Hello and welcome to the demo update! Wow! It's been so long!
Here is a summary of the biggest changes we made. There are also thousands of bug fixes and other small changes (there have been 460+ builds since the demo!) but I won't bore you with the details.
- A few minor changes have been made to the level progression, including the removal of the famous Elevator Of Death which so many players complained about. Platforming has been minimized in this new version and explicit tutorial prompts appear when the player needs to do something at the start.
- The enemy AI has been re-worked entirely. The detection mechanics have been overhauled and enemies now position themselves based on the predicted attack route the player is taking. They are now able to use cover dynamically, with animations, including physics objects such as crates. This creates a completely new feel to the game. It also looks like a bit like a western, which is fun!
- Certain weapons can now be dual wielded, giving them access to a new moveset. Two-handed weapons are discarded after the magazines are empty since you can't reload while holding both; this behaves like a power-up with a set number of charges. More dual weapon movesets will be added in the future!
- There is now a Keycard Tracker gadget which can scan locked doors and points towards the location of the corresponding key. We added this as a response to players getting lost. It will also allow us to be more mischievous with key placement in the future, since testers will have no excuse >: )
- There is now a new phone call system which the player can access using the PDA. This allows the player to get additional instructions when they are stuck. It also gave us an excuse to write some new witty dialogue. ; )
- The basketball court at the start of the demo now has an opponent. I won't spoil it, just play it already!
- The difficulty settings have been re-balanced and a "Game Speed" slider has been added. Easiest difficulties are now slowed down by 10% overall, including physics and player animations. This should make the game more playable for novice players.
- Controller support has been greatly improved but is still a work in progress. Some UI elements do not display correctly when the controller is enabled. You can find the setting under INPUT in the escape menu. If you are an avid controller player, please let us know how you feel about it!
- Players can now leave multiplayer messages for others to read in their own game. This system is analogous to the Dark Souls messaging system. Find the crayons! Leave funny messages!
- Many updates and changes to the physics including more polish on the Ez Jump (tm) feature.
There are probably bugs. We will be live patching the demo for the upcoming week, and then we'll announce more plans. The Linux build will be coming either later today or tomorrow.
Enjoy! Try to beat Johnny Za! Leave us some feedback on the forums! Come hang in discord!
Better luck next time,
-Team Fortune