Carnage in Space: Crucible News

Turns out the quality of the last update was not as assured as the title made it out to be. Whoops.

To make it up to you, this update brings not only a long list of fixes and improvements, but a new piece of music for Chapter 2!

And not to worry; we are still making headway towards the final content release. But in the meantime, enjoy another round of refinement to the content we've already got!

[h2]New Content[/h2]

• Added a few new codex pages. Some can be collected now; others will be obtainable during Kodon's story.
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]

• Added new music for Chapter 2
  

[h2]Cutscenes[/h2]

• Fixed a typo in Chapter 6
  
• Fixed Tuhrahkkkii's position in Chapter 7 Intro B
  
• Fixed several NPCs not talking to you in the epilogue
  
• Fixed a typo in Chapter 4 (T) outro
  
• Fixed the dropship's landing gear coming down too early in Tuhrahkkkii's hub intro cutscene
  

[h2]Graphics[/h2]

• Made the cave exit brighter in Chapter 6 intro
  
• Redesigned the effects for water & acid to make them look even cleaner and more jank-free than the previous update
  
• Removed a duplicate geyser in Chapter 7
  

[h2]Player/Weapons[/h2]

• Drastically reduced Kodon's hover time after accidentally making it too powerful in the previous update
  
• Kodon's animation now changes when his hover fuel runs out
  
• Slowed down the horizontal fire rate and sped up the vertical fire rate to match on Kodon's pistols
  
• Removed the double-shot feature, added some start-up lag, and adjusted the animation for the basic shot of Kodon's cannon
  
• Increased the duration (and total damage) of the beam shot of Kodon's cannon
  
• When using a gamepad, with the default controls, the player will not jump while closing the shop menu
  

[h2]Level[/h2]

• Added new obstacles and setpieces to Chapter 2
  
• Fixed enemies getting stuck in the ceiling and walls in the arena
  
• Fixed the Chapter 4 (N) falling sequence not triggering properly in free/challenge mode
  
• Removed a spike in Chapter 4 (N) that an enemy would always die on
  
• Fixed the "Deadly Deadline" challenge in Chapter 8 causing an infinite instant-death loop
  
• Regi will once more animate when spoken to in the shop
  
• Regi does not appear in the shop until after Chapter 1; Bea's dialogue reflects this if asked
  
• The shopkeepers' dialogue upon breaking a dummy is now non-interrupting
  
• Fixed the Death's Door challenge not applying in Prologue (T)
  

[h2]Enemies[/h2]

• Fixed Flyboy flying off to the top of the screen during battle
  
• Fixed Berserker drones not attacking
  
• Fixed robot enemies dropping the wrong shrapnel
  
• Fixed Aquatic Workers getting stuck in the air after getting hit
  
• Slightly reduced the velocity of Bursters when they bounce off of a wall
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• The melee/gun selector in the pause screen now selects the currently-equipped weapon when you open it
  
• Added glyphs for arrow keys, in case they are used as keybinds
  

[h2]System[/h2]

• Fixed custom keybinds not being applied at the title screen
  

Hello, players! Good news - Phase 3 is in development, and I have recently hit the 1st of 4 major milestones on the way to releasing it. In the meantime, here are an assortment of small changes and bug fixes that I've made in the past few months.

The most major issue fixed today was that it was impossible to get the good ending if playing as Nightmare. Whoops! Sorry if this confused any players who were wondering what they got wrong.

Besides the new story content, another less exciting project I've been undertaking is refactoring a lot of old code. Some of the design patterns in this game's code are over 10 years old (wow, I've been working on this game for a long time), and some of the features I've relied heavily on are now deprecated. In order to make sure I can continue developing the game with the latest engine features and fixes of Construct 3, I have a lot of stuff to update. And that means having to work a little longer on this game.

Anyway, we're getting there. Slowly.



