Nightmare Reaper News

Hi everyone,

Performance

Today we have a performance update for you guys! We've been working on the console versions for months and this meant that we've had to work hard to improve the performance in the game. I've brought back all the good changes into the PC version.

There are general improvements all over the game and it should affect performance on every PC setup, but the biggest gains will be for people with less powerful PCs (or the Steam Deck wink wink). The game now runs on real potatoes. More powerful PCs will see improvements, but it shouldn't be too dramatic. The experience will be smoother with less spikes. The biggest change is the new added "Simulation depth" quality setting. This will tone down some systems and simplify others in order to make the game run better by limiting or removing systems that don't really affect gameplay. For example, at the lowest setting, things don't float in water anymore, some things don't leave decals and the amount of performance-heavy projectiles is limited. Don't hesitate to lower your quality settings if you want the game to run better on your PC.

The silly (random projectiles)

Performance is boring, so we wanted to add a little something fun to this update. There are 16 new random projectiles that are more on the silly side. Not only that, random projectile has a higher chance of appearing on weapons. This should spice up your next playthrough of the game!

Video proof: https://youtu.be/j2rvZK6j13s

Literal pizzas: https://twitter.com/NightmareReape4/status/1649790159146340353

Patch notes

Of course, new update means various extra fixes!

- Added performance improvements across the board.
- Added Simulation Depth quality setting.
- Added 16 new random projectiles.
- Changed random projectile chance to make it more likely.
- Fixed issue where key items could be thrown into unreachable cubes.
- Fixed issue where bosses could be nailed to walls.
- Fixed issue where jade and topaz HUD icons would have wrong animation speed.
- Fixed issue where overload wouldn't reset between levels.
- Fixed issue where changing burst fire on a weapon with a modified magazine size reset the size to default.
- Fixed issue where removing automatic from a weapon with a secondary attack that was automatic would make it non-automatic.
- Fixed issue where adding burst fire to the smart gun would remove +attack for the secondary attack.
- Fixed issue where you could ledge grab from under blue elevator platforms.
- Fixed issue where animations would be wrong with burst fire and accessibility auto fire.
- Fixed issue where rarely, only one weapon could be kept when keep 2 weapons was unlocked.
- Fixed issue where friendly enemies with homing projectiles would target friendly enemies.
- Fixed issue where there was a minor level issue in the city hub.
- Fixed issue where gold tree nodes could be cheaper or give you money.
- Fixed issue where overload could give you the blood ammo achievement.
- Fixed issue where you could die during the last jade fall in the arena.
- Fixed issue where water electrocution particles wouldn't be located on the water.
- Fixed issue where treasure could be on top of a cube's ceiling.
- Fixed issue where thorn parasite could have automatic.
- Fixed issue where you could get the topaz achievements with the no topaz mod.
- Fixed issue where switches could be hidden by decals like windows.
- Fixed issue where rarely, wall cracks or dynamite walls could be hidden by decals like doors.
- Fixed issue where camera would be locked if changing savegame while going to bed.
- Fixed issue where cancelling resolution change wouldn't reset the resolution.
- Fixed issue where changing resolution would set sound sliders to 1.0.
- Fixed issue where entering arena portal while zoomed would cause weapon to have wrong animation.
- Fixed issue where the enter key would do the activate function outside of menus.
- Fixed issue where you could enter a bad state by activating a doctor and a minigame at the same time.
- Fixed issue where thrown object damage upgrades would cause thrown objects to keep damaging even after stopping moving.
- Fixed issue where flesh explosive barrels wouldn't have the explosive barrel damage multiplier.

What are we up to?

The console versions are coming out on May 18th! Hopefully everything goes right for the release and a bunch of new players can get access to the game.

The next step will be to support the console versions with any issues they might have. We also need to work on game translations to further push the game's reach.

We're also working on a little treat that should be out soon. Steam trading cards and a bunch of shop items. They're actually really cool and I'll definitely be using them.

THEN we can start working on actual cool content for Nightmare Reaper. We're talking huge game-changing updates. We don't currently plan on adding new chapters or traditional DLC updates though. More news on that later.

[h2]Cool stuff that happened since the last update[/h2]

- We have a bundle with Hyperstrange's Ghostware: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/31828/Ghosts_and_Nightmares/

- We were part of the "Best of boomer shooters" Humble bundle and we raised 40K for charity!

