As promised the focus here is on new weapons (10 of them) and there are also 3 new assault missions types. Assault mission targets can now appear anywhere on the map, as the aliens have found a way to come up through the floorboards!




NEW WEAPONS

NEW: 10 new (high-level) weapon types, including new alien weapons, sniper rifle and void laser
NEW: improved sound effects for some weapons
MOD: rebalancing of all weapons
FIX: shotgun and mini-lascannon can now be dual-wielded
 
NEW MISSION TYPES

NEW: 3 new assault mission types: 'breach from below', 'drone virus' and 'plant life'
 
OTHER

MOD: add low-battery scanner to starting inventory
MOD: crafting costs reduced for ammo and medkit
MOD: line of sight for generator-lit rooms increased to 12 tiles
MOD: exploding barrels now cause explosive damage and destroy nearby walls etc
MOD: hallucination visual effect modified to be easier on the eyes
MOD: secret doors are now automatically spotted from within secret passages, even after failing earlier spot test
FIX: bug where chests spawn at edge of map in alien caverns (causing a 'tile not recognised' error)
FIX: bug where plants and equipment crates spawn on top of large equipment crates
FIX: bullets gained from workbench increased to 10
FIX: bug with mission time limit for salvage mission
FIX: bug with shadows not updating correctly when destroying walls with explosive weapons
FIX: formatting problem when showing 3 or more 'to hit' adjustments in inventory screen

As promised the focus here is on new weapons (10 of them) and there are also 3 new assault missions types. Assault mission targets can now appear anywhere on the map, as the aliens have found a way to come up through the floorboards!




NEW WEAPONS

NEW: 10 new (high-level) weapon types, including new alien weapons, sniper rifle and void laser
NEW: improved sound effects for some weapons
MOD: rebalancing of all weapons
FIX: shotgun and mini-lascannon can now be dual-wielded
 
NEW MISSION TYPES

NEW: 3 new assault mission types: 'breach from below', 'drone virus' and 'plant life'
 
OTHER

MOD: add low-battery scanner to starting inventory
MOD: crafting costs reduced for ammo and medkit
MOD: line of sight for generator-lit rooms increased to 12 tiles
MOD: exploding barrels now cause explosive damage and destroy nearby walls etc
MOD: hallucination visual effect modified to be easier on the eyes
MOD: secret doors are now automatically spotted from within secret passages, even after failing earlier spot test
FIX: bug where chests spawn at edge of map in alien caverns (causing a 'tile not recognised' error)
FIX: bug where plants and equipment crates spawn on top of large equipment crates
FIX: bullets gained from workbench increased to 10
FIX: bug with mission time limit for salvage mission
FIX: bug with shadows not updating correctly when destroying walls with explosive weapons
FIX: formatting problem when showing 3 or more 'to hit' adjustments in inventory screen

Just a quick note to say - despite pleasant Christmas-related distractions ːsteamhappyː - work is progressing towards another update around the end of the year. This will be include a lot of new weapons, mainly more powerful ones for for higher levels, and a full rebalancing of weapon stats across the board.

Oh, and Xenomarine guy sends all best wishes for the festive season!

Just a quick note to say - despite pleasant Christmas-related distractions ːsteamhappyː - work is progressing towards another update around the end of the year. This will be include a lot of new weapons, mainly more powerful ones for for higher levels, and a full rebalancing of weapon stats across the board.

Oh, and Xenomarine guy sends all best wishes for the festive season!

