So this is going to be a tough one. I've always felt that the Charged Attacks were my biggest design flaw in this game. The whole reason that normal shots don't require holding a button is because it always felt unnecessary in other games. What's the point of making you hold a button all the time for an action that you always want to be doing?
Charged shots were meant to be used more sparingly, but I designed them with no real limits. If you got really good at the rhythm, it was always clearly the best choice to constantly use them. (This is mainly focusing on the Heart and Star shots) The problem is that this makes players feel like they HAVE to play this way in order to optimize damage per second. Even if it's less fun for them and even if it causes pain in their hands. I never really intended it to be this way, but I always felt like it was too late to change it.
But it's not too late! THIS is exactly why early access exists! You're all here knowing the game isn't finished and you understand that I want to make this the best game that it can possibly be for as many people as I can. I want charged shots to feel more special. I don't want them to be something you HAVE to do all the time for the sake of damage per second. I want charged shots to be fun for everyone and not a tedious test of endurance. So I've finally gone and done it. I've changed the charged attack system!
But I still need some feedback on this from YOU most dedicated players who read all the patch notes! So, this week's update is going on a beta branch.
This is how you access it:
-Right click the game in your library and click "Properties"
-In the popup window, click on the Betas tab
-Enter the access code, bigheartburst
-Click the check code button
-Now change the branch from "None" to "public_test"
-The game should instantly update to the test version!
Changes to the Charged Attacks
- Charged Attacks now use an energy bar
- Energy regenerates over time while you are not charging
- You can still fire charged shots without energy, but they are much weaker
- Breaking any monster part or obstacle will instantly recharge one shot
- Big Hearts are now a triple burst if fired with energy
- Feather Balls now pierce through targets if fired with energy
- Star Bursts are no longer tied to the star rate bar
- Friend Beams charge faster and deal more damage over a shorter duration
- Most charged attack gifts have been changed
- There are now 6 control types in the options menu including several that autofire
- You can set up a button to toggle between any 2 control types quickly during battle
Accessibility has always been very important to me and I know the old charge system was too much and too painful for some players. That is why I've added so many ways to control the charged attacks now! But simply putting these options on the old system was a balance nightmare. That is what finally convinced me to try to fix this whole thing at the root.
I need your feedback on this one as this is probably the biggest shift in balance that this game has ever seen. Keep in mind that I'll be adding more gifts for charged attacks soon and I can go a little more wild with them now that they are more situational!
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