Squirrelmageddon! News

- FIX: death on transport no longer kills player if mission completed
- FIX: 'AL' rescue skin match
- FIX: rescue compass nav icon for multiple rescues

The new WRATH of RATATOSK system added last week has been working as expected and the squirrels are once again kicking my developer arse! More balancing to come...



I've also been cleaning up a few things and have re-added destructible windows to buildings in the Squirrel Town mission zone. There is something about hearing squirrels destroying things in the distance...

[h2]Quality of Life UI Updates[/h2]
One of the pain points for new players were the 'active pickups' not having any UI feedback... this has finally been added! 'Active' pickups and moveable objects now show a hand icon when interaction is possible.

[h2]Weekly Patch Notes[/h2]

• BALANCE: Ultra's AOE SLAM damage updated with smaller radius
  
• BALANCE: Destroying an Ultra squirrel lowers the area threat level -1
  
• WRATH: Armour model added to squirrels in-game
  
• WRATH: updates on-squirrel wrath effects
  
• AURA WRATH: effects added to target squirrels
  
• COMPASS: fixed rescue icon not being removed
  
• UI QOL: pickup hand icon (about time - lol)
  
• UI QOL: drop icon when carrying moveable object
  
• UI: fixed Wrath showing on locked maps
  
• UI: game over item pickup pane tweaks
  
• UI FIX: Wrath rows don't double up on same wrath ability
  
• UI TWEAK: padding around new wrath elements
  
• UI TWEAK: icon updates
  
• MAPS: Squirrel Town - destructible windows re-added.
  

Hopefully soon I'll will have the hive economy and hive health systems active. This system has turned into a more complex 'hive simulation' than I had initially planned... and will probably need to scale the scope back as I am only 1 person...

At it's core the hive system serves to dynamically generate mission parameters and to make in-mission actions affect hive defense, health, happiness and population parameters... still a ways to go!

GLHF! Play smart with skill and you just might make it back to the hive... alive...

AI GENERATED CONCEPT ART:

[h2]It was a dark and stormy Monday...[/h2]



The more you fail your missions in a zone, the more Ratatoskr will punish you... Play smart, stay sharp, and you just might make it out alive...

[h2]THE WRATH OF RATATOSK UPDATE[/h2]

• Squirrels mutate on mission failure
  
• Mutations are saved to mission map
  

So far the end result is a 'squirrels like'... a game that trashes on you even harder the more you suck at it... the idea made me laugh... so I added it to the game...

Get good, play smart or DIE BY THE SQUIRREL!



Mutations include increased speed, health, healing powers and now, finally.... FLAMING SQUIRRELS!

Expect more mutations, more intel and general improvements over the coming weeks...



[h2]OTHER PATCH NOTES[/h2]

• MAP - SQUIRREL TOWN: jumping through windows is now much easier!
  
• FEATURE: Steam leader boards available on mission over screen
  
• BUG FIX: Squirrel missions no longer reset threat levels
  
• GAMEPLAY: killing Ultra Squirrels reduces area threat levels
  
• LORE: Orbs of Delight are now orbs of Concentrated Wrath energy
  
• MAPS: general tweaks here and there most maps
  
• UI: mission select screen now shows mission area threat levels
  
• UI: KAWAII 4000AR squirrel hat rewards displayed on mission over
  
• UI: gathered intel now shown on mission over screen
  

There is still some balancing and polish to do on the new systems. I should have an update within a couple of weeks.

Please do post in the forum if you have any feedback or if you run into any show stoppers / crashes.

Your save games _should_ work with the new update - do try starting a new hive if you run into any problems.

GLHF and I'll see you top-side!

AI ASSISTED CONCEPT ART ONLY:

[h2]TWEAKS & FIXES PATCHED THIS WEEK[/h2]

• MISSION OVER: backgrounds simplified
  
• MISSION OVER: map leaderboard fixes
  
• RESCUE SYSTEM: 'AL' Skeleton fix
  
• RESCUE SYSTEM: If squirrel mission should not add player rescue that can never be completed
  
• MISSION OVER: player score block width fixes for mission title
  
• MAP: Squirrel Turbine player flashlight brightness tweak
  
• MISSION OVER: squirrel mission fail / success text and button fixes
  
• INTEL BASED MISSION: objective check if required intel / object in shared inventory
  
• MAP: Specimen Observation Lab - less mist (fixes FPS drops)
  

GLHF!

[h2]PATCH NOTES[/h2]

• WEAPON FIX: launcher weapon radial damage + distance tuning
  
• WEAPON FIX: Larry's Machine Gun ADS 1st Person (crouch helmet clipping fixed)
  
• WEAPON FIX: Plasma now explodes barrels
  
• FIX: UI reset moveable objects for some missions (hide/show fix)
  
• Mission over Squirrels are passive again
  
• FIX: Insane difficulty mission defeat fixed [removed continue + fixed text]
  
• Mission over panels uniform images
  
• Mission over map score leader boards [testing with live Steam]
  
• Mission over Intel list
  
• Game Over checks fixed for Insane difficulty (incorporate rescue system)
  
• Squirrel Town Map: some cosmetic experiments with vines and weathered decals