Road Map Update 2 - New Game +
Hello fellow rats,
I've just released Road Map Update 2! This is by far the biggest update yet. And the patch notes are quite long. So settle in for a bit of a read. OR, just dive right in and get blastin rats.
So, without further ado, here are the patch notes:
• New Troop: Rocket Rat. A Rat Grunt armed with a Homing Ratzooka. Extremely high damage output against all enemy types, and the only OldGuard unit that can shoot up (right now) which makes them the perfect counter for Dratnes and RAT RAT Walkers. They are slow and very squishy though. So keep them protected. Oh, and they explode on death so don't bunch up!
• New Enemy: Shock Ratter. A buffed Rat Trooper that has more resistance to Damage Types, especially Explosive Damage. With a more powerful gun and more HP. Only spawns in New Game +
• New Structure: Signal Towers. This is the TechnoRat’s version of the Shrine. It will permanently buff TechnoRat units as they move past. They can be destroyed. Every NG+ run you complete makes the buffs more powerful. Only appears in New Game +
• New Mode: New Game +. This is playable with a Lil Ratty that is at level 8 or above. (Select the appropriate Save Slot before entering) Which means you do not need to actually beat the campaign first to play it. So it’s not really a NG + I guess. It’s actually more than that! But that’s the name for now.
Why set a lvl requirement then? Well, you need to be at least comfortable with the game and already have a decent build to have a chance, and I’ve learned that if I just put some warning text some people will ignore it and then complain, so I’m hard coding in the level requirement. Ok? Ok.
In this mode, you can play through the map in any order, the enemies you face will be randomized and the layouts (Build Sites, Barrels, Crates, Platforms locations) will be randomized and Tinker Rat is always in. If you don’t know; Tinker Rat builds enemy Turrats over Build Sites, meaning there’s one less build site for you (until you blow it up) and one more enemy turrat! There’s also the aforementioned Shock Ratter and Signal Tower unique to this Mode. The difficulty of each run increases as you clear more of the map, and your progression stays even after beating the last mission. You can play through NG+ again and again with the same Ratty. Each time you beat it, the overall challenge will increase.
In theory, I suppose you could say this mode is infinite, but that obviously can’t really be tested. So please forgive me if on your 20th run it gets super crazy or buggy or unbalanced or whatever. Let me know of course, but forgive me. I will keep working on it!
And please note: This is just the start of this mode. I do plan to expand on this, with more stuff to unlock and collect along the way, and leaderboards! Leaderboard scores *should* be retroactive, so any runs you complete now should be factored in when leaderboards are eventually added, but I can’t guarantee that 100%.
• New… thingy? Helper Rat! This lil guy will go forth and pick up all the juicy CHz, Ammo and Health drops on the floor that you are too cowardly or lazy (maybe both!) to go and get yourself. Press F (or Middle Mouse Button or D-Pad Down) to release him from… yourself? Where does he come from? Who knows! It’s a straaaange mystery. He will die after a while cause he has to carry so much of your burdens that he just can’t take it. I hope you’re happy. He has a cooldown so you can’t abuse him, even though working him to death is abusing him I suppose, but I mean abuse him in gameplay terms. His cooldown is difficulty dependent. Easier = less cooldown. This system will be expanded on in future updates and be called “Specials” The first additional Special I have in mind is calling in your own Artillery Barrages! Specials will be expanded in Road Map Update 4.
• New Buildable: CHz Collector. This can only be built on an existing CHz Pumper and will automatically collect CHz that pumps out for you.
• CHz Pumpers were pumping out uneven amounts of CHz from each spout. They should now have the same amount come out from each side, depending on the rng. (This is purely cosmetic)
• CHz Pumpers now have a limit to how much CHz they can each pump out before becoming inoperable and must be replaced. Sorry if you enjoyed turtling and farming CHz, but people were starting to complain, so it had to be done. Blame them. I mean if they choose to play that way and then complain about it it’s really a them thing, but yeah, ultimately I do agree it needed balancing.
• Sometimes the “OPTIONS” text in the Pause Menu was not displaying. This is now fixed.
• Fixed positioning of Health and Attack buff icons on units.
