Necro Mutex
1.6.2 Released, VR Seated Mode.
When the game starts and the first VR screen comes up, sit in your playing position facing forward and press the spacebar.
Additionally, the default standing View Rotation mode is now turns smoothly instead of in 30 degree steps.
Lunar New Year Sale, and New Review.
I also found this new review from VoodooDE VR. He seems to have had fun, and it's a good sample of some very early gameplay. Thanks for the review, VoodooDE VR!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyn_lC-Wxe8
Version 1.6.1 Released.
The biggest change is that there's a new browser for the world. The entire world of 10,000 maps is laid out in a big 100 x 100 grid you can zoom in and out on. If you prefer the old browser, you can go to the misc options and use the old one instead.
Another big change is that there's a new VR step rotation method. Some people have trouble making step rotation work on non-Vive controllers, since clicking with sticks can be harder than with pads. The new method is called "View." If you look left or right and then pull the run hand trigger, you'll rotate that direction in 30 degree steps. Hopefully this will be easier on all controllers.
New Chrono Mutator Skills, New Review, and the Fall Of 9999.
https://youtu.be/k3VWM8yhzlU
The newest game update adds 3 new Chrono Mutator skills, to increase your ammo, cheapen the ElectroGun, and boost the Chrono Mutator points you get from killing shuggoids and guardians. This should help hardcore players aiming to defeat the ultimate sector, 9999.
And speaking of 9999, it has now been officially beaten! The Hidden Object Guru defeated it on medium density (and in VR, no less!) while I have completed it at high density playing on desktop. It took me a lot of Chrono Mutator respawns to get there, and I'm guessing my time won't be too hard to beat. You can see the videos below.
Note that 9999 is quite dark since it has the Blackout challenge, and play style is much more cautious than usual because the sector is full of guided missile firing thanatoids who can take you out with one shot!
https://youtu.be/me8_qGF_w68
https://youtu.be/-_VNVlU9eNQ
VR Review by The Hidden Object Guru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCs5syUolE
1.5.0 and Attack Of The Retro Bots.
Since it's a reskin rather than a completely different game, I've made it part of a bundle with Necro Mutex, so if you own one you can get the other at a very big discount.
Also version 1.5.0 has been released. Apart from minor bug fixes, the main changes are that a few of the weapons have had a small buff, the player begins the game slightly stronger, and there's now more colour variation from room to room.
Release notes are:
1.5.0
First AttackOfTheRetroBots version, the reskin project of NecroMutex.
More colour variation from zone to zone.
Removed buggy gamma setup on startup.
15% damage boost for plasmagun, minigun, flamer and electogun.
Player begins game with the machinegun and shotgun as well as the pistol.
Start with more death evasions.
Start with more health packs.
Player starts with more health and shield, max health displays as x3 but is really the same as the old x4.
Altering music volume will alter the music currently playing, instead of not working until the next song starts.
Fixed bug where leaderboard allowed access to maps when a game isn't active.
Added missing translations for VR controls.
Version 1.4.6 New VR Step Rotation Method.
In the new method, you click the left or right side of your pad/stick, and you'll turn 30 degrees in that direction. Hopefully users will find this method much simpler and more intuitive than the other methods.
I'm going to phase out the old VR control and rotation methods in upcoming updates, so for now players have a chance to get used to the new control/rotation methods.
Minor Update 1.4.4
The new config is called STANDARD_BETTER.cfg. It uses higher polygon models for the environment and has higher resolution shadows. It's better than STANDARD.cfg but not as demanding as STANDARD_HI_SPEC.cfg, and should run well on cards as good or better than an nVidia GTX 970.
If you don't really care about the environment models or shadow quality, STANDARD.cfg will load maps slighty faster and has a faster frame rate.
Steam Summer Sale 50% off! Version 1.4.0 Released! New Gameplay and Languages.
To conincide with the sale, Version 1.4.0. is now available. Apart from adding support for 3 new languages (Chinese, Japanese and Korean), the mechanics of the gameplay have been updated, which I generally refer to as "Gameplay Version 2"
And if you don't like it, fear not, just go to the non-standard game options and you can play the original gameplay instead.
A lot of tweaks were made, including adding a few new types of thanatoids here and there, but the most significant changes are as follows.
1. Sectors are now sorted according to value. This means difficulty more closely matches the sector number. So you're much less likely to find really easy sectors with no challenges tucked in among more difficult high level sectors.
2. Electogun use has been limited. It's still as deadly as before, but now it remembers how much ammo it has between maps, and the only way to recharge it is to pay for it. So you need to think carefully about when you are going to use it so you don't waste your charges.
So no more easy higher level sectors, and a limited electrogun? Seems like the odds are being stacked against you.
Fear not! There is now a new mechanic that allows you to buff up your character without limit:
3. Introducing the Chrono-Mutator. This process is not something to be done lightly, it comes at great cost. Using it means you'll lose all your money, weapons and skills, and all you sector completion progress will be wiped out.
But in return, you'll be able to get a bunch of PERMANENT buffs to things like damage, health and reward multipliers, that keep stacking each time you use the Chrono-Mutator.
To buy the buffs, you need "Chrono-Mutator Points," which you get from killing Shuggoids and Cortex Guardians.
So it's a good idea to hunt down Shuggoids and Cortex Guardians and load up on CM points. Then, once you've reached as far as you can get in the game, use the Chrono-Mutator to restart and buff up your powers.
I hope you enjoy the gameplay.
Gameplay Version 2 Work Has Begun.
The goal is to have this ready in time for the Steam Summer Sale, so it should take between 2 and 4 weeks.
Depending on how fast the coding goes, some of the things I'd like change or add are:
* Unlimited character progress, so even sector 9999 can eventually be beaten... although don't expect that to be easy or fast!
* A change to sector difficulty, so that sector number more closely matches how challenging it is.
* Some weapon changes.
* Certain thanatoid characteristics will be modified.
* A couple of new thanatoids.
* Some more story.
I may or may not have time to implement all these things, so it's a question of how much I can get done before the sale.
And if you already really like the current gameplay, don't worry. You'll have the option of playing the "original recipe" game as it currently exists too.