out to be a pretty good update, despite the development challenges. I hope it goes viral, or that someone makes a TikTok about the mod... That would be awesome - really cool… and awesome… please.

Why this might be the last update for the next year.

The thing is, I’ll likely have to leave for a year of mandatory military service soon. Consequently, I won't be able to work on the mod or interact with the community. Nothing is 100% certain yet regarding my deployment, but the probability is extremely high, so it’s important to mention it here and now. In any case, if I do leave, I’ll release a patch with an announcement. That’s the situation. Download the mod, spread the word, play with friends, make videos, and have a great time! That's all for now, thanks!