NewMe NuMe LuMe: Alien Wars News

Firstly, please understand that this message has been written using a translation tool and may have issues with clarity.



Hello everyone!

It’s already been a month since the December update, and just like that, 2024 has ended, and 2025 has begun!

How have you all been doing this past month?


If you managed to wrap up everything you wanted to do last year, I hope this year brings you even more success.

If there’s still something left unfinished, I hope you achieve it this year!


Anyway, this update covers the development progress over the past month since December, the new checkpoint system update, and other miscellaneous news!


Check out the details below!








[1. Checkpoint System Update]

Currently, the checkpoint system allows you to start from the midpoint of each stage.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4522268823006211533
(For more details, please refer to last year’s update post!)


However, there were requests to add checkpoints not just at the "midpoint" but also right before boss fights!
(Thank you so much for your feedback!)

While having more checkpoint options is definitely a good idea, I can’t quite remember why I only added the "midpoint" last year...

I think there was a personal reason, but I’ve completely forgotten it! Hahaha!





Anyway, in this update, I’ve added a checkpoint right before boss fights.

You can now choose your starting point by selecting the desired TV channel, as shown in the image below!



(This feature unlocks when you encounter the boss in that stage.

If you encountered the boss before the update but didn’t clear the stage, it won’t be unlocked, so please keep that in mind!)







Additionally, with the addition of the midpoint TV channel selection, I’ve also added new drawings for each TV channel!

Check them out when you play!


(Note: For Stages 5 and 6 in the main story, the checkpoint is already right before the boss fight, so the TV channel selection won’t be added there.)








[2. Difficulty Adjustments for the Additional (Epilogue) Stages]

In the December update, I categorized the perceived difficulty of the additional (epilogue) stages,

including the existing ones, and decided to keep the additional stages at a "single difficulty" while slightly easing the overall difficulty.


However, unlike the main stages, the additional (epilogue) stages don’t have a "coin revival" feature, so I felt further adjustments were needed.

In this update, I’ve made two small changes:




1. Player Health

- The player’s base health in the additional stages has been increased by 1.




2. Mid-Boss Jump Speed Reduction


The jump speed of the mid-boss in Stage 2 of the additional (epilogue) stages, Fencing phantele,

has been reduced by 15–20%.




This concludes the difficulty adjustments for the additional (epilogue) stages,

but if you have any further feedback, please leave a comment on this post or use the link below!

I’ll do my best to incorporate your suggestions!

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2855660/discussions/0/4364628673432078457/








[3. Development Progress on the Additional (Epilogue) Stages]

Currently, the field section of the final stage in the additional (epilogue) content is about 70% complete.

I originally planned to finish it this month, but it’s taking longer than expected...


Anyway, here are the dot animations for the new enemies that appear in the latter half of the stage!







[previewyoutube][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
I’ve also uploaded a short video of the field section of the final stage and the mysterious character mentioned in this post!

Please take a look!






The field section is expected to be completed around mid-February,

after which I’ll start working on the story (including the prologue) for the additional stages.


The update was originally planned for March, but given the current development pace,

it’ll likely be pushed to April or May.



As for why the update is taking longer than expected...




1. [Writing Character Dialogue]

First, writing character dialogue turned out to be more challenging than I thought.

It took me about a month to write the dialogue for the main stages (Stages 1–6).


Since the additional stages are half the length (3 stages), I expect it to take at least 2–3 weeks.




2. [Drawing Character Art]

This is probably the main reason for the delay.

All the drawings in the dialogue windows and settings screens were done by me.


[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O0YkYAEtUk[/previewyoutube]
(Me drawing the art)


When I first started making the game, I thought it’d be a good idea to include a lot of drawings in the dialogue windows, but...



As you can see from the image above, it turned out to require way more drawings than I expected.

Just the drawings for the main stages took about 3 months...


Of course, the additional (epilogue) stages are shorter than the main stages,

and my drawing skills have improved since then, so it might take less time than expected.


Still, I think it’ll take at least 1–2 months.








That’s all for this announcement!



If you have any suggestions for additional systems or difficulty adjustments,

please let me know! I’ll do my best to incorporate your feedback.








