Another small patch hits today and it's all about balancing arcade map unlocks!
The required star counts for unlocking earlier maps have been reduced, but the later maps are still just as hard to get. This will add some more map variety for new players that are learning the ropes, but still keeps those final few maps as realms of the elite!
Patch Notes 1.5.11 and Tournament News
First off, a small patch just went live that tunes the vibration settings to get the different supported gamepads in better alignment with one another.
Second, the October INVERSUS Community Tournament starts this Saturday!
Sign up on Challonge before Friday: http://challonge.com/tournaments/signup/NFtgQf5CYH
Coordinate your matches on Discord: https://discord.gg/inversus
Patch Notes 1.5.10 (bug fixes and some new unlocks)
With everyone joining online for the free weekend this morning a recently introduced bug was found (oops!) that allowed players in public matchmaking to get into your private lobbies. That should be fixed now.
There is a also a fix for a minor bug where going through a series of complicated steps involving the leaderboards menu and "play local game while waiting online" could cause the wrong leaderboard scores to preview after an arcade game.
And just for good measure, this patch also has 4 new unlockable trails and 12 new emotes!
Players with the patch are separated from players without it in online multiplayer so be sure to update! This sometimes requires logging out and into steam so it notices the new build.
INVERSUS Free Weekend Active Now
This weekend everyone and their friends can try out INVERSUS Deluxe for free on Steam! The free trial period goes from 10AM this morning until 10AM Sunday morning (pacific time) and the game will be on sale for 50% off until Tuesday!
With continued support, INVERSUS has grown leaps and bounds since the base game launched on last year and now that the Deluxe expansion is out, it's time to celebrate! Please spread the word and then head online and welcome all the new level 1 players giving INVERSUS a visit.
INVERSUS Deluxe (update 1.5.8)
INVERSUS Deluxe is out as a free expansion for all existing players and is bundled in as part of the game for all new players! So what is new in the Deluxe edition?
AI Bots in Versus Mode Challenge bots in 1v1 or let them fill in some empty slots in your local 2v2 game. Feeling confident in your skills? Try bumping up the difficulty. True masters will be rewarded.
More Maps Learn new strategies on twelve new versus maps and four new arcade maps!
Split Shots INVERSUS gets its first new power with the split shot pickup. When split shot bullets hit a wall, they split into two bullets traveling left and right. A well placed attack is a great way to capture territory on the map.
Online Skill Ranking Earn and lose rank points based on your performance in competitive online multiplayer. Defeat high skilled players to rise past your friends on the new Rank Points leaderboard!
Good Looks INVERSUS just got a makeover with high definition materials and soft shadows!
Unlockable Motion Trails Players can now unlock and equip motion trail effects to show off online or at home!
And So Much More! Who likes patch notes? If you didn’t answer "yes", you might want to turn back because we are about to get knee deep in patch notes.
New enemies in Arcade mode
Online match intros show player levels and rank points
Arcade maps are rated on a 5-star scale instead of 3-stars
Support for multiple connected keyboards being assigned to separate players
Tweaked scroll speed on map Ribbon
Minor adjustment to ammo regeneration interval
Input device is selected though button press instead of the controller list menu
Experience levels are earned faster and prestige afet 99 levels.
Unlocks can no longer happen randomly after a match, but still happen on level up
Accuracy combos continue if any projectile in a triple shot hits
When not all maps are unlocked, random map selection from playing online public games prefers to play unplayed maps
Versus mode AI battles unlock maps after defeating the AI instead of just playing on a map
Top players will find unlockable animated color palettes
More unlockable emotes
Language options menu shows selected language under title
Coop and solo arcade progression now unlock separately
Fixed bug where 2v2 matches could look like a draw when there was a winning team
Fixed bug where preview leaderboards could show wrong data
Increased vibration caused by collecting pickups
More leaderboard entries are visible at once
Simplified player select screen by removing control from selected players
INVERSUS Deluxe Launch Date and Community Tournaments
On September 28th, your copy of INVERSUS is getting a bit more Deluxe! You'll have tons of new maps, new Versus mode bots, new unlocks, ranked online matches, balance updates, and much much more. Get ready!
Community Tournaments
Have you checked out the official INVERSUS Discord server yet? It's a great place to meet others for setting up matches or just getting tips to improve your game. It's also the central location for setting up community tournaments!
Starting this Friday we will be running a double elimination tournament for Steam players. Click here to sign up and enter the bracket! We are managing the tournament through a service called Challonge that automatically emails you and your opponent when you have a match available. After you sync up and play, you can log in, enter your results and then the tournament will progress. Head over to the #tournaments channel on Discord to meet your competitors, ask any questions or just follow along!
INVERSUS Deluxe - Free expansion this fall!
