Gunlocked 2 News

A previously innocuous fix to replicators and leveling up seems to have caused a soft-locking issue if players reached the maximum cap of 24 unique utilities. This would cause a blank screen at level up.

This patch fixes that issue, and also brings some minor changes that were scheduled for the next major update due out relatively soon.

Misc. Updates
• Updated how gems and enemy kills are counted toward scores. Both now have a larger impact.
• If you somehow have no available upgrades to replicate, you’ll now be offered a regular upgrade pool.
• Note: Can only happen in very rare circumstances, but will be slightly more likely with an upcoming anomaly
• Minor visual updates to anomalies section of the main menu

Bug Fixes
• Fixed the soft-locking issue related to empty upgrade screens at maximum utilities equipped
• Fixed various replicator beacon bugs
• Fixed rerolling beacon issues that could cause rare and uncommon varieties to not respect the rerolled option
• The Deadlock utility no longer incorrectly states it is a "Chance" type upgrade. This was a relic from old builds.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that could cause the difficulty to reset when resuming from a saved game
  
• Fixed an issue that would cause the Particloner to not register the correct number of copies when resuming from a save
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Particloner to stop working (but would be fixed by saving/resuming)
  

Today's patch is some extra upkeep after the last big overhaul. Fixing some reported issues, and continuing to refine the changes recently made.
[h3]
Patch 0.41.00[/h3]

QoL

• Clarified and cleaned up data beacon warp reward texts
  
• Disabled rerolling the boss data beacons and indicated they can not be rerolled
  
• Boss beacons now have a unique icon in the warp menu
  
• Data Beacons that drop from bosses now charge nearly instantly
  
• Made further refinements to starter upgrade pools
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug with Shock Rounds incorrectly applying wildly different amounts of shock chance to different upgrades
  
• Fixed a bug where the zone inspection highlight graphic would get stuck on screen if you rapidly triggered a warp jump at the end of a reroll animation while inspecting the warp zone
  
• Helpful Anomaly Silver Tongue should no longer prevent you from buying something at the discounted price.
  
• Boss beacons will no longer affect normal level ups that occur in the boss zones
  
• Lucky Launcher and The Big One now list their lock-on targets
  
• Bombikaze now charges at full speed when Gasolier is equipped and active
  
• Tempest no longer shows that he has a beacon type upgrade at the main menu
  

[h2]Intro[/h2][p]Today’s patch is the culmination of feedback across the internet, from Steam, to Discord, and videos on Youtube. I compiled over 4 pages of comprehensive notes based on what I read and saw, and then set to work, releasing several updates over the past week to closed beta testers. Nothing has gone untouched in this update.[/p][p]There were so many adjustments, big and small, that I’ve decided to actually just stick to the highlights, and give an overview of how things have changed. There was a major focus on elemental effects and synergies, visual and conceptual clarity, general balance, and upgrade pools and choices. But even stuff not mentioned below got significant updates, like Bombs, Beacons, Drones, Bullets...everything! I think it will be easier to take it all in by playing the game than by reading 4+ pages of balance changes.[/p][p][/p][h2]Patch 0.40.00[/h2][p]Overall, the theme of this update has been to facilitate an easier time learning the game, while making the base difficulty much more welcoming to a broader variety of player skill levels. With the Endless update coming next, and challenge anomalies coming with it, I’m confident that higher skilled players will still have plenty of challenge ahead.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Highlights[/h3]

• [p]A new text system allows for easier to understand descriptions and stats[/p]
• [p]Nearly every upgrade in the game has been updated in one or more ways: new descriptions, updated balance, or entirely new effects[/p]
• [p]Burn and Shock have been reworked and can consistently deliver high damage builds[/p]
• [p]Upgrade pools and reward generation have been reworked to more consistently provide what you want from the start. [/p]
• [p]Uncommon and Rare upgrades drop more frequently[/p]
• [p]15 less desirable upgrades have been removed or combined with other upgrades to tighten up the overall upgrade pool (a couple Symbionics have changed as a result)[/p]
• [p]Various utilities with negative effects no longer apply negatives after the first copy, allowing you to lean into their specialty without more penalties[/p]
• [p]A variety of allied and enemy effects and units have been updated to read more clearly, visually[/p]
• [p]Lots of tweaks to general game balance and a rebuilt Solar Storm elite event[/p]

[p]Read on to see a little more detail about this update (but I’ve left a lot out)...[/p][p][/p][h3]Upgrade Pools[/h3]

• [p]The base pool for every pilot has been significantly narrowed. On leveling up, upgrade options will be far more focused on what specifically works with your current pilot and equipment.[/p]
• [p]Beacons will still offer a broader variety of upgrades within their specified types.[/p]
• [p]Rare and uncommon upgrades have had their base chance to drop increased[/p]
• [p]A number of less popular, and/or under-powered upgrades have been removed from the pool, or combined with other upgrades. Some of these may return in new forms later on.[/p]
  • [p]Hot Streak, Emitter, Motivapor, Firelight, Fire Trap, Boom Bots, Siphon Bolts (Longshot now has this utility’s ability), Fast Forward, Proc-Rocket, Blast Gauge, Powder Packer, Tower Power (combined with Beac Out), Backdraft, Bullet Bomb, Side Supply[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Burn Update Highlights[/h3]

• [p]Every plasmic upgrade has been rebalanced, or rebuilt entirely.[/p]
• [p]Several upgrades that weren't plasmic are now[/p]
• [p]Burn now deals damage faster, and can stack multiple times on a target[/p]
  • [p]2 damage, every 0.25 seconds for 2 seconds (8 dps)[/p]
  • [p]3 stacks max (24 dps)[/p]
• [p]Plasmic effects now all have the same base 25% chance to apply burn. Aside from Hail Mary, this is universally a buff.[/p]
• [p]Burn effect visuals change based on the number of stacks: small flame → larger flame → blue flame[/p]

