Update 4 adds a new, much more difficult game mode called Hell Mode.
The mode changes all enemies (including the boss) to make them significantly more deadly and includes 7 new music tracks by Adam Alake. The new mode is unlocked after all 5 of the current Modifiers have been unlocked (but not necessarily enabled). This mode is the way I always envisioned Null Vector. It's hard, and with all of the current modifiers enabled it absolutely kicks my ass... Which is awesome.
There have also been a few balance tweaks to the weapons. The biggest change is Rockets now explode once per level when combined with Piercing or Ricochet. This means Rocket + (Ricochet or Pierce) explodes once, and then the projectile converts back into a standard bullet. Upgrading Rocket to Rocket II would explode on both the first impact as well as the final impact. This reduces the previous OP nature of the Rocket part and gives reason to upgrade rockets past level 1.
Finally, there's been a handful of minor balance tweaks to most loot tables (too small and too many to mention on the change log) as well as a few handfuls of polish tweaks to audio, the menus, and game play. Check the full change log below for more info.
Hope you enjoy the new update! Get in touch on the discussion boards and let me know what you think!
Also special thanks to everyone who has already contributed on the discussion board: Osiluss, d e a t h, plaguetonic themes, Recruit™, to name a few for the great feedback and suggestions!
Enjoy!
- Alex (Optical Override)
And if you want earlier updates on development or just hear me talk about stuff, you can follow me on Twitter @OpticalOverride
Full Change Log:
Content:
- Hell Mode: similar to the standard mode, but all enemies and the boss have been rebuilt and/or rebalanced to make them significantly harder
- All new music by Adam Alake for Hell Mode (7 new tracks)
- New high score tables for both 1 and 2 player Hell Mode
- New main menu intro
Balance:
- Weapon property: Rocket level now corresponds to the number of times a projectile can explode (ex: Rocket + Ricochet now results in only 1 explosion on first impact, Rocket II + Ricochet results in 2 explosions)
- Parts: Damage max level per part is 1 (part no longer upgradeable, must find additional parts to upgrade)
- Parts: Rocket max level per part is 2
- Parts: Ricochet max level per part is 1 (part no longer upgradeable, must find additional parts to upgrade)
- Parts: enemies killed by Bots don't produce any projectiles on death
- Parts: Laser Bot is now much more accurate (it was kind of a bug, but it changes the balance significantly)
- Machines: any machine (not just the Mechanic machine) may or may not spawn in the first room
- Machines: Radar machine can now only "find" a machine that doesn't currently exist on the map (machines that have been used/exploded can have another machine of that type "found")
- Machines: small adjustments to the starting machines table on all sectors (Radars slightly more likely, Converters slightly less likely, etc.)
- Boss: reduced the attack delay between the boss landing and firing
Additional Changes:
- Audio: sound effect for the Roulette machine
- Audio: sound effect when crushing parts
- Audio: sound effect for purchasing items from the Converter and Exchange machines
- Audio: sound effect for Exchange machine re-rolling
- Audio: sound effect for the Radar machine
- Audio: quieter impact and laser sounds for the boss (hell mode and standard)
- Input: Pause button (Escape key on keyboard, Start on controller) on main menu navigates back like the Cancel button (Q key on keyboard, B button on Xbox controller)
- Misc.: 2x score multiplier now pauses when Boss is unable to be attacked
- Misc.: +2 HP pickup now pulses red/white, making it easier to differentiate from a +1 HP pickup
- Misc.: removed Overheat from the Pause->Weapon Stats page (no longer a possible weapon property)
- Misc.: added Pierce level to the Pause->Weapon Stats page
- Misc.: Converter now drops purchased items near the machine rather than the middle of the room
- Misc.: added analytics data collection (just anonymous progression data such as sector completes, score, etc.)
Bug Fixes:
- a rare bug that could produce glitchy results (frozen bullets) when completing a Collect challenge room
- a rare-ish bug that could score enemy kills multiple times (including the boss, resulting in multiple 1,000 point rewards)
- can no longer purchase an item or re-roll as the Exchange machine is still re-rolling