We've started pushing new test builds for the upcoming update that everyone is welcome to preview. To switch over you'll need to select the 'alphastaging' branch which can be found in under the 'Betas' tab in the properties menu. Please note that the test build uses a separate profile for your player progress, so anything changed in the test build won't affect your live progress.
Here's a preview of some of the changes in the update...
New in-game menu
We've made a new in-game menu that allows you to quickly switch between weapons mid battle while also keeping all of the game options easy to access. You can toggle it by tapping the menu button, or use hold/release for quicker access mid-fight.
The quick menu also exposes all of the social gear which you can equip to each hand just like normal weapons. The pixel builder has been expanded with a color picker and we've updated the visuals so it's now possible to make much more colorful 'art' with it.
Strafe 2.0
For those who love smooth locomotion in Gunheart we've overhauled the strafe code to make it much smoother and less likely to get snagged into objects. We've also added the option to allow smoothly strafing off ledges if there is valid ground below. The goal is to make smooth locomotion as frustration-free as possible when battling the Anthromite hordes, and we appreciate feedback/suggestions on how we can further improve this mode of locomotion for everyone.
Creature polish
As you can see from the screenshot some of the Anthromite's have been updated with new skins. We've also tweaked their aggressiveness and combat distances to ensure they're always presenting a good challenge for players. Several of the creatures have also received an audio polish pass with more VO callouts and reactions.
New custom death animations have been plugged in, impact effects have been polished up, and we've also iterated further on their hit reactions. Headshots have never been more satisfying in Gunheart.
Physics upgrades + melee!
Throw any physical object into an enemy has a good chance to send them flying, and you can use your weapons in hand to smack them away as well. Weapons also have boosted impulses when impacting physical objects and we've also taught the AI how to smoothly recover from being knocked around (unless their dead of course...).
Grabbing a grunt with the multi-tool and sending him into his comrades is now an effective form of crowd control, which is particularly useful now that their even better at swarming players. Also swatting a Hopper in the face with a fish and watching them sail away is highly recommended.
Waypoints
We've replaced the old manual 'ping' functionality with a smart waypoint system that always highlights where you need to go or what you need to shoot. Our goal is to have it there when you need it while also avoiding cluttering up the view with markers everywhere. We're happy with how it's functioning in the latest build but would appreciate feedback if you ever find yourself lost in a mission and not quite sure how to proceed.
Jump on in!
As with the previous updates there's a mountain of bug fixes and polish that are included in this build as well. If you have a chance, please check out the test build and let us know what issues you encounter so that we can quash all the bugs! Hit us in the forums or on discord to share feedback directly with us.
New hotfix and weekly missions
We've patched the game today with a handful of improvements listed below. Two new weekly missions have also been added for unique challenges this week.
Hotfix notes
Weapon networking improvements to improve responsiveness in higher latency scenarios, and reduce occurrence of the 'reload lockup' bug
Weapon recoil animations now play at max framerate (were previously locked to 30hz)
Tweaks to the first chapter missions to improve difficulty balance and intensity
Fix strafe option selection not immediately saving, causing the setting to reset often
Added option to scale the delay before activating the multi-tool when squeezing the palm grips
Money/ammo/loot kegs can be blasted at other players, giving the rewards to that player instead of yourself
Breaking money/ammo/loot kegs using the multi-tool launch trigger will now correctly give rewards
Additional social tool items have been added
Omni plugin removed which was causing intermittent UI pop-ups
Fixes for barrel flames appearing after the barrel had already exploded, or sometimes appearing disconnected from the barrel
Moved gun safety icons to ammo widget to fix clipping on some weapons
Fixed friends list query looping forever once the social UI had been brought up
Buzzkills have been spotted in Money Pump defense missions once again
Small improvement to UI pointers to prevent them from disconnecting from player hands
February update is live!
The new build has been uploaded for everyone to check out. Here is a quick summary of changes since the last update:
Weapon leveling: unlock new and unique bonuses for your favorite weapons by using them successfully in combat.
Bonus challenges: new challenge system added to reward you with extra loot for completing the objectives across missions!
