Heli-Cats News

This update adds the mission bosses to Training mode. Individual bosses will be unlocked only after clearing them in Arcade mode, either by destroying or timing out.

Bosses will start at the highest mission rank cap, while the focus counter is set to 1000. Training mode bosses represent the hardest possible form they can take, meaning that their versions in Arcade mode is most likely less difficulty since players will normally not be at max rank unless they are already doing an advanced skill scoring run.

Use Training mode's unlimited armor to find a strategy that works without worrying about getting hit, or try changing the player power level to see if a lower level is also doable.

This update adds advanced settings in the display options. The defaults usually work for most players, but they are provided to give choices based on personal preferences and hardware.

STRETCH MODE - This setting was previously available and is mainly used to change the way the game scales in size on non-standard screen and window resolutions. If in full screen using a 1080, 1440, or 2160 screen, there will be no difference. On a 768 screen, for example, using Pixel Perfect will reduce the game to a smaller size based on an integer multiple of 360 (with black borders or wallpaper around it). To see this in effect, disable full screen, resize the window, then toggle this setting. It should also be visible on the Steam Deck's native resolution.

BULLET COLOR - The official way to play this game is to use red bullets for low elevation and yellow bullets for high. All art direction was based off of this combination. The Alternate color changes the high elevation from yellow to blue. The player helicopter, player bullets, and all air enemies also change their respective colors accordingly. It is provided as an option for those struggling with the default and is aimed at helping those coming from bullet hell games such as those by Cave. However, it may not shorten the the learning curve this game has. Do note that monitor settings such as saturation and contrast have a big effect on the appearance of colors as well.



VSYNC - Having this enabled makes the game attempt to match the refresh rate of the monitor. It is only useful with monitors above 60Hz and may make the game look smoother on such screens.

LOCKED 60 FPS - Having this enabled locks the game at 60 fps. If VSync is enabled, this is usually set to off, and vice versa. Locking it to 60 makes the game use less CPU than a higher rate and may improve performance on lower end machines. If enabled, it is advisable to lower a high refresh rate monitor down to the locked 60Hz in order to avoid choppy movement.

(Note to macOS users: Using VSync On and Locked 60 FPS Off is recommended for Ventura and above.)

Heli-Cats has a confirmed release date. It will be out on November 13, 2023 at 11AM UTC. Early adopters get the largest discount during launch week.

Please check back for more updates leading up to it. Thank you.

Heli-Cats uses a credits system that rewards performance and time spent playing. In the full game, credits earned are displayed as USER and SYSTEM credits towards the top right of the mode select screen. Players earn 1 USER credit for every mission cleared per Arcade run, or for completing a Trial Mode run. SYSTEM credits are unlocked for every hour spent in either Trial or Arcade.

The first entry credit at the Select Heli screen is always free. The number of continues available in Arcade is the sum of USER and SYSTEM credits. SYSTEM credits are permanent, meaning they will always be available as continues for every new Arcade run. This allows even beginners to eventually build a comfortable stock of credits simply by playing the game. With an increase in skill over time, players should reach a point when USER credits become quite plentiful.

In addition, USER credits have an important secondary function that will be explained later.

This update brings the game closer to a release state with a score rebalancing that helps both beginners to survive and motivates skilled players to take on more risk. It also adds faster ways to skip non-mission sections.

Version 0.9.3 Update Notes:

• Reduced the armor extend score to every 400,000. This significantly changes the extend timings and allows average players to earn the first extend much sooner while also granting multiple extends per run to skilled players aiming for score. Getting an extend while armor is full gives a 100,000 score bonus, meaning it only takes another 300,000 for the next extend.
  
• Increased the score bonus of the energy tanks in mission 5.
  
• Getting hit from the third time onwards in Trial Mode incurs a no score, no focus counter penalty for a cooldown period, preventing point blanking while exploiting unlimited armor.
  
• Pressing start will completely skip mission briefings and mission complete dialogue, instead of advance the dialogue. The shot, elevation, and bomb buttons will still just advance it.
  
• Holding start during mid-mission dialogue will fast forward the game until the dialogue ends.