Heli-Cats News

This is the first of two Next Fest streams for Heli-Cats. I am a solo developer and hence can only manage a pre-recorded stream. If you have any questions, please use the chat and I will reply even if you do so after the event ends.

Watch the pre-recorded stream any time throughout the festival for solo and team gameplay up to mission 4. These are not superplays, but rather videos that aim to show enough features and situations that average players can understand.

Solo Gameplay
P1 Cat A / Player Skill: Average / Auto Bomb Off

Team Gameplay
P1 Cat B / Player Skill: Average / Auto Bomb Off
P2 Cat A / Player Skill: Beginner / Auto Bomb On

Give Trial Mode in the free demo a shot to learn how the game plays. There is infinite armor in this mode so don't worry if you're a beginner to shoot'em ups or arcade games! Aim for a high score on the online leaderboards!

Version 0.9.2 Update Notes:

• The player helicopter will flash throughout the duration of a bombing sequence to indicate its invincible status.
  
• Increased the hit score of some enemies for higher scoring potential.
  
• Activating the Steam overlay will pause the game when inside a mission and prevent input within the game to avoid unwanted commands.
  

Watch the pre-recorded stream any time throughout the festival for solo and team gameplay up to mission 4. These are not superplays, but rather videos that aim to show enough features and situations that average players can understand.

Solo Gameplay
P1 Cat A / Player Skill: Average / Auto Bomb Off

Team Gameplay
P1 Cat B / Player Skill: Average / Auto Bomb Off
P2 Cat A / Player Skill: Beginner / Auto Bomb On

Give Trial Mode in the free demo a shot to learn how the game plays. There is infinite armor in this mode so don't worry if you're a beginner to shoot'em ups or arcade games! Aim for a high score on the online leaderboards!

With beta testing underway, starting from this update, info will be about the main game. All changes also apply to the demo, unless specifically stated.

Version 0.9.1 Update Notes:

• Added an option for auto bomb in Arcade Mode; auto bombing activates only when down to the last armor point and disqualifies the score from the online leaderboard upon its first use.
  
• Added a quick mission restart in the pause menu for early mistakes in a run; this option only appears during mission 1 in Trial and Arcade Modes but is selectable for all missions in Training Mode.
  
• Reduced the player helicopter hitbox slightly; the actual area is now smaller than the cockpit frame but still too large to dodge through very tight patterns.
  
• Increased the hitbox of small tanks slightly.
  
• Auto fire will resume firing if still held down when the focus shot is being used but the focus counter drops to zero.
  
• An active game will pause when any controller is disconnected.
  

Watch a mission 1 gameplay video using Cat A to learn the 3 main scoring methods. It shows how staying at a low power level, not using focus shots, and firing at close range allows attaining a score more than 3 times of that playing for survival. The score of 205,600 in this single mission alone is more than the majority of Trial Mode scores in the demo that encompass two missions! Cat A, in this case, is much more versatile than many believe it is capable of. In addition, mission 1 becomes an important start stage to get a much earlier first extend in Arcade Mode.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

All of this can be replicated in the demo so give it a try! Do note that getting hit 3 times in Trial removes any focus bonus at mission end despite having infinite armor. It will also be more difficult to attempt such moves as the missions get harder, so an optimal combination of the scoring methods that takes into account safety will be needed.

Formulating a good leveling strategy based on personal skill that balances score and survival is the key to higher scores and far more important than fast reflexes!