It's been less than two weeks since the last major content update and we've already got new stuff to show.
Above we have an all new hull for the FR2 - Malefactor. Unlocking at around level 30 this beast packs a serious punch. It looks great from the cockpit too....
Next up we have the new C2 - Assiduous corvette:
Like the FR2 it's foward gun turrets look awesome from the cockpit:
Last up is a new missile class ship the M3 - Stalker:
This next update will also be adding bags of new content for levels 50-60. If you're not already level 50 then get busy.
Build 0.87 Patch Notes
The latest major content patch is now live. Click to see full patch notes.
Introduction
The previous two content patches added additional content for levels 20-30, and 30-40 respectively. This patch includes totally new content for levels 40-50 along with various other improvements and rebalancing of core gameplay.
Get ready for some carnage.
What's new in NeonXSZ build 0.87?
Four New Challenge Arenas (Tech Levels 40-50)
All four of the newest arenas can be found in Station 5 and include the largest arena yet.
Two new hull models
M2 - Predator (Tech Level 26). This model is also used for the M2+.
D2 - Executioner (Tech Level 42). This model is also used for the D2+ (and temporarily for the D3 and D3+).
New Task - Claim Arena
Available from Tech Level 1.
Found at approximately 10% of friendly docking bays, this task offers extremely high rewards for claiming specific arenas for the various factions. It's well worth taking the time to hunt down these tasks before taking on each new challenge arena.
Two New Gadgets
Warp Pipe: (Tech Level 46)
Fires out a 300m long quantum pipe that instantly teleports anything inside towards the player ship. Great for pulling enemies into close range or out of packs, or for sucking up distant loot in an emergency.
Neutonic Shielding (Tech Level 50)
Temporarily repurposes Overdrive power to significantly reduce incoming damage.
NB: Like the new weapons listed below, both of these new gadgets can be installed and used by all enemies. If you find yourself randomly teleporting, blame the enemy using Warp Pipe.
New Weapon - MagnaBeam (Tech Level 45)
It's back! After being a myth since the early days of closed alpha, the MagnaBeam is finally available in game. Sporting by far the highest burst damage available, the MagnaBeam can melt an enemy in seconds.
Tip: Best used as a finishing weapon due to it's two second cooldown time.
New Missile - Maverick Missiles (Tech Level 44)
A totally automated self-targeting cluster missile. Four separate warheads with long range, high speed, and the fastest turning circle in the game.
Miscellaneous Updates
All Hull icons have been updated and replaced
Energy returned from known loot multiplier increased to 3 from 1.7
Reblanced the default overclocking on many hulls.
Reworked gadget compatibility of many hulls.
Clicking on the difficulty data panel at the main menu now opens the difficulty window.
Fixed an issue that allowed AI ships to use high level hulls too early in the game.
Various upgrade descriptions tweaked.
Improved message system at ship config screen.
Missile HUD marking system tweaked.
Fixed issue that caused the lightning gun effects to appear in the wrong place for the first frame.
Fixed issue where the gadget compatibility window would have it's text incorrectly aligned if the Basic Stats panel was hidden.
Fixed issue that caused the combat music to stay active after combat if the Energy Coupler upgrade was installed.
Upgrade Rebalancing
Significant changes were made to many upgrades to rebalance and improve the flow and feel of combat.
Energy Coupler Mass reduced to 2.8 from 3.8
Energy Recovery Mass reduced to 3 from 4.2
All 80 Engine upgrades increased in power to allow for more flexible upgrade loadouts.
Core Energy Regeneration units increased by ~70%
Core Shield Regeneration units increased in power by ~95%
Misc Energy Regen Boosters increased by ~40%
Misc Shield Regen Boosters increased by ~20%
Impunity Gadget cooldown reduced to 30 seconds from 45 seconds.
Railgun damage increased by ~25%.
Laser Cannon damage increased by ~ 25%.
Flak Cannon damage increased by ~40%
Good luck and as always, enjoy the ride!
Jan 2015 Update Preview
New Hull - The 'M2 Predator'
Hey cyberspace freaks, it's 2015 and what better way to kick off the new year than with a whopper of an update.
Finishing touches and last minute tweaks are underway and if everything goes to plan you should be melting virus scum with a bevy of new toys by next weekend.
