This update is mostly about assisting first time-players to have a smoother experience during the early parts of the game, based on having watched several players play.
Many of the measures only trigger under certain conditions, and anyway only apply if HUD assists are enabled (HUD assists are enabled by default, but can be disabled).
First-time player assists
- Added an explicit objective to open the very first DOR, only triggers if the DOR not already opened
- Added several new point-of-interest markers to assist first-time players
- Point-of-interest offscreen indicators now blink a bit and are bigger to draw more attention
- Added a hint for how to boot up that CAT just outside the Bug Free Zone
- Made it clearer one is supposed to take Pup to Launch Ctrl (as opposed to trying to Ctrl/HOP your way there)
- Added hints for how to use DAD to get Pup over barricade, only triggered if player taking 'too long' to figure it out
- Aeronautics: Added a hint to use Rocket ability to smash through barriers
- Launch Ctrl Warehouse: Relocated a badly placed crate that was hiding a useful traversable ladder
- Added point of interest indicator for each initial WORM when player nearby so that they're less missable
- If player is using lift when they could just fly instead, remind them they can fly
- Add a reminder/hint about shooting crates
- Debugger map: If player has spare disk and been disembodied by hostile AI, remind them they can install that disk
- Added a reminder/hint about filtering sensor types at one specific point to make solving something a bit easier, and slightly tweaked geometry for this same set piece to make sensor a little easier to see
- Added an eyepad saying 'there is no right/wrong way to do things', removed eyepad that discouraged you from spending ego - let players decide for themselves
- If detect player is using the first lift in egonomics to descend, inform there's no fall damage
- Bug Free Zone Pup escape: Remind/mention Pup can jump any time they bump into a small traversable obstacle
Bug Upgrade Changes
- Aeronautics upgrade is now the "top recommendation for new bugs"
- Aeronautics/ Rocket 'damage' rebranded to rocket 'bullet'
- Aeronautics: Beefed up initial height-restricted float to make it a little less rubbish (it's deliberately rubbish, but now deliberately slightly less so)
- Disassembler Drill: is now "highly recommended for new bugs" to try to steer hesitant players
Gameplay changes
- Debugger map: Give the hidden MUM higher health
- Reprinting bug at bug printers now costs a small percentage of player ego if the bug is trapped inside a hostile dad - to incentivise staging a proper rescue. The percentage fee scales with difficulty, so it will barely make any difference at regular difficulty or lower.
- Launch Ctrl warehouse: Added an unarmed bugtrap on reverse side of blocked exit door. Why? Because one player did something I didn't expect up there and a bugtrap could have made it even more cool.
- Made Pup slightly better at traversing over small obstacles
Fixes / Corrections / Cosmetic Improvements
- Fix: Bug 0's diskdrive light was showing despite not having an actual drive
- Fixed bad egomode collider on openable desk drawer
- Made double-sided a window that was wrongly only single-sided in the Bug Free Zone
- Fix objective 'ctrl CAT inside bug free zone' not triggering properly
- Fix objective 'drain ego engine' had wrong parent objective
- Fix collider and occlusion weirdness on detached fan model in egonomics arse end
- Fixed poor text layout for 'pup can bach' meta info
- Fix: Insights weren't showing while disembodied
- Fix: Exception was being thrown if change game difficulty while disembodied
- Improved / increased lighting in vents near first worm (was a bit too dark in there)
- Fattened collider on grating vent cover to try to avoid it glitching into floors/walls
- Made ego mode sensor filter wheel a little less sensitive (mouse). Same applies to bug tool selection wheel.
- Ego mode sensor filtering now supports 1990s numpad keyboard shortcuts
- More graceful pause/resume transition to/from the pause menu + hopefully fixed jarring clunk audio that sometimes happened when bringing up the pause menu
- Added demo feedback button to main/pause menu => opens link to feedback forum
- Fixette: Press Tab to open Tab => ensure sync the ControlsUI content the same frame - was happening 'late' (next frame)
- Fixette: Tidied up the Tab/Close Tab UI transition