For quite a while now, we've been hard at work developing a sort of spiritual/spinoff sequel to a game we made before Skeleton Boomerang - "Aliens Go Home Run". This sequel is called Home World Run and it is a beat'em up platformer game, with Sally - one of the extra bosses from Skeleton Boomerang - returning (with a new coat of... flesh) as the main protagonist but bringing along a new sidekick of hers - Jackie, her little sister. Both of them get to kick some alien behind once more, not before getting themselves kidnapped onto their spaceship.

We post updates about the game's development in a few places:

1. Twitter: https://twitter.com/HomeWorldRun

2. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@blurryphoto

3. Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CFne37m


It's been a while since we've updated Skeleton Boomerang. First, there was the reVamped update which improved the graphics of the game and added new features. Then, we released a roguelike DLC called Vampire Hunter Mode. Since then we updated the game with some bugfixes and even a few minor content updates for the DLC. You may remember our last update which we deemed final - I personally didn't fully believe it myself when I wrote that part and even had some plans of my own to continue support for the game. The final nail in the coffin though was the engine we made the game in. It's an old version of Game Maker Studio that YoyoGames completely dropped support for. It has become so bad that we couldn't even authorize our own copies of the tool. There were attempts to port the game to Game Maker Studio 2 but there have been way too many technical problems along the way. Skeleton Boomerang's entire development and support arc has been done for a while now and as it is now, the game is in it's permanently final state.

So, me (+TEK, the composer and co-developer) and Artisano - the graphics lead for Skeleton Boomerang and also the main developer - are teaming up again (with some extra help from Doctor_Docson) to continue the "Alien Baseball franchise" in new directions! It's our first big, HD and not pixel art project. Our new team name is now "Blurry Photo". Stay tuned, we wanna release a demo for the sequel this year!

This is intended to be the final major patch, which includes a lot of bug fixes and a bit of new content (including a few secrets and easter eggs...)

- Lava spout in Bone Zone no longer deals damage.
- Fixed bug that could cause Skullflaps to take on their vampire appearance in the main game.
- Changed positions of red glowing lights in hard mode bone zone so they match normal mode.

The following changes apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC

- Fixed a bug where mojo bag became a random blessing after buying one from a previous act or from the hub.
- Mojo bag is no longer treated like a blessing, allowing the player to obtain the "Count No Blessings" achievement while buying them.
- Mystery blessing takes the place of the mysterious key after it has been purchased and costs 600 shards.
- Skullflaps should now always spawn during Timevile fight.
- Frank shouldn't get stuck in walls anymore.
- Chain disappears when the player dies.
- Restarting Tony pack quest doesn't remove charisma now.
- Gems from obelisks won't spawn in the ceiling now.
- Ghost and Blade techniques have smaller cooldowns.
- Technique selection is no longer broken in a weird way.
- Added bone apples that heal 1hp. It drops from mini bosses, randomly throughout acts and can be bought at Hector's for 1 blood gem.
- Fixed a floating judge in super trial rooms and added a shooting sound.
- Super trial doors now show up regardless of blood pressure (and beating the game at least once) - shows a message whether the player misses a key or blood pressure.
- Skeleton hunter no longer turns into regular Hunter for some sprites (entering doors, going down slides)
- Fixed a few weird looking tile issues around slopes.
- Fixed arrows sometimes facing inside the block in the wrong direction.
- Fixed being able to leave the final part of the tutorial to the left after taking the Stakerang.
- Fixed being able to jump down through crushers, usually resulting in an instant death.
- Fixed Combo Power overriding Shard Power.
- Prevented Werewolf from teleporting outside the boss arena.
- Enemies that get stuck in gears will try warping downwards if they're closer to the bottom.
- Arrows will not shoot anymore if there's any blocks between Hunter and the arrow.
- Added new sound to the room transition with bats. It's also used between acts now.
- Skipping dialogue is now twice as fast.
- Improved a few visuals in the hub and tutorial.
- Added 40+ new rooms to stage generation.
- Adjusted a few existing rooms.
- Added a new loading screen when Hunter is equipped with a certain boomerang.
- Keeper will now sometimes admire one of the characters in the hub if unlocked.
- The forementioned character has gotten more talkative...
- ... and added a couple more stuff too.

