I have reverted to the FXAA anti-aliasing method which has doubled frame the rate on some maps on older cards! I can now run the game at 4K on my AMD RX580!
The REPLAY system has been getting some TLC as well with endless random replay option and sound replication fixes. More work to do and the biggest glaring bug at the moment is with the Glider Deploy system... one day I will work it out ;)
Patch Notes
FXAA for anti-alias (doubles frame rates over TAA!)
Third Person aim fixes
Shotguns spread / aim fixes
Cyan and Violet squirrels drop ammo and pills
Ultra squirrels sometimes drop Ratatoskr statues
Ratatoskr statue pickups reduce Threat Levels
Lobby map name fixed
Added replay endless random looping option
Replay Glider improved
Item pickup descriptions added
Meal effects are more impactful
Have a safe and fun holiday season, stay squirrelie and GLHF! - Jono
v1.08.027 - Hotfixes
And the inevitable...
Hotfixes
FIX: ADS crouch camera offset bug
FIX: Ultra kill spawns
FIX: Jihadi squirrels grenade on back visibility bug
FIX: Lobby mission map name bug
BUTTON SFX: show mutation no thunder
NEXT PATCH:
Some feedback saying the TPS auto ADS should return to default disabled + being 'optional enable default aim ADS' in settings. I will add this to Gameplay Options in the next patch!
GLHF! - The other Jono
v1.08.018 - Weapons Reloaded!
The weapons system has been overhauled and better tuned for ADS arcade action!
Weapon Patch Notes
ADS / IRON SIGHT firing is FIXED! (more tuning ASAP)
WEAPON AIM ADS / IRON SIGHT in both Third and First Person
BULLET SPREAD has been REMOVED (except shotgun weapons)
CROSSHAIRS replaced with HIP FIRE aim dot in both Third and First Person
COVER AIM has been added - auto stand up if from behind cover
NOTE: there are issues with some weapon models + sniper weapon scopes need an overhaul as well. I always seem to break the skeletal mesh when trying to edit the models in Blender... so am going to try using Unreal 5.5 with the experimental skeletal mesh editing tools to see if I can fix things with those tools and backport to UE4.
Other Patch Notes / Major Changes Rollup
VIEW MUTATIONS toggle button added to LOBBY
REPLAY system enabled - alpha version - disable from Game Settings - access replays from LOBBY
MORE wrath mutations! - Time Anxiety - yellow squirrels speed up other squirrels - Molten core - red squirrels explode - Jihadi Squirrel - adds grenade to squirrels
ULTRA squirrels drop either CARCASS or RATATOSK STATUE - 50/50 at moment
RATATOSK STATUE pickups now reduce THREAT LEVEL by 1
SQ-15b BURST SMG has been overhauled as SQ-15 SMG - fully auto SMG, new fire sound FX
NEW MAPS / MISSIONS: ambush, elite escape, checkpoint squirrelie
NOTE: Multiplayer testing has been limited and will be patched up ASAP as issues logged!
TEMPORARILY DISABLED: Skill Respec - the new weapon proficiency system munted things, so have disabled this until I can patch in a fix.
A lot of Quality of Life changes in my to do list, along with mutations balancing.
Squirrelmageddon! is always evolving... hope you all like the new update, and thanks everyone for your continued support for the insanity!
GLHF!!
v1.07.5327 - Weapon Specialisation
Patch Notes
NEW: Weapon Training - assign skill point to gain 1 level (once only per weapon)
NEW: Characters start with 2 Skill Points to spend
SPECIAL EVENT: Halloween Map
GLHF!
v1.07.5277 - Assassin's Squirrel
PATCH NOTES:
- NEW: Enemy Laser Turret: targets player (destroy to get some scrap) - WEAPONS: improved crouch / aiming in FP mode (overhaul ADS all weapons) - NEW: chipped Player Squirrels can now attack other squirrels and score points - FIXES: improved replay system stability - NEW: insane difficulty 'collect asset' objective (recover dead items) - FIX: unable to rescue character on locked map (special mission added) - general tidy / tweaks / mission text / map fixes and changes - MAP: new Checkpoint Squirrelie map (in works)
I am slowly moving all large map missions onto smaller / tighter maps. Map making takes ages but will be rolling these out as soon as I can!