• [p]Plasma bomb now has a larger targeting area. If an enemy is in the area when it fires, the bomb will lock-on to it. If none are around it will fire as before. The lock-on effect can scale with increased lock-on targets now.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Shock Update Highlights[/h3]

• [p]All upgrades have a standardized chance of triggering shock – 20% (many upgrades were previously 10-15%)[/p]
• [p]Shock’s base range has been increased by 25% to help it be more effective in the early game when fewer enemies are bunched up[/p]
• [p]Shock now deals 8 base damage[/p]
• [p]Amplifryer is now a common upgrade (was rare). Increases shock damage by 3.[/p]
• [p]Conduit deals damage 5 times per second, up from 4.[/p]
• [p]Shock has a new multi-part visual effect from origin to target, making it much more apparent[/p]

[p]New Shock Upgrades[/p]

• [p]Electrocell: Reduce electric cooldowns and charges required by 5%. Uncommon.[/p]
• [p]Splitter: The next time shock triggers, it targets 2 nearby enemies. 10 second cooldown. Rare.[/p]
• [p]Mine Field: When a beacon is created, also create 3 electric bombs around it. Bombs explode instantly if touched by enemies. 15 damage. 4 second fuse. 8 sec. cooldown. Uncommon.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]General Balance[/h3]

• [p]The Solar Storm Elite Hazard has been remade. Small electric bolts no longer crawl across the screen horizontally.[/p]
• [p]There are slightly fewer small enemies in the late game[/p]
• [p]Spider Eggs now spawn in smaller groups, especially late game[/p]
• [p]Small Hymenop drones now spawn in smaller groups[/p]
• [p]Spider Web traps now disappear after 3 seconds instead of remaining until they scroll off screen[/p]
• [p]Most of the fastest moving enemies have had their move speed slightly reduced[/p]
• [p]Blister Beetles fire fewer orbs[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Clarity and Visibility[/h3]

• [p]Allied Unit Color Updates[/p]
  • [p]Crystal Drone, Stowaway, Junk Drone, Leymines, Flak[/p]
• [p]Enemy Color Updates[/p]
  • [p]Arachnida enemies should never be the primary faction on the orange background, but can appear as the secondary[/p]
  • [p]Blister Beetle orbs (circle around them) are magenta before being fired now too (used to be blue)[/p]
  • [p]Lightning Lord’s electro mines are now magenta[/p]
  • [p]Mothball enemies (glowing, launch mini butterflies at you) are now magenta[/p]
• [p]Text has been updated across the board[/p]
  • [p]The text systems have been updated to be able to display a variety of color and symbol coded icons[/p]
  • [p]Almost all of the text in the game has been rewritten to be more concise (where possible)[/p]
  • [p]Text now always refers to “plasmic burn” as just “burn” to avoid confusing the two[/p]
  • [p]Plasmic upgrades now display a tooltip explaining burn, similar to how Electric does[/p]
• [p]When you take damage, there is now a damage popup. This is on even if damage popups are off for enemies.[/p]
• [p]Array and Supply upgrades have been combined into a single synergy category called “Charge”[/p]
• [p]Gravic has been removed as a synergy (it may return, but there are no gravic updates currently in the game, so there’s no reason for it to be there confusing people)[/p]

[p][/p][h3]QoL[/h3]

• [p]You now only need to move a short distance left or right to trigger the warp gate popup menus
  [/p]

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed a bug that was preventing Solsplitter from applying burn[/p]
• [p]Fixed a memory leak related to equipping Bright Eye[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that was allowing Particloner to cooldown while one was active[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug related to displaying total projectiles created by an upgrade in your inventory (sometimes)[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that would cause the first Enhancement selected to default to the last highlighted slot (so if you selected the 3rd weapon to enhance, the enhancement menu would default to the 3rd enhancement).[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that allowed Heat Sink to apply to non-timed upgrades[/p]
• [p]Fixed bugs that would prevent text from properly clearing or reappearing when navigating various parts of the inventory in specific orders[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that would allow you to “equip” anomaly category icons, lol[/p]
• [p]Anomaly text will now properly clear when pressing back in main menu[/p]

[p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]4 years ago I released a little mobile game that combined Doodle Jump with rocket jumping. People called it "Reverse Downwell", Apple called it a "New Game We Love." But alas, I don't have enough hours in the day to maintain mobile and PC games. So with my modern focus on PC first, I decided to resurrect an old favorite, remaster the art, rebalance the gameplay, rebuild the controls, and finally add that roguelike-inspired mode to properly earn the "Reverse Downwell" comparison (sort of).[/p][p]Coming November 19th! Wishlist it today. Every dollar earned, goes right back into Gunlocked 2 development.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h3]Features[/h3]

• [p]2 game modes: A classic high-score mode that's all skill no frills, and a longer roguelike inspired mode with upgrades[/p]
• [p]Steam Leaderboards for local, friend list, and global competition in both game modes[/p]
• [p]28 Steam Achievements to unlock[/p]
• [p]Short runs are perfect when you have a few minutes to spare[/p]
• [p]Mouse-only, 1-button controls[/p]
• [p]Under $2 USD![/p]

[p][/p][p]Note: This is not an Early Access game like many of my releases. Gunlocked 2 remains my priority.[/p][p][/p][h3]See how things have changed:[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]