Just a few bug fixes and gameplay tweaks in this one:

- Missiles now kill shielded enemies
- Boss doors attach a little later in 1st area (otherwise tedious for newcomers when stumbling in with vanilla weapons)
- Soft-lock fixes - spikey room and room respawner + switch combo (thanks Komeron)
- Added in-game tip, that if you get stuck inside switch blocks they'll automatically unswitch
- Fixed rare bug where gatling can appear multiple times
- Added enemy auto-kill if they somehow get outside room bounds and prevent room clearing (shouldn't be possible but better safe than sorry)

OK! Larger batch of updates here - mostly first-impression type improvements for new players, as well as general game-feel stuff.

Visuals:
- Cooler-looking peashooter
- Better animations & FX for air jump, high jump, sprint, grub abilities, etc.
- Full-size title screen (no more black bar on right)
- Easier-to-see animation when enemies emerge from loot

Gameplay:
- Facility seeds are picked to ensure some basic visual / powerup differences from the last facility
- For noobs (who haven't reached sector 2 yet) the game substitutes flamethrower / tracer in place of fire / electric mod in sector 1-A; those high-cost mods can be a little confusing with no battery upgrades, and don't show off the shot type system & weapon possibilities very well
- Removed shot speedup / knockback from sector 1-A (keeping it to essential mods early on)
- Fewer enemy-spawn situations in 1-A and 1-B where the 8-direction limitation is a handicap; for later sectors there's homing, spread, bounce, etc.
- Added some random jitter to propeller shot & spike ball, to help them reach more places
- Added some new room layouts
- Added mouse support to the menus / UIs

I've got a backlog of freelance work coming up so game-dev time might be tight the next few weeks, but as I get time I hope to add new content (player abilities, enemies, mechanics) as well as keep some marketing / promotion going.

Thanks to all who have left reviews & feedback, reported bugs, streamed the game on their channels, etc., really appreciate it!

Just a quick update here - there's now a Speedrun mode in the challenges screen with split times and personal-best tracking.

Check out KKairos's nice 19:24 run below, the current world record - challengers welcome!

OK, first batch of post-release updates is live:

* More sci-fi fonts (Blargh!)
* Better fullscreen-window scaling / filtering (bicubic Catmull-Rom)
* Health starts full now rather than 2/3
* Consumables (rushes, body shield, etc.) slightly more common, certain health/armor items slightly less
* Closing the weapon screen now switches back to your last in-game weapon (preventing accidental missile wastage)
* Room-clear drops no longer allowed in 1-block-high tunnels
* A few room tweaks / potential soft-lock fixes

Enjoy!

Proud to annouce the game is live as of this morning - have seen some nice reviews and playthroughs popping up on youtube etc. today, thanks to all who are playing it and sharing their experiences. It's been a long, fun, and challenging road getting the game to this point.

If you're a longtime or new player, reviews are definitely welcome - it'll help the game not get buried too quickly by Steam's algorithm (there seem to be a lot of games on here :)

Most of all, enjoy! And keep me posted on feedback & suggestions, I plan to keep adding extras & enhancements post-release as well.

Cheers,

-Luke

Just a few quick touchups:

* Made up-door transitions more reliable (don't have to jump as high)
* Added orb hint about running across 1-tile gaps
* Player map icon is now flourescent yellow

* Hard Mode challenge - spicy but not quite as brutal as Masochist Mode
* Some new room layouts in the Fleshy / 2nd sector
* Items should no longer get hidden in out-of-reach walls (except intentionally where a later upgrade can give access)
* Reduced HP a bit on the sector 3 super-tough enemies
* Added a note on the controller config screen / diagonal-shot section, for keyboards with multi-key scan problems that prevent diagonal shots
* Fixed some glitches with sector 3 "challenge pagoda" switch plates not reopening properly
* Damage upgrades now increase missile splash damage too
* Challenges now unlock whether you continue to the 2nd quest or not
* Crawlers no longer get stuck and pile up in secret door exits

I'm planning to submit the game to Steam for launch approval early next week, and shooting for a launch date of June 8th, so getting close! No idea how it'll do, the indie game world is crazy crowded these days and I didn't spend a lot of time on Twitter, Twitch, etc. like devs are supposed to now (constraints of my day job, my introvert nature, etc.) But pretty proud of where the game is at, and I plan to put more time into updates, improvements, and marketing post-launch.

Thanks again to everyone who provided feedback so far, shared the game with friends etc., really appreciate it!

Added six challenges / special game modes (unlockable by beating the vanilla game):

* Penny Pincher
* Explosive Phobia
* Pacifist
* Gatling Fanatic
* Unhealthy Environment
* Masochist Mode

Also some room layout tweaks & fixes.

New beta build - 0057

* Added mouse-hover descriptions for HUD upgrade icons
* Variable-height block physics for player, no longer floats above narrow ones
* Gatling buff: now slows down rather than immobilizes
* Guided shot buff: slows down shots for better control
* Shot-slowdown part (dubious usefulness but was quick to add)
* Fixed weapon bugs: clone+gatling, gatling+flamethrower, gatling+saw
* Switch block improvements: no teleport to sealed areas, no annoying repeat-unswitching after expiration of sector 3 "challenge pagodas"
* Removed VC redistributable (not needed, and caused some reinstall-on-launch problems)
* Enemy projectiles no longer bounce on springs

Thanks again to those who have been giving notes & feedback!

The indie scene is obviously super crowded, so the game could use all the help it can get as far as promotion - if you're up for posting an early review, or if you know of a streamer or press person who might like to try it feel free to share, that would be a huge help - happy to provide a press/beta key via email.

Cheers and enjoy,

-Luke