GLHF! - Jono
v1.07.5062 - Cel Shading / Replay System
I've added a Cel Shader to the Video Options + mission runs are recorded for replay (access from staging area menu)
Players can turn off replay recording if you don't have SSD or experience performance issues.
The replay system is very basic and glitchy (working on solutions when I can) - but it's just fun sometimes to watch the crazy action in Slo-mo and replay those high score runs...
Some big colour changes: - all squirrels brighter / easier to see - all fog removed (performance and 'darkness reigns') - all blood should now be purple (for streamers and my Chinese players)
Tons of other improvements and fixes: - more difficult enemy TPAI behaviour - UI/UX updates - FX improvements - Textures and reflections
Once the new systems have 'settled' in a bit more will run a video of new features.
GLHF! Stay Squirrelie!
v1.07.4498 - Fixes + UI + Respec
Patch Notes
- NEW: game Option (enable Box Crosshair) - NEW: refund mods / retrain skills! - UI: map / mission select (view all maps in game) - UI: game over screen panel animations (reduces clutter) - FIX: crash when destroyed barrels / objects not being found (fixes NAME_none crash) - BALANCE: auto shotgun fire rate increased / projectile count reduced - FIX: AI spawn collision / spawn stuck - FIX: squirrel pacify state - FIX: extraction compass - FIX: player HUD objective map title font - FIX: rescue hologram weapon visibility - FIX: quad Bike front lights - FIX: kitchen crafting sty checks
New experimental map added to Special Events - some special events added to MISSION ZONES
GLHF!
v1.07.3888 - MEGA UPDATE!
PATCH SUMMARY
Soldier armour added, 2 new suit mods, tons of bug fixes, multiplayer improvements + I've added some new game-loop features, including cooking, crafting, and praying + TPAI enemy AI reworked! These new systems tie together everything really well... giving purpose to items, and allowing players to tune their experience in different ways.
MULTIPLAYER FIXES!
Switched authoritative movement to Client - and bang! 80% lag + client weapon accuracy fixed!
IMPORTANT: I have de-coupled most campaign cross saves to avoid data issues when returning to single player. Multiplayer / Co-op is a bit more of a stand alone 'playground' experience for now.
[AI ART - NOT IN GAME]
The Kitchen
Chef can now prepare meals! Meals are used in the new 'final prep' stage (below) to buff the player character before the next mission. Who can resists a juicy squirrel burger or a mouth watering squirreleroni pizza?
The Crafty Craftsman
Why salvage steel, plastics and electronics? To make stuff of course! Players can now craft items such as traps, grenades, mines etc... More items coming ASAP...!!! (flares / bait / traps / ammo types / weapon mods, health packs)
Final Prep
This is a new lobby pre-mission stage. What will you do just before you head out on what may be your final mission? Here are your options:
LAST MEAL: Buff the player character with foodstuffs. (health / speed etc)
PRAY TO RATATOSK: Leave tithings which affect mission parameters. (reduce mutation / pacify / reduce map threat level / + more to come!)
VISIT FACTION (under development) This is a big addition I'm working on... each character will belong to a faction... that faction will have a hidden mission objective on offer and may also supply a special weapon, item or change mission parameters... It's a huge task so may take me awhile!
Character Armour
New armour system added (finally). Soldiers can now take a few more hits before health is damaged. A new suit mod allows for more armour layers to be added. TPAI now have a chance to drop Armour Shards which are immediately nano-welded to your suit. Armour currently does NOT affect move speed.
Nanomed Mod
New suit upgrade that auto heals... if you are into tiny robots coursing through your veins rather than popping pills, this mod should do the trick. Expensive...
Character Starting Weapon Specialisation
Characters now start with a level boost in their specialised starting weapon.
