Sentinels
New live build
Patch notes:
Introductory audio now starts during video.
Mobile gun platform added to tutorial.
Fix for minimap zoom.
Fix for right clicking on barrels in FP view.
Fix for mobile gun platform hitting barrels.
Fix for structures colliding with other things while being placed.
Fix for mousing over structure in FP mode.
Improved Kat's missile launcher seeking.
Fix for session mods not registering on first use.
And some more tuning/balancing tweaks.
Upcoming feature highlight: Lieutenant mode
going over a new mode that we're hoping to add in the near future!
Written by Rob Elam
Over thanksgiving, I didn’t have any family in town, so nothing much special going on… So I decided to take a day off work. The way I often take days off work is to work on something that I didn’t have scheduled :). I suck at taking time off.
Anyway, I’d been wanting to experiment with a different game mode for people that want to just play the shooter portion of Sentinels, without concerning themselves with the building aspect. I added support for the game not pausing after each assault, and just running the waves constantly, and having structures automatically build themselves in preset locations when the resources are available, as well as upgrading them. I built an editor so that I could say where structures would be built, and roughly the order they’d be built.
It was one of those good days, where I made great progress and everything fell into place like I expected and hoped. I went to bed that night, happy about a good day’s work… Then I realized that the mode would be awesome if it just recorded the player’s building order, and replayed that in Lieutenant mode. Don’t you just love it when just after finishing something you think of a much cooler way to do it? Yea, neither do I :).
So the editor for this may ultimately be useless… But hopefully soonish I’ll be able to work on the recording mode, cause that’d allow pretty much any level to be played by players, recorded, and replayed in Lieutenant mode, as well as potentially shared. I’ll likely end up testing and tuning the Lieutenant mode, currently only Factory level has a mission using it.
The effort here was also a bit of synergy, I’ve been wanting to experiment with VR a bit, and there are certain things Sentinels has in place that might be fun in VR, as well as things that almost assuredly aren’t. I don’t think building structures would function well in VR without a substantial investment in UI changes, I think it’d be too finicky to be fun. The shooting, if made more forgiving and perhaps enemies slowed down, could be pretty fun in VR, so I look forward to testing this out. Also, the newer mobile gun platform feature should be pretty fun in VR, as it’s basically the same kind of interface used in VR shooters that allow movement, where you click the location you want to move to. Might even work better than most, since the target location will have user created snapping points, it might be very clean to move around.
We’ll see how the mode shakes out, I think it has promise. Regardless, it’s always fun doing something new, and great when it comes together fast… Nice break from constant tuning/bug squashing :).
Build is live!
There are a lot of features we’re looking forward to introducing a little farther down the road – Convoy mode which we've introduced before, as well as Lieutenant mode, a FPS centric style where the turrets place themselves; all you have to worry about is shooting down the bad guys. But for the next few weeks, we’ll be working exclusively on tutorials and getting the beginning of the game polished at last.
Now, what we need most is just feedback, feedback, and more feedback. Fill the forums, message us on twitter, whatever you like - Just let us know what you think, good and bad. With the master keys and gun transitioning, we’re feeling that the core of the game is finally pretty solid, and are going to start moving forward and getting more eyes on the game. We’ll be reaching out to streamers and eventually everyone we can. Though we’re just a team of two, we’re working to keep updates as consistent as possible. Hope you enjoy this latest update, let us know! (And if you do, leaving us a review would be very appreciated. :))
We also made a playlist of feature videos, going over the mechanics not currently explained in game. The mobile gun platform one is already a bit outdated, with it now activating with spacebar instead of right click. Been moving fast lately :)
Okay, spiel is over, patch notes below.
Mobile gun platform has been implemented, now activated by spacebar. While in FP mode, hold down spacebar. Once you’ve selected your chosen turret, (which will glow green), let go of spacebar to start transitioning. It costs a small amount of energy to travel, and can be cancelled at any time by right clicking. If you activate without a turret selected, you’ll be thrust forward a short distance before returning to your original position. This is great for booping low-health enemies, especially towards the end of levels. It’s likely a little too powerful right now, but it’s currently unlocked and available at all levels to get a better feel for it, and to see what you all think.