Thank you very much for your interest in the game I developed!

Firstly, please understand that this message has been written using a translation tool and may have issues with clarity.



Hello!

It’s already been a month since the November update, and now we’ve entered the final month of the year!

How have you all been this past month?


As December marks the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, I hope blessings accompany any new endeavors you pursue!

This time, the news will cover the progress made over the past month since November, updates to the additional (epilogue) stage features, and, lastly, one piece of unfortunate news.


Please see the details below!








[1. About the Additional (Epilogue) Stage]



1-1. New Enemies

The final stage of the additional (epilogue) stage is currently only partially completed,

and here are the pixel images of the new enemies that appear in the early sections!







[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]










Additionally, I’ve made some new additions, but since my writing skills might not do them justice,

I’ve also uploaded a short video for you.






1-2. About the Difficulty of the Additional (Epilogue) Stage



Initially, the additional (epilogue) stage was designed to be easier than the main stages.

However, based on your feedback, I temporarily paused work on the additional (epilogue) stage to add a “difficulty system” to the main stages.

As a result, there are now three difficulty levels, which differ from my original plan. Here’s how I perceive their relative difficulty:


-----
Main Stage "Spicy!" difficulty: 10 (From stage 3 onward, it’s nearly impossible to clear.)

Additional (Epilogue) Stage difficulty: 5~7 (It’s tough, but you can manage to clear it.)

Main Stage "Just Right!" difficulty: 3~4 (It might not actually be “just right,” but it’s easier than the above.)
-----


Given this, the "Spicy!" difficulty for the main stages appears to have been a failure,

as I don’t think anyone will attempt it.


Therefore, I’ve decided not to add a “difficulty system” to the additional (epilogue) stage.

Instead, I’ll maintain a single difficulty level and make slight adjustments to ease the difficulty.


Here are the patch details:





[1-2-1. Mid-Boss HP Adjustment]



In the 2nd stage of the additional (epilogue) stage, the mid-boss,

Fencing phantele, has had its HP reduced from 425 to 300.




[1-2-2. OcherFrog Adjustments]


1. Thunder Shot



The range of the Thunder Shot has been increased by 75 pixels.


2. Laser Gun



The maximum number of projectiles that can exist simultaneously has been increased from 6 to 12.


3. Shop Weapon Ammo Upgrade



The amount of ammo added per upgrade has been adjusted to 20%.




[1-2-3. Added Melee Attack Enhancement Feature]




I’ve added the melee attack enhancement feature from the main stage to the additional stages as well.

values are as follows:


Melee Attack Level 1 Charge Value: 80
Melee Attack Level 2 Charge Value: 60


(For more information on the charge feature, please check the link below!)

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4472731215261073523
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4472731215261073619







[2. About the Unfortunate News]



2-1. Significant Reduction in Development Time

Starting this December, due to “personal reasons,” the amount of time I can spend on game development each day has significantly decreased.


At best, my available time has been reduced to one-fourth, and at worst, to one-eighth...

As a result, I’ve had to scale back the scope of the final stage from the original plan, and future updates will also likely take longer.


I deeply apologize for this.



2-2. Future Update Plans

Here are the future update plans:


=====
1. Update the final stage field battle and add the story for the additional (epilogue) stage.

2. Update the boss battle and the ending for the additional (epilogue) stage.
====


Currently, only 30% of the field battle in the final stage has been completed,

and the story has not been worked on at all. I anticipate this will take quite a bit of time.


I’ll share the reasons why the story development is taking longer in next month’s development news!








If you have any suggestions for new systems to add or adjustments to the difficulty, please feel free to share them. I’ll do my best to implement them!


Also, if you’d like to see any of my game characters featured in the cover image for next month’s development news, please recommend them!

I’ll draw the character and feature them on the cover.
(Truthfully, I’ve run out of ideas for which characters or poses to use for the cover... Haha.)


That’s all for this announcement.







Thank you very much for your interest in the game I developed!

Firstly, please understand that this message has been written using a translation tool and may have issues with clarity.



Hello!

Not long after the last update... I'm here to see you again!