Time for a pretty big update! 40 new alien types/variants, alien plants, destructible environments and lots more…



NEW ALIENS

NEW: Added 'alien plants' which grow in alien caverns (from level 2; 8 variants)
NEW: Added new base enemy type: ‘slicer’ (from level 9; 12 variants)
NEW: Added 3 new enemy variants for all base alien types: 1) phase-shifted, 2) dark blue and 3) multicoloured
MOD: changed level generation to increase range of enemy variants on levels 1-10
MOD: improved drone AI to allow targeting at up to range 3
MOD: improved alien AI so they find alternative route when blocked by other aliens

NEW ITEMS:

NEW: 3 new base scanner types for detecting traps and secret doors

DESTRUCTIBLE ENVIRONMENT

NEW: Walls, furniture and doors can now be destroyed by weapons with 'explosive' damage type
MOD: Weapons with 'explosive' damage type automatically destroy crates and barrels

UI

NEW: ammo now shown numerically for equipped weapons
NEW: camera follows player option now uses smooth camera panning
NEW: improved map scrolling with mouse (scroll speed frame-independent and relative to zoom level)
FIX: ‘no ammo’ pop-up text now shown for weapon equipped in left hand
FIX: added info about scrolling map with mouse+alt-key to controls screen
FIX: increased width of top-left ammo display text to avoid text-wrapping with more than 99 ammo

GAMEPLAY/BALANCE

MOD: increased rocket launcher to hit chance
MOD: power of mind globes increased from level 8
MOD: can now retain battery when scrapping flashlight with full (>=1000) battery power
MOD: reduced duration of radioactive damage debuff by 40%
MOD: increased weapon range of combat drones

HACKING

MOD: improved display for results of hacking data terminal
MOD: more detailed information shown for hacking electronics data
MOD: hacking aliens data now includes drones, eggs and alien plants
FIX: bug with data shown when hacking electronics data

OTHER

NEW: 7 new random tips added
NEW: New Unity splash animation
NEW: pressing F1 shows random tip in main log
NEW: added log message for when combat drones become hostile on taking damage
NEW: character stats screen now shows effect of encumbrance on weapon skill
NEW: added support for Mac Retina screens
FIX: information panel (e.g. for achievement) sometimes hidden behind terminal/inventory panels
FIX: log message for destruction of barrel no longer refers to ‘crate’
FIX: destroying a barrel no longer unlocks the ‘vandal’ achievement
FIX: error with item description for blade converter, and for weapons with blade conversion
FIX: removed visual artefacts (white vertical lines) while scrolling map on high-spec systems
FIX: speed of movement with keys held down now frame-independent (better for high-spec systems)
FIX: bug with mechanic for missed thrown weapon attacks
FIX: bug with target indicators when using mouse to target area effect weapon
FIX: stimpacks introduced in Alpha 3.3 can now be used from inventory
FIX: bug with occasionally failing to unpause game after using security terminal
FIX: hallucination visual effect not loading from save
FIX: improved log message when aliens trigger traps
FIX: improved formatting of mousehoverinfo for drones
FIX: bug with description of traps in inventory screen

Time for a pretty big update! 40 new alien types/variants, alien plants, destructible environments and lots more…



NEW ALIENS

NEW: Added 'alien plants' which grow in alien caverns (from level 2; 8 variants)
NEW: Added new base enemy type: ‘slicer’ (from level 9; 12 variants)
NEW: Added 3 new enemy variants for all base alien types: 1) phase-shifted, 2) dark blue and 3) multicoloured
MOD: changed level generation to increase range of enemy variants on levels 1-10
MOD: improved drone AI to allow targeting at up to range 3
MOD: improved alien AI so they find alternative route when blocked by other aliens

NEW ITEMS:

NEW: 3 new base scanner types for detecting traps and secret doors

DESTRUCTIBLE ENVIRONMENT

NEW: Walls, furniture and doors can now be destroyed by weapons with 'explosive' damage type
MOD: Weapons with 'explosive' damage type automatically destroy crates and barrels

UI

NEW: ammo now shown numerically for equipped weapons
NEW: camera follows player option now uses smooth camera panning
NEW: improved map scrolling with mouse (scroll speed frame-independent and relative to zoom level)
FIX: ‘no ammo’ pop-up text now shown for weapon equipped in left hand
FIX: added info about scrolling map with mouse+alt-key to controls screen
FIX: increased width of top-left ammo display text to avoid text-wrapping with more than 99 ammo