New Task - Claim Arena
New Weapon - Magna Beam
New Gadget - Warp Pipe
New Hull - 'D2 Executioner'
Four New Arenas - Strap yourselves in for some mayhem.
Here's a handy link to all of the above in an imgur album if you want to share.
http://imgur.com/a/1V5Ao
NeonXSZ on .....
If you've never heard of SuperBunnyHop then it's your lucky day. I stumbed into this gem of a YouTube channel about six months ago and was immediately struck by the remarkable quality of the gaming critique offered by it's presenter George Weidman. When someone can make a deep critical analysis of Goat Simulator you know you are onto a winner.
On Thursday, George posted his latest video - 'Games From My Inbox':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9AmX1Qfzpg He takes a look at a handful of indie games, that he felt deserved more attention, and NeonXSZ was one of them!
I wanted to repost it here as a way to share SuperBunnyHop with anyone who reads this and has never heard of the channel but also to help bring some exposure to the other little known gaming gems he shows in the video.
George may only have heard about NeonXSZ through his inbox but hopefully we can all help to change that in 2015 as the game closes on it's 1.0 release.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
Sneak Peak: More Arenas
It's Tuesday! You know what that means don't you?
Erm, no, neither do we, but let's take it as an excuse to look at some more of the new challenge arenas arriving in the next update.
Hang on. It's Wednesday.
Happy Wednesday!
Sneak Peak - New Arenas
Cats are popular right? Everyone loves cats. So here's some pics of cats being hilarious.
Hang on. Where's the cats?
Sorry folks, we prefer cyberspace arenas around these parts so have some work-in-progress screenshots of some of the new ones coming in the next update.
Build 0.851 Patch Notes.
Following the recent huge main content update, this patch fixes all reported bugs and tweaks a few game settings based on player feedback.
Update List
Bounty Tasks now appear in 30% of docking bays. (Previously 20%)
Additional time added to task time limits to take into account docking.
Task time limits now dynamically scale to match the players level. This ensures time limits remain challenging even at high levels.
Bug fixed that was causing tasks to pay less at higher game difficulty settings rather than more. This also solved an issue with negative task rewards at high difficulty settings.
The mass for the following upgrades has been increased: Energy Recovery System, Energy Coupler, and Leech Shields. (These upgrades can combine to create 'tanky' ships and therefore the ship's speed will be reduced to balance this).
Uranium readout on the Stats panel changed to read 'Loot Uranium' - Uranium earned from tasks is deliberately not included in this total.
Thank you everyone for all of your feedback and don't forget to help spread the word about the game. With no marketing budget we must rely on the quality of the game and your support to help new players discover the game.
"Gadgets & Tasks" Major Content Patch Now Live.
Build 0.85 is now live for all formats. (Click to see full patch notes)
New Task System
A rich and varied procedurally generated task system has been added. Tasks may or may not have a time limit, but those that do will offer higher rewards. Complete tasks early for an additional bonus. Task rewards are also based on distance and the difficulty of the destination area. Task completion can also allow you to gain and lose faction reputation.
Docking bays now offer two types of tasks. (Click on the new 'star' icon while docked to access the task panel.
Data Transport Tasks: Transport data around the entire station and even deep into enemy territory for cash rewards. Set yourself up with the fastest ship possible and race around at insane speeds to deliver your data on time.
Bounty Tasks: Kill a specified target.
Sneak into high level enemy territory to pick off a single target before escaping with your life and a cash reward. High level enemies, in high level military areas, can offer massive bonuses.
Speed Arenas
The newest Challenge Arenas in Station 4 (player level 30-45) are quite unlike anything seen before in the game. They are all based around the concept of speed rather than combat. Get ready for a rush and be prepared for failure if you are not fast enough.
There are three of these new speed arenas and a fourth awesome new final arena that is much more like a boss fight with mechanics and tactics that need to be understood before you can defeat it.
New Gadgets
Gadgets are at the heart of all combat in NeonXSZ. A single gadget can dramatically alter the way the game is played and this update bring six new ones!
Even naming these new gadgets would spoil the surprise but they are all based around two themes. Crowd control and AOE (Area of Effect) damage. They also have some of the coolest special effects yet created for the game. Combined with the right upgrades you will feel almost godlike in power using these new gadgets while taking on 10+ enemies at a time.
