Hello everyone!
The playtest version is live and we decided to change things around regarding how we communicate about the new additions to the game.
This time, we’ll give you every bit of information we have right now, in order for you to get a grasp of what’s coming your way.
But before diving into the nitty gritty, we wanted to highlight the main changes you’ll be able to experience with the PTV.
Note: Just a quick reminder: if you want to play the test version, all you have to do is to open up the properties of Roboquest on Steam, head over to the “Beta” tab and change the beta you would like to opt into to “Playtest”. It will download the playtest version and you’ll be able to play right away. It won’t interfere with your progress over the regular version.
Note 2: You'll have all Wrenches needed to unlock all basecamp upgrades in the Playtest.
Playtest Highlights
Perks
We overhauled the perk system: instead of being able to level-up your perks, you’re now able to choose upgrades for them. This makes it way easier for us to balance and make the “base” perk fun, when we previously had to account for the fact that it could be leveled up (which could actually be damageable for that perk).
In addition, the new perk upgrades should make you feel more like you’re “building” or “specializing” your character in a specific direction, rather than simply “buffing” a perk.
Right now, each class has 12 different perks, each having a bundle of 3 to 4 upgrades specific to them. We’re thinking of increasing these numbers if needed.
There previously were about 45 different perks (15 per class). If we count the new upgrades as perks, there are now over 160 different choices (40 per class). This means we might have some balance issues, but this is something we’ll be monitoring closely.
You can have a maximum of 4 different perks in your run for now, we’ll adjust this number based on game lifespan, maximum level and number of perks per class.
We’re quite happy with this new system, but we’re eager to hear what you think about it as well.
Items
Like we said in our previous dev update, we’ve never been really happy with any of our core systems.
Though, it is a necessary system for the player progression and we’re therefore trying a new iteration now.
‘Cores’ have been transformed into ‘Items’, you can equip and swap up to three of them, they grant stat bonus in different weapon categories and other specific bonuses.
We took this opportunity to also add a set of ‘corrupted’ items, which grant more powerful bonuses alongside debuffs. For now, you might find them a bit “bland” but we’ll be pushing some more ‘funky’ things once the dust settles around that.
We can’t wait to hear your comments about this new system! We’ll be reading them thoroughly.
Weapon Mods
We call a “mod.” (as in ‘module’), the new alternate fire system added to the game.
Weapons now have a chance to spawn with a mod. chosen among a random pool.
We’ve been wanting to add alternate fire for a long time now, since we realized weapons are funnier and more interesting in terms of build and play when they have one.
Though, we needed an idea to add one to all weapons, and to make it random in order to increase the replayability and build variations it offers. Affixes were just a first step in that direction and most of them only modify the primary fire most of the time anyway.
That’s why we added the new “mods” system. It is still an early iteration and we’ll add more content and funky stuff later down the road.
Please note that weapons with a native alternate function can’t have mods for now but we’ll find a way to incorporate them.
Fields
We completely reworked the ‘Fields’ level, both graphically and design-wise. We weren’t happy with the previous design for a long time but we needed time to rework it.
We wish you a happy discovery of that brand new ‘Fields’ level!
New Weapons
Three new weapons are coming into play!
Boss
A new boss is coming in the random pool of Act 1!
That’s it for the highlights coming into the playtest, so let’s dive into the full patch notes now.
Please keep in mind that these are the changes for the playtest version, it might be modified according to your feedback during the playtest phase.
We will also update this patch note when the 0.7.0 version lands.
Patch Note PTV 0.7.0
Gameplay
General
• A new stat has been added to the game: Resistance
• Resistance is a percent damage reduction, it can go up to a maximum of 60% and can be negative, increasing the damage you take
• Finishing a level with S rank now grants bonus Wrenches instead of bonus stats
• Playing in harder difficulties now grants bonus Wrenches at the end of the level
• Burn duration has been increased from 5 ticks every 0.5s to 7 ticks every 0.5s, dealing the same amount of damage than before (so less damage per tick)
Developer’s Note: We needed burn to last longer in order to make effects triggering on burning targets easier to use, so it might seems like a nerf but it isn't really one.
• Entering Challenge rooms now disables your primary ability
Developer’s Note: Right now the only visible feedback is on your ability icon, we’ll be adding better interface and environment feedback later down the road.
