Relic Hunters Zero
Update 4 - Explosions, Super Shield
This is our fourth Update, and it is earlier and smaller than usual. Reason is I’m going out of town tomorrow to do a talk, so I have only half a weekend :O
Big changes if you like Pinkyy and Biu, though. I’m currently focusing on build variety and viability in Endless mode, so these two characters needed a few tweaks to get up to the required level of quality.
Also, thanks to your feedback, we have tuned enemy grenade and rocket damage. They are still very dangerous, but will no longer one-hit-kill you at full health if you have shields up. Even damaged shields will absorb a big chunk of the explosion’s total damage.
Endless is so close I can almost taste it! I hope you are all as excited as we are - it will change this game completely.
We are also working on new characters, new weapons, new zones, new enemies… Relic Hunters has just begun!
Modders: the often-requested “class_melee” is available. It is a bit rudimentary, with support for ammo use and special effects still on the way, but it should make your lives easier already. There’s also “class_summon” and a new faction for “player objects” that enemy AI will recognize and react accordingly - you can now create pets, summoned creatures, sentry guns, etc. Customizing Grenades per character is now as simple as changing a single variable.
If you want to test the incomplete Endless mode right now, there are many new things for you to play with. The password, as usual, is “endlesstester”.
See development in real-time here:
https://trello.com/b/nM8TWNBR/relic-hunters-zero-open-source
As always, hit me up on twitter if you wanna chat (@markventurelli)
Happy huntin’
~Mark
*Features*
New Power-Up: Super Shield - makes you invulnerable for a few seconds
*Gameplay*
Added random Super Shield spawns to Adventure mode and Endless mode (uncommon)
The Crystal Bacon now heals a fixed percentage of your total health instead of giving health per kill
Explosions now lose 60% strength when going through player shields
Biu now regenerates 20% health on level clear
Biu's walk speed increased from 3.5 to 4
Biu's sprint speed increased from 5 to 6
Biu's shield cost decreased from 0.25 to 0.15
Excess melee damage now goes through shields
Pinkyy can now pick up grenades
Pinkyy's grenade is now a short Super Shield activation
Pinkyy's shield regen time increased from 3 to 4
*Fixes*
Fixed a bug where the "Unlock All" achievements would not trigger properly (will work on your current save now)
Fixed a bug where Boss death explosions would trigger the "hit taken" screen effect
Fixed a bug where damage from the Midnight Beer and Midnight Snack relics would not scale properly
Fixed enemy guns flickering after player death
FIxed a bug with the achievements
*Open Source*
Added Alexander Drogin as Open Source contributor
Created a new "class_melee" and refactored Pinkyy's gloves. Now it is much easier for modders to create their own melee weapons by simply inheriting from "class_melee" and tweaking the variables
**NOT DONE YET: Update Tutorial regarding Pinkyy's new grenades
Update 3 - Endless Almost Done + Balancing
It is weekend 3, Update 3 and you are 300,000 hunters around the world! See the pattern there? It is a VERY GOOD one, very good indeed.
You have been making really cool mods, and you have inspired Betu and I to work very hard on the next big things. Endless mode is almost complete! We still need to implement Digging, Chests and Hacking, which should all be done next weekend. If everything works fine, we should all be sharing our high scores before October.
I also completely rebalanced the base gameplay and Adventure mode to make space for all the cool stuff coming from Endless. The game will be a bit easier on Adventure mode now, and the grinding a bit faster. We want everyone to learn how to beat the Ducan Commander in Adventure before he’s ready to completely destroy you all again in Endless.
Also, I would like to thank the new Open Source contributors that have added their code to the game. If you are waiting for me to approve a Pull Request, please be patient. I have very little free time to work on the game, so I prioritized the new Endless features over integrating and testing your code. I am sorry, and promise to stop procrastinating as soon as you’re reading this.
Finally, some of you may have noticed our Localization spreadsheet has been locked. This is due to heavy changes from Endless development. Since I don’t want you to lose translation work, or end up creating bugs while the new mode is being made, it will stay locked until Endless is content-complete (which should happen next weekend). Thanks for your support!
If you want to test the incomplete Endless mode right now, there are many new things for you to play with. The password, as usual, is “endlesstester”.
