Gameplay
NEW SPECIAL: Reflector special (shield)
NEW ITEM: Bat (melee item)
Added ability to shield your turrets
Items can now interact with springs
Player movement is now more momentum based
Randomize initial spawn positions for each round
Added ability to play with whatever combination of teams you would like in Deathmatch & King of the Crown modes
Removed the sponge special
Temporarily removed battery item until it is better explained
Game flow
Separated shop and game lobby area.
Added a lobby area with a big screen
User experience
Tutorial now automatically loads when a new player is detected after readying up
Removed confusing Team vs FFA chooser
Consolidated the 2 different currencies into 1
Added a tip popup for how to change gear when you buy a new item
Polish
Improved tutorial UI a bit
Improve bubble pop effect
Turret hurt effect/animation
Improve mini explosion effect
Improved style of game end screen
Balance
Gave the player access to all of the eyes and mouths by default
New players now start with 2 coins
Decrease eye frames on respawn
Increase default music volume to 40%
Made experience gained based more on time played than performance
Fixes:
Fixed breaking turret on item spawner it doesn't detect and doesn't respawn one
Fixed where tutorial achievement wasn’t getting triggered
Fixed where you can break your own turrets
Fixed where you could Make when you grapple you drop your item
Fixed where if you pick up an item while shooting, you don’t stop shooting.
Fixed where the grapple hook special wasn’t even in the shop…
I got the wonderful opportunity to show the game off at the game development club at my college. Here are the key takeaways:
Players didn't necessarily know that you could jump while rolling
Players don't understand that certain specials behave differently if you hold the special button down
Didn't know what items were/did
No idea what the battery did (thought it was a bullet)
No idea what the shield pot did (never threw it at their feet)
Didn’t know what the mine was
Didn't understand that rolling was an essential part of the gameplay (they didn't roll much at all)
Didn't know you could walk jump as much as you'd like
Didn't know there was more than one mode
Didn’t seem to pay much attention to the score
Didn’t know how to access phone to change their items in the lobby/shop
This will be the main focus of the next update.
These would also be nice to add in the next update:
Hammer special
Boomerang item
Shockwave grenade
Duplicator gun?
Unlocking worlds
Gambling mechanic for getting hats
More sounds