We are pleased to announce the release of Overload Drop 8.5 (Version 0.8 Build 104) on Steam.

This release doesn't include any major pieces of content (such as new levels or robots) so we didn’t update the major number. But there are numerous enhancements, many of which came as suggestions from the players.

Changes in this version include:

Additions

• New speaker mode options for sound (mono, stereo, quad, 5.1, 7.1, Pro Logic II). Requires multi-channel speaker systems.
• CM Weapon Upgrades can now be chosen. Primary/Secondary upgrades will try the equipped weapon first, then others. If that weapon is maxed out, other weapons will be tried. If you don’t like the upgrade randomly given, press the Holo-Guide button within 10 seconds of receiving the upgrade to switch to the other upgrade for that weapon.
• Sticky Flares. Hold the flare button to shoot. These last for 15 minutes and are useful as “breadcrumbs” to mark where you’ve been.
• “Offline” indicator for when new Leaderboard scores won’t be saved.
• Primary energy weapon shots bounce off of Forcefields. This indicates that the forcefields are invulnerable.
• Loading screen with progress bar.
• Mouse axes can now be set to turn (default), slide, or roll.
• If the player uses the slide modifier, they can now invert pitch without inverting slide (for KB & joystick/gamepad).

Removals

• Log entries no longer display on the Automap. They shouldn’t have been there in the first place 😉

Tweaks

• Optimizations – Particle Effects, Lighting, Robot Deaths, Projectiles, Pathfinding, Textures, Auto-Map computations, etc.
• Lots of explosion/debris effects changes (both for optimizations & aesthetics).
• Holo-Guide now automatically moves to next Objective.
• Changed where saved games live (no longer their own folder).
• Added difficulty to in-game Save descriptions.
• Missile Pod Pickup model updated.
• Changed a setting for playing on the Oculus – now if it’s plugged in, it will *not* use it by default if you just run the executable. Now there’s an ‘Oculus’ bat file instead of a ‘no VR’ bat file. On Steam, use the Oculus option.
• The Reactor now has a short ‘meltdown’ phase after being destroyed before the countdown starts.
• Updated normal player death, death from Reactor, and Exit Sequences.
• Updated various menu screens for alignment, etc. To view leaderboards in the new Challenge Level selection screen, press Space (keyboard) or the top face button (gamepad).

Game Balancing

• Cyclone – Ramps up in fire speed; faster; more stun; kickback; and narrower spread.
• Crusher – Less Spread/Damage/Ammo, no Falloff.
• Tweaks to Thunderbolt, Driller, Flak.
• Limited how many melee robots can be spawned at a time in CM (Shredder/Scorpion/Golem)
• Reduced Ace/Insane robot ‘bonuses’ a bit (projectile speed, burst size, player damage, robot leading).

Fixes

• Fixed some occluder issues (also helps with framerate).
• Fixed some audio effects not playing.
• Fixed an issue with Holo-Guide not playing nice with lockdowns.
• Fixed an issue with Holo-Guide being stunned by Time Bomb.
• Fixed an issue with some controllers not being kept as primary between sessions.
• Fixed an issue with too many audio events causing performance hitches.
• Fixed an issue with invisible lava.
• Improved explosion distortion effects.
• Added some missing backers to the credits.