A new update has been released for BlastZone 2! This update mostly focuses on gameplay improvements, ranging from weapon balance changes and improved alt-fire controls, to a new particle effect when holding a charge shot before firing it. The weapon balance changes include reducing the damage of the outer bullets of the Wave Shot for ship AB1 and AB2. This weapon was previously overpowered, so this should bring it back in line with the other primary weapons. The AB1 ship also had its secondary fire weapon swapped out for the Burst Shot to better characterize its style, mixing long range and short range weapons.
Another big improvement in this update is in the way alt-fire weapons are controlled. Now, alt-fire shots can be accessed by tapping the Fire2 button. There is still a lead time before the shot is fired, but this alleviates the old requirement of having to hold the Fire2 button for the correct amount of time to fire it. Also, alt-fire shots can now be fired at the optimum rate by rapidly tapping the Fire2 button. This new control scheme adds more versatility and gameplay options to all the ships in the game, but benefits the B1 and B2 ships the most. These two ships are now much more effective against big bosses, making better use of their only long ranged attack.
The previous update added particle bursts to illustrate attaining each level of charge without having to look at the HUD charging meter, but this update takes these improvements a step further. Now, once maximum charge has been attained, a new particle animation is shown to illustrate that the weapon is no longer charging and is now awaiting the player to fire it. This makes the graphical feedback of the player ship more intuitive and further reduces the need to look at the charging HUD meter, allowing the player to focus on the action better.
There are a number of other tweaks and improvements in this update as well. Here are the full release notes:
- Reduced damage of the edges of Wave Shot volleys for ships AB1 and AB2 -Wave Shot was overpowered in previous versions, so this brings it closer in line to other primary weapons -Slightly increases the skill needed for maximum damage by needing to hit enemies with the center of each shot volley -Reduces its effectiveness against large groups of enemies, which was the main area it was overpowered in
- Alt-fire shots can now be fired by tapping the Fire2 button instead of holding it -When Fire2 is tapped, the weapon won't be fired until sufficient charge time has passed -Fire2 shots can no longer be cancelled like previous versions -Charge1 and Charge2 shot behavior hasn't been affected by this update -This is especially helpful for B1 and B2 ships against big bosses, giving them an easier way to use their ranged attack
- Added new particle effects when holding a readied charge shot
- Changed the AB1 ship secondary fire weapon to Burst Shot -This better fits the close and far range style of the AB1 weapon loadout
- Added secondary fire weapon listings in all ship selection screens -These weapons were always part of each ship's loadout, but now that information is readily available
- Added descriptive slot assignments for each weapon in the loadout displays in each ship selection screen
- Slightly increased the size of Boosted Bolts to distinguish them from regular bolts
- Moved the Boosted Bolt muzzle flash further up on the ship
As usual, to check that you have the latest update, launch the game and check the lower left corner of the title screen for “v1.26.1.0” or above. I hope everyone enjoys these new gameplay improvements and don’t forget to leave your comments in the forums!