- Andrew did a sweet commentary on one of the NR tracks! https://twitter.com/AndrewHulshult/status/1653764615149428745

- We have a speedrun.com page and times. You can run the game in under two hours, and it's really fun. Try it or watch the runs!
https://www.speedrun.com/nightmare_reaper

[h2]How to get more frequent updates[/h2]

Follow @NightmareReape4 on Twitter for up-to-date news and previews.

Join the Discord channel for minute-to-minute updates and to chat directly with the devs.

- ItBurn

Hi everyone,

Let's get right into it. Today, we have a new content update and here's the trailer for it! https://youtu.be/jQXVX1fwxFo

The big new feature of the update is the Redux game mode. This game mode is a third of the length of the original game and progression is also much faster. The original game is so long that it requires a big commitment to play through it again, but with the Redux mode, that's something you can do in a couple of sittings, or...

In a single one! We've also added an in-game speedrun timer that captures your best times for every level and challenges you to finish the game as fast as possible. Beta testers have already managed to get times below an hour and a half! I love speedrunning the game and I hope it catches on!

To activate all these game modes, we've added a new "Mods" menu where you can toggle on and off "mods" that will affect your game. These are NOT user mods, but when we do offer modding tools, this is the menu where you'll be able to activate user mods.

We've added two other small mods in order to allow you to skip tutorials and disable the topaz upgrades in order to give speedruns an even playing field.

This isn't all the update contains. We've updated the game to the latest version of Unreal. This was a massive undertaking and we needed to change many of the game systems. The good thing is that this should have fixed all the crashes the game had.

The last big change is that we've added many new death animations. Now you can actually chop the head off of an enemy and see it bounce around. You can also see an enemy's feet left over after an explosion. There are many more, so here's a trailer to show all the ways you can kill an enemy in the game: https://twitter.com/NightmareReape4/status/1586372292417757184

Here's a list of everything else the update contains:

- Added map to jade cargo. - Added chance to spawn doctor in end rooms.
- Added ability to skip upgrade message in gold tree.
- Added page number to save slot manager.
- Changed the way a lot of objects break when destroyed by spawning pixelated fragments.
- Changed savegame backup system to store 10 backups and detect corruption better.
- Changed jade item icon colors to make them look more different.
- Changed explosive barrels to always do same damage to player even with jade upgrades or NG+.
- Changed random event chime to not be affected by time dilation.
- Changed explosion shake to be a quarter of the strength.
- Fixed issue where plasma rifle could have wrong modifiers on alternate fire.
- Fixed issue where last boss level of gold minigame didn't have boss music.
- Fixed issue where friendlies would show up as enemies on the arena minimap.
- Fixed issue where consecrated whip would damage player with full splash protection.
- Fixed issue where some bullets would create white line artefacts in player's face.
- Fixed issue where rhythm game would show green arrow if player failed to go right.
- Fixed issue where having too much gold would turn it negative.
- Fixed issue where reduced explosion shake upgrades would be less effective.
- Fixed issue where explosive ammo on multiple projectile weapons would cause too much shake.
- Fixed issue where destructible table was wrongly used in Gibbs medical center.
- Fixed issue where destroying tank could softlock player in Fields of death.
- Fixed issue where stalagmite would float in air in Hollow stone.
- Fixed issue where enemies could spawn outside of room in Crushing depths.
- Fixed issue where blood waterfall was missing in a Blood and brimstone room.
- Fixed issue where treasure was missing from a Murky docks secret room.
- Fixed issue where obsidian rock would spawn wrong rock on destruction.
- Fixed issue where particles on required dynamite wall would appear after destruction.
- Fixed issue where last boss level of gold minigame didn't have boss music.

We've also been hard at work on the console versions of the game and this is what I'll be working on from now on. I'll be able to resume content updates once the console versions are out. I don't have dates yet and a lot of it is out of my hands, but several people are working on this right now.

There's also been a lot of things brewing in my personal life(good things). I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but these are going to be a lot of work too.

That's about it! See you next update!

[h2]Cool stuff that happened since the last update[/h2]

- Jarek the gaming dragon has given us the FPS of the year award! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZFw4lZWUTc

- The Best Linux games podcast has given us the GOTY award! https://soundcloud.com/fingersflynn/blgp-ep-425-blgp-goty-awards-2022?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

- Watch Mojo put us at #6 in their Best games of 2022 awards! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYzGtuIYnZU

- Kotaku actually put us in a list of the best shooters of 2022. https://kotaku.com/best-shooters-2022-pc-destiny-warzone-fortnite-apex-1849853877

- Check out all the really helpful guides in the Steam community!

