Shotbow

Smash Changelog

Hey Everyone!

It's been a while since our last content update, and while we may have slightly missed our deadline on part two of the Anniversary Update, we're still keeping our promises for that update here! The entire update is based around a complete rework of how maps are made, and how matches are created/played. While we've spent a fair share of time testing, be sure to report anything you find on the Discord or Forums!

New Maps? Oh my!
Returning Maps

This is the major bulk of the update; while we originally planned on making a big deal out of all the old, previously removed maps being re-added for old time's sake, now they'll just be here to stay! Been a while since you last played? Well here's all the old faces coming back to the gang:

• Abandoned Bridge
• Corrupted
• Dark Castle
• The Ship
• White Chapel
• The Cube
• Overgrowth

Brand New Maps

Of course, taking the dust off some old maps isn't all we did in these past few months, we also added 4 brand new maps to the selection. The first 3 on the list are winners from the Map Submission Contest, and the 4th is a map which was accepted for submission a while back, but never made it in due to certain back end restrictions.

• Olympian Heights
• Flame Cavern
• Endgame
• Collide

11 new maps added to the roaster in total, wohoo! Some maps also received small changes, all of which will be detailed in the changelog if you'd like all the juicier details regarding how maps have been altered. In general, every map can now be played with at least 8 players, and some maps go beyond their prior limitations. In addition, we also have a few new media maps which we'll be testing out in the coming weeks, be sure to look out for in-game and twitter announcements for those! The arena selection GUI also looks a lot cleaner, boasting a new color scheme and some updated icons.


Out with the old...

Players will no longer have to use game signs to join matches, while they were a fun gimmick, and are a hallmark of the mode, we decided it was time to upgrade to a more modern matchmaking format. Now, you can open the arena selection GUI from anywhere in the lobby, with the /matchmaking command. There are 2 lobby NPCs who function as game signs as well. Games will pop up in this initial GUI which you can join, or you can create a new match by clicking the paper item.

Miscellaneous Updates

A requested change was to nerf the Rocket Launcher to be deflect-able, and as you can see by the fancy header, that's now a reality! It can be punched, shot, or snowballed away like any old ghast fireball can be. We're interested to see what other balance changes like this you guys have in mind, along with our own planned balance changes.
We also have 2 new taunts which will be available for purchase on the XP Shop soon!


Tutorial Time!

One of the biggest pet-peeves of newer players was the lack of introduction to the game. The wiki isn't exactly up to date, and the various signs posted in the lobby are both dated and easy to miss. Now, there's an extension of the lobby which can be accessed easily from the initial spawn point, or can be traveled to right outside the main hub area easily. It contains all sorts of info on how to play, how items work, and even some advanced stuff!

Social System Update

We tried going to the new social system when it was initially released, however this completely broke parties back then. Now, however, you can do all the fun social things available everywhere else on the network, like sending private messages, making friends, you name it!

Parties 2.0

The biggest change in this section is parties, you can now create a party from the main hub, and play a party match with that party, no additional steps needed. This also means the party pass is no longer required to make private matches. We're currently looking into fun bonuses to make party matches even better for those who already bought the party pass, without retracting from players who do not own it. If you've got any suggestions on features, let us know!

Looking Ahead

The past few months have been a lot of work for us, we had to remake every map from schematics which had to be made; not to mention all the other stuff that goes into making updates. We really appreciate all the feedback everyone gives on the forums, and how patient everyone has been with waiting on this update to be released since it was initially announced.
Ranked is currently down for maintenance as the new Arena system doesn't play very nicely with it, or the media maps. However we plan on having it back up as soon as possible, and plan on making a few changes to it so its a lot more cohesive as opposed to what it was previously.

Thanks for your amazing support, and for flying Shotbow!
- The SMASH Team

Hey Shotbow! Welcome to the May 2021 edition of Dentril's New Moon, our monthly newsletter here at Shotbow. I'm your host, Mistri, and I'll be guiding you through this month's updates. Let's get started!

Updates
Annihilation Updates
This month, Annihilation released an awesome Easter update, Lean Hassium.

Also, we have posted multiple Community Clan Wars on our YouTube channel. You can check out the matches at the following links: #43, #44, #45.

MineZ Updates
MineZ released some awesome new content updates this month: Spring Cleaning and The Challenger Update. In addition, the newest member of the Film Crew, SealClubber, released videos detailing changes in these updates: 3.9.1 / 3.9.2, 3.11.0.

Slaughter Updates
Slaughter released a massive update: Slaughter 1.2. It contains a ton of new content changes, including new mobs, new items, bugfixes, and tons more. Check out the full changelog here.