How have you been these past few days?


Now that November is halfway through and December, the end of the year, is fast approaching, I hope your preparations for wrapping up the year are going well!

Anyway, today's notice is about the addition of the Attack Direction Lock feature and other updates!
Please check the details below!








[1. Attack Direction Lock Feature]


1-1. Adding the Attack Direction Lock Feature

I've been contemplating for a long time how to improve controls for "diagonal attacks," which I personally found quite challenging.

During that time, I received suggestions about adding an "Attack Direction Lock" feature, so I decided to include it!
(Thank you so much for your feedback about this feature!)




However, since this feature wasn't part of the initial game design, creating the necessary animation frames turned out to be quite a task…







So, instead of creating separate animations for each direction the player character faces,

I decided to implement a system where a summoned mirror locks onto the direction the player was facing and reflects the attack back in that direction, as shown in the images above!








As for key assignments, on the keyboard, it's mapped to the Space Bar, and for gamepads, it replaces the original bomb button.
(From now on, the bomb button for gamepads is only available on the L button!)




Please note that in the additional stages, for Kim Ttolttol, it’s the assistant doll's attack direction that gets locked instead of their own.

For charged attacks, the assistant doll is summoned in front of the direction Kim Ttolttol is facing, so please keep this in mind!



1-2. About Key Configurations

I've also received feedback about adding a save function for key configuration changes.




However, as shown in the image above, when the selected key is already assigned to another function, the two keys don't swap places; instead, they get duplicated, which causes issues.

I wanted to resolve this problem, but due to my limited programming skills, I haven't been able to fix it yet.

As it stands, I regret that I can't include the key-saving function at this time...







Since the only gamepad I currently own is a Pro Controller, I based the button mapping on that device.

However, since I personally prefer using the keyboard when playing on PC, I'm unsure if the gamepad's key assignments are ideal.

I considered two potential button layouts for the gamepad, as shown below:


----
1. Ranged Attack [ Y ], Melee Attack [ B ], Sliding [ R ], Bomb [ L ]

2. Ranged Attack [ B ], Melee Attack [ Y ], Sliding [ R ], Bomb [ L ]
---


If you have any suggestions for changing the button layout, please let me know, and I'll try to include them in a future update if it's something I can implement.
(Example: "I’d prefer the melee and ranged attack buttons to be swapped!")








[2. Adjustments to Enemy Difficulty and Patterns]


2-1. Adjustments to Boss Difficulty

Based on feedback that the final boss was too challenging, I've made the following adjustments:

1. Moderate difficulty: Reduced the speed of high-speed jumps by 30%.

2.All difficulties: Reduced ammo recharge time from 50 seconds to 40 seconds.

3.All difficulties: Increased resurrection health in Phase 1 from 2 to 4.




2-2. Additional Enemy Patterns




I discovered an issue where an enemy occasionally clips through walls and exits the screen when the player is near a wall.

I thought I had fixed this bug earlier, but apparently, I missed it.





However, resolving this bug, along with the problem of enemies getting stuck in walls, has proven very difficult as it stems from the game's initial design.




As a temporary solution, I’ve added a pattern where enemies jump to the player's position if they move too far from the screen, as shown above.








[3. Future Development Schedule]


Since late October, I’ve been releasing updates weekly.

For those of you who might be seeing this notice for the first time, here’s a summary of the previous updates:



https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4522268823006211533
1. Additional (Epilogue) Stages and Checkpoint Function Update

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4461471496628338977
2. Additional (Epilogue) Stage Boss Update and Brief Explanation of Boss Development

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4472731215261073523
3. Difficulty Adjustment System and Addition of a Charge Feature for Melee Attacks

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4472731215261073619
4. Enhanced Charge Feature for Melee Attacks and Addition of the Bomb Sliding Feature






However, while focusing on updates for additional features, progress on the final stage of the additional (epilogue) content has come to a halt.

As of now, the only progress made is the creation of a single new enemy sprite, as shown in the image above.

Therefore, after this update, unless I receive further feedback or suggestions, I will likely return to a monthly development update schedule, similar to the period between May and October.












