Development Log #36

Welcome once again to the weekly Development Log for Lionhearts, an up-and-coming project on Steam created using Unreal Engine 5.

This week, the team continued pushing Lionhearts: Melee toward a release build while navigating a mix of polish work and unexpected technical hurdles.

Firstly, the programming team successfully updated the project to Unreal Engine 5.6. Match hosting was expanded to support team sizes and private, friends-only lobbies. Audio volume settings are now fully functional, and early work began on integrating voice chat into matches. Also, a new music component was added to provide background audio during matches.

Combat polish remained a major focus, with fixes to damage application and weapon colliders, improvements to arming sword swing animations, and a resolved issue where attacks would briefly desync after reaching full charge. Charge time is now properly integrated per weapon type.

While progress continues steadily, recent weeks have involved heavier-than-expected delays due to bug fixing alongside last-minute feature additions.

Meanwhile, the 2D art team polished Favor Tree UI assets, including new skill and task nodes and updated connecting line elements.

Additionally, the 3D art team finished cloth simulation for the Templar Sergeant outfit.

Lastly, the 3D animation team continued work on arming sword block pose animations.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to check it out yet, our Kickstarter campaign is now accepting late pledges! Even if you only have a few bucks to spare, it helps us more than you know!

Reminder: We have begun handing out Discord rewards to Kickstarter backers, such as roles and other special permissions. Check your Kickstarter messages if you're a backer for info on how to claim these rewards!

Please join us on our Discord server where you can ask questions and participate in our growing community!

Be sure to wishlist the game on our Steam Page, too!