Bayani is still in Early Access which means that the current gameplay is in a continuous state of evolution. We have a general idea on where we want to bring the gameplay to when we fully release the game but we also believe that feedback and suggestions by players are extremely important in how we shape the game. We have a general idea of where we are headed but the end goal is also flexible so that we can adapt accordingly. With v1.3.0 update, the gameplay of Bayani is a step closer that end goal and is far from what it was 10 months ago. The jump and gravity changes affected all of the previous characters as their air combos and timings have drastically changed. This slight increase in gravity improved the feel of jumps and made it less floaty. Because of this, air juggles also have stricter timings as enemies fall and recover much faster. The airdash height requirement was also slightly decreased to compensate for the faster jump drop. We also removed a lot of hard knockdowns in the game as we feel that it made set-up and wake-up options too powerful. It also made the game feel slower as there are a lot of breaks in momentum.
Every major patch brings in various frame data improvements but this update is host to some of the biggest frame data overhaul we’ve ever done. To address the jump changes and the removal of various hard knockdowns, most frame data had to be redone from the ground up to ensure that everything works and connects as planned. Of course, there are things that we might have missed so feedback is greatly appreciated. We have also removed the ability to cancel unique air normals from airdashes to further differentiate jump normals and unique air normals. In line with adding more movement to the game, Dre’s and Oria’s Light Normal Combo was given some movement. The reach for Joe’s previous 2A was too short to be useful so it was replaced entirely. The same holds true for Leon as he was given an entire set of new crouch normals.
Leon’s major revamp makes his Fatal Strike more reliable as it would often miss a lot of its hits against airborne opponents. Most of the time, it would also be unsafe even on hit making it a pretty lackluster combo ender. His new j5C adds another jump in and air mobility option to his arsenal. His unique air combo is again back with the buttons being moved to j5B and j5C instead so as not to interfere with the air dash macro.
Oria’s major revamp revolves around making her kit more reliable as she would previously drop a lot of her combos for no reason. Her Fatal Strike was also given slight forward movement and OTG properties to ensure that it would connect. Her D-skill is once again improved: it is now a fully invulnerable cross up somersault which lets her evade a lot of attacks. It can be chained from various moves so that she can use it as a mix-up option and then chain it to either A, B, or C which all have different properties making her mix-up game even more dangerous.
Tomorrow’s post will address the delays in the pipeline, future updates, and how the team will address these moving forward.
-Red