SFOTHChangelog

NOTES FROM THE HEIGHTS

Changelog

The swords stay sharp. Here is what changed in the browser version of Sword Fights on the Heights IV, one release at a time.

LATEST RELEASE

01 / STRAIGHT INTO THE FIGHT

Straight into the fight.

This update adds a link that drops you straight into a match, makes each frame lighter on slower computers, and records more detail when the game stutters.

01 One link to play

  • Opening shedletsky.com/SFOTH/play loads the arena and puts you in a match without a click. It picks a room the same way Play now does, opening a new room or joining the queue when every room is full. Signed-in players keep their names.
  • The lobby has a Quickplay Link box under its buttons. Click it to copy the link and send it to a friend.

02 Lighter frames on slower computers

  • Name tags and health bars above fighters are now drawn by the game renderer instead of the web page. In slowed-down CPU tests, 15 moving name tags went from about 3.9 ms of work per frame to about 0.5 ms.
  • Chat bubbles and the game interface only update what changed each frame. In live-room tests on a slowed-down CPU, typical frame times dropped by about 17 to 37 percent.

03 Lobby fixes, better stutter reports

  • The spectator camera controls and broadcast labels no longer cover the lobby buttons and links on phones and shorter windows.
  • When play briefly freezes, the game now records what it was doing at that moment, including recent shadow updates and graphics-quality changes, so we can track down stutters.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

02 / A LIGHTER CLIMB

A lighter climb.

This update brings a new renderer built for the Heights, smarter automatic graphics settings, and less work between frames. It also repairs Gem displays and adds more detail to reports of slow controls.

01 A new view of the Heights

  • Replaced the graphics engine with a purpose-built renderer that reduces CPU work while preserving the arena, fighters, lighting and effects. The new renderer requires WebGL 2.
  • Stationary shadows and repeated arena geometry now share more work between frames. Glow takes fewer drawing passes, with a separate rendering path for mobile and Apple graphics chips.
  • More shaders prepare before play, rendering reuses more resources, and routine performance summaries run away from the frame loop to reduce avoidable hitches.

02 Graphics that fit your machine

  • Auto display mode chooses a starting graphics quality for your device and remembers the setting for your graphics chip between visits.
  • Auto tries lower quality or resolution when rendering falls behind, keeps the change only when it measures an improvement, and can restore quality when performance recovers.
  • Lighter graphics tiers reduce shadows, glow and surface detail. Performance and Minimum turn off multisample edge smoothing and cap rendering at about 60 FPS; Sharp keeps full-quality graphics.

03 Small fixes, better reports

  • Fixed missing Gem shapes in SFOTH reward displays.
  • Client reports can now distinguish more stages between moving a control and seeing your character respond, helping us investigate slow controls separately from rendering or connection delays.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

03 / KEEP YOUR FOOTING

Keep your footing.

More reliable controls during delayed updates, faster recovery from connection congestion, and fewer recurring rendering hitches. This release also adds an optional Minimum graphics mode for modest machines.

01 Controls that keep up

  • Fixed a delay-related bug that could leave you stuck at spawn, unable to equip a sword, or repeatedly pulled backward. New controls stay current even when older arena updates are still arriving.
  • Returning after a long pause now sends your current movement instead of building a backlog of old movement commands. Queued actions keep their order.
  • A delayed stream of arena updates can keep advancing your character's view instead of leaving it permanently stuck waiting to catch up.

02 A fresher view of the fight

  • Improved update delivery on congested connections to reduce stale arena updates piling up and improve recovery when bandwidth or latency changes.
  • Partially received updates have longer to finish on high-latency connections, reducing stalls while the connection warms up.
  • Other fighters catch up promptly when current updates resume, instead of remaining several seconds behind.
  • Incoming updates can continue decoding while the previous update is applied, reducing unnecessary delays on slower machines.

03 Less work on modest machines

  • Added an optional Minimum display setting with simpler materials and fewer visual effects for players who need a lighter graphics mode.
  • Auto display mode now responds to recurring expensive rendering hitches even when average performance stays above 30 FPS.
  • Reduced rendering work when fighters change appearance or status, and reduced allocations in the full-physics prediction renderer.
  • Saving recent freeze history does less work, reducing the overhead of collecting the reports that help us investigate a stall.
  • Performance reports now include graphics timing where supported and brief resolution comparisons to help investigate rendering slowdowns.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

04 / A SMOOTHER FIGHT

A smoother fight on modest machines.

Improved rendering performance on low-end machines, with less work spent drawing fighters and the HUD. High-end systems keep their full-quality visuals.

