Escape From Mandrillia News

Hello there! Continuing with the scenery final pass, I finally gave the Security Room proper models.

The Security Room mechanics have always been quite confusing and convoluted. Nobody really used them (not even myself), so I'm streamlining some stuff here.

[h2]TURRET SPAWNING[/h2]
Until now, a lone Sentry Turret randomly spawned somewhere on the map. You could link your Multitool to the Security Room console to see it on your radar (nobody ever did that really).

Now, all over the map are these "Turret Cages". There's a guaranteed Sentry that will always spawn in one at the Security Room, and another one will spawn in another, random one.

While old turrets had some big damage resistance until they were first picked up, new turrets will be 100% invincible until their cage is open. This prevents Mandrillian players from finding them early and either destroying them/farming them for points.

To balance this, they will need a high-clearance (yellow) keycard to be open, which means Mandrillian players will have some breathing room at the start of a match. Once a Turret Cage is open, that sentry will always appear on the VR player's Multitool.

[h2]THE SECURITY CAMERAS[/h2]
The Security Camera console has been simplified. For next update, the new system will be put in place; instead of the confusing keycard-operated warning system, it will be a straight out video feed you'll be able to cycle. Hopefully, this will all be ready before next weekend. Fingers crossed!



That's all for now. If everything goes well, soon I'll be able to start working on finally replacing the "Victory Room" with its final version, as well as start work on the assets for the Warehouse/Shooting range. Stay tuned!

[h3]FULL CHANGELOG[/h3]

• Reworked Security Room console model
  
• Sentry Turrets now spawn on "Turret Cages" that need a high-clearance (yellow) keycard to open.
  
• Added new tutorial tip for the Turret Cage
  
• Once a Turret Cage is open, its turret will always appear in the Multitool
  
• Increased number of turret spawns from 1 to 2 (one always guaranteed in the Security Room)
  
• Sentry Turret HP reduced from 150 to 125
  
• Sentry Turret magazine capacity reduced from 20 to 15
  
• Sentry Turret jamming duration increased from 10 to a random value between 10 and 15 seconds
  
• Improved Sentry Turret destruction FX
  
• Jamming duration for the elevator gate console increased from 10 to a random value between 14 and 16 seconds
  

Hello there! The Main Menu facelift continues, this time with a long-needed, hyper-compressed video tutorial covering all the basics for the Mandrillian players. This video tutorial is projected as a one-minute loop in the Observation Chamber. Here's how it looks from the VR side of the glass (that Mandrillian should be paying attention):



The video covers different movement speeds (and its effect on the Motion Sensor), stamina management and recovery, how to charge an attack, front and back dodge, vent mechanics (spawn point unlocking, healing, 1-ups, fast repositioning), door breaking, scent tracking, berserking and the upgrade system. I think I've condensed all that info as tightly as possible!

Now for the remaining final touches on the Main Menu. I'm reworking the dummies to be more flexible (I already had a first approach to them with the now-discarded Halloween Murderbot event). I plan on reusing them on the upcoming Research and Development zone (as it's weapon-testing themed) and the future Firing Range, so I'm making sure they'll be fun to disassemble. Here's a preview!



That's all for now. Hopefully I'll be able to quickly wrap up the Main Menu work so I can finally finish the remaining "core map" areas (the security room and, more importantly, the Victory Room that has been a placeholder for too darn long). See you soon!

Hello there! Started working on the upcoming Mandrillian onbording/tutorialization rework and the first thing that had to go was the messy control layout wall. It used to show both controller and keyboard/mouse controls in... not a very clear way. Now it's way nicer looking, and also will change depending on your control type. That's all for now, but stay tuned!

Hello there! As I keep working on the final form of the Main Menu, here's a long-awaited feature.

Since the beginning, there's been a Multitool plugged into a charger on the Main Menu (implied to be the one on the scientist's corpse you pick up at the start of every match).

Until now, it was just a piece of scenery, but now it's fully functional (along with the charger). You can pick it up and familiarize yourself with its features in a safe space: the motion sensor detects the caged Mandrillians, and you can cloak yourself and see how the heat system works. You can charge it up at the charge station, and you can even give the Mandrillians a shock in the starting cutscene!

Next up will be finally adding proper onboarding/tutorialization for Mandrillian players. I used to have some videos on the walls that got scrapped as the mechanics got refined, and I'm going to go somewhat back to that idea but with an actual in-game projector with slides to teach the PC players the ropes of the game. Stay tuned!

As always, I appreciate any feedback you can give be it on the steam forums or at the Official Discord. See you soon!

[h3]FULL CHANGELOG[/h3]

• Multitool can now be used on the Main Menu
  
• Multitool charge station on the Main Menu now functional
  
• Beauty pass on the Main Menu lighting
  
• Small performance improvements on the Main Menu
  
• Fixed head clipping issues with the Observation Chamber 4 glass
  
• Sentry Turret laser now blocked by items