Journal des modifications

v0.1.0-beta.10 2026-11-14

You need this update to play online. Beta 9 can no longer join matches on the server. If your main menu shows "Update now", press it; otherwise get the new zip from this page.

Mac: no beta 10 build yet; the Mac version returns in early December.

New

• Nine reworked hero kits. Every bird's abilities now come from how that bird really lives: songs, broods, larders, dives and displays. Each hero has its own ability icons.
• The Trinket pool is rebuilt. 34 Trinkets, the same shop in every mode: parts you combine into bigger pieces, plus consumables. The Magpie Market is new and lets you buy anything, not just the recommended picks.
• The Homeward Whistle has its own slot, so it no longer takes a Pouch space.
• The Canopy is alive. Wind currents and ridge lift, moving Thermals, the Snag Roost to hold, a Glider Troop to clear, and Skimmers in every wave. Birds can perch in the treetops, hide in the leaves and hop from crown to crown.
• Rejoin. If your game closes mid-match, the main menu offers to rejoin it. Parties stay together after a match, so you can queue again with one press.
• Settings, rebuilt. Five tabs with hints, camera, reticle, damage numbers, cast modes, self-cast, colour filter, subtitles, sound cues and more.

Changed

• A new main menu on a night branch.
• A new HUD: painted portraits and minimap, bigger ability bar, clearer kill feed and a death card that shows what hit you.
• Healing and other ally abilities now pick an ally, or yourself, instead of an enemy.
• Many balance changes across all ten heroes.

Looks and feel

• Painted plumage for Thornback, Firstlight, Huddlewarm, Bellhorn, Evensong, Dreadcasque and Nightpinion.
• The Great Egg and Hatcheries now sit in a nest tree.
• A softer night that keeps colours readable.

Fixed

• Taking off and landing online respond at once, without waiting for the server.
• Attacks and casts against moving targets land fairly on slower connections.
• When the servers are full, the menu says so instead of failing.

v0.1.0-beta.9 2026-11-10

Accounts, ranked seasons and 3v3 Find match on the Canopy. Beta 8 can't join online games any more: the main menu offers this update, so click Update now.

Mac: no beta 9 build yet; the Mac version returns in early December.

New

• Accounts and ranks. Your profile now has a recovery code (Account page), so you can get it back on another PC. Ranked play has seasons of 8 weeks, six rank tiers and a few placement games to start. Ranked is solo or duo.
• Find match is 3v3 on the Canopy. The Shellfall stays playable in custom lobbies.
• Skill points. You now choose which ability to rank up each time your bird Molts.
• Flight. Birds in the air keep flying while they attack, and bots fight from the air too.

Changed

• Shorter matches: Hatchery, Great Egg and tier-2 Perch have less health.
• Heroes hatch one after another through the Roost instead of all at once.
• Bots answer pings, defend structures nobody pinged and give up lost pushes.
• The attack lock follows your crosshair, and you can switch or drop it.
• Brood guards heal with a short Mend instead of constant regeneration.

Look and feel

• All ten heroes reworked for a clearer read from behind, by Day and by Night.
• New rocks, cliffs, trees, Perches, Nests and the Great Egg; a worn flyway path and new lanterns on the Canopy at Night.
• Clearer hits and kills, contrails, dash and dive effects.
• First launch opens fullscreen, the HUD scales with your screen, and there is a new Ultra graphics preset.
• Faster loading into a match.

Fixed

• An out-of-date game is now told to update as soon as you press Find match or join a party or lobby, instead of failing when the match starts.
• A bird killed online could look alive for a moment on your screen.
• Smoother online play on weaker connections (smaller game updates).
• Dark heroes no longer look like glass when hit.

v0.1.0-beta.8 2026-11-09

Team chat and hero colours online. Beta 6 and 7 can't join online games any more: the main menu offers this update, so click Update now. Practice matches still work offline.

Play with friends

• Team chat: press Enter in an online match to write to your team. You see lines from friends and your party; turn on Team chat from every teammate in Settings to see everyone's. Muted and blocked players never show.
• Hero colours online: the colour you pick now shows for every player in the match, and in replays. Every hero now has colour variants to earn, all ten of them.
• Matchmaking tries to keep players you've blocked off your team.
• Reports include the reported player's recent chat.

Languages

• Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean, with new fonts. These are machine-drafted for now; tell us when something reads wrong.
• The pick screen fits Russian.

