Hello, this is Mocha and Latte from the Chaos Bringer development team back again.

Following our previous dev note about the smarter 'Movement System,' today we're excited to reveal the final version of the much-anticipated 'Macro' feature and how it was completed.

Actually, we've discussed the initial concept of macros in a previous dev note. For those whose memory might be a bit hazy, let me give you a quick recap.

Previously on Macro Development:

• Breaking the Click Curse: To eliminate the inconvenience of constantly clicking on targets, we designed a 'Target Caching' feature where the system remembers targets and players only need to press skill buttons twice.[/*]

• Macros to Reduce Repetition: Going further, we proposed an initial version that bundles multiple skills into a single 'macro' skill that can be used repeatedly.[/*]

• Remaining Limitations: However, even this approach had the limitation of being another form of repetitive action that required 'constantly pressing the macro button again.'[/*][/list][/quote]

  So after internal testing, we completely turned this concept on its head.

  Let me now introduce our new solution to eliminate 'repetitive actions' entirely.

  1. Macros: One reservation, infinite repetition.

  Let me cut to the chase,

  Now macros only need to be reserved once, and they'll repeat infinitely until the player issues another command.

  

  Once combat begins, just activate the macro once. After that, players can focus solely on reading the battlefield, avoiding danger, and making strategic decisions to manually use skills at critical moments.

  No more need to repeatedly press the macro button!

  2. "Why was my character idle?" - Timeline UI Overhaul

  With macros repeating infinitely, it became crucial to understand what skills characters are currently using and what they'll use next.

  The existing timeline in the upper left corner had visibility issues, as players focused on the center of the screen where battles occur. Many of you experienced "I thought I reserved skills, but why is my character just standing there?" only to check the timeline belatedly.

  To solve this problem, we moved the skill reservation timeline above each character's head.

  • Timeline expanding above selected character: The skill reservation list for your currently selected character expands clearly above their head. You can immediately see what skills will be executed next.

  • Minimized view for other characters: Timelines for unselected characters smoothly collapse and minimize, but you can still clearly see that multiple skills are queued up.

  • Intuitive macro skill distinction: Skill icons reserved by macros display "MACRO" text, making them easily distinguishable from manually reserved skills. (Of course, this text display is temporary design that may change with our designer's touch!)

  

  No need to worry about not knowing exactly when skills will be cast with the timeline position change. Hovering your mouse over each skill icon shows a tooltip with the exact cast start time (MM:SS.s), allowing you to check whenever precise control is needed.

  3. Moments of Strategic Decision: Priority between Macros and Manual Skills

  Of course, convenient macros shouldn't interfere with players' strategic choices.

  Our skill reservation system has the following clear priorities:

  • Normal skill reservation: Always takes priority over macros. When players manually reserve skills, the automatically running macro cycle pauses and executes that skill first.

  • Priority skill reservation (Shift + Click): Commands for emergency situations that must be executed before any other action. Use this to interrupt enemy casting or apply survival skills to allies, and it will prepare to activate immediately, ignoring all reservations.

  

  This allows you to enjoy the convenience of 'infinitely repeating macros with one reservation' normally, while your sharp judgment can immediately intervene in combat at critical moments.

  As a small tip, right-clicking skill icons displayed above characters' heads will immediately cancel that skill reservation or active macro.

  ---

  Stay tuned for the next dev note!

  So far we've explained how our macro system 'works.' That leaves the most important question, right?

  "So how do players actually create these amazing macros?"

  We're currently working hard on developing a 'Macro Creation' feature that allows you to save, edit, and even set icons for your own optimized skill cycles.

  We'll cover this exciting news in detail in the next dev note, so please look forward to it!

  We'll continue listening to your feedback and creating better gaming experiences.

  Thank you.

Hello, this is Mocha and Latte from the Chaos Bringer development team.

It's been a long time since we've greeted you with new updates. First, we'd like to express our sincerest apologies and gratitude to everyone who has patiently waited for us.

For the past few months of silence, we have been pouring all our energy into a large-scale refactoring to fundamentally improve the experience of the combat system, which can be called the heart of the game. It was a process of redesigning the system from its very foundation so that players could be free from unnecessary operational stress and immerse themselves solely in strategic fun.

Today, as the first result of that effort, we would like to introduce in detail how 'movement,' the most basic element of combat, has become smarter and more comfortable.

Previously, we mentioned that we had introduced the following features to improve the convenience of the movement system.

Summary of Past Improvements

• Contextual Ally Collision: Improved the phenomenon of allies blocking each other and clumping together.

• Real-time Path Updates: Changed the system to continuously re-search for the optimal path even while moving.

• Out-of-Range Skill Queuing: Regardless of range, if a skill is 'queued,' the character will automatically move and then use it.

However, we felt it was most important to clarify 'the player's true intention' amidst all this automated movement and to reflect it as the top priority.

So, we have visually distinguished between direct movement commands from the player and automatic movement for skill use, and established an absolute rule.

• Solid White Line (Player's Will): This is an 'intentional movement' command directly given by the player clicking on the ground.

• Dotted Yellow Line (System's Assist): This is the 'automatic movement' path calculated by the system for skill use.

Oh, and the white and yellow path lines you currently see are a rough, temporary UI design focused solely on implementing the functionality. They will be improved into a much more polished and intuitive look by our professional designer in the future, so you don't have to worry too much about the current design!

The most important principle is this:

The player's intentional movement (solid white line) always takes top priority over any skill queue (dotted yellow line).

For example, even if you are moving along a dotted yellow line to use a skill on a boss, if the player clicks elsewhere to avoid danger, the character will immediately pause all queued actions and move along the solid white line for survival. Only after the evasion is complete will it resume moving towards the original target (dotted yellow line).

Now, you can clearly understand all of your character's movements and grasp the flow of tactical and automatic movement at a glance. Furthermore, to ensure this whole process works reliably, we have also completely rebuilt the invisible internal logic, significantly increasing stability.

Perhaps those of you with a keen eye might have noticed that the overall UI layout has changed significantly from before in the screenshots and videos we've shown today.

This is also the result of a great deal of thought and redesign to optimize player line-of-sight and operational convenience. It's still under development, so it's difficult to go into detail today, but there will be a day when we formally introduce this new UI layout after polishing it a bit more.

Today, we focused on the changes to 'movement,' the most fundamental aspect of combat.

Based on this smarter movement system, we will soon be back with more detailed news about 'skill queuing and macros,' which will dramatically reduce combat fatigue.

Thank you once again to everyone who has waited for so long.

- Sincerely, Mocha and Latte