72 Seconds · published
Hey everyone!
I've been working on improving the demo based on feedback and fixing a bunch of issues that came up during testing. This update includes improvements to the UI, controls, Horde mode, combat, and overall gameplay.
Here's what's changed.
Custom Keybindings
You can now customize keybindings in the settings, giving you more control over how you play.
Fully Unlocked Tech Tree in the Demo
The tech tree is now fully unlocked in the demo, and all abilities are available to explore. I've also added the missing abilities and improved the tech tree UI with updated gradients, stronger borders, and glowing icons when hovering over them.
Horde Mode Improvements
Horde mode now has a global leaderboard, alongside local score tracking. I've also fixed issues with game state resetting, score displays, and navigation when finishing a run.
More Music
I've added additional music to make the experience a little less repetitive during gameplay.
New Settings and UI Options
Added resolution settings.
Renamed Options to Settings.
Added a mission restart button.
Added an option to set your player name, with Steam names taking priority where available.
Added FPS limiting and improved mouse handling in the game window.
Improved building placement and fixed alignment issues with buildings and map objects.
You can now start building from the HUD or hotkeys even when you don't have a worker selected; the game will find one for you.
Press F1 to select all your units.
Improved ability cooldown displays, including fixing cases where cooldowns were incorrectly shown.
Fixed healing radius calculations and prevented abilities from being used by dead units.
Improved Sensor Tower detection indicators and added more information to the minimap.
Made the survival section of the fourth campaign mission a little more forgiving.
Improved projectile speed and combat feedback, including hit effects and death animations.
Fixed building snapshots in the fog of war and improved their positioning.
Improved fog-of-war rendering and terrain visuals.
Added better hover effects to map previews and tech tree icons.
Fixed scan indicators appearing over the HUD and other interface elements.
Fixed visual effects remaining visible after a unit becomes inactive.
Added the Mechanical Sympathy Games logo to the main menu.
Added Steam and Discord buttons to the menu.
Added building spawn cooldown indicators.
Alongside the visible changes, I've fixed a number of smaller issues affecting combat, building placement, abilities, extraction objectives, and Horde mode.
Some of these fixes came directly from player feedback, so thanks to everyone who took the time to test the demo and report problems. It genuinely helps me figure out what needs attention.
Development is continuing, with more work planned for the campaign, gameplay balance, performance, and general polish.
If you've already played the demo, I'd love to hear how it feels after these changes. If you haven't tried it yet, now is a good time to jump in!
Thanks for playing and supporting the project!
— Mechanical Sympathy Games