Also some significant changes to game economy – Sam’s turret has increased slightly in price, and the income gained per assault has been decreased. Previously you were able to build far too many towers too early ingame, making the middle assaults a little slow. This should fix that issue, and also make strategy a bit more important when placing turrets :)
Fixed introductory video quality
Creeponium has been reenabled
Adjustments to shotgun, and fix for burst fire on Jackal
And plenty of fixes/optimizations per the norm.
Yes, another beta build!
We've moved the control from right click to space bar - space bar will still speed up time, but only in tactical view. In FP mode, just hold down space bar to select your target, and release to start transitioning. There's also been some speed and other adjustments. Let us know how it handles!
The introductory video has also been fixed, and is now HD as it should be.
New Beta Build
Other fixes:
Speculative fix for previously reported _PopupBody_ bug
Reenabled Creeponium, and increased explosion size.
Adjustments to shotgun spread and damage levels. Fix for burst fire on Jackal.
Bumped up Meteor Storm damage
Raised sam's sniper crit bonus.
Lowered energy cost of gun transition.
For instructions on joining the beta click here.
New beta build!
While in FP mode, hold down right click. Put your crosshair over the turret you want to move to - it'll turn green, let go of the mouse button and off you go. You can right click at any time to immediately cancel and return to tactical view. You can only move between turrets of the same commander - so can't jump from a missile launcher to machine gun, for example. For a more visual explanation, check out the video here.
https://twitter.com/MindWalkerGames/status/934323720994168832
This certainly isn't a small change, and there are a lot of places we could go with this, so please give some feedback and let us know what you think!
Hope you enjoy, and for instructions on joining the beta click here.
Build is live!
With this patch, we've implemented a major change to the loot unlock system - previously, all unlocks were set, and were only unlocked once you reach a certain level. But now, every time you level up, you get a Master Key. The Keys are then used to unlock features, new game modes, and other rare items. This way you can unlock the items you actually want to use, instead of just being handed items in a preset order.
We think this'll help fix a lot of the issues with the loot/progression system, so give it a try and let us know what you think!
Other updates:
Added currency list to loadout screen, and adjusted gear bar.
Adjusted tooltips to reflect new master key system
Updated assault complete temp art
Added first win XP bonus
Creeponium in Sierra Lab now requires critical hit to destroy.
New beta build
With this patch, we've implemented a major change to the loot unlock system - previously, all unlocks were set, and were only unlocked once you reach a certain level. But now, every time you level up, you get a Master Key. The Keys are then used to unlock features, new game modes, and other rare items. This way you can unlock the items you actually want to use, instead of just being handed items in a preset order.
We think this'll help fix a lot of the issues with the loot/progression system, so give it a try and let us know what you think! We're planning on pushing this patch live tonight, given no ugly bugs pop up during testing.
(For instructions on how to enter the beta, click here.)
Other updates:
Added currency list to loadout screen, and adjusted gear bar.
Adjusted tooltips to reflect new master key system
Updated assault complete temp art
Added first win XP bonus
Creeponium in Sierra Lab now requires critical hit to destroy.
More updates
Added updated loading screen with tips
Added support for gun aiming in direction of structure aim if right-clicked.
Changed mods and sockets so that removing them adds back into inventory, rather than destroying them. (This will likely be a temporary measure.)
Added audio to mod and socket add/remove
Adjustments for Into the Pit and Creeponium Mine
Fix for gear bar progression
Fix for reticle being visible after switching cameras
Lighting updates
Many Convoy fixes, including environment change
New build
There are also a lot of optimizations packed into this one; if you were experiencing slowdowns, this build should fix those issues.
Keep an eye out for upcoming devlog going over planned upcoming features - we're really happy with how far this game has come, and can't wait to see how far it'll go!
Patch notes:
Massive balance and tuning changes
Multiple new encounters per map
Implemented loading screen with tips
Fix for slowdown on later levels/when large groups spawned
Sped up FP machine gun fire effect
Added pulse effect for overcharge when filled
Disabled chat text when action is in progress
Added new skies
Various lighting and color fixes
Reduced energy pool growth per assault rate
Crit point visualization fix
First pass at updated mod icons
Updated small creep explosion sfx
Replaced shield hit sfx
Removed 2nd assault into the pit conversation
Added hit effect specific to collision damage
Fix for high flying path in factory
Fix for explosive barrel blowing up other barrels
Dev mode additions: Added hotkey for damaging enemies. Added ability to cycle through skies. Changed help so it's togglable on ctrl.
And a zillion little fixes as usual.