See development in real-time here:
https://trello.com/b/nM8TWNBR/relic-hunters-zero-open-source
As always, hit me up on twitter if you wanna chat (@markventurelli)
Happy huntin’
~Mark
Gameplay
Raff's Keytar piercing reduced from 10 to 3
Raff's Keytar ammo cost increased from 1 to 3
Ace's accuracy increased slightly for SMGs and Rifles
Biu's melee stamina cost increased from 0 to 15
Starting Light ammo on Adventure Mode increased from 80 to 120
Increased maximum Light ammo from 250 to 360
Increased maximum Light ammo from 150 to 280
Increased maximum Light ammo from 250 to 400
Reduced Ducan Commander's HP from 9600 to 6000
Reduced Shield Generator's HP from 1000 to 600
Reduced enemy Machinegun damage from 12 to 10
Reduced Boss Gun damage from 32 to 16
Reduced Boss Gun projectile speed from 36 to 32
Reduced Homing Rocket damage from 200 to 160
Reduced Checkpoint1 price from 2000 to 1000
Reduced Checkpoint2 price from 6000 to 3000
Reduced Checkpoint3 price from 12000 to 6000
Set all Adventure Mode high tier weapon prices to 5000
Set all Adventure Mode last Relic prices to 4500
Reduced second Overshield price from 3000 to 1500
Added extra ammo and health spawns to Adventure mode
Set all Ducan shields' strength to 100
Set all Tier 3 turtles' HP to 120
Reduced all enemy projectile speeds by 20%
Watchful Eye now gives a bit less maximum ammo bonus
Watchful Eye now increases ammo and grenade pickup from boxes
Endless
The Endless Shop is open for business!
Gunnar has arrived at the Endless Shop and will upgrade your weapons up to +9
Ace' shop now has 3 Resource slots and 3 Tiered slots
Relics can now be seen and activated on the Endless Shop
13 new Endless-exclusive Weapons!
5 new Endless-exclusive Relics!
16 Challenges are now available!
Challenges are randomly activated every 2 levels in Endless
Enemies don't drop guns on Endless any more
Tweaked item spawn type and rarity in Endless
Tweaked enemy spawn in Endless
Added Endless-specific hints
Fixes
Fixed a bug where the character on "Random" would be Ace on the first time, every time
Fixed a bug where characters would sometimes shoot or dash when entering a room or unpausing the game
Update 2 - Cloud Saving, “Ace” and Endless preview
This is our second weekend, and we have 200.000 hunters around the world already! You are making mods, suggesting lots of cool features and overall building up to what looks like is going to be a great community. Betu and I couldn’t be happier :D
This update adds Steam Cloud support, along with fixes and improvements that you have suggested. And we also renamed “Ass” to “Ace”... main reason is that the name keeps getting censored in places, even if it really just means “Donkey”. We had two requests from parents that don’t want their kids saying “Ass”, so we made the more inclusive choice. The original name will be eternally part of the game’s code, though! Haha!
I need to give an official reply to two things, though:
Online multiplayer: I will NOT work on this for Relic Hunters Zero. I am sorry, but this is a massive development challenge and I only work weekends - it would take me over 6 months to put the game online, and maybe other 6 until it is stable and polished. Add server costs to the equation and you’ll see why I’d rather work on other things. If other programmers want to try their hand at Online, I will gladly assist in any way I can.
Steam Workshop: this is a tricky one. You have been making a lot of cool mods, but the only way to play them right now is to put them in the source code manually. The way that Game Maker Studio builds the game executable is hostile to modding, though - I spent a whole day trying to figure out if it was possible to do easy Workshop support, but apparently it isn’t.
BUT: I will try to implement Steam Workshop support exclusively for Guns after I finish Endless mode. We can then slowly add support for workshop, one feature at a time.
Speaking of Endless, I have started developing the new mode and a preview version is available at the test branch. This version is not fun nor balanced, so manage your expectations accordingly. Only download the Endless preview if you want to help with testing and suggestions.
Check the Endless roadmap here:
http://www.relichunters.com.br/forums/discussion/60/endless-mode-the-roadmap
And see development in real-time here:
https://trello.com/b/nM8TWNBR/relic-hunters-zero-open-source
Password for the Endless test branch is: “endlesstester”
As always, hit me up on twitter if you wanna chat (@markventurelli)
Cheers,
~Mark
*Features*
Steam Cloud save implemented;
"Ass" is now called "Ace"
Game now saves automatically if you quit in the middle of a match;
Gameplay hints now appear when you die;
Added the "Best Endless Score" stat;
Added the "Highest Endless Loop" stat;
Added the "Best Run Time" stat;
Added the "Longest Run Time" stat;
*Gameplay*
Removed Biu's free shield activation during the melee activation;
Reduced Stamina cost from Biu's shield from 0.35 to 0.25;
Shotgun now has less spread when you are aiming;
Shotgun ammo capacity decreased from 8 to 5;
*Source Code*
Made a small change to ammo code to allow your modified guns to have zero ammo cost if you so desire;
*Fixes*
Fixed invalid carriage return and line feed characters causing issues with the Localization file;
Fixed a bug with Melee weapon aiming where the distance would be determined by the last ranged weapon held;
Fixed a bug where Pinkyy's gloves and Biu's buckler reflections would not be drawn
Fixed a collision bug on the Tutorial;
Update 1 Hotfix
A few nasty bugs that should not make their way into the first weekend have been fixed.