Look and feel

• Flying feels faster: the camera pulls in and widens, wind streaks appear, and a light speed blur kicks in. Reduce motion in Settings turns this off.
• A painted sky with clouds, haze and sun shafts.
• Night is easier to read: birds keep their colours and the lanes are lit.

Fixes

• An enemy's voice line is no longer dropped when allies talk at the same time.
• No stray "wins!" line behind the end-of-match panel.
• A lobby member who isn't ready shows an open ring instead of "...".

v0.1.0-beta.7 2026-11-09

A balance and language update. If you have beta 6, the game offers this update on the main menu.

Balance

• Bellhorn, Dreadcasque and Huddlewarm move a little slower (they'd been given extra speed to make up for hopping; that's gone now).
• Nightpinion moves a little faster.
• Velvetclaw's basic attack hits harder: 54 → 58.
• Firstlight and Rouser bots now buy damage items instead of support items.

Languages

• Six more languages: Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), French, Polish and Turkish. These are machine-drafted for now; tell us when something reads wrong.
• German is now complete, including the Flock page and the shop.

Look and fixes

• Velvetclaw refined again: new back and wing colours and a feathered head.
• A brighter midday; the warm late light stays for dawn and dusk.
• The pick screen and shop fit longer translated text.
• Fixed an error in pings.

v0.1.0-beta.6 2026-11-09

Windows and Mac. Install this one by hand once: from now on the game updates itself.

Updates in the game

• When a new beta is out, the main menu offers it: Update now downloads it, checks it and installs it, then restarts the game. What's new shows the notes; Later hides it.
• If the server no longer accepts your version, the menu tells you to update.
• On a Mac, keep Birnest.app in Applications (not Downloads) so it can update itself.

Play with friends

• The Flock: a friends page with recent players, plus mute, block and report.
• Hero colours: earn colour variants by playing, pick one on the pick screen, and wear it in matches.
• Hero voices: every bird has a call for each ability, with a Hero voices volume slider.
• Language: English and German, with a language picker in Settings.

Combat and camera

• Melee hits land with more weight: a short hit-stop and a camera jolt on your own hits and kills.
• The camera moves in or rises past cover instead of hiding your bird; buildings fade near the lens.
• Dive abilities show as stooping dives on every screen.
• Cleaner world labels: merged markers, fading nameplates, easier-to-read health bars.

Look

• Smoother flight: tip-anchored contrails, a swept glide and a tucked dive.
• Night keeps every unit's colour and team colour readable; Shellfall's dark areas are lighter.
• The Stillstorm's coat reads dark slate on every renderer; its den is cleared of clutter.
• Velvetclaw refined again; leaf litter no longer shows hard-edged shapes.

Fixes

• The intro flyover only plays at the start of a real match.
• The Watch list no longer shows an empty replay.

v0.1.0-beta.5 2026-11-09

Windows and Mac. Older betas can't join online matches with the updated server, so update before you play.

Combat feel

• Hits read clearly: a tinted flash, stacked damage numbers, flying feathers and a clear kill moment. Melee hits now shove the target back.
• A death card shows what killed you, with a short kill cam.
• The camera keeps your bird larger in fights, and your own effects fade near the lens.
• Each ability has one clear look for its cast.

Flight

• Diving pushes you faster, with pitched wind, speed blur and wingtip contrails.
• Leaves and bark in front of your bird turn see-through so you never lose sight of it.

Map and objectives

• Team-coloured beams and distance markers point to objectives.
• A flyover introduces the map at the start of a match.
• The Stillstorm shows its pounce landing ring and leap path.
• Brighter day and night lighting, a new painted ground with grass and rushes.

Heroes and menus

• See your real 3D bird on a lit stage in the pick screen, menu and lobby.
• Thornback and Velvetclaw rebuilt with new models.
• New "First flight" tutorial and a training range with practice tools.

Bots and balance

• Bots push the Flyway you're not on, and hold their pushes while they outnumber you.
• Balance recheck after the gentler Fledglings.

Fixes

• Joining an online match always goes through the loading screen, and a failed join stays there with a plain reason instead of a server address.
• The Compatibility (OpenGL) renderer lights tree canopies correctly again.

v0.1.0-beta.4 2026-11-08

Mac

• A native macOS build, Birnest-v0.1.0-beta.4-macos.zip: the full renderer on Metal, no CrossOver needed. It isn't signed by Apple yet, so approve it once; see [Install on a Mac](README.md#install-on-a-mac).

