Update 0.17 - Let's carve a pumpkin 🎃

[p]Hi everyone,[/p][p][/p][p]we've brewed up a spooky seasonal update packed with a new character, new events, major performance experiments, and a whole graveyard's worth of fixes. Let's get to the treats![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New Content[/h2][h3]New Character: The Carver[/h3][p]A new survivor joins the fight!

His mechanic is all about spawning Pumpkin Turrets! These turrets function as "triggerable" items. When another item in your build triggers them, they fire. This system is a bit more complex than other characters, and we can't wait to see the crazy builds you all come up with![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]How to Unlock: Head to the "Fields" map in the meadow biome. Find and loot a Pumpkin Patch to get the Pumpkin item. To unlock the character, you have to keep that item in your backpack until you defeat the map's boss. In addition, you need to have a knife placed next to the pumpkin in your inventory.[/p][p][/p][h3]New Event: Blood Donation[/h3][p]Give a little, get a little... back from the dead. This new event grants a Blood Bag (a free +1 Revive). When you use it, you get an Empty Blood Bag. Fill it up by killing zombies to turn it into a Zombie Blood Bag, which will revive you with 10% HP on your next death.[/p][p][/p][p]This is locked by a new "Not Today" achievement.[/p][p][/p][h3]New Shop: The Costume Shop[/h3][p]Why settle for just one character-specific item when you can have more? This new shop can appear during your runs, offering character items from other heroes you've already unlocked! (It won't offer the item for the character you're currently playing).[/p][p][/p][p]The costume shop can be unlocked with tape, after achieving the "Multiple personalities" achievement.[/p][p][/p][p]And of course... we've added Halloween decorations here and there to get in the spirit![/p][p][/p][h2]Performance Upgrades[/h2][p][/p][p]We're testing some major optimizations. These could be game-changers for late-game lag, but they are experimental. Please let us know if you notice any strange behavior![/p]

• [p]Projectile Merging: The game is now capped at 100 weapon projectiles per second. If you go over this cap, your projectiles will merge, increasing their damage and proccing effects multiple times. (Let the chaos be optimized!)[/p]
• [p]XP Orbs: Orbs now drop in different tiers (meaning fewer orbs on screen, but the same XP value) and can merge together.[/p]
• [p]Orb Trail Setting: You can now deactivate the XP orb trail in the Graphics Settings, which can sometimes be a performance hog.[/p]
• [p]Improved performance for Rat Impact, Poison Impact, lighters, throwable explosions (e.g., banana, grenade), and fire shoes.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Quality of Life & Improvements[/h2]

• [p]Steam Deck Love:[/p]
  • [p]Item description font is now bigger and easier to read.[/p]
  • [p]The virtual keyboard will now pop up automatically where needed.[/p]
• [p]Map hints for character locking events: The Astronaut and Pumpkin events are now clearly marked with a "?" on the map.[/p]
• [p]Save Compatibility: You'll now see a popup if you try to "Continue" a run from a previous, incompatible game version. (Note: Endless Mode high scores won't be submitted from old saves).[/p]
• [p]Settings Tidy-Up: Moved the density parameters to the Graphics Settings menu.[/p]
• [p]Weapon sounds now have slight random pitches for more satisfying audio feedback.[/p]
• [p]Changed the (slightly jarring) confetti unlock sound.
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[h2]Balancing[/h2][p][/p]

• [p]Titan Blockage: This challenge now starts with fewer enemies, but more enemies will be added for every Titan you successfully defeat.[/p]
• [p]Normal Highway Blockage: A "hard mode" is now automatically activated after you kill the first boss on this map, resulting in more mobs. Good luck.[/p]
• [p]Find the Astronaut: We've added a dedicated map (with a space shuttle icon) for the canyon biome. This map guarantees the Space Shuttle will spawn, making it much easier to find and unlock the Astronaut.
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[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• [p]Fixed enemy projectile damage being much lower than it should have been if the projectile didn't reach its max speed.[/p]
• [p]Fixed some items not showing up in the encyclopedia[/p]
• [p]Fixed spawned loot (from airdrops, etc.) sometimes landing in unreachable places.[/p]
• [p]Fixed loot speed on the Normal Highway blockage being dependent on your framerate.[/p]
• [p]Current health, armor, and stamina are now correctly clamped to their max values. (This fixes a bug where unequipped values could sometimes remain active).[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug (hopefully!) where loading missions would rarely get stuck on the loading screen.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the Franky Boss's tackle sound sometimes looping forever.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the Apple Pie effect staying active even after unequipping it during an Airdrop.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the "Death" achievement not triggering if you died while having armor.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a rare bug where the player could dash onto an inaccessible cliff in canyon/mountain maps.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the mission choice map generation sometimes becoming unstable when unlocking a new event for the 4th-5th day (Highway Blockage).[/p]
• [p]Fixed Endless Mode not choosing a random boss if you hadn't beaten all bosses at least once.[/p]
• [p]Fixed that the Blob Ball will get stuck or fail to reach the player when you're near the burger building.[/p]
• [p]Fixed that the Blob Ball boss could be flung out of the boss arena by an Airdrop.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Please note that due to these significant adjustments, we've had to reset the Endless Mode leaderboards. This was necessary to ensure the top spots remain competitive and reachable. You can view all previously wiped leaderboards here: [/p][p]https://steamcommunity.com/stats/3026450/leaderboards/17753456[/p][p][/p][p]Share your thoughts and feeback with us and the community on our discord. You can even submit tickets directly to us via opendecks discord bot.[/p][p][/p][p]Last, but not least: Check out the supporter pack.
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Thanks for your support, feedback and patience,[/p][p]Team Pixelsplit[/p]