Heli-Cats News

Heli-Cats hit a milestone this week! While other popular games celebrate the number of copies sold or maximum concurrent player counts, those are all irrelevant to this tiny unknown game.

[h3]Instead, the first player outside of internal testers finally managed to reach mission 9 and complete a full arcade run, all while also unlocking cat D in the process and without the criteria being made known yet![/h3]

Here's to more of you doing so in the future. More hints and tips will be posted soon to help everyone out with the game.

This update aims to help players who find Heli-Cats's power up resource system too stressful to manage. All Cat types now have more level 3 normal shots available. Orbs also refill the meter more. Basically, there is no need to keep refilling with orbs as often, allowing players to explore and better understand the relationship of the different shots.

[h3]This changes the flow of the game depending on how one plays.[/h3]

Those who are getting better with the mechanics should find maintaining level 3 in missions and during boss encounters much more relaxed. Shot discipline is still very important and players holding auto fire constantly will not see as much benefit. Check out the Focus Shot post below to learn how it works in detail. The focus shot is not just for getting orbs. Learning how to alternate the shots brings out the full potential of the helicopters.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2262880/view/3893986782131016961

Players going for score will now have to be aware of the longer time it takes to power down from level 3. Taking risks and deliberately staying at a low level will still yield the greatest scores, but that is really for advanced players.

Overall, everyone should be able to progress further with the increased survivability.

Ver 1.0.3 Update Notes:

• Increased the amount of level 3 normal shots available across all Cat types.
  
• Increased the orb refill amounts for level 3.
  

The Remote Play Together Fest is on for one week and Heli-Cats is part of it, meaning it is on sale.

However, I would like to use this opportunity to highlight this functionality of Steam that many don't know about. Remote Play Together is essentially game streaming / game sharing a local co-op game from another computer over the Internet.

The official Steam explanation can be found here https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay?snr=1_remoteplaytogether_4__1601#together


After testing it, I was actually surprised by how playable it was, even for a fast paced genre such as the shoot'em up. Granted the physical distance between the players for my tests were within the same city with all players having good connections, but when it works, it was as good as playing local co-op. And only the host has to own the game. In the case of the demo, players can simply try this functionality out without even buying the full version!

Here are some things that might be helpful in setting up a session (which was quite confusing at first).

• Ideally, all players should have game controllers. Remote Play Together allows for only one keyboard, but the host can pass the keyboard to the guest via the Remote settings.
  
• If both players own the game, the host should be the one with the better computer to allow for the extra CPU load to output a good stream AND run the game. Heli-Cats is not an intensive game by any means, but streaming does take up a lot more resources.
  
• The guest, apparently, does not even need to have Steam or even a computer. Remote Play Together can work with a mobile phone or tablet using a Steam Link app. Although, I would not recommend playing this game with anything but a proper controller (or a physical keyboard at worst).
  
• It is possible to reduce the resolution of the stream down to 720p in the settings to improve the latency if the distance between host and guest is proving too far. Heli-Cats looks fine at the lower resolution and you definitely want a high 60fps.
  
• I highly recommend using some external communications method because fiddling within Steam is somewhat hit and miss and can possible end the connection.
  

Give it a try and let me and other players know if you find settings that help make the process easier to connect!

The Remote Play Together Fest is on for one week and Heli-Cats is part of it, meaning it is on sale.

However, I would like to use this opportunity to highlight this functionality of Steam that many don't know about. Remote Play Together is essentially game streaming / game sharing a local co-op game from another computer over the Internet.

The official Steam explanation can be found here https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay?snr=1_remoteplaytogether_4__1601#together


After testing it, I was actually surprised by how playable it was, even for a fast paced genre such as the shoot'em up. Granted the physical distance between the players for my tests were within the same city with all players having good connections, but when it works, it was as good as playing local co-op. And only the host has to own the game. In the case of the demo, players can simply try this functionality out without even buying the full version!

Here are some things that might be helpful in setting up a session (which was quite confusing at first).

• Ideally, all players should have game controllers. Remote Play Together allows for only one keyboard, but the host can pass the keyboard to the guest via the Remote settings.
  
• If both players own the game, the host should be the one with the better computer to allow for the extra CPU load to output a good stream AND run the game. Heli-Cats is not an intensive game by any means, but streaming does take up a lot more resources.
  
• The guest, apparently, does not even need to have Steam or even a computer. Remote Play Together can work with a mobile phone or tablet using a Steam Link app. Although, I would not recommend playing this game with anything but a proper controller (or a physical keyboard at worst).
  
• It is possible to reduce the resolution of the stream down to 720p in the settings to improve the latency if the distance between host and guest is proving too far. Heli-Cats looks fine at the lower resolution and you definitely want a high 60fps.
  
• I highly recommend using some external communications method because fiddling within Steam is somewhat hit and miss and can possible end the connection.
  

Give it a try and let me and other players know if you find settings that help make the process easier to connect!

Hello, Heli-Cats players.

I have another game called Pryzm that is coming soon to Steam. It is a survival adventure mystery with turn-based combat and escape parameters that change with every new 1 to 2-hour run, and a visual novel that can be played like a speedrun.

If you've been interested in the genre but are hesitant about the often lengthy time commitment of such text heavy stories, this game might be for you. It is a visual novel for those who normally prefer arcade games.

Try out the demo at the Steam page below. Thank you for your interest!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2725520