Big new feature this week: there's a introduction / tutorial level now!
Nothing really useful to expert players, but we're starting to build some lore and it was a much needed work to reduce the learning curve for new comers. It was a lot of work, hence we couldn't sneak anything else into this update. We're also working on more help menus, but that will wait a couple updates.
Good thing is that we fixed the unbeatable boss bug (which involved flame throwers).
Cheers!
New
Introduction / tutorial level
Option to replay the tutorial in the settings
Changes
The no text animation option has been removed (temporarily)
Updated the loading bot
Fixes
Fixes boss weak spot breaking without going invulnerable because of DOT weapons
Fixes a potential crash if the Nemesis file is corrupted
First, meet your Nemesis!
If you get killed, the robot that got you will come back in your next game, waiting at the same level in a buffed version and it will drop all the items you had equipped previously.
Second big change, we moved where the game save is stocked (see changelog) and Steam Cloud is now enabled. Don't worry about this change, the game will automatically try to move your old files to their new home. This should be transparent. This is a preliminary work to get the "resume game" working, which will come soon.
We also started to add mouse support to menus. They are not all compatible yet, but we'll get there. We're also working on key remapping, which should be available soon too.
Happy voiding!
UPDATE: Beta 29.1 has been released to fix unequippable / unscrappable loot from the nemesis.
New
Nemesis system: the last enemy who killed you will come back in the same level as a buffed elite and will drop all your previous equipped items
Save files have been moved to a different folder (it previously was the game folder, and don't worry, the game will try to move you saves automatically):
Windows: "%USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/Flying Oak Games/NeuroVoider"
OS X: "~/Library/Application Support/Flying Oak Games/NeuroVoider"
Linux/SteamOS: "~/.neurovoider"
Steam Cloud has been enabled to sync these folders
The main menu is now mouse controllable (in-game menus will be added as we go)
While in the inventory and low on HP, robots will generate smoke and sparks
HP bars now have a residual white part indicating how many damage were taken
Repair amount when looting repair packs is now displayed in the loot list
Changes
The first Reboot RNG per new game is now free
Enemies killed by melee weapons now loot 1.5x more crystals and/or recharge skills 1.5x faster
Scraps requirement and items scraping value are now exponential and values are proportionally equals to the rarity of items
While equiping Vision items, the "power" bonus to skill will now be displayed as what it impacts on the equiped skill (e.g. duration enhancement, strenght enhancement, etc.)
Brain sprite have been updated to be a bit bigger and look more like a brain
Fixes
Fixes rare weapons boost not scaling to the correct weapon damages (it is now higher)
Fixes some spawn position in the Sub environment where players could spawn in holes
Fixes file corruption of the Stats file (hopefully)
Two big changes this week: a revamp of the difficulty (inc. how items scale) and a new environment!
Welcome to the Station!
We are looking for feedback regarding the new difficulty scaling, feel free to drop by the forum to tell us what you think. :)
Happy voiding!
New
New Station environment, watch out to the EMP barrels, they drain your EP
New music tracks from Dan Terminus: "Heavy Artillery" (boss music) and "Tuned to a Dead Channel" (Station environment)
The game now has a proper main menu (locked menus are not yet implemented features)
Changes
Changes to the difficulty and how the game scales enemies and items generation:
difficulty scaling is now exponential instead of linear, which means that the game gets harder less quickly in its first loop, but NG+ will get challenging way more faster past second loop
bosses HP have been greatly reduced (we'll rework the AI in the future update)
items generation also uses an exponential model, which means that numbers (inc. boosting) should be progressive, instead of being the same no matter the progression
Auto-loot option has been removed, auto-looting is now always enabled, even in multiplayer (we are working on a new loot fightning feature)
Frost barrels in Frosbite now have 0 damage and only freeze
Fixes
Fixes yet another "desactivate" typo
Fixes boost table for item EP which was using values lower than what they should be
This week, item Boosting has been changed. It should now be more relevant and useful for all types of items.
