Hei taistelijat!

I have been frantically trying to finish up this update! Unfortunately, I'm about to leave for the holidays @ home and not be able to work any more for two weeks.

That said, I WAS able to put together a preview build that will let you play an early, draft, not-finished, possibly-broken version of the next update!



It is out now in the new "beta" update channel! The change is only available for Windows right now (didn't have time to get the Mac builds going today)



Please be aware of a few things!

• I have fundamentally rewritten how saves work. It's backwards compatible, so you should be able to just download and play, BUT THE PREVIOUS BUILD WON'T SUPPORT YOUR NEW SAVES. So you'll be wiping your save if you try to run the old version.
  
• This is all still very much in progress. I've tried to have things be fairly polished, but it's NOT done. Expect some bugs and stuff (though imo it's very much playable/better than the previous version!) For example, the Boss Rumble mode is currently non-functional, I haven't had time to update it. :/
  
• This is Windows-only. I am literally packing today and don't have time to go through the Mac build process. :(

Going forward, I'll try to update this build more frequently (Ideally at least 1/month instead of 2/year).

If you play the beta branch, PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK!! On, like anything. I'm very open to suggestions! :D

Mhoro varwi!

Apologies for the long silence. I've not been idle - far from it. It's just been a lot of not-visible work for the Steam/PS4 ports.

With that said, I HAVE been working on major gameplay changes. It's still in-progress, but here's some unedited gameplay footage you all can take a gander at!



As a side note, I also finalized the design for the next character I'll add - the Slayer. She will be a very mobile character that wields a whip and throws out chakrams that will orbit and bounce around her. Behold:



She will not be in the next update though. I may have the next update be a bunch more character moveset options, they're fun to make, give new ways to experience all the existing fighting, and I have quite a few ideas of what to add.

I also really need to update the Steam page for the new store UI... but due to priorities that's gotta wait until I am actually pushing the Steam update.

Hēyi raṇaśūra!

Once again, I'm sorry I don't post here more. Work's been reeeeally busy lately, and what free time I have I generally spend in Unity/Inkscape.

I'm still working on the next update! It's coming! Current honest timetable is probably in July.

In the meantime, here are some tasty screens of what's in-progress!





I'm also trying to get BB2 onto Switch! But that whole process is taking a while. :/

Saighdearan fàilte!

It's been a fair bit, ya?

Well, work on Update 1.5 - the HORDE Update - is well underway. I currently think I'm ~halfway done!

This update will dramatically update Wave Mode, bringing it more in line with what I expect the "fully finished" experience to be like - more enemies, more stages, bosses, etc, and an overall revamped experience! Here's a trailer showing some of the current progress, and the general shape of what to expect!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD55KJ1jE2s

This particular update primarily focuses on the "Metropolis" region (the one with the zombies) - I go into the reasoning for that at the end of this post. So don't expect any changes that are toooo crazy in the other stages - for now, the undead are getting all the love.

With that said, the main changes I'm working on are:

One of the biggest things I want to do is flesh out a bunch more enemies! I've got a bunch of cool designs, it's time to actually get them in the game!

For example, this is the current set of zombie enemies players can fight:



Assuming I get them all done, this will be the zombie squad after the update:



They look pretty good, eh? All... pointy and shit. (View the full-res image if you want to see the details more easily)

Not all these zombies die in one hit. You may have noticed that two of the zombies in the current Wave Mode take 3 hits to kill - well, that number is going to expand. This is because I'm trying to establish rough enemy "tiers."

• Grunts - If you land one hit, these guys die. These are the main "meat" of the enemies you face, and will be by far the most numerous.
  
• Elites - Take a few (2-3) hits to kill. These guys are also generally much more dangerous than the Grunts, so if they're in a crowd
  
• Mini-Bosses - The name kind of says it all, right? These will be a major challenge and generally take more than 5 hits to kill, and when combined with a pack of enemies can ruin your day.

All things considered, you're going to have a much more... interesting... time of things!

