Commanders, what started out as a patch for 0.11 eventually grew bigger, so enjoy the visual improvements that didn't quite make it into the original 0.11 "Terminal" update, and thanks a lot for your feedback and reports to help us fix some bugs and do a first balance & gameplay improvements pass.
The balancing for all enemies, map stages, and progression economy is still an ongoing process, please be patient and give us a bit more time to polish it further.
The Bunker HQ got a visual upgrade alongside various other UI & HUD elements and now has some nice 3D rooms.
For updates 0.10 and 0.11 the game was bit too challenging in various areas. With 0.12 "Revision" we are releasing the first batch of balancing improvements:
The generator for the map stages creates more balanced & interesting operations. Time Attack stages are a bit more common now to help with Merc & Weapon upgrades. Fewer Onslaught & Encounter stages still mean you can get your Gear slots fully decked-out.
Objective spawns on all stages have been adjusted to make it a bit easier to focus on the important objectives and capture most or all of them.
Time Attack stages have been extended to give you more time fighting and looting.
The little Loot Goblin enemies carrying small loot crates have a chance to drop some additional Skill Points to help you max out your Mercs & Weapons more often.
Regular level-ups give you a chance to upgrade Gear again.
Some level-up upgrades have been improved.
Most enemies received some adjustments to their HP and armor values, mainly to reduce frustration with some types that felt too "spongy".
The formula for Piercing-vs-Armor has been tweaked. Low or non-penetrating weapons deal a bit less damage but armor can no longer completely negate damage. This applies to both, enemies and your Commander!
Enemy waves for all maps & stages received some adjustments to feel more fair and balanced while still being challenging. This is mainly where we are still looking to invest more time and effort, so please take this current iteration as a WIP towards a better and more refined experience.
Loot tables were adjusted to drop Tools and Electronics more reliably so you're less dependent on pure luck to get the components for your next room upgrade.
You will only get one Beacon objective per stage, but most Mercs received a buff to their starting damage and DPS.
Here's the full list of changes, fixes, and additions:
Added 3D Bunker Rooms
Fixed an issue with Clank's Grav Thumper Turrets specialization lane
Fixed an issue with Hail's generic upgrade not affecting mag size as intended
Fixed the Commander stats list showing unintended entries
Fixed an issue with some modifiers not affecting enemies correctly
Updated the graphical assets for Weapons & Gear items
Fixed some misleading descriptions for Traits
"Driving" Minibosses deal damage again when running into the Commander
Adjusted various icons in the UI & HUD
Payload Stages now display the countdown timer correctly
Re-positioned the radio message dialog box in the HUD (was not intended to be centered and occlude the action)
Reduced the noise in the ground texture for Farmine Inc. Map
Fixed various UI issues with stats for Weapons & Gear
Adjusted the loot tables so bosses drop Tools and Electronics more reliably
Removed defense sentries from Gear Crates & Supply Drops that are spawning as stage rewards
Fixed the bloom intensity to reduce it to the intended values
Fixed broken text strings in various languages
Increased the base damage for multiple Mercs to be more valid at the start of an Operation
Supply Drone will try to drop its items in an empty area less closely to obstacles
(potentially) fixed an issue that was causing empty level-up choices or getting stuck in the level-up menu when re-rolling multiple choices at higher levels
Steam Achievements unlock again as usual
Fixed "Rescue Chemtrail" mission appearing before you recruited Reaper.
Weapon Crates spawn more regularly and contain 2 powerups alongside some XP.
New super-tough enemies spawn at the end of a stage to signal more clearly that it's time to extract.
Fixed a potential rare issue that got the game stuck in the initial loading screen.
[DEMO] fixed the "quit" button not showing up correctly
Update 0.12.0 releases for both the full game and the demo version simultaneously.
For the next patches & updates we continue working on balancing and gameplay improvements as well as new content for the game. As always, join our Discord or post to the Steam forums if you encounter any issues or want to leave your feedback to help us improve the game.
Wandering Wizard Discord Community
We're getting closer to v1.0 for Survivor Mercs and will announce more details about it soon - our Discord community will hear about it first!
Lock, load, and loot, Commanders!