Hi everyone!
I am incredibly proud to release Update 0.8 for the Splatchinko demo!
This is a massive update that completely changes the flow of the game, bringing in brand-new art, fresh mechanics, and much smarter procedural generation.
Please note: Because of the massive structural changes in this update, old save files are no longer supported. I have introduced a new save versioning system to better manage this in the future!
Here is everything new in Update 0.8:
🎨 Art & Enemy Overhaul
New Enemy Art & UI: Base enemies, Elites, and Boss fights have been completely redesigned! This includes a brand-new UI featuring beautiful, hand-drawn portraits created one by one by the talented Federico Tramonte!
Expanded Roster: The demo now officially features 3 distinct Elite fights and 3 different Bosses to challenge your builds!
Satellite Upgrades: Enemy satellites have been completely redesigned and visually improved, along with their specific UI.
🎲 Gameplay & Procedural Generation
Character Reworks: Two of the three demo characters—Explosion and Precision —have been completely redraw and restructured for a better gameplay experience.
Procedural Boards: Normal enemy encounters now use a brand-new procedural generation system for the boards, meaning no two fights will ever feel exactly the same.
Interactive Board Elements: I’ve added special interactive elements to the boards! You will randomly find buttons that activate black holes, launch missiles, or trigger spaceship debris. Hitting these special elements will grant you awesome bonuses!
Map Rebalancing: I've adjusted the procedural map nodes. You will now encounter more Elite fights along your path, and the overall composition of the map is much more balanced and fun.
Smarter Board Resets: The board will now only reset during the enemy's turn (unless you use some specific, crazy abilities!).
Friendly First Events: Good news! You will no longer encounter a negative event the very first time you visit a (?) Event node.
💻 UI Enhancements
Build Tracking: You can now view your current build information (your Eyes and Mutations) directly on the Map and Store screens.
Extra Info: I’ve added Peg value information to the Pause menu, and GLOBE information can now be seen directly on the Map.
🐛 Bug Fixes & Tech Improvements
⚠️ Save Versioning: As mentioned, a new save versioning system is now in place. Old saves are no longer supported from this build onward.
Consumable Eyes: Disposable/consumable Eyes have been tweaked and made much more solid and reliable.
Sympathetic Detonation: Fixed a bug where this ability wasn't working as designed when combined with certain balls. It now works perfectly!
Gravity Well Bug: Destroyed a pesky bug affecting gravity wells on satellites!
Premature Game Over Fix: Resolved an unfair issue where certain pegs that subtract health could trigger an early game over.
Background Shader: Fixed visual glitches with the background shader.
Options Menu: The Options menu has been fortified and is now much more stable.
Thank you to everyone playing the demo and helping me shape the game. I can't wait for you to see Federico's new art in action and test your skills against the new procedural boards. Let me know what you think on the Steam forums!
Have fun ːsteamhappyː, The Solo Developer of Splatchinko