Noteworthy Additional Changes
Fixed issues with toggle buttons not working correctly on OSX.
Sphere docking bays now correctly swap faction when the connected Arena is taken over by the player.
Rare bug fixed that could cause multiple ships to stack up trying to dock at some docking ports.
AI ships will now engage in combat far more frequently.
Various interface and GUI tweaks and alterations.
Zoom toggle hotkey added.
Bug fixed that caused main gun booster upgrades to often require the same energy.
Cockpit no longer displays weapon data when flying in a data transporter hull.
Upgrade panel BUY buttons now turn red if the player can not afford to buy the upgrade.
AI Data Transporters will usually now try to escape if attacked rather than enter combat mode.
Holding the 'Air Brakes' hotkey will now also cause loot to be attracted towards the player's ship twice as quickly.
The Hull Gadget Compatibility window will now hide the names of undiscovered gadgets until the player is close to unlocking them.
Close 'x' buttons added to the top right corner of all option menu windows to be consistent with the rest of the interface.
New buttons and Tab system added to Upgrade Panel. New buttons will allow you to clear your upgrade filter, and jump straight to the installed upgrade for that slot. The tab system makes for a more elegant switch between shop data, overlocking controls, and the ugprade filter system.
Bug fixed that prevented Disarmer and Crippler missiles from showing efficiency and accuracy data in the statistics panel.
Mousing over upgrade buttons on the cockpit will now cycle the tooltip message to show both the hotkey for the button and the name of the installed upgrade.
The effectiveness of all elemental shield upgrades are nearly doubled.
Energy recovery from known loot increased by 50%
Shield and Energy Storage core upgrades increased in power by approximately 50%
Shield and Energy booster miscellaneous upgrades reduced in power by approximately 50%
ERS (Energy Recovery System) upgrade mass reduced.
Disarmer Missile energy requirement reduced to 28 from 34
Laser Cannon damage increased to 38 from 32
RailGun damage increased to 40 from 34
If possible we recommend playing through this update from a level 30 game save or below. Excluding the new Task system, that unlocks from level 1, the vast majority of the new content in this update appears between level 30 and 45. A couple of the new gadgets do unlock earlier than that. Completely new gadget types now unlock approximately once every four levels from level 1 through to level 42.
Don't forget to share your views and feedback on this update in the Community Hub discussions area. Your feedback helps to improve and shape the future of the game.
Build 0.838 Patch Notes
Released - Sept 2nd 2014
The game was updated to run on Unity 4.5.3. This should resolve a minor issue for Linux users. Some user requested features were also added.
Fixed issue with unwanted ship turning when unpausing on Linux.
Selection of new crosshairs available in the Gameplay options menu.
Crosshairs can now be hidden.
2D HUD Targeting elements can now be turned off for Stereoscopic users, in the Gameplay options menu.
The 'Customize' video preset menu item was renamed to 'Manual Setup'.
Energy gained from loot buffed by 40% from the previous build.
This build should have resolved all outstanding bugs, and development will now return to creating new Challenge Arenas for the fourth Station.
Build 0.837 Patch Notes
MagnaBeam removed from sale at Armories
Fixed a couple of issues with the way Thunder Missile splash damage was being reported to the statistics panel.
Enemies targeted by player drones will now sometimes choose to attack the player rather than the drone.
The player's Tech Level was added to the Statistics Panel.
Alt, Tab and F12 keys can now be used at the Death Screen without causing a respawn.
Thunder Missile splash damage range reduced to 60m from 75m.
Thunder Missile speed reduced to 275m/s from 350m/s.
The algorithm for Energy Efficiency on the Statistics screen was completely reworked, along with it's effect on your Overall Rating.
Bug fixed that could cause some missiles to occassionally spawn two explosions. When using the Thunder Missile this would previously result in double damage.
Flak Cannon bullet spread reduced by 15% to increase effectiveness at medium range.
Releasing Thrust while using Overdrive now cancels Overdrive.
Energy recovered from Loot has been reduced, especially against lower level targets.
Fix implemented that caused unwanted ship turning when unpausing on Linux.