• Grenades should no longer bounce off of friendly troops, removing the chance that they ricochet backwards immediately after throwing if thrown right behind a troop.
• Grenades now have an automatic clearance when thrown, so that even if standing still (as long as you don’t then move into it while it’s on the ground cmon now) the nade goes far enough away to not kill you in the explosion. They still are affected by your momentum and will go farther if moving forward while throwing though. This, like the CHz Pumpers, is a result of people complaining. So if you liked the old system, blame them again.
• Reduced initial costs of Ratineer and Rat Grunt Upgrades by 100 CHz each. This only takes affect when starting a New Game.
• Added an Upgrade to increase Rat Mind Scalper HP. (Includes shield)
• Save slot number should now update correctly on start screen when switching slots.
• New Game + Button added to Start Screen
• New Game + Menu added
• NG + wins added to Stats Book.
• Added an option to disable the balls in the pre-mission cutscene. This is mainly for people who want to stream the game without fear. (And also for any overly sensitive people crying about it. Even though it’s perfectly fine to show a rat being torn apart and its guts gushing out but oh god forbid a rat’s BALLS are shown. Ever seen a male rat in real life? THEY GOT MASSIVE BALLS. Ever seen a male mammal before? They got balls too. OH NO THE BALLS ARE COMING SAVE ME I’M SO SCARED. Ok rant over haha. Although seriously what is with the people who are scared to see cartoon rat balls?? It’s just a stupid joke people! Remember laughter? Do you remember being happy??…...… I don’t)
• Moved the debug toggle button for Controller Support to the Key Mappings menu.
• Shifted the activation range of the Stats Book over to the right to make more room for weapon pick ups.
• Added default keys to switch weapons: (In addition to Tab) 1, 2, Mouse Wheel Up, Mouse Wheel Down. Any of these will now work. Please note: Setting a custom key will override ALL of these. If you currently have a custom key set for Switch Weapon, you will not notice any difference, but you can use the Revert option in the Key Mapping Menu (and then restart the game) to get these keys functioning all at the same time.
• Added UI panels to show Radio and Inventory keys when appropriate. Initially they both display on Level start. They will then automatically go away after a few seconds. They will pop up again when certain things happen. When picking up an item, the Inventory “I” key panel will display. When unlocking a new unit to recruit, the Radio “Q” key panel will display. Please note: They do not currently show your custom key if you have custom keys set, but I plan to add that in later on.
• Rat Mind Scalpers recruitment cost reduced to 75CHz each
• Shield Rats recruitment cost reduced to 100CHz each
• Tinker Rat has a Health Bar now.
• Map Screen in the Campaign was not updating the Omahrat Beach territory colour properly if Rattingrad was captured. This is now fixed.
• Lowered default Music channel volume. Should not affect you if you’ve manually set yours already.
• Updated How To Play and Key Map images with new F Key, or Down on the D-Pad, for Helper Rat (Specials).
• Added particle sparks to Tier II TechnoRat Turrat explosions.
• Little Ones (The small rats that push Walls or carry Golguses) now have Health Bars.
• Techies now have Health Bars.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes the Laser Rifle would show an extra hand.
• TechnoRat Turrats (Tiers I and II) now have more HP in Hard mode. Does not include Missile Turrats.
• In Cheasy mode, you were not getting the 5 free Ratineers per wave and instead only getting the default 3. This has been fixed. Chease it up!
• Artillery Barrages were not adjusting to difficulty. This has been fixed. There should now be less shells at longer intervals in Easy, more shells at shorter intervals in Hard.
• Fixed an issue where the shop was not saving if the Double Barreled Ratgun was unlocked. Unfortunately, if you have already collected all the blueprints for it in your current save slot, the fix will only apply to new saves.
• Explosives Damage Upgrade was adding waaaay too much damage. Basically doubling the damage each purchase! That has been fixed. It now adds a bit more damage each Tier as intended.
Thank you all so so much for playing the game. It honestly means the world to me you have no idea. And if you like the game, please leave a positive review! It really helps a lot. And as always, please let me know your thoughts on the new update.
Happy rat killin'
Regards,
Brian