To speed things up and make the game more exciting, a new mechanic was put in place to make the ball accelerate towards the shield if things are lined up properly. Some other changes include refactoring the sounds to go through a global mixer. This paves the way for more granular sound options. Level 3 has been redesigned slightly to require less ice and more iron for a win.
Another note, Rockochet is now participating in the Steam Summer Sale! Get it at 20% discount
Update 0.5.6 Grab and Pull Locomotion
After receiving some new player feedback and actually seeing the struggles during LIV testing, locomotion has been changed to a grab-and-pull style. This is the first iteration, but works well enough it needed to go in the default branch to stop the bad first impressions.
Use the same trigger as before to begin moving (grab) and pull in the direction you want to go. Upon release you'll continue to drift in the direction pulled towards with a slow deceleration.
Update 0.5.5 LIV support & Synthwave Music
Music has finally come to Rockochet! About 9 synthwave tracks have been added to fit the pace and style, be sure to post on this update with your feedback.
LIV support has been added, so you'll be able to broadcast your mixed reality streams starting with this update.
Finally, added magnetic attraction to all powerups, with a smaller radius than orestone.
Update 0.5.4 Shield Graphics Tweaks
There are not many changes this time, just some minor changes to the paddle graphics. Namely:
<*> Inventory now flashes subtly when catching orestones
<*> non-lit inventory LEDs are a little bit darker to better differentiate
Update 0.5.3 New Multiball Powerup
This update brings a new Powerup, the Multiball! Catching the mutliball canister will immediately spawn a new ball moving in the direction of your shield. This should speed things up and make the gameplay very interesting.
Additionally, the shader caching issue for new players is believed to be fixed. Report on this if you see otherwise.
Revisiting Powerups
Now that the oxygen system is done, it is time to revisit the Powerup system. There's already one available, called the "Force Pusher", but more will be worked on this week. Under consideration:
<*> multi-ball
<*> Some kind of explosiveness, maybe a grenade
<*> oxygen tank
<*> Fast or Slow down
<*> Laser gun
<*> Gravity gun
Any other suggestions?
Update 0.5.2
Today's update is a minor change to the Oxygen indicator. Starting at 30% the following happens:
<*> Breathing sound, starts slow and increases with frequency until out of oxygen
<*> "Oxygen" label cycles from white to yellow or Red if below 15%
<*> color cycling gets faster
Main Menu Graphics Tweak
Here's a cool little graphic on how the main menu has been revamped to better orient players to the center.
Update 0.5.1
Introducing the Oxygen System! To the left of your mining inventory is an oxygen indicator that starts at 100 and slowly ticks down to 0. When your oxygen runs out, Game Over! However, fear not because mining Ice Orestones will replenish 20% oxygen. All levels have been re-balanced to accommodate the new Oxygen system.
Oxygen
This week will introduce the first hazard to the game. It will be an experimental "timer", but instead of seconds ticking down, it will be an oxygen supply that can be partially refilled by collecting Ice ore.
