Hey everyone!
I'm currently testing the demo update build and I'm on track for making the update public on Friday, November 14.
Some other quick notes: As discussed in Progress Update 7 the demo content will be the same (it will end after the boss in Wyatt Park). But I did swap out some costumes so those familiar with the original demo will have some new costumes to try.
Save data from the original demo will not be available in the new demo because of large changes and additions to the data being saved and accessed.
This update covers over 5 months of changes and improvements, and to be honest, I'm not sure anyone would want to read over the extensive change logs!
But I do want to highlight some key changes and what to expect.
Professional Voice Acting
All AI voice placeholders have been removed and replaced with professional voice talent.
Improved Polish and Quality
Improved animations
Procedural breathing, blinking, and eye looking
New idle and movement animations depending on how damaged you are
Changes to facial expressions based on the situation and how damaged you are
UI redesign to strike a higher quality and more cohesive look
Improved mouse support in menus
Camera and gameplay improvements such as dynamic character zoom, toggleable depth of field, improved lighting, and more
Reduced game initialization load times and scene load times
Improved character art and visuals
Improved Gameplay
Introduced a line of sight mechanic to make encounter areas feel unique
Added knockback to heavier weapons like shotguns to help control enemy positions
Added new status effects like fire and freeze
Added a bestiary to add some flavor to the enemies you fight, in addition to stat boosts when completing an entry
Luck plays more roles now, allowing you to potentially receive extra scrap from pickups or negating incoming damage
Enemies now perform defensive attacks, punishing you for getting too close
Enemies now have more behavioral quirks: such as getting their turn again faster if they miss you, enraging at low health, etc. Most of these quirks are present on harder difficulties
In addition to above, Hard and Despair difficulties now have more enemy behavior changes. For example, Bloated Ticks now explode instantly on Normal, but have their "timed" explosion on higher difficulties. Manglers will enrage if they miss you (so block their attack or stagger them first), Tentaclaws now leave behind a damaging acid pool if you break their acid sacs, and so on. I'm hoping by expanding on these behavior changes will make harder difficulties feel harder, and not just by inflating enemy health and damage.
The TL;DR of it all is: the game should feel more polished and fleshed out! Of course I am always looking to improve things where I can, so feel free to continue leaving feedback.
Thanks again for everyone's support! Not too far from launch now.
-Ryan