Alien Grounds News

Hi everyone,

I’ve added three difficulty levels:

• Easy - based on the old Core mode
  
• Normal - inherits from Hard mode
  
• Hard - now even harder than before
  

Each difficulty has separate save data, including scores, health, ammo, and mission progress.

New Features:

• A remaining enemies counter now appears in the HUD.
  
• Balance improvements across all difficulties:
  
  • Phantom enemies are removed during early waves
    
  • Fireballs appear later and scale up slower on lower difficulties
    
  • Fireball speed and quantity scale by difficulty
    
  • Slight blackout effect added after a fireball hit
    
  • Enemy movement speed ramps up more aggressively on Hard
    

Let me know how each level feels - especially if you survive on Hard!

--emagnetic

Based on feedback from power users in the controller community, I’ve added a new Raw Gamepad Input option.

This mode bypasses all in-game processing (dead zones, curves, sensitivity scaling) and lets you fine-tune your controller externally - through hardware software, drivers, or Steam Input.

You can toggle Raw Gamepad Input in the game’s Settings menu. It’s a small but important step toward smoother controller play - especially on high-end pads and Steam Deck.

In addition, maps now look noticeably better on low graphics settings. I’ve reworked lighting and skylight handling to improve visual quality without increasing performance cost.

Huge thanks to the r/controller community for the feedback and expertise!

New patch is live! This one focuses on smoother control, cleaner UI, and a few fixes.

[h3]Controls & Combat[/h3]

• ✅ Scroll to switch weapons is now in!
  
• 🎯 Aim Assist improved - better for single-shot weapons
  
• 🎮 Look sensitivity range extended - up to 4.0x for advanced gamepad players
  

[h3]UI & UX[/h3]

• 🎵 Redeploy UI music updated
  
• 🎮 Gamepad UI color now matches your map setting
  
• 🧭 Better gamepad navigation across menus
  
• 🎮 Fixed: Gamepad players can now select the Sound toggle on the Deploy UI
  
• 🖱 Fixed: Mouse clicks outside buttons no longer break gamepad focus
  
• 🪪 Portal welcome prompt now changes based on your input method (E for keyboard, B for gamepad)
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• 🛠 Fixed: After switching maps via Portal, then going Main Menu → Continue, Deploy UI no longer says "Redeploy" when it shouldn’t
  
• 🎬 Fixed: Background jerk between Mission Report and Deploy screens
  

[h3]Steam Deck[/h3]

• 🐧 Added Linux-compatible file system icons
  

Thanks for the feedback - keep it coming!

The Grounds have changed.

Story:
The story is now built into the game - click Play and discover it for yourself.

Music:
Alien punk jazz went mad - it’s been replaced by rage-in-oil techno.
(And yes, the Sound Off button is still there.)

I’m here to fix things:
Leave a comment, a Steam review, or DM me on X.

The truth behind Alien Grounds is about to surface.
This is more than lore - it’s a clear warning.

When they later ask, “What did you do when it all unfolded?” - no excuses will be accepted.

And yes, more alien punk jazz music will be added.