• Deployed minions should properly gather cells when taking down enemies
• We added many FXs to weapons to clearly represent their current damage type
• You can now hold your melee button to keep using it
• We removed the ‘Robo’ stat, following the item changes (which you can view below)
Health System Changes
• The ‘Damage Bar’ system is back, when taking damage, a part of it is stored into the damage bar and gathering cells restores it
• In the ‘Easy’ difficulty, the damage bar never fades
• Repair-o-Cells health restoration has been increased from 10% to 15%
• The amount of Repair-o-Cells dropped by Goliaths has been decreased from 3 to 1
• Bosses no longer drop Repair-o-Cells
• Enemies no longer drop Repair-o-Cells
• Rail bots and Challenge rooms now drop 1 Repair-o-Cells
Classes
Guardian
• Shield no longer reduces damage taken by default
• Picking up cells now regenerates the Shield
Recon
• Stealth cooldown now starts when leaving Stealth instead of instantly
• The decoy no longer blocks enemy projectiles but it still draws aggro
Commando
• Fury no longer grants Firerate or Movement Speed, instead it grants increased damage and Resistance
Engineer
• ‘Hand Blaster’ has been transformed into ‘Scrap Blaster’, it now is a long range homing ball and still generates Scrap
• Using the Repair-o-Bot now also restores the health of your drones
• The Drones’ AI has been updated to make them more present on your screen and better feel their presence while fighting the evilbots
Weapons
New Weapons
• Blast Arbalest - Assault / Technology
• Ball Cannon - Technology
• Blast Palms - Technology
Weapon Mods
• A brand new system called “Weapon Mods” has been added to the game
• Weapons now have a chance to gain an alternate fire randomly chosen from a pool depending on each weapon
• These alternate fires are called “mods”
• As a result, we removed the base alternate fire some weapons had (Blast Ball and Rifle Crossbow)
Developer’s Note: Weapon mods are still in an early iteration stage, they will be updated and more will be added as the game development goes on.
Others
• ‘Swift’ has been transformed into ‘Compact’, ‘Compact’ increases weapon damage based on your bonus movement speed
• ‘Buckshot’ and ‘Fork’ affixes' damage has been reduced
• Some weapons have been granted affixes by default to help differentiate from other “similar” weapons
• New basic affixes have been added to the random affix pool
• We moved some affixes from a tier to another
• Some weapons have been switched from a category to another, other weapons have been granted dual-categories, view the “Balance changes” for more details
• Snipers now have a Cross crosshair instead of a Dot crosshair
• The Elemental Cannon has been removed from the game
Developer’s Note: The Elemental Cannon does not fit in many of our most recent systems, noticeably affixes and mods and we need to overhaul it to better incorporate it into the game. It will likely be reintegrated in one shape or another later down the road.
Perks
• Perks no longer have a level 2 and 3, instead they have a bundle of 3-4 unique upgrades
• Every two levels makes you able to choose an upgrade for one of your perks instead of choosing a new perk
• Maximum number of perks set to 4
• Almost all perks have been updated to follow the new game system
• Some simply had their base values modified
• Some became upgrades of others
• Some perks we didn’t really like (and you didn’t really pick according to our data) have been deleted
• We added many new perks
Developer’s Note: We’ll continue to update and expand the content following your feedback and our analysis.
Cores
• ‘Cores’ have been renamed ‘Items’
• You can now carry and swap up to 3 different items
• Like cores, items grant stat bonuses for two weapon categories
• Items are split into different types, each granting a different set of additional and new bonuses specific to their type
• Equipping twice the same item will reduce the specific bonus it grants
• ‘Corrupted’ items are a rarer, more powerful version of items granting both bonuses and debuffs
Developer’s Note: Like we said in the highlight parts, we’ll be carefully reading your feedback regarding the new item feature and adjust things accordingly.
Basecamp
• Upgrades description have been updated
• Several new upgrades have been added and older upgrades reworked to follow the new game systems
• Gadgets are now unlocked through purchasing “bundles” of them, there are 4 bundles and each specifies what gadgets they’re going to unlock
Gadgets
• New gadgets added: ‘Fancy Pins’ and ‘Explorer Slippers’
• Some gadgets have been renamed
• Removed ‘Cereal Bar’ and ‘Metal Detector’
Developer’s Note: They weren’t the funniest nor were they still adapted to the current game systems so we decided to remove them from the game. They might be back in the future in another shape.
Enemies
Baddies
• Enemy weapon drop frequency has been diminished
Developer’s Note: We needed to give players more weapons to play with so we implemented the enemy drops but it’s just a temporary measure. In the future they’ll be relocated entirely towards Arena and Boss rewards, alongside other potential systems unique to each level.
• We updated the difficulty and stats of enemies to follow the new player progression curve (with affixes, upgrades and weapon mods)
Developer’s Note: We modified the “Easy” difficulty to account for that modification, though it’s something we’re monitoring closely to keep the level of difficulty of “Easy” from the 0.6.0 version, which we deem acceptable.
