HUGE 0.2.2 Update

This one is a big one. I didn't plan on doing this many changes in one update but there were so many small, quick fixes and changes that I could do in hours that I just had to bundle everything into this update. Enjoy this treat. Updates may slow down from this point, depending on how quick the development of the core gameplay will take.

0.2.2 Update patch notes:

General gameplay:

• Sprint has been removed. Base movement speed increased to match previous sprint speed. 

The more I playtested the game, the more I realised there is no tactical reason to not sprint. The previous movement speed meant that the player had to constantly hold down a button to not move at a snail's pace, making moving around more awakward. The decision was thus made to just remove sprinting and increase base movement speed. In future if there is a situation where sneaking or something similar is required, there will be an explicit feature implemented for that, but sprinting will always stay the default.

• Implemented a dynamic plasma regen system where the less plasma you have, the faster it regens.

After playesting, a small bump in the gameplay flow was indentified. If the player failed to scare away a single human with their initial starting 20 plasma, they'd be stuck waiting for the plasma to regen to continue the scaring. A new dynamic plasma regen system is implemented to combat this, which will regen plasma faster the less plasma you have. There is also a cutoff point where the player won't regen at all. Exact details are purposely not discussed as this is supposed to be a hidden balance feature, but I felt like it needs to be here in the patchnotes to feed my ego.

• The player is now outlined when behind a wall to improve visibility. This outline changes based on wether Spooky Surprise is active or not.

When making the game for the Game Jam, I spent a ton of time going back and fourth between two camera modes. The first mode was one where the camera had the same collision as the player, so it can go trough walls. The issue with this one was that often, the player would be hidden behind walls, especially when traversing tight corridors. The second was where the camera would collide with walls. This mode meant that the player was ALWAYS visible, going closer to the player when in tight areas and it would eventually follow you trough walls. The only issue was that traversing trough walls meant that the camera was jittery, but I felt that was worth it to make sure the player was always visible. I was wrong. Player feedback showed that it actually took away from the experience. Also the camera also didn't know what to do if the player just stood inside a wall or object. In one of the last updates I changed it to the first camera mode, and to get a middle of the road solution, I decided to give an outline to the player when behind walls. Everyone wins.

• Framerate optimisations

Unfotunately as much as I love the live camera feed of the humans' faces on the UI, currently they are on track to being removed because of the performance cost they have. Before that tough I will try my best to make them more performant because I love this feature.

Powers:

• Rupture pipe:
• Fixed distance from humans being calculated from the position of the player, instead of where the effect actually takes place
• Added a nice camera shake effect when used
• Added rock particles that shoot out when using the power and stay on the ground for a bit

Rupture pipe is the first power to receive some gameplay feel magic to make it more fun to use. The two other powers will soon follow.

• Spooky Surprise:
  • Fixed a bug where the player couldn't disable the power when the plasma counter was below 3

UI:

• Fixed loading screen and main menu backgrounds having tiny gaps on the sides of the screen
• Fixed incorrect markings next to the humans' names based on how many bonuses they got (+ means 1 bonus, * means 5 bonuses, like tally marking basically)

Save system:

• Implemented, now your current run is saved with the bonuses the humans have gained

For now, this provides some replay value, by making the humans take more terror to flee and this being saved. Later down the line I plan on tieing this system together with a player upgrade system, an unlock system (for new powers) and a system that expands on the level the player plays on.

Main Menu

• Added background music
• Improved the general layout of the main menu with a moving 3D background and other elements
• Added a text under the Play button which indicates how many "days" you have played
• Added a new button that wipes your save and starts the game from "day 1"
• Added an options button that has no function currently
• Fixed the main menu buttons being too close to the edge of the screen

Levels:

• Office Party 1:
  • Fixed small gaps around the elevator
  • Added more trigger nodes, so humans now run to more places when panicking

The trigger thing is more of a temporary fix before I figure out a system which distributes the panic points more evenly.