- Check out the Nightmare Reaper wiki! https://nightmare-reaper.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare_Reaper_Wiki

[h2]How to get more frequent updates[/h2]

Follow @NightmareReape4 on Twitter for up-to-date news and previews.

Join the Discord channel for minute-to-minute updates and to chat directly with the devs.

- ItBurn

Hi everyone,

Today is Realms Deep 2022! (https://www.twitch.tv/3drealms)

Check out the event for a TON of retro shooter news, reveals and releases and for a little something from us too. There's also a Steam sale for it that you have to check out: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/RealmsDeep2022

What are we announcing about Nightmare Reaper you may ask? Console versions!

The Nightmare Reaper Realms Deep 2022 trailer: https://youtu.be/8LtMdGQjgPw

We've partnered with Feardemic games, a small publisher that focuses on horror themed indie games, in order to bring Nightmare Reaper to all consoles. This means Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4 and PS5. We're currently aiming to get this done by the first half of 2023. Not only that, you can expect digital AND physical copies of the game.

If you're a PC player, like us, don't worry, there's something in it for you too. You can expect all the new features, bug fixes and performance improvements that we make for consoles to be put into the PC version at the same time. Feardemic will also take care of localizations, so you can play the game in your language of choice.

More about our partnership with Feardemic games will be revealed later. Check them out!
Website: https://www.feardemic-games.com
Steam publisher page: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/feardemic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/feardemic
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/uD74XrcfQq

What am I working on now you may be asking yourself? I'm in the process of preparing the game for Feardemic's console work. What does that mean? I'm actually upgrading Nightmare Reaper's Unreal engine version to the latest. This was a thing that needed to happen because the last rare crash that the game has is due to a bug in the older Unreal version we were using. Changing engine version is a big undertaking and is taking some time. Once this is done, I'll of course support Feardemic with whatever they may need, but I'll also start actually creating new and exciting stuff for Nightmare Reaper.

I can't wait.

[h2]Cool stuff that happened since the last update[/h2]

- Our friends at Hyperstrange are releasing their cool new and super dark retro shooter INCISION and we've decided to create a bundle with them. Get an extra rebate on INCISION if you already own Nightmare Reaper! https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28029/SOLODEV_FPS_GEMS_vol_2/

- Check out this awesome art from the talented Dakota Lee.


- Nightmare Reaper was part of an indie horror game event called Fear Fest. Hear me talk about why we went with sprites and not 3D models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgO8cTSqQY
Check the entire Fear Fest stream here for cool horror games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kA5dEBviNg

- Read this cool review of Nightmare Reaper in the sampler issue of Reload Magazine: https://twitter.com/Reload_Magazine/status/1554401354776461312

- Have you checked out the latest PC patch? The arena changes are a big upgrade.

- Check out all the really helpful guides in the Steam community!

- Check out the Nightmare Reaper wiki! https://nightmare-reaper.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare_Reaper_Wiki

[h2]How to get more frequent updates[/h2]

Follow @NightmareReape4 on Twitter for up-to-date news and previews.

Join the Discord channel for minute-to-minute updates and to chat directly with the devs.

- ItBurn

- Added minigame OST to game's content folder.
- Added jade tree upgrades for reduced explosion shake.
- Added different text color to negative and super weapon stats.
- Added support for higher FOVs.
- Added enemies to minimap in arena.
- Changed arena to quit after 10 waves, let you keep a weapon and display a message saying progress is saved.
- Changed arena to wait before spawning new enemies if there are too many.
- Changed arena to make coin shower faster.
- Changed wall kick to not push if kicking destructible objects.
- Changed dog killing event to be more deadly.
- Changed green energy orbs to reset their respawn timer when they're picked up.
- Changed self splash damage protection description to make it not add up to 100% to explain nukes hurting the player.
- Fixed issue where key objects could spawn underwater in ship level room.
- Fixed issue where performance would go down constantly when having an infinite magazine six shooter.
- Fixed issue where electric bushes would cause hit markers.
- Fixed issue where lava and acid falls wouldn't damage enemies if the player was immune.
- Fixed issue where game could randomly crash because of explosions.
- Fixed issue where enemy would stop moving and attacking or would attack walls.
- Fixed issue where enemies could be boosted more than once at a time, potentially fixing invincible enemies.
- Fixed issue where wrong cartridge was displayed if you didn't have the gold skill tree.
- Fixed issue where bouncing firebolt random projectile would do too much damage. Also reduced amount of fire particles.
- Fixed issue where game could crash when activating a fire rune.
- Fixed issue where using dual smgs slow mo during slow mo dash freezes the game while holding the button.
- Fixed issue where dual smgs slow mo wouldn't end if picking up nightmare reaper.
- Fixed issue where critical explosions could cause massive damage even with full self splash damage immunity.
- Fixed issue where recoil of critical explosions, especially in NG+, was too high.
- Fixed issue where remapping movement keys to arrows would double tap in menus.
- Fixed issue where enemy could be stuck inside large static objects like bookcases.
- Fixed issue where enemy could be stuck under floor in levels with the void.
- Fixed issue where you could get the kick kills achievement early by kicking bosses repeatedly on death.
- Fixed issue where plasma rifle secondary attack could have random projectile.
- Fixed issue where it was impossible to get Factor in the topaz tree.
- Fixed issue where jump would stop working.
- Fixed issue where player could take fall damage after entering level end portal.
- Fixed issue where player couldn't use weapons if picking one up during nightmare reaper after starting level with no weapons.
- Fixed issue where weapons with on collision effects like life steal would trigger too often.
- Fixed issue where a secret in the docks levels would have no treasure.

