Squirrelmageddon! News

It had to be done. Ravenous squirrels with Santa hats... Everyone's stressed out this time of year. No one has any credits. Squirrel meats are scarce... this means going top-side into the Squirreling Fields and collecting what we can to spread some Xmas cheer.

SPECIAL EVENT ACTIVE:
Xmas 2022 - 4 missions



[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]

• MAP: Squirrel Town - stuck squirrel fixes
  
• MAP: Squirrel Town Balance: Orbs of Delight removed in favor of spawned Orbs and drops.
  
• MAP: Specimen Observation Lab - stopped squirrels getting stuck in crawlspace / roof
  
• MAP: Specimen Observation Lab - added Ratatoskr statue in back research room
  
  
  
  
• SQUIRREL PHYSICS: tweaked in search of the perfect launch window
  
• SOUND: game over game sounds mix volume lowered with re-set on lobby or map load
  
• SOUND: squirrel chatter occlusion tweaks
  
• UI: game over screen dark overlay removed
  
• UI: new game over skin designed by AI
  

• UI: weapon level up is now grid instead of single column
  
• SQUIRREL BRAIN: Brethren squirrels now have more random movement around maps
  
• SKILL SYSTEM: skill level cost increase by current level
  
• TUTORIAL UPDATE: HUD based tutorial
  

SQUIRREL FACTIONS:
Some 'Deep Squirrel' experiments produced hyper intelligent species... Free from the insanity and hunger for flesh plaguing their more unfortunate cousins, they have evolved into factions of their own.



Have a squirrely Xmas!

Ratatoskr Statues now spawn quad powerup orbs automatically. This adds another dimension to high score gameplay and has been added to Squirrel Town and Autumnal Rituals mission maps.



A couple of small hotfix patches this week to address audio, squirrel climbing and stuck squirrels.



While squirrels sometimes still get stuck in places, I'm continually improving maps to minimize problem areas not noticed before.

[h2]Updates Summary[/h2]
- squirrel wall and fence climbing improved
- fixing 'stuck' squirrel areas on maps
- clearing trees on Autumnal Rituals mission map
- fix puchasable ammo on Autumnal Rituals map
- Ratatoskr statues now spawn orbs of delight (working on spawn effects / sounds)
- less roof cheese



It has come to my attention that Squirrelmageddon! may be one of the first released games openly using AI art to help tell story and set visual lore.

Before discovering AI 'art', the lore for Squirremageddon! was primarily text, with a few screenshots here and there. I had no way to convey the HORROR... after all, the in-game squirrels are adorable... so adorable... so cute... so hungry...

Some people are saying that AI Art is a passing fad, others say it's illegal to use, others like myself see it as a game changer.

After engaging with the AI Art / Art community and researching a heap, I can see how this is a highly debated subject, with some legal precedence coming soon...

I totally understand real artist's concerns, mainly around their art being used to train AI without their consent... but really, is that much different than a hyper art genius being shown art and then them using that as inspiration / basis for their own works?

I do firmly believe that if an artist can substantially recognize their own works in a commercially used AI Art image, the artist has a definite right to claim ownership and compensation.

What I have found really funny is that people making AI Art are actually calling themselves ARTISTS. I gave my 'AI Artist' a name 'Renaldo Montoya' as a JOKE... others are actually trying to sell AI ART as their artwork and calling themselves artists... that is just stupid. :P

Anyhow, will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Enjoy some spicy squirrel jerky in the meantime!

Was going to record an update video and noticed some glaring issues...

- audio fix 2 (oops pitch value wrong)
- Specimen Observation Lap map 'pit' squirrel climbing fixes
- Sanctuary map van mesh collisions changed to complex

- FIX: too many squirrel frame drop late game (map specific Max Squirrels)
- FIX: Destined to be Dinner mission objectives
- AUDIO: better hit material attenuation (metal / rock / concrete / dirt / squirrel heads)

==========================
- SQUIRREL: climbing tweaks
- WEAPON: blood decals fixed
- MEAT PICKUPS: Color Coded Fix
- BULLET IMPACT: audio tweaks
- WEAPON BALANCE: rocked, cannon, launcher stock reduced
- HUD: downed / revive text removed
- SQUIRRELS: linear size scaling (larger squirrels)