KILL THE MUSIC DEMO UPDATE: v0.38

This update focuses on wrapping up Mouse Controls, simplified the one button Solo Triggers, polish to the Combo Mechanics and New Content.

MAJOR CHANGES

• MOUSE CONTROLS: Fully implemented mouse controls (menus now fully navigable by mouse)
• SOLO: Solo Input is now simplified (Keyboard: Space and Gamepad: A) to help players stay in a state of flow.
• COMBO: Default starting combo effect is now a damage bonus instead of a speed bonus.
• NEW CONTENT: New Laser and Shockwave Enemies and New Combo/Dodge Upgrades
• BEAT SYNC: Adjusted overall beat-sync to align with the larger beat circle initially “touching” the small circle (was previously set to small circle glow and/or full overlap)

NEW FEATURES

• Round Start Options now have ??? events that hide information from the player.
• New Dodge Upgrades that “consume” your current combo count to activate an effect that scales the consumed value (heal/damage)
• New Shield Upgrade that’s triggered when you hit a certain combo count (combo count is reset when shield is “popped”)
• New Laser and Shockwave Enemies for later rounds.
• Since Solo Animation has simplified/sped up, the full character animations now play at round end instead. Order is randomized.
• Added Song Counter near player health bar
• Enemies are set to die to the beat of the music (timed to double time pacing so wait time isn’t too long)
• Enemies set to grey tint when “waiting to die” for clarification that they’re not active anymore
• Powered up enemies (via curse or mini boss) now have an inverted color for clarity
• Deal and Rerolls are now fully randomized instead of Deals being guaranteed after a certain point in the run.
• Deals and Rerolls costs now start at -1 HP and -1 MAX HP to promote early use
• Deals and Reroll costs double with each use (resets after run)
• If players prefer the old solo specific solo input as toggle can be found in the settings menu

NEW UPGRADES

• Auto-Beat on Solo: automatic beat hits when solo is active, will tick up combo counter
• Combo Speed Up: player movement speed is increased based on their current combo count (was previously the default combo effect)
• Combo Shield: Shield that protects for 1 Hit is spawned at 30 Combo but combo is reset when shield is popped
• Dodge Attack Up: x2 Damage for 5 Seconds if the player successfully dodges an attack (damage bonus stacks)
• Dodge Shockwave: on Dodge, create a shockwave that will do Damage x4 their current combo count. Combo count is then reset back to 0.
• Dodge Heal: on Dodge, heal x0.25 your current combo count. Combo count is then reset back to 0.
• Dodge Instrument: your instruments are no longer “disabled” during dodge and will continue to do damage.
• X3 Combo On Solo: combo count will tick up by 3 for each successful beat hit when in Solo (a progressive upgrade from x2 Combo on Solo Upgrade)

BALANCE CHANGES

• Starting Player Defence is slightly increased
• Starting Player Pick Up Range is slightly increased
• Starting Player Move Speed is slightly increased
• Starting Player Solo Duration is increased by 2 Sec
• Solo Clash Upgrade is now set to only positive effects (previously had a chance of negative and positive effects)
• Decreased overall difficulty in Tutorial
• Decreased dodge distance slightly
• Increased Enemy Spawn Speed in earlier rounds
• Increased energy item “life span” before despawning by x2

BUG FIXES

• Fixed issue where Kill Combo upgrade would sometimes continually tick up combo count
• Fixed issue where instrument transparency would inconsistently apply when dodging (indicates that instruments are disabled during dodge)
• Fixed Issue where Kill Combo Upgrade did not stack with x2 Combo on Solo Upgrade (now each kill will count as 2 Ticks to your Combo Count when in Solo if both are active)

KNOWN ISSUES

• Gamepad Prompt for Dodge Input in Tutorial is misaligned
• Round 10+ needs some balance changes for enemy spawn
• Upgrade Icons will sometimes overlap
• Rarely, killing certain enemies in certain animations can cause a small lag spike
• Round Start will sometimes have repeat rewards
• Instrument Transparency effect on dodge will sometimes persist
• Player can move during “Round End” freeze if they dodge at the right moment
• If player uses Deal on “New Instrument” upgrades, no effect will occur
• If player uses Deal on existing 4 or 5 Star Upgrades, no effect will occur
• Player’s can get soft locked if they die in the Solo Tutorial
• Player’s can get soft locked if the player lets the spirit energy items despawn in Solo Tutorial
• Instrument Switch Tutorial is too short
• Bass Instrument attack animation needs to be sped up to feel more “on beat”

Our next update will focus on Boss Battles and Meta-Upgrades. This will take a little longer than our current update pace so we'll be aiming for the February 2025 Steam Next Fest, we'll see you then!