L'Onza the Bounty Hunter
New Weapon and Power-ups / Select Screen Update
This update also re-arranges the level select screen, breaking each sector into it's own segment. The new layout should be less cluttered and easier to understand.
Galactic Update
-new levels: planet, nebula and space themed levels for all three sectors (horizontal, vertical and arena)
-more difficulty options: choose from three ships, from over-powered to finely tuned, based on skill level
-7 new enemy types for main mode
-new final boss fight: proper three-phase attack sequence
-more music: each level and boss fight has a unique track (jukebox added to exit screen, please check out the musicians)
-more cutscenes
If there's any interest I would consider adding controller support and also mac/linux releases. A system for locking off unbeaten levels and forcing a progression path could be added as well, but since you paid for the full game feel free to try any level, any boss fight, anytime.
For now I consider this the complete version of the game. Thank you for playing.
Boss Revisions
Each boss will eventually have their own special attack and this is the first step.
I'm sure I had a reason for giving each boss the same special attack but I can't remember what it was, and whatever it was, it sucked.
There are other changes coming by the end of the year, but what won't change is my appreciation for you. Thanks for playing,
-KB
Patch 3
These two changes were made:
=Arcade scores now display correctly and the high score screen now has entries for each arcade difficulty level
=You can now toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode by pressing Right Control at any time or by using the toggle buttons in the option menu
Update 1
-new lighting FX: ships and shots have bright lights attached - can impact performance on older setups, but looks much better than the original style; the intro cutscene has stronger lighting effects and more active camera work
-added a tutorial level: the game is meant for experienced players looking for a challenge, but it seems polite to include one
-revised layout for main mode: all levels are unlocked (for your convenience) but the layout suggests the intended progression
-added some sound effects: the limited use of sfx was intentional, since it would be a constant wall of noise if each shot had one, but some special moves and explosions have them now (whoosh/boom)
-lots of touchups using tools in aseprite: the sharpen and blur tool added a lot of detail to the sprites, which works well with the new light fx
-revised arcade mode: just generally way better; waves generate much more smoothly; the 3 difficulty modes escalate nicely now
-lots of UI tweaks: better and more consistent overall presentation (positioning/coloring/alignment)
-boss fight revisions: beam shot in boss fights is no longer insta-kill, but deals 4 dmg per hit instead; general nerfing of all fights and fixing of glitchy death animations
There's a bunch of changes, but those are the highlights. Hopefully it looks a lot better and plays a little smoother.
Thanks for checking it out, there's a few more changes ahead so stay tuned...
Long Play Video
Here's a shorter version, but the longer version is better:
BTW, youtube forces the ads on these videos. If I was in the 'partner program' I could turn off ads, but a change to the terms of service in November 2020 removed this ability for small channels. Sorry for any ads, but keep in mind I get none of the revenue and would happily turn them off entirely if I could.
patch 2
-The player's special abilities have all been buffed
--railshot max = 10 (increased from 5) / railshot recharge = 6 sec (decreased from 7)
--slo-mo max = 150 (increased from 100)
--orb shot max = 15 (increased from 10)
-The final boss has been nerfed (longer delays on all weapons)
-Fixed issue with Horizontal Level 19 not registering a high score
-Fixed Vertical Level 19 being THE SAME as Vertical Level 20
-Eliminated stat tracking for Total Points Scored and the two associated Achievements
The buffed special abilities helps balance the level of difficulty and the amount of fun, which was skewed too far towards the former previously. The game is meant to be difficult but I was having too hard a time with the later levels, which is a bad sign when the developer can't consistently beat their own game.
The stat tracking issue just became too much of a headache to deal with and it doesn't really add a lot to final experience. The game still tracks your highscores, but not the total amount of points.