Defragmented
Version 1.1.0 Expansion is now live!
As for now, enjoy the new expansion! You can read the full patch notes below.
Gameplay Changes:
- A fifth chapter has been added to the game after the main storyline
- Three new levels
- New items and legendaries
- New storyline that delves deeper in to certain character backgrounds
- New Game+ versions of all new content and items (quite challenging)
Fixes and Improvements
- Screen shake has been tweaked slightly, single shots should feel more powerful but waves of bullets will shake the screen similarly to before
-Dave
Upcoming Version 1.1.0 Expansion
The bonus chapter will be unlocked upon completion of the main story. Difficulty-wise, it will be about as tough as the final chapter with similar enemy levels. However, on New-Game+ mode, these new levels will be much more difficult. This should provide quite the challenge for those seeking more end-game content.
We plan on releasing Version 1.1.0 on Sunday, March 13th sometime in the afternoon EST. Stop by then for full patch notes!
-Dave
Version 1.0.5 Update
In the last update, I re-worked the secondary "3rd-person" camera to be somewhat closer to a top-down view with a lot more visible range. In this update, I'm addressing the 'look' functionality of the basic top-down camera. Instead of alternating camera angles or locking to a point, it will now retain it's top-down properties and move towards the look point. If the player strays too far from that point, it will keep the point a constant distance from them to achieve maximum visibility. We feel that, overall, this is much better then the previous iteration. Please, let us know what you think in the comments or the forums!
Gameplay Changes:
- The 'look' functionality of the basic top-down camera has been completely revamped.
- Looking at a point will now retain the top-down view and simply focus on the new location.
- Moving outside of the camera's look range while focusing on a point will cause the camera to follow the player while still retaining the set distance.
- Gamepads pressing the look button will now always focus at the maximum distance from the player's direction (instead of a set distance that was somewhat obscure).
Fixes and Improvements
- Camera look speed has been increased slightly.
- Enemy turn speed has been reduced slightly. This is the difference of fractions of a second, but it looks/feels better.
-Dave
Version 1.0.4 Update
We've completely re-worked the isometric/3rd-person camera in this update. While the main top-down camera is staying the same (albeit slightly faster), the secondary camera mode is now a viable alternative for those who prefer a different view. I highly recommend you try it out (default camera swap key is 'C' on keyboard, both bumpers together on controller). You might even decide to use it as your new go-to camera.
Gameplay Changes:
- The secondary isometric/3rd-person camera has been completely reworked. The view is much higher and behaves very differently. It is now much more effective for general gameplay and vision. Try it out!
- Camera speed has been increased. Changing between camera types or rotating the camera will be noticeably faster.
- The default pushing power for the player has been increased. Objects can now be moved much more easily. This will lead to less slowdown when hitting movable objects and better pushing all-around.
Fixes and Improvements
- Camera settings are now saved to the active profile. This means the last-used camera will persist through levels or when restarting the game.
-Dave
Version 1.0.3 Update
While we are cooking up some larger updates with additional content for the near future, those will stay under wraps for the time being. This update focuses mainly on small changes that will generally enhance the gameplay experience. UI improvements and even some minor level changes are included. Also, more particles, because everyone loves particles.
Gameplay Changes:
- Experience and Ammo bars will now always display their current values. Previously, this only happened when hovering over them.
- Level Up effects have been reworked. Previously, a semi-transparent bar and static text displayed on level up. Now, the text will appear near the player with a brand new orbiting particle effect. The screen distortion effect remains the same.
- Dust particles have been added whenever the player is sprinting.
- Boxes in certain secret levels have been changed to static objects. This will prevent the tidal wave of boxes in some locations. If you played these levels, you know what this means.
Fixes and Improvements
- Fixed a minor bug where certain talents showed white text when they should have been showing yellow text.
- Experience and Ammo bar dynamic text colors have been improved to better reflect their current values.
-Dave
Version 1.0.2 Update
Before we left for MAGFest, I wanted to release another update with a number of significant changes. We've been closely reading every single review and watching every last gameplay video of Defragmented that we can find. If you have anything at all to ask about the game, please post in the forums or send us an email/tweet. We hear you!