Finally, please note that the features and systems included in this update were not part of the initial game plan.

Although I’ve reviewed it thoroughly, there may still be unforeseen bugs or errors during gameplay.

If the game crashes or an error occurs, please report it on the Steam Community page, and I’ll do my best to resolve it quickly!









This is where I'll end this announcement.

Thank you very much for your interest in the game I developed!

Firstly, please understand that this message has been written using a translation tool and may have issues with clarity.



Hello!

It hasn’t been long since the last update, so it’s nice to be back so soon!

Have you all been doing well these past few days?


This update announcement covers the addition of a melee attack patch and some other updates.

Please check the details below!








[1. Enhanced Melee Attack System]

In the previous update, a charge feature was added to the melee attack.
(For more information on the charge feature, please check the link below!)

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2855660/announcements/detail/4472731215261073523


After adding the ability for the charged melee attack to partially destroy enemy attacks, I found that, because of my play style, I often held off using charged attacks until more enemy bullets were on the screen.

To increase the options, I’ve now added an extra charge stage, allowing the melee attack to charge up to two stages!





1st charged attack


2nd charged attack




1st charged attack, fully charged


2nd charged attack, fully charged




Additionally, in “Normal” difficulty, the charge requirements for the melee attack are reduced, allowing it to be used a bit more frequently compared to the “Hard” difficulty.

Hard difficulty:
1st melee charge requirement: 80 → 70 (1st upgrade) → 60 (2nd upgrade)
2nd melee charge requirement: 60

Normal difficulty:
1st melee charge requirement: 60 → 50 (1st upgrade) → 40 (2nd upgrade)
2nd melee charge requirement: 40

(Unlike the 1st , the 2nd charge requirement doesn’t decrease with melee upgrades)








[2. Sliding System Updates]



There was feedback on adding invincibility to the sliding mechanic.

After considering it, I decided instead of a standard invincibility, I’d add a new feature called “bomb sliding” to create a fresh experience.





Normal sliding


Bomb sliding


The “bomb sliding” unlocks later in Stage 2 and consumes one bomb ammo, granting temporary invincibility.
(Check the added dialogue in Stage 2 for in-game instructions!)

It also comes with a bomb explosion effect. Although the explosion range is narrow, fragments are scattered, allowing for slight offensive use.












However, as shown above, the explosion range is limited, and if it hits a wall mid-slide, the explosion won’t trigger, reducing its effectiveness as an attack.

I’m considering whether to expand the explosion range or enable explosions even after wall collisions.

I’d appreciate your feedback on this feature!


The “bomb sliding” is activated by pressing both the bomb and slide buttons simultaneously. However, testing revealed that precise timing is challenging, sometimes causing only a bomb or slide to activate unintentionally.

Given that this is a real-time action game, it’s hard to execute such precise timing, so I’ve added a small input delay (2 frames, about 0.033 seconds) to allow a bit more leniency.


In short, with the new “bomb sliding” feature, there is now a slight 2-frame (0.033-second) delay when activating regular bombs or slides.





Hard difficulty


Normal difficulty

Finally, based on feedback about wall collisions during sliding, in “Normal” difficulty, the bounce-back effect when hitting a wall is reduced by a third to minimize downtime.








[3. Miscellaneous Updates]

1. Increased Ammo Supply in Early Stage 2



In this part of Stage 2, I made it so that a machine gun is supplied after defeating a certain number of enemies.

However, since only I would know this, it came off as quite unfriendly to players.

So, while keeping the machine gun supply method as it is, I’ve doubled the ammo supply for the grenade launcher at this location!



2. Mysterious Bug

I’ve seen a screenshot where the path-blocking sign didn’t disappear, preventing further progress, even though all enemies were defeated…

To fix this bug, I checked several times, but I couldn’t reproduce the issue while testing, so I couldn’t pinpoint the cause.




I have some guesses about what may have caused the bug.


Currently, most of the objects and enemies I’ve created function according to their animation’s current frame.

However, there are instances where the game enters a brief “pause” with a slow-motion effect, causing a frame drop—like the explosions from certain mechanical enemies, the player’s bomb or shotgun attacks, and some damage and death effects.