Hi everyone,

I've worked on Nightmare Reaper for five years. Much of it was 10-12 hour days for 7 days a week. I was full of passion and had a singular focus for so long. I had to put many things in my life to the back-burner, sometimes, at the cost of family or health. That's why I decided to take a long break after the last patch. What did I do? I've spent a lot of time taking care of my kid before daycare started and we'd see her so much less. I've also tried playing new games for a change. I barely played anything new in 5 years! I also had a small family trip to Vancouver which was quite an ordeal with an 11 month old.

Was it a complete break though? Not by a long shot. Remember, I'm the only one working at Blazing Bit Games at the moment and I've been working on many things at the same time. I've incorporated Blazing Bit Games and the repercussions of this have been occupying me almost full time since. I've also never stopped doing NR support and interacting with the community. Now I'm dealing with publishers in order to bring NR to more people.

I'm sure many of you are eager to hear about what's next for Nighmare Reaper. Many things... First, the certain thing: we're going to continue making patches. I accumulated a pretty large list of bugs and improvements from all the support I've done these last few months. Expect bug fixes, quality of life fixes and performance fixes. I can't promise that all your wishes will come true though, because there's things I disagree with. It's impossible to please everyone and I have to stick to my vision as it's what brought us this far. Also, one of the biggest source of issues is that we're using an older version of Unreal 4. Upgrading that will be a big undertaking.

What about the future of NR? I'm looking at a lot of things right now, and can't promise anything. Here are the top things I'd like to do:

- Steam trading cards as well as NR-themed stuff.
- Console versions.
- Localizations in all major languages.
- Mods. New weapons, enemies, levels, game modes, etc. and even TCs(total conversions).
- Multiplayer. Coop, deathmatch, etc.

Tell me what you think of these or if you have some cool ideas.

As for myself, I'm going to start working on NR game stuff again very soon, but I'll try to have a better work/life balance this time.

[h2]Cool stuff that happened after release[/h2]

- Nightmare Reaper got 82 and 81 on Metacritic and Opencritic respectively!

- We were 8th top seller in all of Steam for a week. https://twitter.com/NightmareReape4/status/1510277664908656640

- Moonmoon streamed the game!

- We managed to hit 2000 reviews with "overwhelmingly positive". https://twitter.com/NightmareReape4/status/1530918839088717833

- There are now a lot of really helpful guides in the Steam community, check them out!

- There's a Nightmare Reaper wiki! Check it out too: https://nightmare-reaper.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare_Reaper_Wiki

- Nightmare Reaper is verified on the Steam Deck! (although, we don't own a Steam Deck and haven't tested the game on it...)

- There's a NR bundle with Postal Brain Damaged! Get an extra 15% off. https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/26549/Brain_Reaper/

- Pretty cool breakdown of the loot system in NR by Gimmie the Loot, long time friend of NR. (also check his other videos!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUNdq1Hjtyk

- Awesome recent fan art: https://twitter.com/vanerchest1/status/1537032524450390020

- SO many reviews and youtube videos and smaller streamers. Thank you if you're one.

[h2]How to get more frequent updates[/h2]

Follow @NightmareReape4 on Twitter for up-to-date news and previews.

Join the Discord channel for minute-to-minute updates and to chat directly with the devs.

- ItBurn