[h2]Cutscenes[/h2]

• Fixed a typo in the explanation of challenge mode
  
• Fixed the position of Nightmare's sword in Chapter 4 intro B
  
• Changed a sound effect used in Chapter 4 intro B
  
• Fixed the camera not following the lead player correctly in Chapter 4 outro and others
  
• Fixed the camera following the mothership boss too long as it dies
  
• Fixed Chapter 6 always going to the bad ending if playing as Nightmare
  

[h2]Player/Weapons[/h2]

• The Bloodlust nanotech now drains your maximum HP
  
• Boodlust and Second Wind can only be equipped while your health is full
  
• Second Wind and Pit Rescue cannot be unequipped after they have activated
  
• Increased the knockback of the Vibrosword's combo finisher
  
• Kodon's hover jump stays aloft much longer when not moving horizontally
  
• Added Kodon's victory animation
  

[h2]Level[/h2]

• The standard victory animation plays after beating the boss in free play/challenge mode in Prologue (N), Prologue (T), and Chapter 4 (T)
  
• Boulders in chapter 3 are slightly less easy to crush yourself with
  
• Geysers in chapter 3 are now animated
  
• Water should no longer have a visible seam on the edge
  
• Redesigned the environmental puzzle in chapter 3 to be more interesting, and much less janky
  
• Characters in town with something new to say now correctly show thought bubbles as intended
  
• Fixed the hitbox of a spike in Chapter 4 that couldn't hurt you
  
• Replaced certain enemies in the arena with new ones
  

[h2]Enemies[/h2]

• Human enemies once again bleed on hit
  
• Basic human enemies drop their weapons on death
  
• The minion spawns from the final boss have been rebalanced to be less overwhelming, especially on hard mode
  
• Slightly reduced the final boss's HP, again
  
• Bursters take significantly more knockback from weapons
  
• Walking enemies now correctly wait before moving after getting hit. This prevents riot troopers from turning around near-instantly after blocking.
  

[h2]Gameplay[/h2]

• Increased the value of coin drops from enemies
  
• Slightly reduced the coin bonuses from challenge mode
  
• The price of upgrades now scales to the number of upgrades you already have installed (similar to health/ammo/nanotech expansions)
  
• Slightly reduced the prices of most weapons
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• Restored the visual effects as your rank increases on the results screen
  

[h2]Internal[/h2]

• Refactored a lot of old code to ensure compatibility with future engine updates
  

Finally! I had planned since I started this project to support all of Windows/Mac/Linux, but I've had a variety of struggles getting the Mac/Linux versions to work properly. Recently, the Construct 3 engine has introduced new tools to export modern builds to each OS separately, so I've given these a try and they appear to work.

Steam Cloud should work as expected, so your saves can carry over seamlessly between multiple PCs on different operating systems.

And yes, macOS support is still on the table. I plan to get that added eventually.

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[h2] Interface [/h2]

• Pressing the cancel button will now exit out of the Move list screen
  

[h2]Internal[/h2]

• Changed some internal code to allow for cross-platform compatibility
  

Hey, players! Thanks to the valiant efforts of a volunteer localization team, all of the game's text is now available in Brazilian Portuguese. And although this news post is translated by Google Translate, the actual text in the game is written by native speakers.

Aside from that, I have some minor tweaks and bug fixes to show off. Enemies are much more aggressive now, so be careful!

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[h2]New Content[/h2]

• The Portuguese translation is 100% complete (up to this point)
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]

• The victory music once again plays after the Chapter 2 boss
  

[h2]Player/Weapons[/h2]

• Added the Beam Flail weapon for Kodon
  

[h2]Enemies[/h2]

• Enemies now attack sooner, and more consistently, after appearing on-screen
  
• Zarres' jump attack is faster in hard mode, and he starts using it at higher health than before
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• The in-game language now stays changed after changing it in the settings without restarting the game
  

[h2]Internal[/h2]

• Changed the game's directory structure to comply with updated Construct 3 standards
  

Hello players! Welcome to our first post-release update! Phase 2 (the Tuhrahkkkii update) is still ongoing, but in the meantime I've got lots of things worth releasing a new build for.