Considering the possibility that this frame drop may have interfered with the timing of the sign’s disappearance, I’ve adjusted the algorithm to address this.


That said, this is only my hypothesis, so I can’t be certain it’s a complete solution.



3. Trailer Video Remake

It’s now been almost 7 months since the game was released!

Since then, I’ve added various new features and effects, so I’ve created a new video to replace the original trailer!


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]










Additionally, since the video shows the game on “Hard” difficulty, you can roughly see the differences compared to “Normal” difficulty!










Finally, please note that the features and systems included in this update were not part of the initial game plan.

Although I’ve reviewed it thoroughly, there may still be unforeseen bugs or errors during gameplay.

If the game crashes or an error occurs, please report it on the Steam Community page, and I’ll do my best to resolve it quickly!









This is where I'll end this announcement.

Thank you very much for your interest in the game I developed!

Firstly, please understand that this message has been written using a translation tool and may have issues with clarity.



Hello!

It’s been less than a week since the boss update in November, and we’re meeting again already!

How have you all been over the past week?


This time, I’m here to announce new features: the difficulty setting and the melee attack system!

Check out the details below!








1. Difficulty Setting



As mentioned in the previous update notice, we’ve added a difficulty setting. (For more details on the previous difficulty adjustments, please see the last update notice.)



The previous default difficulty was set as "Hard," and now we’ve added an "Intermediate" difficulty to provide a more manageable option.

The new "Intermediate" difficulty has adjustments across various areas to make things easier, such as enemy health, patterns, player health, and the coins needed for respawn.



Here are some examples from Stage 3:

(Intermediate difficulty)



(Hard difficulty)






(Intermediate difficulty)



(Hard difficulty)
(Note: There are too many detailed adjustments to mention here, so we ask for your understanding in omitting them.)


Since "Hard" was the initial standard, any future updates for difficulty adjustments will primarily focus on the "Intermediate" level rather than "Hard."



For those who have persevered through the challenging "Hard" level so far, thank you!

Additionally, I wanted to add a Steam achievement system for players who clear the "Hard" difficulty.

After several attempts, I’ve finally…







...come up with this “Thank you!” image to express my gratitude, as my coding skills fell short.


If you have feedback about difficult enemy patterns or any issues with the difficulty level, please let us know through the link below! We’ll take your feedback into account as much as possible:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2855660/discussions/0/4364628673432078457/








[2. New Melee Attack System]

We received feedback on melee attacks in previous development logs.
(A big thank you for the feedback!)



I, too, thought the melee attack was underutilized, so I spent a lot of time thinking about ways to improve it.





Now, we’ve added a charge system that allows you to unleash a strengthened melee attack!

This enhanced melee attack unlocks starting in Stage 2 and can destroy certain enemy attacks.
(An in-game explanation of this system has been added to the dialogue at the beginning of Stage 2, so please refer to it!)








When the charge is complete, a pink outline appears around attacks that can be destroyed, making them easy to distinguish!



After considering options for the charging mechanism, like holding a button or automatic time-based charging, we decided on a damage-based system for convenience and fun.

Charge is accumulated based on the damage dealt to enemies, with the default charge amount at 80 damage.

Upgrades in the shop can reduce the required damage to 70 or 60, allowing for more frequent use!







Initially, we planned to create icons like the ones above, but…






Not charged


Charging


Fully charged

We ended up using images made for the Steam store page instead!

The image changes based on the charge state, switching to an animated version when fully charged!



As the enhanced melee attack is designed to help in critical situations, it deals about 1.5 times the normal melee attack damage, so it isn’t overly powerful.

If you have feedback on its strength, range, or visibility of the charge, please share it with us, and we’ll consider it actively!






Finally, please note that the new difficulty adjustments and melee attack system were not part of the game’s initial plans.

Despite careful testing, unexpected bugs or issues may occur during gameplay. We ask for your understanding.

If you experience any crashes or errors, please report them via the link below, and we’ll work quickly to address them:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2855660/discussions/0/4364628673432078457/









This is where I'll end this announcement.

Thank you very much for your interest in the game I developed!