Blackrock – Patchnotes | Experimental Story Seeds & Smarter Squads

🧪 Experimental Content

First story elements have made their way into the game – but they’re not just sitting in plain sight.
Those who click the Story button... very, very often... might discover something. 😉

A secret place called the Karma Room has also been added. What does it mean? Nobody knows for sure – but it definitely feels... different.
(Note: Story & Karma are experimental and will be expanded. You can always return to the main menu using ESC or SELECT.)

I want to share these systems with you, even if they’re not finished yet – that’s why I’m keeping them in, even if hidden.

But they’ll never interfere with the current gameplay experience. If that ever becomes a risk, I’ll hold experimental features back until they’re ready.

🧠 Improved Squad AI

Your companions (Beta, Lambda, Zulu) now follow you automatically at a smart distance and attack enemies once they’re in range and visible.

You can toggle follow behavior per unit using:

• (A/B/Y) on Xbox

• (Cross/Circle/Triangle) on PlayStation

• (Y/X/C) on Keyboard

Targeting system reworked: attacks are now smarter and respect line of sight.

🔥 Combat, Effects & Performance

Target lines have been visually reworked for improved clarity.

Generator particle effects optimized – fewer FPS drops, more kaboom.

Attack animations and hit timing cleaned up (no more sprite flickering).

🚀 Pathfinding & Movement

New pathfinding logic for squad AI: less lag, more brain.

Squad units adjust their spacing to the player and navigate efficiently – even through the darker story levels.

No more endless recalculations – delay logic has been added.

🎯 Spawns & Enemies

Enemy caps in the Karma Room now scale with your survival time – it won’t get out of hand.
...Unless you survive too long 😅

Balancing will take more time and testing – I appreciate your patience while I fine-tune the madness.

Spawn logic and intervals have been reworked for a more even flow of action.

🎨 Visuals & UI

An epilepsy warning has been added for rooms with strong flickering effects.
(This includes a tiny Easter egg that may – or may not – lead to the Karma Room.)

Light surfaces are now only created when needed. I’ve realized I picked up a bad habit here… but I’m on it.

Menu and GUI elements have been refined – especially in Karma and Story levels.

🪨 And Else?

Meteorites in the Spacetrain level used to be invisible? Not anymore!

Various smaller fixes and improvements to draw events, visual effects, and debug output.