First up, we've got some new music in the game! Chapter 1 and the Mission Complete screen have had new music recorded to replace the old placeholder tracks. I personally feel Chapter 1's new theme alone is worth starting up the game just to listen to.

Secondly, there is now a speedrun timer, for people who are into that sort of thing! This feature is optional and can be turned on or off in the settings. If you want to show off your speedrunning chops, this timer will give you video proof of your accomplishments.

And our third change... is actually several dozen changes in one. There are 39 bullet points in today's patch notes, including balance changes, bug fixes, and other quality-of-life improvements. This also includes some new content that won't be properly showcased until the 2.0.0 update, but until then your playing experience should be that much better for them.

Reminder: If you want to see how progress is coming on the 2.0.0 update, don't forget to check out my devlog over on GameJolt!

Thanks for playing!

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[h2]Audio[/h2]

• Added new music to Chapter 1
  
• Changed a song in a cutscene in Chapter 6
  
• Replaced the victory/mission complete music
  

[h2]Cutscenes[/h2]

• Revised the intro cutscene for your first time in Dunest Spaceport
  
• Fixed a bug where characters' names would sometimes be blank in certain cutscenes
  
• Added engine SFX/VFX to the prologue outro cutscene
  
• Fixed a bug that was causing the 2nd intro cutscene in Chapter 7 to get skipped
  

[h2]Weapons[/h2]

• Added the Grenade Belt weapon for Kodon
  
• Added the Glaive weapon for Tuhrahkkkii
  
• Added the Sawblade Boomerang weapon for Tuhrahkkkii
  
• Weapons that hurt both the player and enemies (such as grenades) will do 1/2 of their usual damage to the player
  
• Removed the 4th combo attack from the Clawblades
  
• The Clawblades dash attack only hits 2 times instead of 3
  
• The Clawblades beam deals the full damage, passes through walls, and has reduced range
  
• Reduced damage multiplier for Tuhrahkkkii's supercharged attacks from 2x to 1.5x
  
• Tuhrahkkkii's combo finisher can be used without buying an upgrade
  
• Reduced the duration of Tuhrahkkkii's Berserker Rush from 7s to 6
  
• The Brute Force Booster nanotech will no longer activate partway through a combo, hitting the enemy out of reach
  

[h2]Level[/h2]

• Lowered the boss arena platforms in Chapter 6U, so that all player characters can reach them with a basic jump
  
• Prevented the player from leaving the falling cave sequence in Chapter 4N the way they came, which would softlock the game
  
• Reduced the movement of one platform in Chapter 4N to make the player less likely to miss the jump
  
• Changed up some of the boss waves in the arena
  
• Adjusted the camera in the Chapter 1 boss fight to keep the boss on screen at all times
  
• Fixed the player's ammo not fully restoring after dying and respawning in Chapter 1 (and elsewhere?)
  
• Made some more roofs walkable in Chapter 1
  
• Fixed a bug preventing the minibosses from activating during Chapter 8
  

[h2]Enemies[/h2]

• Developed a new flying enemy AI with natural, physics-based movement
  
• Flying enemies now take knockback from damage, just like walking enemies do
  
• Reduced the speed of the Sentry Drone & Assault Drone to compensate for their improved AI
  
• Fixed some enemies not reinitializing their AI after reloading a checkpoint
  
• Improved the visual effects when breaking a Riot Trooper's shield
  
• In hard mode, Zarres' jump attack creates shockwaves. Additionally, this shakes the screen.
  
• Various balance and behavior tweaks to the 4N boss
  
• Various balance and FX tweaks to the 6N boss
  
• Added a new attack to the Chapter 6N boss (hard mode only)
  
• Adjusted enemy pathfinding AI to not stray too far or too early from their patrol zones
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• Added a Speedrun timer (which can be enabled in Settings)
  
• Keyboard keys in the UI now have a distinct background
  
• Pressing the back button (Backspace) now exits tabbed menus in 1 fewer button-press