SMASH Updates
The SMASH ranked season is on hold for the next few weeks while we work on some changes for an upcoming update. Expect to see it back soon!

Statistics
Network in General
Staff updates:

• Smartzz joined the MineZ Mini Admin team

Other statistics:

• A total of 99,904,651 XP was earned by players this month
• There were 717 players banned in the last month
• This month we achieved a peak playercount of 364 on April 1

Thanks for tuning in this month, and thanks for flying Shotbow!

MineZ Changelog

Hello Survivors!

We are releasing another round of updates to further enhance your MineZ experience. We're pleased to present you with quite a sizable amount of content through our Spring Cleaning efforts. Read on to get the full scoop!

A new challenger appears...

You all know of the Giant Zombie by now. They are one of the few boss monsters you can find roaming the dried up lakes in the north. When roaming these lands, you may hear rumbles and a distant roar now...

There is a brand new Giant you can find exclusively at Giant's Camp on public servers! This foe is not for the faint of heart. We recommend bringing a few friends to take on this baleful beast. If you do manage to slay it you will be graced with some new and unique loot, which no doubt will shake up the meta.

If you hear this beast roar in the distance, you should get over to Giant's Camp and take it on!

How Legendary!

With this update, we are bringing you three overhauls to existing legendary weapons, as well as some quality of life improvements to a few others. We plan to continue working on a few more of these special items throughout the remainder of April, so look forward to that!

Venom Bow

Venom Bow suffered the same uninspired and realistically, quite poor legendary design of old. Previously, you would shoot someone and have a chance to inflict them with a short dose of poison. Not very interesting...

Now, the legendary weapon does the following:

• Shooting players will now stack marks, which is essentially a scaling number for each shot you successfully land on your target.
• Within 10 seconds of your last shot, you can left click Venom Bow to detonate your applied marks, dealing half a heart of damage each. You can stack up to 8 marks on a single target, adding up to a whopping 4 hearts of damage!
• Deals Power 1 damage at base.

Night's Shadow

Another legendary weapon that was underwhelming was Night's Shadow. To theme with the night, we're adding a relatively under utilized effect into MineZ, and one that you have full control over!

• Right click to gain Wither Strike, which will then allow you to inflict Wither I on your target for a few seconds. Deceive your opponents with darkened hearts, and combo them back to spawn!

Flail

Not to worry all of you Flail (ab)users! We didn't change any of the mechanics surrounding this weapon, but simply injected further clarity into it to hopefully better inform your next decisions in the middle of battle.

• When PVP Tagged and holding the flail, you will emit particles. These particles will grow more intense the lower your health is.
• As a refresher, Flail deals increasing damage the lower your health is. These particles exist to both tell you (and your opponent) how deadly the weapon is at the moment!

Minor Changes

There were several other minor Legendary changes that are not included on this thread, but please take a look at the extensive MineZ Changelog for all of the specific details!

Looter's Delight

This update is targeted at those who have experienced the shortcomings of the looting in MineZ first-hand. This update does not fix the problem, but rather serves as the building block for further changes to gearing up in MineZ.

Some locations have seen significant changes to the loot tables, as well as some overall fixes to potion chests! I also hear there's something new to be found in civilian and potion chests...

Pirate's Booty

If you've ever had the experience of walking into the Zerbia Depths loot room, you may have found yourself underwhelmed with some of the loot in their hoard.

Whispers in the ocean winds has alluded to these undead pirates having salvaged new treasures...If you dare enter into their domain and fight, parkour, and challenge yourself, you just might find brand new goodies for your trouble!

PVP Changes

A few updates ago, we made quite a few changes to PVP, and some of them were a bit too drastic. We've lowered base sword damage, and we are exploring further changes over the next few weeks.

Instance Overhaul Update

Officially released on April 14th, the Instance Overhaul is upon us! Now whenever you enter a dungeon, you will be sent to a different MineZ server where you can take on the dungeon. We've been hard at work optimizing this system since release.

However, this update takes full advantage of instance update because of the following minor adjustment...

Main World View Distance

MineZ for the longest time has worked off of a 4 chunk view distance. It was hard to appreciate the landscape and chase opponents in PVP. While this isn't a large increase, we're going to be monitoring performance to see if we can go even higher or not.

With that being said, we have increased the view distance from 4 to 6 chunks! This is quite a large change, and you have to just log into MineZ and experience the difference!

More on the horizon...

There is quite a lot of content packed into this update. We've got a little bit more planned to release this month and then work will begin on the next few big projects.

We know there are a few other projects that we've teased before, and our hope is to slowly deliver them over the summer.

This summer is shaping up to be quite exciting for MineZ content, so stay tuned!

Thanks for flying Shotbow!
~ The MineZ Team ~