Gunlocked 2 News

[p]One of the toughest things for a game developer is to balance the needs of gamers with different skill levels. There can be a large disparity between experiences, and it isn’t always easy to reconcile, or even identify where the disparity is.[/p][p]For a while now, many players in the Discord have been absolutely crushing Gunlocked 2, making quick work of bosses, and obliterating late game waves. From screen clearing bullet and laser builds, to massive swarms of drones, and gigantic barrages of missiles, they’ve done it all (okay, bombs need a little more love, but that’s coming).[/p][p]On the other hand, a number of other players have complained that you never get strong even with “good” builds. Now, obviously this can’t be objectively true if some players consistently get super strong, and achieve victories, but then what’s the issue? I can’t just shrug and say “git gud.” I want this game to be enjoyable for a wider range of skill levels. Clearly there’s a disconnect for some players. But where, and how do I help them?[/p][p][/p][p]The way I see it, there’s a few possibilities, and it could be some of each, or one in particular:[/p]

1. [p]Players aren’t fully engaging with the systems that allow them to create powerful builds. I’m not blaming the players here. It could be my fault they aren’t. There are a lot more tools in Gunlocked 2 than in the first game to tailor your builds, but it may also be harder if you ignore them.[/p]
2. [p]The upgrades are too hard to understand, so powerful upgrades are being ignored in favor of easier to understand upgrades that might be weaker overall. The upgrades often work in unique ways, and that can make descriptions wordy. Not being able to localize the text might further compound this problem.[/p]
3. [p]The way that upgrades work together isn’t apparent enough so powerful synergies are being ignored.[/p]

[p][/p][p]The reason I use Early Access for my games is because there are hundreds of upgrades and multiple game systems interacting in a variety of ways, and as a solo developer, I can’t predict how easy all of it will be to grasp. And often times, players will engage with my games in ways I didn’t even imagine.[/p][p]But while I will never be able to please all gamers, and that’s never been my goal, I think there’s room here to find a better balance between skill levels, so more players can enjoy the game. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Whether about the bullet points above, or something I didn’t mention.[/p][p][/p][p]I’m working on a small polish patch before the endless mode update, and I’d love to incorporate your feedback to improve balance. So leave a comment below, and/or join the Discord here.[/p][p]Not every piece of feedback can be addressed, and some players are always going to want what others don’t, but you can see in reviews of my games that I do my best to listen to the community. I’ve made hundreds of changes based on feedback, and I hope to keep improving. So let's chat![/p]

Fixed a number of reported bugs. More stuff soon. Have a nice weekend!

• The "Additional Pylons" achievement will now properly unlock
  
• Fixed an issue causing the drone swarm mastery chance to constantly increase over time
  
• Fixed Shell Shocker’s chance to trigger (was applying an additive bonus with each check, instead of always adding the same flat bonus)
  
• Fixed a number of upgrades that were not correctly scaling with chance-based improvements
  
• Fixed an issue that would cause any bonus effects triggered by Bombikaze to be placed at the wrong location
  

Fixed a couple of critical issues in today's hotfix.

• Fixed a bug that would reset experience needed to level to its base level 1 amount when resuming from a saved game. This could cause you to get a bunch of free level ups later in the game if you had any experience when you quit.
  
• Added a fix to prevent the large Coleop ships from getting stuck at the top of the screen at the end of a zone. Like many large ships, it will now retreat at the end of a zone if it's still around and at the top of the screen.
  

[p]I don't know about you all, but I'm feeling really good about where GL2 is now, and where it's headed after the 0.30.00 patch. There's still a lot left to do, beyond what I'll talk about today, but I thought I'd update you all on the next few steps. My current roadmap has shifted a bit based on feedback, but my goals are as follows:[/p]

1. [p]Continue to Improve the user experience based on feedback[/p]
2. [p]Focus on expanding replayability[/p]
3. [p]Add new content[/p]

[p]As always, If you're enjoying the game, please leave a review. It helps![/p][h2]Update Pace[/h2][p]I usually work at a really rapid pace, and in the past have delivered big updates weekly. But I actually had a much healthier experience taking more time with the larger 0.30.00 update, so I expect to stick to that. With one big patch, and maybe a smaller one each month.[/p][p]I'll do more if I can, but I need to pace myself a little better in this life. I'm not a young whipper snapper anymore. If you need proof, see the previous sentence.[/p][p][/p][h2]The User Experience[/h2][p]Based on most feedback, and the reception to the implemented requests from 0.30.00, I think Gunlocked 2 is in a pretty good space now. But there's still a few areas where input and visual feedback, accessibility, and general ease of use can improve. The first small patch after 0.30.00 will focus on these areas.[/p][p]A number of upgrades will be getting better effects so you know when they're triggering, and menus will be getting a bit more audio/visual feedback for mouse controls. Overall, I'll just be trying to iron out any lingering jankiness that comes with supporting mouse, keyboard, and gamepad in a bunch of different menus.[/p][p]There are also some gameplay usability requests I'm looking at addressing, just to makes things smoother where I can.[/p][p][/p][h2]Replayability and Content[/h2][p]The number one request for Gunlocked 2, at this point, is Endless Mode. I had planned to wait a while longer before implementing it, but the vast majority of comments and requests are focused on it, so that's the next big patch after the smaller polish patch.[/p][p]Alongside Endless, I'm hoping to add more variety to the main Mission Mode. Not all at once, but some new content will likely ship with the Endless update.[/p][p][/p][h2]What lies beyond...[/h2][p]I have the entire roadmap to 1.0 planned out, but development can change at any time (and now has), especially as I receive more feedback. So as with before, I'll hold off on setting anything beyond this in stone.[/p][p]Kickstarter backer rewards will start to trickle in more as I finish up a lot of the base content. This includes alternate pilots, new NPCs, and a handful of additional custom achievements.[/p][p]Let me know your thoughts in the comments below![/p][p][/p][h2]And one last thing...[/h2][p]The very fun duo at Ultra C have made a couple of great videos for Gunlocked 2 (I did not sponsor them), so I thought I'd share those. Go give them some likes and shares and subscribes. They've got a great vibe.[/p][p]The first video was earlier in a closed beta for the 0.30.00 patch, with the most recent being the full 0.30.00 patch. [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]If you want access to closed previews of upcoming patches, join the Discord here[/p]

One more quick fix for today

• The Warspammer 40k achievement will now properly trigger