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True to the “Under Development” status, v0.12 of soku+ was released earlier today. You can grab it from their tumblr site as usual. The summary of changes is as follows:

(Key: Buff, Nerf, Bug Fix, Indeterminate) Read more

Note: If any entry on the changelog is incorrect, or if an important change was left out, please point it out in the comments. Thanks!

The latest version is v0.12a. The only difference between v0.12a and v0.12 is support for the recent 1.10a patch for Hisoutensoku. The detailed changelogs are for the two other major versions are as follows:

• Soku 1.10 -> Soku+ 0.11b
• Soku+ 0.11b -> Soku+ 0.12

While our comrades over at #hisouten were busy mashing buttons, the Japanese 12.3 community managed to produce a fully functional mod for Touhou Hisoutensoku, Soku+. No, it’s not a reskin, and it’s not a voice patch; it’s a nearly complete overhaul of Hisoutensoku’s moveset and functions that aims to make soku more competitive. The mod is an unofficial patch in its early stages, but it’s already looking quite impressive so far. A summary of some important changes follow:

• Spiritual Strike Talisman (Bomb System) can now be used during an attack, 98% Rate, 0% limit, same as the o-bombing of IaMP.
• Roman Cancels have been added; 6DD/4DD during a normal or skill to cancel it into a dash, costing 2 cards; cancelling whiffed skills or cancelling during startup costs 3 cards instead for a false roman cancel. Also halves the limit gauge on the current combo.
• Guard Hangeki is now airusable, j.6A sequence used.
• Hakurouken is now airusable, has the same properties as an airdash but does not use up one of them. When used during combos, the card halves the limit gauge on the current combo.
• Many weathers were substantially changed: Calm restores HP to all players, with accelerated restoration for the side with less HP; Blue Sky allows the startup of jumps and highjumps to be cancelled while the user is still on ground; and Tempest permits melee HJC as was possible in SWR.
• The Spirit damage of many characters’ normals have been increased.
• Some characters now move forward during their Dial-A hits, eliminating the possibility of the hits dropping due to distance issues. (Incl.: Suika, Marisa, Meiling, and Reimu.)
• Alice: 6A and other normals significantly sped up. B doll bullets now persist after being fired. 3B added: a vertical version of 2B. Lemming’s Parade now does 7k+ damage but hurts Alice as well. Other spellcards have been miscellaneously improved as well.
• Aya: Overall damage buff to all of her normals, j.2A can be special cancelled on landing. 66A/B/C startup time decreased.
• Cirno: New 214 skill added. Startup speed and damage for several moves increased; 66C enters graze faster, spellcards generally improved.
• Iku: 5A, 5AA hitbox size increased. j.2A recovery decreased, j.6A untechable time increased, recovery decreased; 623B/C Veils like Water autoblock startup decreased, recovery decreased along with 214 B/C alt Dragon God’s Lightning Flash and default 236 drill.
• Komachi: Overall significant decrease in startup and recovery time of normals and skills, multiple C wisps can now be summoned onscreen. 2C and many spellcards (including lifeswap) sped up significantly.
• Marisa: Old 6A restored (can cancel immediately on block). j.1A added, default 22C is now a different skill. Magical recycled bomb is now a melee hit. Chip Damage, spirit damage, HJC available rate, startup, and recovery of many moves improved. Bosky Sweeper is now a graze attack. Light Sign “Earthlight Ray” now costs 2 cards. 6C -> Narrow Spark -> Master Spark combo is once again valid.
• Meiling: 2B size increased, 236 default startup significantly decreased. Untechable time and spirit damage of most moves increased. Recovery and startup of some moves and skills decreased, startup of some spellcards decreased. Red Cannon becomes a DP at level 2+.
• Patchouli: Decreased startup for 66A and some skills; duration of 22B/C “Winter Element” increased. Five Elements Sign “Philosopher’s Stone” startup decreased. Sun Moon Sign “Royal Diamond Ring” spirit damage increased, now drains spirit on graze.
  
• Reimu: 3C/j.3C and 6C/j.6C added. 2B distance and lifetime increased, overall speedup of skills, normals, and spells. EX Reimu unlocked by holding D (flight button) during loading screen.
• Reisen: B bullets travel further before slowing down. 66B and 66C enter graze sooner. Some skills’ startups sped up slightly.
  
• Remilia: j.2A now has Smash Attack prorate. Stigmanizer C is now a ground bullet. EX Remilia unlocked by holding D (flight button) during loading screen.
• Sanae: 1D, 2D, 3D flight added, startup position of B bullets adjusted.
• Sakuya: 3C, j.3C added (delayed knives), 3[A] recovery increased.
• Suika: MPP duration increased. 1A added, 6B speed increased, 66A/B/C startup speed increased, and startup/recovery improvements for most skills. Foot Bellows now guardcrushes on wrongblock.
  
• Suwako: Flight mechanics changed, 66A/B/C can now be used from backdashes. j.5A startup decreased.
• Tenshi: Speed increased (?). Spirit damage of drills increased, drills now take less time to charge. Recovery of j.6A decreased. Keystone “World Creation Press” is now unblockable. Alt 22B/C “Earth Spirit’s Awakening” replaced with a new skill.
• Utsuho: General decrease in startup time and recovery of normals (5A recovery increased, however), 3C/j.3C added (single moving projectile, 2 hits).
• Youmu: 1A added, combos like 2AAAA 1A j.6C 44 j.6C possible, Sakura Pillar spirit damage increased.
• Yukari: 1A added. 66C enters graze sooner. Flesh dismantler is now a graze attack. Alt 623 laser beam startup decreased significantly. Border Sign “Quadruple Barrier” is now a reversal. 236B/C Tombstone startup decreased significantly, tombstone position adjustment with 4/6 occurs much faster. Causes wall/ground bounce on hit (?).
  
• Yuyuko: 3C/j.3C added, same properties as a 6C wisp but travels at 45 degree angles. 6C startup decreased, j.6A prorate set to 78%. Fanspin now throws opponents directly upwards on hit. Alt 236B/C Butterfly Lance speed increased.
  

(The full changelog is available on pastebin for the Japanese-speaking readers. I hope to get around to translating it soon, but if not, Google Translate should do just fine in the meantime.)

The installation procedure is fairly simple: download the .zip from a link on their tumblr page, and extract all of its contents to your 12.3 folder. If you have SWRSToys, you may want to manually edit your SWRSToys.ini file instead of overwriting it with the one in the .zip, since it will disable your original modules in the process.

Dependencies:

• Microsoft .NET 4.0 Framework
• Touhou 12.3 ~ Touhou Hisoutensoku v 1.10
• (Optional) Touhou 10.5 ~ Scarlet Weather Rhapsody v1.06

(It is uncertain whether or not preinstallation of the MemoryPatch module from SWRSToys will be necessary, since it is not included with the .zip but is referenced by SWRSToys.ini. You can download SWRSToys from here if Soku+ does not run without it, although it is highly unlikely that a separate install of SWRSToys will be necessary.)

As might be guessed from the vast number of mechanics changes, the game plays quite differently from soku due to the increased pace and higher number of options; although it seems like an effort to bring soku closer to IaMP, a lot of IaMP gimmicks do not work in Soku+ as might be expected. It’s only v0.11b right now, so Soku+ is expected to improve significantly over time, and possibly be established as the standard for tournament play.

The patch is completely compatible with the built-in netplay as well as the upcoming caster, for those interested in playing it against human opponents.