01 More frames, less overhead

  • More efficient avatar rendering and overhead labels reduce graphics and CPU work for everyone, especially in busy fights.
  • Fixed fighters becoming invisible when appearance or status changes moved them between rendering batches.
  • Auto mode can scale back glow and particles during sustained slow rendering to target a playable 30 FPS. Sharp keeps full effects, and faster machines can still render above 30 FPS.
  • Performance stats and client reports now measure graphics FPS, received and applied game updates, and outgoing controls separately, making rendering slowdowns easier to distinguish from connection lag.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

05 / BACK IN THE FIGHT

Back in the fight.

Fewer connection freezes, steadier movement, faster camera checks and more reliable play totals. This release also improves replay, touch controls, game loading, account recovery and the reports that help us track down a freeze.

01 Fewer connection freezes

  • Fixed an intermittent connection stall that could freeze the arena while chat, menus and rendering kept working. Game updates no longer lose pieces to an overly short send deadline during temporary congestion.
  • Completed game updates are acknowledged on the reliable connection, with the newest acknowledgement retained through temporary congestion.
  • Game update delivery now adapts to changing latency instead of remaining slowed by an outdated connection measurement.
  • Reduced bot disconnects caused by delayed updates or temporary connection congestion.

02 Steadier movement, lighter camera work

  • Fixed a movement correction that could repeatedly pull your character backward on delayed connections. Late or out-of-order game updates no longer rewind your predicted movement.
  • Your character now reacts to fixed walls, corners and ceilings immediately, reducing the visible clipping and snap-back that could happen while waiting for the server.
  • Camera obstruction checks do less work around the arena, while still following moving obstacles and passing through objects that no longer block the view.
  • Walking on a tilted moving platform follows its surface between server updates. Climbing prediction releases a truss when you move beyond its reach.

03 Play, replay and return

  • Death replays keep a stable timeline while the live match continues. New game updates no longer shift the clip underneath you.
  • Respawning during a replay restores your controls, and a delayed recap from an earlier life no longer changes the current replay.
  • Holding jump counts as activity, preventing idle kicks while you are still playing.
  • Confirming Reset keeps the command queued after the menu closes. Double tapping the inventory bar on touch devices no longer asks the browser to zoom.
  • Display shaders load before play. A failed game module offers a reload instead of leaving the loading screen or display stuck.
  • The lobby's total play count preserves confirmed joins through temporary database failures and server restarts, without counting a retried save twice.

04 Better freeze reports

  • Send client report includes a more detailed timeline to help distinguish connection, game-update and rendering stalls, with evidence from before and after a freeze. Recent freeze history survives a reload in the same tab.
  • Freeze reports now distinguish a delayed diagnostic check from an actual pause in rendered frames, avoiding false freeze labels when the game kept drawing normally.
  • Fixed a report-validation mismatch that could reject reports containing current display settings. Diagnostics stay on your device until you choose to send them.

05 Getting into the game

  • Creating a Shedletsky account can continue during a temporary username-review outage, using the same built-in username rules instead of leaving signup blocked or waiting indefinitely.

06 Accounts and sign-out

  • Signing out ends old game sessions without blocking the account or clearing leaderboard history. A fresh sign-in remains valid if an older sign-out update arrives late.
  • Account restrictions and deletions retry their game updates after an outage, so an unavailable game service does not hold up account changes on the site.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

06 / KEEP MOVING

The fight keeps moving.

This update addresses a connection-related freezing bug reported by players.

01 A steadier connection

  • Fixed a bug that could leave fighters frozen in place while chat and menus still worked.
  • Game updates now tolerate more delay between their parts and handle out-of-order arrivals correctly, keeping network jitter from repeatedly discarding the updates needed to move the fight forward.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

07 / ANOTHER ROUND

Another round on the Heights.

See how your last fight ended, find more opponents, and make the game fit your screen. Today’s update also repairs movement, touch controls, joining and account recovery, with clearer chat rules and moderation notices.

01 Your last life

  • Combat feedback now distinguishes protected hits, freeze immunity, freezing and poison, with short messages and quiet sound cues.
  • The death card explains the credited weapon or cause and shows your life’s KOs, survival time, damage, swords used and a highlight. The recap stays available in the game menu after respawn.
  • Replay the last few seconds you received before dying. You can return to the respawn screen at any time; respawning also ends the replay automatically.

02 Steadier movement

  • Fixed local floor clipping during fast falls and sinking or snap-back while riding moving platforms. Stacked surfaces and holes now produce more reliable predicted landings.
  • Respawning clears movement, jumps and speculative combat from your previous life. Held controls no longer turn into surprise actions after a graphics interruption.
  • Fixed sideways ladder climbing. Shift Lock now turns your character with the camera immediately, including when you are standing still.
  • Entering fullscreen from Settings closes the menu and restores game focus. A denied fullscreen request leaves the menu usable.