We have been talking with you and Valve regarding the Steam Cards. We have requested a change in several different channels, and even though most of what we’ve been told was that “It’s not possible”, apparently card drops are working now.
We don’t know if Valve may revoke the card drops or if it’s all right, so please don’t get mad at us if they do. We are honestly trying our best to solve this issue.
Also, we played the game a lot here at Indie House Brasília last night, and I’m convinced that my combat rebalance at the end of the Beta was a little too hardcore. So I’m reducing enemy damage across the board to make it more accessible to more people.
READ BEFORE HATING: We’re not trying to make the game more casual. We believe “Adventure Mode” should offer a gentler difficulty curve, but a VERY hardcore challenge will wait for you all in Endless mode. So if you think the game is easy now, just you wait. :-)
As usual, I’d like to remind you to follow development in real time at our public board: https://trello.com/b/nM8TWNBR/relic-hunters-zero-open-source
Have a fun weeked!
~Mark
Reach me on Twitter @markventurelli
*Gameplay*
Reduced enemy damage by 20% across the board;
Increased Pinkyy's starting Shields from 40 to 50
*Art*
Increased the size of Ass' speech balloon and increased line spacing to fit Japanese localization;
Added Kami Kage destruction animation
Added a transparency to the speech balloons when you walk behind them
*Fixes*
Fixed a bug where the gamepad auto-aim would trigger when it shouldn't, and not trigger when it should;
Fixed a bug where the Stage teleporter would report missing items, but the Shop would be empty;
Fixed a bug where a recently-digged Relic piece would appear for sale on the Shop;
Exit arrow now properly blends with the background and appears only after a few seconds;
Update 1 - First Weekend!
Launch was a pretty cool experience. We got lots of love from everyone in the world. This is by far the most international project we have ever worked on - you are playing from every continent on Earth, and you have helped us translate the game to 14 languages already!
I was going to take the week off, but we couldn't resist making a little update. Let's make this game great, together!
Also, a small update regarding the Steam Cards: they should be dropping, but they are not. I have requested support from Valve since I cannot control this from my side.
I ask you all to be patient, and I'm sorry for everyone who waited hours on a card drop in vain. I feel your pain, but a fix is (hopefully) coming soon.
Have a great weekend!
~Mark
Features
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Added language support for Russian, Dutch, Italian
Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese on hold due to an apparent Game Maker bug with some special characters
Added an Open Source link to the main menu
Art
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Added Exit Arrow
Added new Plasma projectile
Gameplay
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Players now have a brief moment of invulnerability when they re-spawn on Co-Op
The HUD no longer displays grenades for Pinkyy
An arrow now points to the exit to help new players
Audio
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Mix adjustments
Fixes
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Fixed "You Must Really Hate Turtles" achievement being wrongly awarded
v1.0 - Real Development Begins Now!
For most games this would be the end of the line - or at least a “downhill” moment leading to a complete halt in a few weeks or months, at best. But our game is a little different.
Relic Hunters Zero is an Open Source project. What this means, is that anyone can freely download the code and make new things with it. I am currently curating the “default” version of the game, but as the community grows, more contributors will be promoted to administration status.
In the long run, this means a potentially never-ending stream of mods, updates, re-balances and re-designs for the game.
Whether you are a creator or a player, this is exciting!
We already have ambitious plans for our upcoming Endless mode. You can check them out here: http://www.relichunters.com.br/forums/discussion/60/endless-mode-the-roadmap#latest
So I welcome you to the first days of Relic Hunters Zero. I can’t wait to meet you all and see what you will create, hopefully for years to come.
“Updated forever”. Let’s keep this promise, together.