Default weapon mods: all weapons now have a signature modification that is applied as long as you have an open mod slot, increasing their utility as soon as you acquire them and offering more options as you unlock additional slots.
Money pumps overhaul: game mode has been revamped to offer much more strategy and interaction for players. It's way more intense now, less down time, and a really great place to earn some extra cash + loot.
Hit reactions and death animations: we've spent a lot of time improving the responsiveness of dealing damage to enemies, improving the overall feel of combat fairly dramatically. Weapons such as the shotgun now have a much more satisfying blast back when landing the killing blow on an enemy.
Combo weapon re-balance: we've loosened the consumption rate on ammo and increased the odds of finding ammo throughout missions to ensure you have more opportunity to utilize your combo weapons.
CPU Optimizations: an experimental object culling technique has been added to improve CPU performance, especially notable on CPUs that may be previously bottlenecked on single core performance.
Buckets of bug fixes and tweaks to improve the overall experience!
Thanks everyone for playing and keep sending us your feedback. Join us on discord to tell us what you think directly!
New weekly missions, 10 new side missions now unlockable, and a new test build!
We've added 2 custom weekly missions to check out: Pop goes the... Anthromite? and A Bug's Death. There are also now 10 side missions unlockable by completing existing missions (and if you've already completed the pre-requisites then the missions will already be unlocked).
We've uploaded a new test bulid to the alphastaging branch for folks to check out and provide feedback on. Check out this reddit post in r/gunheart for more information on what's coming in the next update. We appreciate all the feedback from adventurous players, and invite you to share directly with us in our discord server.
Thanks for supporting Gunheart!
Four new weekly missions!
We've just added four new weekly missions for you to tackle!
A Night To Kill
The Anthromites have attacked a facility just after closing time. You know what that means. You gotta shoot 'em in the face.
Victory or Death
There's an attack on a remote mining outpost, put a stop to em.
Flight of the Icarus
Your rig is damage from the previous mission, fight your way out with added damage but less health. Mind the boomfruit.
Cretaceous Period
Dhinos, lots and lots of Dhinos. :-)
New weekly missions
Two more weekly missions are available today: A Little Irritating and Extreme Marksmanship. Last week's missions are also sticking around for a few more days if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet!
New weekly missions + guides!
Hey all, we're back this week with two weekly missions to tackle. We've also started two new guides, one for weapons and another breaking down the weapon modifications. Take a look and send us your feedback.
Foul Stench
Something doesn't smell quite right down here. Time to load up with some shotguns and clear out whatever is stinking up the place.
Fireworks
We are arming you with nothing but explosives and sending on a long hike through treasure town. Happy 2018 everybody!
Happy hunting!
Windows MR support + Hotfix + Weekly mission!
Happy holidays everyone! We've released a small hotfix with the following fixes along with official Windows MR support. Here's the list of changes included in today's hotfix:
Sniper blinders now respect the comfort blinders settings
Fix for multi-tool sometimes being left behind after players leaves the server (responsible for that humming sound in the Bent Horizon that sometimes shows up)
Offset the height checks for strafing to reduce snags
Delay showing the teleport visual feedback until valid data is available
Also hide teleport visual feedback when performing dash teleports
Windows MR now supported! Thumbstick for directional strafe/teleport instead of using Vive style swipes on directional pad
Weekly Mission: Elf Attack!
The Reign of Tiny Enemies continues! The Mites are throwing every teacup sized ball of murder they have down our chimneys folks. We’ll need help stomping these elf sized bugs just in time for the holidays.
Weekly Mission!
The new weekly mission has been posted this morning!
Tiny Zombugs
Volatile liquid space time has shrunk all the creatures in the broken zone! Unfortunately they aren’t any less lethal and they are camping piles of sweet, sweet treasure.
The Roundup[ series of weekly mission will be live for one more week as well, so this is your last chance to tackle them if you haven't already.
Happy holidays everyone!
Weekly missions!
Two more missions are available to play! Jump into Planet Fortune Insanity, a remixed version of the first mission with a significantly boosted challenge for veteran players. Also check out Roundup Pt. 3 for another romp with the Ridgebacks, this time with overpowered crossbows and some sneaky Anthromites.
