KILL THE MUSIC DEMO UPDATE: v0.36: Rhythm, Combos, Dodge and Instrument Stacking

This update focuses on changes responding to the most frequent recurring player feedback:

• RHYTHM: We added Rhythm Upgrades (Double Time Solo and Double Time) to increase the Beat frequency, increasing the difficulty of the Rhythm Gameplay but also boosting player DPS greatly!
• COMBO: We’ve added a Combo system that ticks up with each successful Beat Hit. By Default it increases movement speed but we’ve added upgrades that add Damage, Defence or Healing depending on your combo count. To synergize with this new system we’ve added upgrades that increase Combo count during Solo and an upgrade that increases Combos per kill.
• DODGE ROLL: We’ve added a Player Dodge to add variety to player movement. Dodges have to be done on beat and will count as a “Tick Up” for your Combo Counter.
• INSTRUMENT STACKING: Players were frustrated that additional instruments can feel like a downgrade because of the “switching mechanic”. By default all instruments are now present and out at all times. We’ve incorporated the previous system by denoting an “active” instrument per beat that is “powered up” by your beat hit but all instruments will be out and attacking on every beat.
• KEYBOARD MOUSE CONTROLS: We received some negative feedback for our default Keyboard Controls so we’ve added mouse controls for Beat Hit and Dodge. We did not manage to make menus “clickable” in time but our next update should fix that.
• SOLO ANIMATION: Some players love our Solo Cut-IN animations and others have felt it interrupted gameplay too much. We’ve set all Solos to now use a “quick” version of the animation, reducing the amount of screen coverage, making the beat circle visible during the entire activation. This should help players keep their combo going.

For additional clarity for gameplay changes we’ve updated the Playable Tutorial in build.

Our next update will focus on wrapping up menu mouse controls, gameplay pacing polish, gameplay variety polish and additional upgrades.

Additional Change Log for Kill The Music Early Alpha v0.36

Changes:

• Guitar is now mirrored (one guitar on each side) by default
• Added a “Lunge” to guitar attacks to increase its reach and attack distance.
• Since Guitars are now mirrored by default, Solos will instead add smaller guitars to attack closer to the player to cover its hitbox blindspots.
• Beat UI is polished to feel more in-sync.
• Added new upgrade “category” for rhythm and combo related upgrades (Rhythm)
• Added New Round Start Curse: Player Hurt Resets Combo
• Added a Mechanic for “Timer” rooms where some kills will reduce the timer by 1 Sec.
• Improved Drum auto-targeting so it misses less
• When the player reaches Combo 10 and speeds up an “afterimage” fx is applied.
• When the player dodges their instruments are set to a “transparent mode” and player attacks for that beat are nullified.
• Slow down overall projectile speed so they’re easier to dodge roll through.
• Since overall projectile speed is slower now we’ve added a New Enemy that specifically fires fast projectiles. They only spawn in the later rounds though.
• Added at least 1 projectile enemy in the earlier rooms (Rounds 1 to 3)
• Added Combo protection on one no input (missed input attempts will count though)
• Added Combo protection during solo activation/animation
• Solo Trigger/Activation on Beat ticks up combo counter but has solo protection if off-beat
• Keyboard Instrument only “fast moves” on beat hit now
• Drum has smaller weaker projectile when off-beat
• Decreased defence stat up on Solo defence up

New Upgrades:

• Double Time Solo: Increase Beat and Attack Frequency when in Solo
• Double Time: Increase Beat and Attack Frequency at all times.
• Combo Defence Up: Increase Player Defence in tandem with Combo Counter
• Combo Attack Up: Increase Player Attackin tandem with Combo Counter
• X2 Combo On Solo: During Solo each combo tick up will be doubled (+2 instead of +1)
• Combo Heal: Heal 1HP per beat when Combo Counter is above 20.
• Kill Combo: Kills will now count as Combo Counter tick ups.

Bugs

• Fixed bug on solo defense up inaccurate damage numbers.
• Fixed big message bug for solo defense up.
• Fixed round start time formatting issue would say 2:8 instead of 2:08

Known Issues:

• Rarely, killing certain enemies in certain animations can cause a small lag spike.
• Some songs feel off-sync during double time.
• Enemy Spawn too slow for Song 1 to 3
• Drum Enemies now move to the beat but are currently not moving a far enough distance to reach players.
• Player can get soft-locked if they die during the Solo Tutorial (they can exit to main menu to by-pass the issue though)
• Upgrade Menu cursor can feel sticky sometimes

We’ll be working on a hotfix patch for these issues in the coming days.