Hello everyone!
Quite a bit of progress has been made recently, and it finally feels like a good time to share it.
But first, here's a quick weapon showcase.
[Shottapler] is a weapon specialized for close-range combat.
It excels at dealing devastating damage to nearby enemies, and when paired with a high-alcohol level, it can clear out anything standing in front of you in no time.
Its secondary fire, [Choke], tightens the spread, making it effective even against distant targets.
The recoil from the secondary fire can also be used to launch yourself toward enemies for an aggressive approach.
Like the secondary fire on other weapons, however, it consumes additional ammo, so use it carefully.
An introduction video has also been prepared for one of the game's core mechanics that many of you have been asking about: [Alcohol], [Drinks], and the [Alcohol Level] system.
The system itself is fairly straightforward.
Drinking Alcohol puts you into a high-alcohol level, while drinking Drinks switches you to a low-alcohol level.
At a high-alcohol level, your weapon's damage, rate of fire, and overall firepower are increased.
In return, your movement speed is reduced and your accuracy becomes less reliable.
A low-alcohol level works in the opposite way.
Your firepower is lower, but your movement speed increases and your shots become much more accurate.
Rather than consumable items, Alcohol and Drinks function more like skills with cooldowns.
Since they share the same cooldown, choosing when to switch alcohol levels and how to approach each encounter becomes an important decision.
Aggressive combat reduces their cooldown, so feel free to take the phrase "Drink. Kill. Drink. Kill." literally.
As mentioned previously, the goal for the demo is to include at least three standard stages.
The layouts for all three stages are now complete, and the current focus is on polishing their visuals and presentation.
Hopefully, that work will be wrapped up soon so development can move on to the title screen, options menu, and other UI elements.
Ammo management is one of the core gameplay elements in Hole Punch Cocktail.
Of course, if you play normally, ammo management shouldn't be something you need to worry about too much.
However, even when you completely run out of ammunition, you can still continue firing.
When a weapon runs out of ammo, it uses [Money], which normally acts as the player's armor, to fire a [Money Shot] instead.
There is no change in performance; the only difference is that Money is consumed.
Money is a valuable resource that absorbs incoming damage and protects the player during normal gameplay.
However, Money Shot will continue consuming Money even after your balance drops below zero.
Once your Money goes into debt, the damage you receive increases, so try to avoid situations where you have to rely on Money Shot whenever possible.
Finally, [Melee Attacks] have been added!
This wasn't originally planned, but after further consideration, it felt like the right addition to make.
Care has been taken to ensure melee complements the existing combat loop without disrupting its overall flow.
At a low-alcohol level, a powerful high-heel stomp can be used to deal heavy damage to a single target.
At a high-alcohol level, a handbag swing can knock back groups of enemies while blocking or even reflecting incoming projectiles.
Thank you for reading!