GAMEPLAY/BALANCE

MOD: increased rocket launcher to hit chance
MOD: power of mind globes increased from level 8
MOD: can now retain battery when scrapping flashlight with full (>=1000) battery power
MOD: reduced duration of radioactive damage debuff by 40%
MOD: increased weapon range of combat drones

HACKING

MOD: improved display for results of hacking data terminal
MOD: more detailed information shown for hacking electronics data
MOD: hacking aliens data now includes drones, eggs and alien plants
FIX: bug with data shown when hacking electronics data

OTHER

NEW: 7 new random tips added
NEW: New Unity splash animation
NEW: pressing F1 shows random tip in main log
NEW: added log message for when combat drones become hostile on taking damage
NEW: character stats screen now shows effect of encumbrance on weapon skill
NEW: added support for Mac Retina screens
FIX: information panel (e.g. for achievement) sometimes hidden behind terminal/inventory panels
FIX: log message for destruction of barrel no longer refers to ‘crate’
FIX: destroying a barrel no longer unlocks the ‘vandal’ achievement
FIX: error with item description for blade converter, and for weapons with blade conversion
FIX: removed visual artefacts (white vertical lines) while scrolling map on high-spec systems
FIX: speed of movement with keys held down now frame-independent (better for high-spec systems)
FIX: bug with mechanic for missed thrown weapon attacks
FIX: bug with target indicators when using mouse to target area effect weapon
FIX: stimpacks introduced in Alpha 3.3 can now be used from inventory
FIX: bug with occasionally failing to unpause game after using security terminal
FIX: hallucination visual effect not loading from save
FIX: improved log message when aliens trigger traps
FIX: improved formatting of mousehoverinfo for drones
FIX: bug with description of traps in inventory screen

Progress has been continuing steadily toward what will be a major update!

It will be a little while longer before this update is released, partly because of the significant nature of the new features/fixes and partly because of less visible work on the back-end. Thanks to a new test machine I am looking into some issues I am aware have been affecting some high-spec systems, e.g speed-related issues with the UI and minor graphical issues.

Some things to look forward to very soon:

• New alien variants, including phase-shifted aliens that can walk through walls!
  
• A new alien base type
  
• More diverse alien variants in early levels
  
• Improved alien AI
  
• Changes to combat drones

Progress has been continuing steadily toward what will be a major update!

It will be a little while longer before this update is released, partly because of the significant nature of the new features/fixes and partly because of less visible work on the back-end. Thanks to a new test machine I am looking into some issues I am aware have been affecting some high-spec systems, e.g speed-related issues with the UI and minor graphical issues.

Some things to look forward to very soon:

• New alien variants, including phase-shifted aliens that can walk through walls!
  
• A new alien base type
  
• More diverse alien variants in early levels
  
• Improved alien AI
  
• Changes to combat drones

It seems those pesky Wurms have been tunneling through through the steel walls of the space station, and creating weird alien caverns…



GRAPHICAL VARIETY

NEW: alien caverns
NEW: secret passageways accessed by secret doors
NEW: improved lighting effects for randomly generated colour scheme
NEW: 4 new floor tile variants

GAME BALANCE

MOD: armor resistances limited to 50% resistance before level 10

UI

NEW: clicking on terminals etc now activates auto-mouse-movement

OTHER

FIX: bug where mission crates are generated for assault missions
FIX: spelling error on terminal screen for health

It seems those pesky Wurms have been tunneling through through the steel walls of the space station, and creating weird alien caverns…



GRAPHICAL VARIETY

NEW: alien caverns
NEW: secret passageways accessed by secret doors
NEW: improved lighting effects for randomly generated colour scheme
NEW: 4 new floor tile variants

GAME BALANCE

MOD: armor resistances limited to 50% resistance before level 10

UI

NEW: clicking on terminals etc now activates auto-mouse-movement

OTHER

FIX: bug where mission crates are generated for assault missions
FIX: spelling error on terminal screen for health