Playtest Update v0.3.1 — Card Draft & Wave Flow

PLAYTEST UPDATE v0.3.1

Thank you to everyone participating in the OVERHEAT PROTOCOL Playtest.

This update focuses on the foundations of each run: card variety, wave pacing, movement, combat feedback, and overall readability.

ADDED

• Sprint and Stamina — Sprint using the keyboard, manage stamina, and feel the transition through a subtle field-of-view effect.
• Rare Anomaly Cards — Four powerful build-defining choices can now appear during later levels: Titan Protocol, Bullet Storm, Glass Protocol, and Singularity Core.
• Improved Run Data — Local run reports now provide better balancing information. These files remain on your PC and are not uploaded automatically.

CARD DRAFT IMPROVEMENTS

• Standard stat cards now use authored weights, level requirements, build affinity, repeat rules, and stack limits.
• Recently offered cards are tracked separately from selected cards, reducing immediate repetition.
• Repeatable cards now show their resulting stack and maximum stack information.
• Anomaly cards are isolated from the standard card pool and limited to one selected Anomaly per Standard run.
• Card categories remain visible without requiring pointer hover.
• Card titles, descriptions, categories, and effect values now use clearer spacing across supported languages.

WAVE FLOW

• A wave will no longer finish while tracked enemies are still alive.
• Wave breaks now provide a clearer recovery window.
• Nearby XP orbs receive temporary collection assistance after a wave is cleared.
• Wave Incoming and Wave Clear announcements now use cleaner fade transitions.
• Beacon Shockwave now reacts to actual combat pressure instead of triggering on a randomly selected wave.

COMBAT AND VISUAL FEEDBACK

• Explosion displacement now pushes enemies more reliably while respecting arena navigation boundaries.
• Shatter effects use a clearer amber-orange identity with shorter marks and improved particle presentation.
• Chain Lightning arcs remain visible long enough to read individual jumps during crowded fights.
• Lightning and Shatter damage numbers have improved timing, motion, and contrast.
• Pause Menu transitions now use short, responsive fades.

FIXES

• Fixed the survival timer characters overlapping after five minutes.
• Fixed travelling Shatter fragments retaining defeated or recycled targets.
• Fixed waves progressing while enemies from the previous wave remained alive.
• Fixed XP orbs expiring during the wave-clear collection window.
• Fixed several Shatter particles appearing as untextured squares.
• Fixed tightly packed localized card text becoming difficult to read.

Please continue sharing your feedback through the in-game feedback button. Your reports directly help us decide what to improve next.