There has been some concern over RNG benefiting enemies (dodge and accuracy) and it feeling unsatisfying. Given that this is an RPG, we cannot do away with RNG altogether, but we can reduce cases where it produces less-interesting results. On the other hand, we are quite happy with the difficulty. So any changes we make are counterbalanced in one way or another. Of course, this isn't all that was changed in this update. Take a look below for full patch notes!
Gameplay Changes:
- Enemies can no longer dodge. This being a major change, other elements have been tweaked to balance things out.
- Enemies have slightly more HP that will scale up more at higher levels. In the end, enemies should have nearly identical durability with dodge vs. without.
- Enemies now have accuracy penalties (varied depending on enemy type). They can still target the player easily, but their bullet spread will be wider on average.
- Enemy critical hit chance has been increased slightly (varied depending on enemy type).
- Mesh Bomb damage scaling has been increased, especially at higher levels. Mesh bombs were previously on the weaker-end very late in the game.
- Melee Damage damage has been increased proportionately with new enemy HP. Melee/skill based characters shouldn't notice much of a change.
Fixes and Improvements
- Mastery progress notifications will show up at certain points instead of only on level-up. (Ex: 50/100 points to level).
- Tweaked barrel prop colors to better contrast with various levels.
- Certain system setups showed colored text as very slightly darker then other systems. We've normalized the colors across all systems. This change is almost unnoticeable, but we still fixed it.
-Dave
Version 1.0.1 Update
For minor updates like this (V1.0.0 -> V1.0.1), I'll simply post patch notes when I release the update to Steam. For larger updates that add new features or content, I'll post patch notes in a preview a few days ahead of release.
Most of the changes in this update are focused around the late-game power of the Ascended class. The Ascended does their job of dealing large amount of damage while still being relatively fragile. However, compared to the other classes in end-game content, they are too easily killed to stack up. We had decided from the start to not just give them another heal, but instead provide something more unique to their identity. Read on to see what we've done!
Gameplay Changes:
- Greater Power (Ascended talent) has been reworked completely. It now prevents death by shifting damage taken to AP (if the player has enough to spare).
- Intervention now creates two shields in front of the player even without any talents.
- Opportunity (Ascended talent) has been changed from 5/10/15% damage resist for 2 seconds to 5/10/15% critical hit chance for 1 second.
Fixes and Improvements
- The AP bar will now empty out like the HP bar when the player is dead.
- Fixed a minor typo in the first cutscene.
-Dave
Defragmented is now available!
When you're not playing, feel free to drop by the Community Hub and chat! You can also find more about our studio and the game at the following links:
Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter | Official Site | Glass Knuckle Games
Enjoy everyone!
-Dave and James
Insight and Gameplay Tips
When it comes down to progression in Defragmented (and many other difficult games), both skill and determination are key. Skill at a particular game is not something you can expect to instantly acquire. It will accumulate over time and thus isn't worth stressing over. The main thing you must do is stay determined. Obviously, the more time put in, the more skillful you will become. However, given that Defragmented has numerous RPG features, things will continue adding up in your favor over time.
If you're having trouble completing a level (which happens to everyone), stop for a moment and assess your options. Leave the level itself, visit Deal-EO World, upgrade your loadout, try new item combinations, reset your talents, or even return to previous levels on Hardwired difficulty. All the while, you'll be collecting credits, experience, levels, items, mastery, and more.
As I originally said, progression in Defragmented comes down to skill and determination. There's no need to repeatedly bash your head trying to complete a tough level. Everyone gets stuck at some point - how you handle that situation is what matters.
-Dave
A look back on Defragmented's development
Development Timeline Album
We grabbed some of the screenshots we took while working on the game over time and compiled them in this progress album.
Most of the old screenshots look pretty ugly, but that's just how game development works. We're very happy with how far the game has come. Every project starts somewhere!
As planned, Defragmented is still releasing tomorrow at 12PM PST (3PM EST). See everyone then!
-Dave