• Sniper Pods attack cast time increased from 1.5s to 2s
• Added a teleportation FX for dashing enemies in Haven City (and other levels)
• Updated the models of some enemies
• Updated FX and ragdoll based on how enemies are being destroyed, we’ll be continuing to improve this aspect of the game
Bosses
• A new boss has been added to the pool of available bosses for Act 1
• Beetle Royale hit points have been increased
• Judgeball damage hit points have been decreased
Levels
• Decreased time requirements for ranks (in average 10% for S rank)
• ‘Fields’ graphical set and level design has been completely revamped
• Added safe zones in Oasis, Ruins, Energy Center and Haven City
• Safe zones in Haven City are now protected by an invisible wall preventing enemies from shooting you while you’re there
• The Cell chest in Quarry no longer counts towards the required cells for Cell ranking
• We removed the reward in the Oasis waterfall for now, it was quite boring having to check it all the time
Interface
• Updated base game Field of View to 106 (you should try it out if you kept the previous default 110)
• We updated the death of the player with a an additional interface feedback
• Added an option to hide Rank information at the end of a level (it also disables Rank rewards)
• ‘Aspect Ratio’ and ‘Resolution’ settings are no longer available when displaying the game in ‘Borderless’ mode
• Following the Perk System update, the perk selection overlay has been modified
• Following the Item System addition, the core overlay has been modified to work with Items
• Dealing damage with Sparks now spawn a specific floating damage text
• Improved the feedback when your guardian gets destroyed in a run
• Added new tutorial panels for various mechanics
• Channeling laser attacks are now properly displayed on your compass locator
• Added new game tips to the game
Audio
• Added new “ambient” sounds for some enemies
• Reworked some previous sounds
Balance Changes
Scratch Rifle
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 8.0 to 8.5
• Impact force increased from 9.0 to 10.0
Dual Crossbows
Primary Fire
• Damage decreased from 30.0 to 28.0
• Critical ratio increased from 1.5 to 2.0
Rifle Crossbow
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 14.0 to 16.0
• Impact force increased from 13.0 to 15.0
• Firerate increased from 5.55/s to 5.88/s
Arquebus
Primary Fire
• Heat per shot increased from 14.0 to 16.0
Sheriff's Carbine
• Now also belongs to the Demolition category
Throwing Knife
Primary Fire
• Range increased from 13.0 to 16.0
Windmill Rifle
• Now also belongs to the Assault category
Grandma's Shotgun
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 9.0 to 12.0
• Impact force increased from 10.0 to 16.0
• Firerate decreased from 1.81/s to 1.66/s
Mine Gun
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 24.0 to 34.0
• Impact force increased from 34.0 to 42.0
• Firerate increased from 4.0/s to 4.54/s
• Radius increased from 1.3 to 1.4
Blunderbuss
Primary Fire
• Range increased from 9.0 to 12.0
Blast Ball
Primary Fire
• Heat per shot decreased from 3.0 to 2.75
Graviton Launcher
• Now also belongs to the Demolition category
Primary Fire
• Impact force increased from 36.0 to 42.0
Shock Rifle
Primary Fire
• Range decreased from 13.0 to 12.0
Power Gloves
• The Energy Gauntlets have been renamed Power Gloves
Cryo Launcher
Primary Fire
• Range decreased from 13.0 to 12.0
Junk Beam
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 19.0 to 20.0
• Range increased from 11.0 to 12.0
• Heat per shot increased from 3.0 to 3.5
Militia Rifle
• Now also belongs to the Precision category
Primary Fire
• Damage decreased from 11.5 to 11.0
• Critical ratio increased from 1.25 to 1.5
Long Rifle
Primary Fire
• Range increased from 21.0 to 22.5
Blastgun
Primary Fire
• Range decreased from 17.0 to 16.0
Dual Blast Guns
Primary Fire
• Range decreased from 14.0 to 12.0
• Heat per shot increased from 5.0 to 8.0
Elite Crossbow
Primary Fire
• Damage decreased from 60.0 to 58.0
• Firerate decreased from 1.25/s to 1.11/s
Minigun
• Now also belongs to the Assault category
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 9.0 to 10.0
• Impact force increased from 9.0 to 10.0
Triple Shotgun
Primary Fire
• Damage increased from 16.0 to 18.0
• Impact force increased from 13.0 to 16.0
Laser Saw
Primary Fire
• Range increased from 14.0 to 16.0
Commando
Rocket
• Damage increased from 65.0 to 70.0
• Impact force decreased from 90.0 to 80.0
• Radius decreased from 2.5 to 1.85
• Cooldown increased from 10.0 to 12.0
Shorty
• Cooldown increased from 3.0 to 3.5
Bug Fixes
• You should no longer be able to be at 0 health but not dead
• You can no longer open the perk selector during Boss intro cinematics
• Client players should no longer be stuck in the class selector after validating their choice
• Elemental effects are properly applied to ‘Laser Saw’ projectiles
• Channeling laser attacks now properly trigger “when taking damage” effects from your perks (like ‘Get Back’)
• Opening then closing the feedback menu while a tutorial panel is open no longer makes you able to shoot and move while the panel is still displayed
• The Repair-o-Bot now properly recharges all of your ability charges if you had several
• Opening and closing the main menu while in the tutorial no longer displays your ammo counter
• Player inputs are now properly disabled during boss intro cinematics
• Removed occurrences turning your weapons invisible
• Scoping with ‘Trigger Discipline’ will no longer remove the particle effect when unscopping the weapon
• Judgeball and other bosses should no longer be stuck indefinitely when colliding with deployed allies
• Assigning twice the same key to an action should properly display a red highlight on the conflicted bindings
• Scoping should now properly gather cells from afar for the client player
• Rail bot sounds is now played at the right location regardless of the random seed
• Starting the game in borderless display settings, then switching the display mode or the resolution will properly apply the new settings instantly