We've pushed a new preview build to the 'alphastaging' branch for everyone to test out and provide feedback on before we push it live. We've revamped the weapon mod system and introduced a new loot drop mechanism as a way to unlock the goodies.
Loot System
Completing missions and taking out the Anthromites gives you chances to earn loot 'eggs' right now which can be cracked open in the Bent Horizon for different rewards. There are different levels of loot 'eggs' (common, rare, epic,???) all with their own chances to unlock different stuff. You can earn new cosmetic items, bonus cash, and most importantly - weapon modifications!
Previously each weapon had up to 3 mods to unlock that all stacked on top of each other, essentially the equivalent of "leveling up" the weapon over the course of the game. Now each weapon can have up to 3 mod slots and we've created a variety of mods that all have different property changes. You can mix and match mods to completely change the function and feel of weapon, creating the ultimate loadout for your playstyle.
Some mods are tied to certain type of weapons, all mods can scale in effectiveness based on the quality you've discovered, and there are some unique mods to find as well. As you can imagine this system is quite complex, so that's why we've opted to release an early preview to help work out the initial kinks before we go live.
Testing the preview
Right-click on Gunheart in the Steam library, go to the 'Betas' tab and select 'alphastaging' from the dropdown. This will be using a separate profile from your normal game, so no progression will be carried over or lost. And we wipe the test player database on a regular basis, so don't get too attached to your temporary rig. You can switch back to the public release at any time by selecting 'None' in the same 'Betas' tab.
Send us feedback please! We have about 10-15 more mods planned right now and would love to hear community feedback for additional mod ideas. We'll also be pushing updates to alphastaging daily, so if you run into any blocking issues please let us know right away so that we can get it fixed immediately. Thanks!!