03 Fit your screen

  • Choose Auto, Sharp or Performance display mode. Auto adjusts rendering resolution during sustained slow frames; your choice is saved.
  • Touch settings offer an analog joystick or directional buttons, a left-handed layout, control size and separate look sensitivity.
  • Fixed joystick placement, centering and dragging outside its target. Movement, looking, jumping and attacking can use independent touches, and rotating or resizing the screen clears held input.
  • The optional scoreboard opens and closes cleanly and leaves more room for controls on small screens. Mouse and gamepad input also recover cleanly from interrupted play.
  • The performance display now includes FPS and your graphics card alongside connection information, making feedback reports easier to interpret.

04 More opponents

  • Every active room fills its available seats with its own balanced bot roster. Human players take those seats as they join.
  • Rare Tier VI bots join the usual I–V mix, with a gold crown, supercomputer names, stronger footwork and more capable equipment and travel choices. Their results appear on the tier boards and profiles.
  • Fixed a Tier VI speech error that could stop a room.
  • Repaired the missing sparkle texture in Touchstone teleport effects. Shedletsky also gets an epic-face badge on the leaderboard.

05 Clearer chat rules

  • Chat blocks links and contact-sharing attempts more consistently. The public content policy explains the boundaries and distinguishes ordinary sword-fighting talk from targeted abuse.
  • Repeated confirmed chat violations lead to increasing timeouts. Restrictions survive reconnects, expire consistently and can be corrected after review.
  • Muted players receive a private explanation and expiry; the room receives a brief mute announcement. Overlapping restrictions and unmute decisions stay consistent.
  • Your private account standing shows chat restrictions and recorded decisions, including conversation reviews when enabled, with a route to request review.
  • Added optional conversation-level review and live moderation controls. Temporary review-service outages retry without counting as player violations; inconclusive username checks ask you to retry without using a naming attempt.

06 Getting back into the game

  • Fixed joining in browsers missing newer request-cancellation features. Hung requests finish with a retryable error, and delayed game updates show a connection notice.
  • A graphics interruption now shows recovery status and pauses gameplay input until rendering resumes, with a restart option if recovery fails.
  • Login and signup match the rest of Shedletsky.com, including Soh’s signup introduction. Logging out also ends the shared Accounts session, so the next login asks for credentials.
  • Repaired verification links and email validation. Sign-in help resends verification for unverified accounts or a password-reset link for verified accounts, explains sending limits and preserves your return path to the game.
  • Site-wide alerts now appear, change and disappear on SFOTH without refreshing the page. Stats, achievements and account moderation updates also recover more reliably across service updates.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

08 / THE ARENA TALKS BACK

The arena talks back.

The bots have found their voices. They usually keep them to themselves. This release also makes fights steadier on difficult connections and easier to play on a phone.

01 The bots have opinions

  • Bots occasionally taunt, announce what they are doing, or offer a very confident observation. The little ones can barely manage “beep beep”; the dangerous ones are meaner.
  • Their remarks appear in distinctive overhead bubbles, away from the room chat. A defeated bot may still get the last word from its detached head.
  • Herobrine has his own rare lines. Ghostlight speaks in ordinary room chat and reacts to things happening nearby.

02 In the arena

  • Movement, other fighters’ positions, and urgent combat actions recover more smoothly when a connection or render frame falls behind. High falls and moving platforms produce fewer jarring corrections.
  • Illumina’s uphill and downhill conveyors hold riders more reliably, and climbers keep facing the ladder they grabbed.
  • Touch controls fit narrow screens better. Drop stays accessible even when the hotbar is full, with clearer overlays and easier equipping.
  • The overhead panel gets out of the way while a fighter is hidden by ShadowSphere.
  • Positional audio now works with older Firefox panners.

03 Around the arena

  • The lobby now shows a lasting total play count, including confirmed plays from before the counter was added.
  • Your SFOTH profile now shows your best KO streak without dying.
  • The game menu now makes diagnostic reports for connection trouble easier to find and keeps the report open while the menu is open.
  • The museum now dates the change from SFOTH III to IV more carefully, using archived place pages.

04 Keeping things running

  • Chat is screened before messages reach the room, with clearer decisions when a message cannot be sent. Stacked combining marks are limited.
  • Empty rooms retire after the last human leaves. Shutdown now gives pending achievement results a chance to finish saving.
  • Disabling or deleting an account also ends its SFOTH sessions.

PREVIOUS RELEASE

09 / THE CLASSIC FEEL

More life on the Heights.

The October 2 release made movement feel more like SFOTH, cleared up touch and audio problems, and made it simpler to tell us when something goes wrong.

01 In the arena

  • Tapping Attack on touch now draws an owned sword before swinging.
  • Avatar turns are smoother. Sword lunges and occasional idle fidgets look closer to the classic game.
  • Room chat has a little more space.

02 Reports and fixes

  • Fixed directional sound following the player incorrectly in Firefox.
  • Added a Feedback shortcut and a connection ping badge, so problems are easier to describe and send in.
END OF CURRENT LOGBack to the game