Greetings Pilots,
I've pushed a bunch of updates to the "testing" branch for version 0.4.0, including some new features and improvements based on your feedback. See beta opt-in instructions at bottom. These changes will go live on the main branch after a few days of testing.
Dive in and explore the latest changes:
Audio Improvements
- New Sound Effects: Added new sound effects to provide more variety to enemy projectiles and other gameplay sounds.
New Gameplay Actions
- M-BOMB and SHELL Actions: Introduced new M-BOMB and SHELL actions.
- Controller/Keyboard Configuration: Updated configuration pages to support new inputs for M-BOMB and SHELL. All customized controller/keyboard mappings have been reset to defaults due to these additions (please reconfigure as needed).
- 1UP Power Up: Added and distributed 1UP power-ups throughout the stages.
Gameplay Enhancements
- Backend and HUD Improvements: Upgrades to the shield logic and better display of shield updates on the HUD.
- Weapon Buffs: Weapon buffs at the start of a stage now occur more quickly.
- Weapon Upgrade Path: Adjusted the weapon upgrade path to provide more granularity.
Stage Updates
- Stage 2 Enhancements: Plentiful and stronger mines have been added to intensify the challenge.
- Stage 1 Enhancements: Gunship turrets now more aggressively target the player ship.
Balance Adjustments
- Enemy Ship Health: Rebalanced the health of various enemy ships—some are now stronger, while others are weaker.
- Elite Ship Fire Rates: Improved fire rates for Elite class ships to make them less overpowering against players.
- Galactic Guardian Health: Reduced the health of Galactic Guardian enemies by approximately 5%.
Other Tweaks and Additions
- Controller Disconnect Handling: The game now pauses when a controller disconnect is detected during a stage.
- Dynamic Enemy Health: Added dynamic enemy health to introduce more variety in enemy spawns. This will become more apparent in upcoming stages.
- Upgrade Path Checks: Added logic to support consistent upgrade paths throughout stages.
- Nuke Power Up Adjustments: Nukes now spawn at the top of the screen and move downward, instead of spawning and waiting in random corners. Additionally, the lifetime and fadeout time of nuke power-ups have been doubled for longer hoarding.
Debug and Settings Enhancements
- Debug Overlay: Added weapon strength, max weapon strength, shield power, and total play time seconds to the debug overlay (F3). Total play time resets at stage select or when starting a new arcade play.
- Window Pause Option: Added an option in the Misc. settings menu to toggle window pause when losing focus.
I hope you enjoy these updates and enhancements! As always, I look forward to your feedback and continue to appreciate your support as we develop The Battle of Aurinoxia.
Cheers!
-- John
How to Enable the Testing Branch
To enable Beta Version:
- Open the Steam client.
- Go to the "Library" tab and right-click on the game.
- Select "Properties" from the context menu.
- In the Properties window, navigate to the "Betas" tab.
- Use the drop-down menu to select the desired beta version and close the window.
Steam should then download and update the game automatically. If not, follow these steps to force the download and update:
Verifying the Integrity of Installed Files:
- Open the Steam client.
- Go to the "Library" tab and right-click on the game.
- Select "Properties" from the context menu.
- In the Properties window, go to the "Local Files" tab.
- Click "Verify integrity of game files" and wait for the process to complete.