Ammo / Health Packs
You can now use ammo packs and health kits on demand using [1][2] hotkeys. Hotkeys for deployables are now shown on the HUD. In multiplayer ammo and meds are dropped on the ground.
Chipped Squirrel Attack
I've given the primary attack a quick visual indicator and increased attack power. Player squirrels can now attack TPAI, other squirrels and other Players aggressively... and kill them.
The upgraded squirrel chips allow squirrels to earn XP / Points. Quad pickups not yet active - working on it. I will be expanding the player squirrel capabilities when I get some more time... GOAL: ninja squirrels / squirrel abilities / mounted weapons / deployables etc...
Quad Bike Returns!
I finally found the time to fix up the quad bike handling a bit. The quad bike has been re-added to the single player game on most top-side maps. With time the quad bike will be more integrated into level design... Next is to get a proper kinetic character model riding the quad bike!
OTHER PATCH FIXES / IMPROVEMENTS / CHANGES
I have been improving my game dev skills and have fixed / improved the game heaps over the last few months! Other noteworthy changes are:
TPAI enemy behaviour updated with crouch capability and new RNG brain.
Items collected by stranded soldiers are not added to Hive Inventory until rescued.
Character suit textures improved
Third Person camera improvements - aim / crouch camera distance tweaks
Third Person scoped weapons now have crosshair when not aiming
BALANCE: Squirrels no longer drop armour / health
BALANCE: TPAI drop armour shards and sometimes ammo
FIXED: random crashes on Game Over screen
FIXED: character flashlight brightness in different mission zones
FIXED: AI projectile hit register issues
FIXED: Globs of Greed hit register issues
FIXED: 'continue' doubling up item inventories
IMPROVED: Player chipped squirrel movement
IMPROVED: quad bike handling / acceleration
IMPROVED: enemy TPAI behaviour / weapons
MAP OVERHAUL: Training Gauntlet texturing / models / improvements
All maps have had some tweaks in one way or another
THE RETURN OF AI
Now that Steam has allowed games to include AI content, I have re-added / updated the LORE INTRODUCTION to Squirrelmageddon! It still amazes me what the latest generations of AI can do now.
WHY DO I USE AI?
As a solo-developer with no funds to hire additional talent, AI helps me with the things I can't do well 'enough' = graphic design / art... I am now able to put in 'inspired / prompted placeholders' where I feel it would 'substantially' improve the game experience.
COMING ASAP
- UI / QOL improvements - more squirrel mutations - more tithing and meal effects - more items and meal recipes - more fixes for multiplayer!
Until then, stay squirrely people and I'll see ya top-side! - Jono
v1.07.2935 - Patch Notes
Tons of updates / fixes! Full details in a really long post soon!
- Added crafting, cooking, eating and praying - Map updates / fixes / cleanup - Multiplayer fixes (still a little buggy - still working on it)
GLHF!
v1.07.1586 - THAT SQUIRRELIE AI
[AI assisted concept art only]
Have been working on the Infected TPAI faction AIs with some improvements in movement and behaviour. I am currently experimenting with hit reaction on the skeletal mesh... will see if anything makes it into the next patch!
[AI ASSISTED CONCEPT ART ONLY]
v1.07.598 PATCH NOTES
LEADERBOARDS - fixed some issues with the Game Over leader board - almost sorted! It may be the board data is not updating quick enough on the Steam Servers... more testing to do
CHARACTER SELECT - fixed to the character image in shop / training / suit mod
XP ISSUES - saving of XP fixed due to odd event timing bug
MAPS - minor map tweaks... and am finally working on another multiplayer map for testing :D
[AI ASSISTED CONCEPT ART ONLY]
PLANS FOR NEXT PATCH
Visible hit reactions on TPAI Enemies
Store updates (item category tabs)
Intel Browser + more intel pickups
New map for multiplayer with new Intel Pickup based mission
Nexus & TPAI only 'daytime' missions... only androids can survive the sun's radiation!