Next week update will have a more fine tuned Boost, and a new environment! We'll also work on the difficulty.
EDIT: Beta 27.1 has been release to fix an issue that could make you start with items as powerful as your previous game.
New
If your computer is not compatible with the game or if files are corrupted, the game will try to display a comprehensive message to tell you what went wrong
Changes
Transport "recoil reduction" property has been replaced by an overheat reduction property
Many changes to the item Boost system:
you can boost an item 5 times
the cost for boosting increase at each new boost
boosting can now enhance most of an item properties (and no longer only HP or EP)
the higher the boost stage, the higher the values (e.g. first stage of a Transport will only slightly increase HP, but the fifth stage increases HP, Speed and Overheat at once)
dropped items are a bit less powerful now, but boosting items is a bit cheaper and more powerful
scraping boosted items will now refund you for half the scrap spent in upgrades
Reboot RNG now also reboots special levels peculiarities and increase the scraps bonus
Scraping items when playing in multiplayer gives more scraps (to compensate the number of players over the loot quantity)
Fixes
Fixes restart crashing the game
Fixes upgrade costs which were inverted for all parts
Fixes level properties bar color when a property goes behind 6
Fixes max HP and EP not updating correctly in the inventory recap when boosting items
Fixes some number rounding issues when comparing items
Fixes current HP not scaling if an item is boosted and increases the max HP
Lots of changes this week. Due to a very mixed reception, we removed the "reveal" system introduced last week. You were many to have pro's and con's, and we've simply decided to not go further into this direction. We replaced this by a new "Reboot RNG" system which allows you to refresh the level selection. Refreshing levels will have a chance to yield better values, with a chance to go past their normal maximum. This should remove the "random" aspect of level selection and offer more min-maxing strategies to advanced players.
The Rampage has been slightly modified, you can now move while rampaging!
Let us know what you think of this new update. :)
New
Level reveal option has been replaced by a new feature called "Reboot RNG" which refresh the level selection at the cost of scraps. Rebooting the levels has a chance to produce level stats above their maximum of 5, and it keeps increasing if you reboot them more than once per level. This also affects special levels.
Special levels now have unique peculiarities which can be of the following:
Self-destructing: a countdown will appear and the level must be finished before it reaches 0 (the time is dependent of the level size)
Super-Elites everywhere: nothing but red enemies will populate the level
Pitch black: the level will have no lights (though enemies and bullets emit light)
Special levels always have their stats maxed out (size, loot & difficulty)
Changes
The level reveal system has been removed (and replaced by the reboot system described above)
The default weapons of each classes have been changed, they now all start with an Auto-Gun and the following:
Dash: Cutter
Rampage: Shotgun
Fortress: Rocket Launcher
Rampage can now move while using its special and also has a 30% movement speed bonus
Skipping a level doesn't increase the difficulty anymore
Scraps bonus for completing a special level has been increased by 50% (it scales up with the difficulty)
Mini-map has been removed from left stick buttons and added to the B button (and it is still available with the Back button)
Boss fights:
Bosses now drop 6 to 12 items per players (was 2 to 5 before)
More small enemies will spawn, but they now drop repair packs
Crystals dropped have been increased
All classes now have the same movement speed (based on the Dash speed)
EMP duration has been increased on elites and bosses
The hole design of the Lab and Sub environments has been changed to be more visible
Enemy bullets will now always be drawn above any other bullets or explosions
The Unstable skill has been changed to avoid the following skill: Jackpot, Loaded, Hardcore, Repair.All (only if solo), Reboot Sequence (only if solo)
Fixes
Fixes the shadow of a Transport sprite
Fixes having more than one special levels per boss phase (should be limited to 1)
Fixes wall being invisible during boss intro when there is no light
Fixes Fortress shield dealing damages to players and enemies
Fixes lasers using 2x more EP when using the Rampage special