Last time we talked, I was working away on the 1.5 update. Then I started adding more content. Then I decided to add some more new features. I certainly wasn't done adding more unlocks. And then I went and gave the whole thing a big visual upgrade. Looking back at the current game and what I had been building, I realized that it had become this giant beast of an update and just bumping the version number wasn't enough. This needed a name!
INVERSUS Deluxe is still going to be a free update for all existing players and it will be the version of the game launching on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
• 12 new versus maps and 4 new arcade maps create a total of 50 unique maps for players to enjoy.
• Test your skills in the new single-player versus mode by facing off against AI Bots that scale in difficulty from beginner to world-class player.
• The addition of ranked online multiplayer rewards skill in both 1v1 and 2v2 games.
• New real-time soft shadows and high definition materials add a depth and richness to the screen.
• With the new split-shot ammo, players can fork bullets and shoot around corners.
• Equipping new unlockable motion trails allow players to show off personality in the arena.
Minor update 1.4.5
Hold on - there's a new update and it's not the big 1.5 update? What gives?!
Well, the upcoming 1.5 update has gotten even bigger (more on that in the near future) and I want to get some of the new additions tested out behind the scenes. That’s where this new build comes in! INVERSUS is now tracking skill in public versus battles and awarding (or deducting) Rank Points in the process. The goal is to have ranked multiplayer support front and center in game, but before I can do that I want to evaluate how well I’ve tuned all the settings.
If you want to try it out, you can actually check your rating on the web right now on this leaderboard! I should also mention that if you need help finding a match, the community Discord group is a great place to meet active players.
Coming Soon: INVERSUS 1.5
The next update for INVERSUS is going to be the biggest one yet and I want to give you a preview of what's to come!
Collect new split-shot ammo that can fork into multiple bullets!
Sharpen your skills against the community’s most requested feature: AI controlled bots in Versus mode!
On top of all that, INVERSUS 1.5 is also launching on Xbox One!
New versus, arcade and lobby features! (update 1.4.0)
Today's update adds improvements across all parts of the game. There are new game settings to customize your versus matches, new challenges for your arcade games, and a better lobby experience for your online games!
So what is new in versus mode? I've added some new settings that let you customize the rules. These are available in local games and private online games. Public online matches always play by the standard rule set. First up, you can change how much ammo players get. This has a large impact on the pacing and risk/reward of taking a shot. The second new option adjusts what types of pickups can spawn on a map. You can either turn pickups off completely or make them random per round. With random pickups, you'll find all sorts of new surprising encounters!
How about arcade mode? Your performance on maps is now rated with a three star system. Each map has set goals in the solo and cooperative modes. Earning stars unlocks more maps and lets you brag to your friends. If you've already unlocked arcade maps with the old system, don't worry. Your existing unlocks will remain intact regardless of how many stars you have.
What's new with online lobbies? Previously, INVERSUS had the "Play Arcade While Waiting" feature in public lobbies. This was a big hit but there was room for improvement. You could only play solo arcade mode which was great for most cases, but not great for when you had a friend over and wanted to search for some 2v2 games as a team. With INVERSUS 1.4, you can now play any of the local game modes from any public lobby! This includes 1v1, 2v2 and coop arcade!
For a video demo of the bigger items, click right here. For all the little details, see below!
Primary Updates
Local and private versus games have new options for tweaking the game rules. These can be found under the options button when selecting players for the game.
Change the number of shots each player gets (between 2 and 6)
Change which pickups spawn on the map (standard, random, or disabled)
The setting for points needed to win the match has also been moved to this menu.
When starting a local game, there is a new menu for choosing which controllers control which ships.
The old "game options" menu and the "clear high scores" option have been removed. A new "clear save data" menu can be found under options instead.
When a pickup is spawning, you can see which type of pickup it is. No longer do the spawn animations always look like a circle.
Arcade maps feature a three star rating system based on score.
Arcade maps are now unlocked with total stars acquired instead of a cumulative score from the prior map. Note that if you already had an arcade map unlocked, it will remain unlocked regardless of meeting the necessary star requirements.
When in a lobby, the "play arcade while waiting" option has been replaced with "start local game while wating" and players can now play local games in any game mode. Play 1v1 with a friend on the couch while waiting together in a team lobby!
When returning to the lobby from a "play while waiting" game, players can now decide to start a new game or resume the old game. Previously, the old game was always resumed.
The arcade map "Free" has been tuned to start off slightly slower and spawn less ranged enemies. Go beat those high scores!
Minor Updates
The first few maps in the basic tutorial have been adjusted to feature a single player instead of two players.
Added nine new emotes to unlock.
The menu indicator for new unlocks is now a diamond instead of a star.
Drop down menus now play audio when navigating the items.
Fixed a bug where the multiplier display in arcade games could remain blinking due to a mispredicted death in online play.
It is now easier to see unselected emote icons in the customize menu.