Electro Havoc News

Small but important update today brought to my attention on our community forums by the first Steam player to beat the Early Access version of the game, 光咲凛音!

[h2]Bug fixes:[/h2]

1. Wave 10 Complete achievement wasn't firing when Wave 10 was completed!
   
2. Restart Game button wasn't enabled on Finish Game modal
   

[h2]Bug fixes:[/h2]

1. Total enemies left would not always reset to the correct start-of-wave numbers after a player hit "Try Again"
   
2. Player health bar HUD was out of sync with the player health value so the player could die when the HUD still showed there was 1 block of health left
   
3. Fixed race condition where the last enemy death would sometimes count towards your score
   
4. High score now correctly displays in game over modal
   

[h2]Balance updates:[/h2]

1. Shield now lasts for +2s longer (7s instead of 5s)
   

Annnd that's it, folks! WE ARE LIVE! You can now play Electro Havoc for free while it's on Steam Early Access. Big ❤️ to everyone who shared feedback over the last +2 yrs -- it has certainly come a long way. I'd also like to share a heartfelt thanks to those who give the game a shot and leave some constructive feedback on how I can continue to improve it over the next few months while working up to a full release.

[h2]A Note on Early Access[/h2]
During Early Access, you'll be playing World 1 that consists of 10 waves of increasingly difficult and numerous foes. I will be creating new Worlds and the ability to transit between them. You can also expect the following when the game comes out of EA:

Enemies already have different movement patterns and stats (speed, health), but they are of just one type. Expect lots more variety and maybe a refactor of the existing ones.

I'd like to add impact damage if you slam into a wall at high velocity. Equally, I'd like to add a ship "thrust" upgrade to allow you to plow into the enemies, inflicting collateral damage.

More power-ups, ship upgrades and possibly roguelike additions. I'd love your suggestions in the Steam discussion forums, the support website, or via email/social below.

[h2]A Trip Down Memory Lane[/h2]
Here's a brief clip showing my progress over the years:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

It has been a long, and illustrious journey these last two years as I've chipped away at this game as a hobby in my spare time. These last two months have been even more fruitful as the Playtest feedback I've gathered across the Steam, Godot, Seattle Indies and more communities have helped shape the game into what it is. But, I'm not there yet.

That's why I've decided to release the game for free as part of Early Access next Fri Apr 18, 2025. I have more levels, power-ups, enemies and boss mechanics that I want to experiment with, but I'm eager to get what I feel is a completed "World 1" into the community's hands for feedback and enjoyment. Over the next 3-6 months I'll continue to add content, hopefully start a new Playtest or two, and then release the full game this Summer/Fall.

I've closed down the current Playtest as I squash those last few bugs, and make a few more adjustments to the final game. Let the countdown begin!

A few days before the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, I updated the playtest build with a massive update thanks to all of your feedback.

Here's a summary of the major changes:

[h2]New features and game updates[/h2]

• The aesthetic of the game incl. TileMap, space background, and ship have been overhauled
  
• Player's ship now pays homage to the Electro Havoc logo (though still in progress) includes a thruster burn "tail" that reacts to the player's movements
  
• Player's ship now rotates to direction of input
  
• "Enemies left" counter added to help keep track of wave progress
  
• Power-up compass indicator added that points you to off-screen power-ups
  
• Enemy splash damage now has more unique animations and aligned color palette
  
• Added "back button" support to controllers
  
• Added Godot logo on start-up
  
• Increased the map size and game resolution (from 720p to 1080p)
  
• Enemies no longer cluster awkwardly close together or on TileMap boundaries
  
• Enemies no longer "stick" to the player as easily, draining their life; instead they are repelled back upon initial damage
  
• Added screen shake when enemies hit you
  
• Spawn indicators now differentiated between power-ups and enemies to avoid confusion
  
• Added damage numbers that appear above an enemy's head when your bullet collides with them
  
• Introduced a critical hit capability, and corresponding Steam achievement to match
  
• Extended the power-up time-outs on the map to give you more a chance of snagging it before it expires
  

[h2]Bug fixes and performance updates[/h2]

• Steam profile names no longer truncated
  
• Shader updates to player's ship
  
• Splash damage now only visible when it should be
  
• Resolved A-Star pathfinding performance issues that could result from use of navigation elements on individual tiles vs. using a nav region
  
• Upgraded TileMap Nodes to TileMapLayer Nodes for improved performance
  
• Enemies no longer get stuck to player as easily
  
• Enemies no longer spawn at power-up locations
  
• Power-ups now consistently spawn after hitting "Try Again"
  
• Enemies now completely self-destruct after game end, no longer leaving 1-2 stragglers
  
• Addressed a few visual artifacts, spawn portals not visualizing in the right spots
  

If you haven't given the playtest a shot, please jump in and let me know what you think in the comments.