Cheers,
~Mark
Art
Improved the visual feedback of locked items, relics and teleporters
Improved the visual feedback of dropped weapons
Audio
Final mix
Restored default volumes for master, sound and music to 100%
Added button sounds to the Character Card buttons on Char.Selection screen
Fixes
Fixed a hard crash when you defeat the Ducan Commander
Fixed a bug where hitting enemies with a melee attack would always push them to the right
Fixed a bug where Raff's projectile would turn upside down
Fixed Kami Flight sound not playing
Fixed Kami death animations playing on only one side
Fixed Duck shield regen sound not playing
Fixed Melee attacks not triggering shield hit and shield destroy sounds
Fixed a bug where the Dig music would play continuously on the next level
Fixed a bug where the Kami Kage would not play any sound when hit
Fixed a bug where the Rocket Launcher would not play the reload sound
Beta v0.31 - MacOSX support, Endless Delayed
The most important thing to tell you is that we’ve decided to delay the release of Endless mode. This will be probably the most important feature in the game going forward, so we rather have it in good shape before presenting it to the larger public.
This is an open development project, however, so you won’t be left in the dark. I have created a post at our forums detailing everything that we’re planning for Endless, so you can come check it out and talk about it: http://www.relichunters.com.br/forums/discussion/60/endless-mode-the-roadmap
We’ve also added all of the “to-do list” for Endless to our public Trello board, so you can check progress in real-time! Link: https://trello.com/b/nM8TWNBR/relic-hunters-zero-open-source
And finally, access to rough and early versions of Endless will be available to Steam users through the “endless test” branch. The password is “endless”.
Happy hunting!
~Mark
Features
Game now runs on Mac and Ubuntu!
Created a "Low Performance" detector that automatically turns unsupported visual effects off
Created "Static Shadows" for the environment if you disable Dynamic Shadows
Art
New Kami Death Animations
Fixes
Fixed a bug where selecting a Random character would let you play with a locked character
Fixed a bug where input would switch when pausing the game on Co-Op
Fixed a bug where selecting a Random character while Player 1 had selected Jimmy would not spawn any character on game start
Fixed pause menu background not scaling to window size
Beta v0.3 - Digging and SO MUCH STUFF
Digging is a direct response to your feedback that there was no actual “relic hunting” in the game! Now you can not only buy Relics from the shop, but also find them out in the world. Every time you beat a level, there’s a chance you will detect a Relic. Then you’ll have to search the level with a treasure detector and finally dig your prize!
Overshield is a boost to your Shields that lasts only until destroyed. You will be much harder to kill with it, but if you get overconfident and let your shields pop, you will lose the bonus.
I also started to make a few gameplay tweaks aimed at making the game deeper as I prepare it for Endless mode. The idea is to keep Adventure Mode as a friendlier introduction of the game, while Endless will serve as a deep, infinitely replayable “endgame”.
It won’t be so deep or infinite at launch, but I want to lay a solid foundation. Every new weapon, item, enemy, boss and mechanic that is added in the future by everyone who participates in development show grow Endless mode to its full potential!
Gamepad input is also FINALLY done. I have invested a ridiculous amount of time into making it work perfectly since last year, so I hope it shows! Let me know if there are more things we can improve.
There are also a LOT of bug fixes and suggestions that you made in the forums which are now in the game! Keep on being awesome ;)
Coming up next: Endless mode!
Full Patch Notes here:
http://www.relichunters.com.br/forums/discussion/57/patch-notes-beta-v0-3
Happy hunting!
~Mark
Beta v0.2 - Co-op has arrived!
Are you ready to kill your best friend by accident over and over again? Local co-op is in the game and it's loads of fun!
I made a new Character Selection screen that is very important to keep track of who is using which input method, and who is playing which character.
However, it is half-done, and Betu still didn't have time to do the art for it, so it is really ugly. I apologize for that, but we'd rather let you play with a prototype screen than delay Co-op any further.
You've been reporting a lot of bugs and making excellent recommendations: thanks for that! A few of these things made into today's patch, but all my dev time this weekend will be dedicated to responding to your feedback - so watch for the next updates :)
Full patch notes here:
http://www.relichunters.com.br/forums/discussion/42/patch-notes-beta-v0-2#latest
Cheers!
~Mark
Beta v0.12 - Cleaning The House For Co-Op!
This is the last update before we get Co-op! Yay!
A LOT of stuff has changed in the code behind the scenes. Apart from bug fixes and a few minor improvements, the game should play and feel pretty much the same.
However, if you're accessing our Source Code updates on GitHub you can test Co-Op as it is right now by tweaking the files a little bit. It's fun, but still quite buggy!
Full patch notes here:
http://www.relichunters.com.br/forums/discussion/36/patch-notes-v0-12#latest
Cheers!
~Mark