New

• Homeward Whistle: every hero starts with one in a Trinket slot (extra ones cost 75 Seeds). Use it to channel for 3.5 s, then fly home to your Roost, or to a friendly Perch if you aim right at it. Taking a hit or moving cancels it at no cost.
• Shop from anywhere: open the Magpie Market (B) anywhere on the map. Away from the Market your purchases wait in your 6-slot Stash; right-click a stashed item to sell it.
• Carrier Swift: each Clutch has a courier. Press C to send it with your Stash; it flies the items out to you. Enemies can kill it for a bounty, but your items are never lost.

Combat

• Your ultimate (R) now shows "Molt 6" until it unlocks, and a refused cast tells you why (locked, cooldown or not enough mana).
• Fledglings hit heroes for 30% less and switch to enemy Fledglings when they're near.
• Ranged attacks fly a visible bolt; Perches wind up a glowing orb before they shoot.
• Last hits show "+N" Seeds; denies show "!".

Fixes

• Removed log errors from the loading-screen warm-up.

World

• The Stillstorm has a new, fiercer model.

v0.1.0-beta.3 2026-11-08

Fixes from the first online matches between friends, plus respawning in your Roost. Beta 2 can no longer join online matches once this build is out, so update before you play.

New

• Respawn in your Roost: heroes now hatch and respawn in their own Roost, which defends itself against intruders.

Fixes

• No more duplicate heroes: each bird can be picked once per match.
• Nobody starts before everyone has loaded. The loading screen shows "Waiting for players" until the last player is in.
• Less stutter the first time abilities and effects appear: the game warms them up behind the loading screen.
• Fixed black or washed-out graphics on the Compatibility (OpenGL) renderer, used on older GPUs and by Mac players running the game through CrossOver.
• Settings: Accept and Revert sit at the bottom and stay greyed out until you change something.

Balance and world

• Second and third hero tuning passes; Stillstorm retuned and given a fiercer look.
• Longer opening Day and Gloaming; new day and night colour grading.

v0.1.0-beta.2 2026-11-08

New

• The game is now called Birnest, with a new icon, boot splash, menu art and loading screen. The exe is Birnest.exe; settings, key bindings and replays move over from beta 1 on first start.
• Find match: queue for a match from the main menu, alone or in a party with friends. A ready check pops when a match is found, and bots fill empty seats. 5v5 online matches on Shellfall, with a draft.
• Steam invites (optional): with Steam running, Host a lobby, then click Invite Steam friends; your friend accepts in Steam and lands in your lobby. It uses Steam's test app for now, so you'll show as playing Spacewar, and your friend must already have Birnest open when accepting. For the Steam overlay, add Birnest.exe to Steam via Games > Add a Non-Steam Game.
• Music and voices: day and night music, a menu theme, stings and hero reaction calls.

Look and feel

• Lighting pass, a rebuilt Canopy environment (trees, rocks, cliffs), rebuilt Perches and a redesigned Thornback.
• Clearer ability effects: cast, travel and impact for every ability, and readable ultimate-heavy fights.
• HUD: death recap, XP bar and mana numbers.

Bots and balance

• Bots close out games, defend, clear the Wilds and now fight the Stillstorm; easy, normal and hard practice bots.
• First hero tuning pass; Stillstorm retuned.

Fixes

• The Lobby server field opens on the beta server even if beta 1 saved a local address.

v0.1.0-beta.1 2026-11-08

The first closed beta build.

Play

• Practice against bots on Canopy (3v3, two Flyways) or Shellfall (5v5, three Flyways).
• Online lobbies with invite codes on the beta server; bots fill empty slots.
• A first-match guide that teaches moving, flying, the shop and fighting.

Birds

• 10 birds: Bellhorn, Dreadcasque, Evensong, Firstlight, Huddlewarm, Nightpinion, Plungebright, Rouser, Thornback and Velvetclaw, each with four abilities.

Systems

• Flight with a Lift meter, aimed attacks and skillshots.
• Seeds, last hits and Trinkets from the Magpie Market; Plume talent cards.
• Fog of war, Perches, Fledgling waves, the Wilds and a sleeping boss to hunt.
• HUD with death recap, XP bar, minimap, scoreboard and pings.
• Replays of practice matches, and live spectating of online matches.
• Settings: rebindable keys, graphics presets, UI scale, colour-blind modes, audio mixer.

Known issues

• Much of the art is placeholder and is being rebuilt.
• The game window and .exe still show the old name and the default engine icon (fixed in beta 2).
• Online play has had little testing between players on different networks. Please report lag or disconnects.