With all these new enemies, it's a little overwhelming to fight ALL of them at once! Plus, they each have different strengths and strategies, so one map is hard-pressed to really suit them all.

So, there are now multiple different arenas per region! Each has a different environment, layout, and different palette of enemies to throw at you. They're arranged in increasing order of difficulty, and yes, you'll have to defeat one stage entirely to unlock the next one.

You can see some of the different new arenas in the linked trailer!

"Wait," I hear you say. "Defeat one stage entirely?"

Why, yes! I did.

These new stages now have a max round (generally 10.) In this final round, you'll face one of Blast Brawl's terrifying bosses, using the lives you've gained in the preceding waves. Defeating this boss is all that's required to complete that stage.



Good luck.

Oh, and for the truly hard-core out there, once all these "standard" stages are defeated, there will be an "endless" version for that region, with ALL enemies in the mix, and ANY of the bosses periodically appearing.

Additionally, with all these new challenges, it's become more and more apparent to me that certain characters aren't as good as others. I want to try and change that more comprehensively this update.

Planned Nerfs

The Gunslinger is a bit broken. Not because he's super elegant and flexible, but because his bullets can annihilate pretty much anything before it can touch him. So, I'm going to slightly nerf his bullets (for example, he'll have 3 shots before reloading rather than 4) and buff him in other ways (for example, his Pistol Whip move can use some work) to make him more nuanced and interesting to play.

Planned Buffs
Of non-broken characters, it's my opinion that the Ninja is the best/ideal character in terms of balance. He's simple but flexible, and it's relatively easy to do extremely well with him.

So, I gotta buff all the other chumps who are having a hard time keeping up!

This is going to vary on a character-by-character basis, but most of the changes aren't going to be simple flat buffs - I'm trying to increase character flexibility, not make them better at what they already do.


For example: The Warrior is a pretty strong character in my opinion! But certain scenarios can expect too much forward planning from the player. So, I'm making her Parry "priority-trump" her offensive moves (meaning she can deflect attacks/bullets while in the middle of a sword swing or bouncing off of the terrain) and making her Dash priority-trump even that. (This has pretty huge implications in play, I expect you'll see what I mean when the update comes out.) I'm also making her Parry take 0.6 seconds instead of 0.75, which makes it a bit less dangerous to whiff with (though it requires slightly more precise timing).

So, why only focus on the Metropolis? Don't the other stages need work too? Aren't there tons of non-zombie enemies and bosses you should be adding to the game?

They do! There are! I should! But all that will need to wait a bit.

As I've said many times, my end goal is a proper Adventure mode! And not the tiny little preview I have in the game right now, a full sprawling experience that you can get lost in. And though that's going to take a loooong time, I haven't given up yet.

And the next update is going to be part of that. After the Horde update is launched, why, next is Adventure Mode 0.1 - an update that launches the intro and first few areas that can be found.

My goal with this update is to get all the enemies and their AI and their mechanics figured out for the first region, so that the next update can focus exclusively on the level design, coding (open world exploration! woo! Save slots! woo!), character unlock mechanics, etc etc. Then, once this first update is in place, I can hopefully slap more and more content onto the game world until it's a big ol' sprawling bunch of awesomeness.

Then once the Metropolis is done it'll FINALLY be time to add in the demons... ːsteamhappyː

Heya, Face-Punchers!

For months, you all have looked to the skies and wondered when the next update would be out.

"Please!" you prayed. "Please give us more content! Anything will do!"



Well, ANYTHING is HERE! I'm pleased to announce that Update 1.4.3 is OUT NOW!



This mainly adds a new character - the CRUSADER, a mighty warrior who cleaves through foes with his deadly halberd while shrugging off blows like they were nothing!



His special ability is ZEAL, where he can absorb any one hit - while in the middle of other actions!

Tanking blows like this does NOT interrupt what he was doing previously, allowing him to charge up his slow spin attack and cleave groups of enemies!

This is extremely powerful, but requires precise timing - give it a try!

Geia sas polemistés!

It's been a loooong time coming, but Update 1.4 is out now for PC and Mac!



