New Content
Score System & Leaderboard
Leaderboards: Compete globally with integrated rankings.
Score Tracking: Full score system with real-time HUD display.
Difficulty Multipliers: Prove your skill with massive score bonuses:
Normal: 1x score.
Hard: 1.5x score multiplier.
Impossible: 2.5x score multiplier.
Interactables
Augment Cache: Rare cache that rewards a random augment choice.
Upgrade Cache: Rare cache that rewards a free upgrade.
Power Up Cache: Rewards a random power-up.
All Caches: Now a single press instead of holding to open.
Beacons: Reduced unlock time to 0.5s (from longer duration).
Map Scaling: +1 Cache per 2 maps, +1 Beacon per 3 maps.
Credit Cache: +1 pickup spawned per map.
Experience Cache: +2 pickups spawned per map.
New Enhancements
Weapon Modulator: Increases projectiles per shot (Uncommon/Rare/Epic/Legendary for easier acquisition).
Mega Rounds: Increases Weapon Damage Radius.
Rifle Barreling: Increases Critical Strike Damage.
Sniper Targeting: Increases Critical Strike Chance.
Targeting Enhancement: Increases Weapon Range.
Quantum Rounds: Increases Pierce Strength.
Overcharge Rounds: Increases Pierce Chance.
Gameplay Improvements
Weapon System Overhaul
Spread & Accuracy System: All weapons (except Swarm Missiles) now feature spread mechanics when firing extremely quickly and in large bursts.
Burst Fire Changes: Projectiles spawn much faster at 0.025s intervals.
Ammo Consumption: Only the first projectile in a burst consumes ammo (not each individual projectile).
Max Attack Rate: Set to 0.01 for all player weapons (maximum fire rate).
Cruise Missiles: Now target enemies like Standard Missiles instead of ground locations.
Damage Number System
Actor Accumulation: Damage numbers now accumulate per-actor for cleaner visual feedback.
Optimization: Massive performance improvements for damage number calculations.
Enhancement System
Future Weapon Application: Enhancements now apply to weapons equipped after acquisition.
Rarity Adjustments: Enhanced drop rates for Rare and Epic qualities.
Gambit Enhancements Removed: Removed all variants that had a trade-off for cleaner progression.
Balance Changes
Augment Balance
Major Functionality Changes
Burst Fire: Now increases projectiles gained but reduces fire rate.
Barrage Mode: Now drops on all Missiles (expanded availability).
Nuclear Warhead: Radiation cloud damage now scales, removed damage increase, and fire rate reduction.
Winged Hussar Thrusters: No longer has knockback, stuns in AOE only.
Plasma Overload: No longer deals instant damage, applies plasma effect instead.
Extreme Velocity: No longer gives pierce strength or reduces attack speed.
Volatile Overcharge: Updated to prevent triggering on plasma damage.
Ablative Plating: Now increases Health Resistance instead of armor and has no cooldown.
Titanium Plating: Now increases Health Resistance instead of armor.
Buffed Augments
Warp Resistance: No longer has a debuff.
World Breaker Payload: No longer has a reload time debuff.
Stasis Warhead: Chance to slow increased.
Stasis Rounds: Chance to slow increased.
Plasma Rounds: Increased damage.
Vulnerability Overload: Buffed damage increase.
Nerfed Augments
Ammo Explosion: Removed crit chance gain.
Critical Burn: Removed crit chance gain.
Ordinance Overdriver: Removed crit chance gain, fixed stacking issue (now stacks once but is more powerful).
Drop Pool Adjustments
Deathmark Tether: Increased spawn chance significantly.
Burst Fire: Now drops on all projectile weapons.
Augment Shop Cost: Augments in shops now cost +50 Credits per map index.
Removed Augments: Burstfire Chamber, Extended Autoloader, Transfer Power, Micro-Warp Rounds, Weapon Modulator.
These augments have been removed either because they cause imbalance, don't provide a significant advantage to players, or aren't distinct enough from other augments. They could be reintroduced after rebalancing.
Combat Balance
XP Drop System: Higher-tier enemies drop multiple XP pickups.
Cruisers: 10 XP pickups.
Carriers: 20 XP pickups.
Battleships: 30 XP pickups.
Cruiser & Carrier Health: Reduced for better early-game balance.
Tier 1 Melee Health: Reduced throughout progression.
Alien Mini-Boss: Reduced Teleporting and Time Bubble durations.
Mission Balance
Unknown Technology: Reduced capture time to 5s (from 7s), added level-up reward.
Merchant Escort: Health increased to 600, zone capture reduced to 6s, and reduced enemy spawn rate.
Merchant Rescue: Health increased to 400, gun damage increased to 6, and reduced health scaling (0.9 from 1.4).
Anomaly Crystals: Reduced to 4 collectables (from 5), EQS range reduced.
Emergency Mining: Removed damage penalty, added health and currency rewards.
Primary Mission Rewards: Now gives augments instead of weapons (weapons moved to challenge missions).
Lone Survivor & Rescue Operation: Added health rewards for mission diversity.
Ship & Movement Balance
Cruiser Base Acceleration: Increased.
Battleship Base Acceleration: Increased.
Phase Drive: Reduced default speed.
Mining Range: Standardized to 6000 for all ship classes.
Map Modifier Balance
Solar Flare: Removes 50% of shields (from 100%).
Thruster Boost: Increases enemy speed by 50% (from 100%), properly reduces player thruster cooldowns.
Thruster Pickup: Speed buff reduced to 75% (from 120%), added 50% cooldown reduction.
Experience Balance
Post-Level 100: Significantly increased XP requirements to slow progression.
Skills
Removed Skills: Slow Duration and generic Duration skills removed.
Visual Enhancements
New Zone Materials: Distinct materials for Player zones, Enemy zones, and Capture zones with unique colors.
Enhanced Cache Visuals: Color-coded materials (Gold, Purple, Blue) with static mesh rewards visible.
Zone Capture Display: Updated fill visualization for all zone control missions.
VFX Improvements: Optimized projectile trails and pickup visual effects.
Planet Updates: New planet variations for uninhabited backgrounds with improved rotation settings.
Interactable Polish: Updated models and animations for upgrade stations and crates.
Ammo Explosion & Plasma Aftershock: Significantly reduced brightness for better visibility.
SFX Enhancements
UI Sounds: Added sounds for upgrade, menu, and map interactions.
Bugfixes
Ordinance Overdriver: Fixed fire rate buff stacking incorrectly.
Rerolls: Now properly persist between maps instead of resetting.
Off-Target Projectiles: Fixed projectiles firing incorrectly when manually aiming or when the target dies mid-burst.
Component Display: Fixed ship component level and weapons displaying wrong values when upgrading augments.
Mining Range: Fixed mining not working at higher values, standardized to 6000.
Crit Enhancement: Fixed not actually granting critical strike chance.
Overcharged Barrels: Fixed not increasing damage (corrected tag usage and reduced to 5%).
Enemy Rotation: Fixed cruisers rotating extremely slowly.
Shield Reactions: Fixed melee attacks not triggering shield reactions.
Rail Gun VFX: Fixed visual effects not working.
Weapon Overcharge Pickup: Removed incorrect max shield override.
Zone Control Sound: Fixed the issue of playing when the game is paused.
Plasma Aftershock Description: Fixed incorrect stat ordering in description.
Performance Improvements
Damage Number System: Massive optimization pass reducing calculation overhead.
Pickup Trail VFX: Optimized particle system for better performance.
Enemy Meshes: Improved LOD settings across all enemy ships.
VFX Ribbons: Performance improvements to projectile trail effects.