(XBox is having some issues on their end so the console update will be a bit late. :/)

What does this update feature?


Lacking friends on your couch to fight against? You can now face off against CPU-controlled players in Versus Mode! Check out some gameplay here!

(To truly test your skills, try fighting against multiple bots at once!)

Many of the Wave Mode levels have had some tweaks, and the enemies across the board are a bit smarter!

You'll also find all characters spawning in Wave Mode now, and they'll be even more of a threat than before...

AI (and some other stuff) in Blast Brawl 2 is now multi-threaded! The game should handle high enemy numbers much better, and performance should be smoother across the board!

Enter Adventure Mode once more and discover a new boss - The Vicar!

Good luck.

Kon'nichiwa, senshi!

Update 1.4 - The NEMESIS Update - is coming along pretty nicely! I decided to focus entirely on AI reworking for this update, so this update is all about AI bots! (And some goodies to go along with :D)

Check out the small trailer I put together!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFr_a8y2GzQ

Ymladdwyr cyfarch!

So the map optimization is working now! Which helps with the enemies not approaching thing. :D


So enemies go from seeing this:



To this:



#speedup #progress #bots #are #getting #there

Ahoj voják!

Just wanted to put out a quick update that NO, I and this game am not dead, just taking a while.

AI work is tough... ;_; Necessary, and exciting once finished, but uggggh



Move towards me god dammit

In other news, Bots should finally be possible after this work is done!

And yeah, that's a new Wave Mode arena. For some of the cool upcoming Wave mode content. Neat, huh? :D

Privet, bortsy!



SURPRISE! Sudden update time! As of right now, update 1.3 - The Grimoire Update - is out!


It's a bit small compared to the last one, but it adds a new character: The Occultist! Check out some gameplay here!

She's rather complex.

The Occultist has up to 9 different spells that she can quickly switch between. These can do a huge variety of things, from spawning effects on the battlefield, to buffing or protecting her for a short duration, to creating a wide variety of other effects.

Her spells are grouped into 3 "runes," each with a mechanical and elemental theme. For example, her 3 starting runes are Fire, Steel, and Shadow (with 1 unlockable rune in this update: Ice).

The Occultist can customize her spell list, selecting up to 3 runes from all of the ones she has available. This gives you a ton of control over which options you want to make use of - choose wisely!



The downside of all this is twofold: first, to really leverage the full potential of the character, you need to fully understand your spells and combine them in effective ways. Secondly, all of her spells have fairly noticeable cool-downs - which also pressures you to constantly switch between them.

However, if you put in the effort to truly master her, you'll find she is one of the most varied, flexible, and powerful characters in the game - especially when she can have a little breathing room.




Additionally, the other major feature in this update is a small quality-of-life feature for new players - something I'm calling "soft prompts." Now, when first playing characters, small tutorial prompts will give hints on how to perform "complicated" moves.

For example, when charging up the Viking's attack or Warrior's lightning blast, a small prompt will indicate that you can keep holding the button. Or, when aiming as the sniper, a prompt will let you know that "jump" will fire the gun. This feature is particularly necessary for the Occultist, as her spell selection is particularly unorthodox.

By default, these prompts no longer appear for any individual character when you achieve 50+ kills with them - they can be permanently turned off (or permanently turned on in the options menu).

PS: The Xbox version should FINALLY be updated. Yay!

----


So, the Occultist actually jumped ahead of the rest of the content I planned to put into the "Grimoire" update (mainly due to the xbox release schedule). So, unforunately, the next update will not have a new character.

Instead, it will focus on 3 things:

• Some combat changes and improvements (primarily centered on making "weapon clashes" more solid and varied)
  
• Finishing the basic AI (including putting this on a separate thread! Which should make the game handle hordes WAY better)
  
• Revamping Wave Mode

That "Revamping Wave Mode" is going to be the real "meat" of the update, especially since that's like, you know, the main "thing" in the game right now. I'll do a post on my plans for this in the near future - stay tuned!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the update! Have fun, Brawlers!