• Fixed bug where Grim Rob's intro in Hard Mode is unskippable

These updates apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC:

• The run complete screen now has additional info, including Blood Pressure, shards taken from Keeper at the start of the run, shortcut taken, and collected techniques
  
• Fixed bug where run complete screen wouldn't display the appropriate best time
  
• Fixed bug where a player could get duplicate blessings that don't stack
  
• Fixed bug where the Timerang could be accessed before it's actually collected
  
• True final boss's teleportation has been altered, it now happens less frequently but will still happen quickly if the player is nearby
  
• Shards taken from Keeper can now properly be carried into a shortcut; taking them into a Tony pack will cause them to taken from the player and given back to Keeper
  
• Lava spouts now have slightly different timing, remaining in their "down" state a bit longer than their "up" state
  
• Fixed a bug where, in trials that have two Tezcats, one would shoot twice as fast as the other
  
• The death stats screen will now appropriately identify if the player has been killed by a crusher's spikes
  
• Fixed another possible softlock in Blood Zone's room generation
  
• Teleport technique now cannot be activated if the boomerang is off screen or inside the ground
  
• Fixed misspelled name in the credits (sorry, Rangad!)

These updates apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC:

• Fixed up some collision issues with the piston platforms in Time Tower, should hopefully prevent some of the bizarre crushing deaths they cause
  
• Cattlepede segments no longer follow Hunter into other rooms and are now confined to a smaller portion of the screen
  
• After jumping off a blood slide, Hunter now leaves his "sliding" state when touching a wall
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the spiders in the mummy boss fight to crash the game
  
• Door placement has been altered to prevent doors from spawning out of bounds
  
• Fixed an issue where the Herr Herz enemy could be stuck in its invulnerable state
  
• "Undefined" items should no longer appear in shops
  
• Reprogrammed the darkness effect; the light around Hunter and his boomerang is slightly larger
  
• Charisma blessing description changed to reflect that it works in more than just Natascha's shop

These updates apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC:

• Aztank now has animated treads in phase two, as well as an animation for the doctor and a redone death sprite
  
• Aztank was missing a few of its hard variant features which have now been patched back in, including extra projectiles on the arm and doctor attacks, as well as extra health
  
• Fixed a bug that could crash the third super trial if the Deja Bone event was active
  
• Edited more possible room patterns to prevent softlocks

• Some adjustments to collision made to prevent Hunter from getting stuck in walls
  
• Hunter will now remain in a normal standing position when talking to NPCs

These updates apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC:

• Wallthings have adjusted positions during big and small enemies events
  
• Extra HP is no longer carried between attempts at Tony packs
  
• Doors will no longer spawn on top of spikes or jelly
  
• More room adjustments made to prevent unreachable doors or softlocks
  
• Crushers in the last area now drip with blood

These updates apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC:

• Fixed bug that could throw an error if a player grabs a blessing from a coffin on the first frame
  
• Fixed blood fountain not dealing damage
  
• Some songs in certain late game areas now loop properly
  
• Fixed error where the floors of certain rooms would cover the pause menu

These updates apply to the Vampire Hunter Mode DLC:

• Hunter's umbrella will now protect him from rain
  
• Object placement has been altered to prevent objects from spawning in out-of-reach places
  
• Achievement code has been touched up to prevent them from remaining locked/being unlocked when not appropriate
  
• Fixed bug where restarting at the end of the Boss Pack would allow player to keep the Timerang
  
• 30 seconds is added to the speedrun fortune's requirement with each area
  
• More room generation changes made to prevent softlocks
  
• Hunter is now invulnerable to wind and damage when speaking to NPCs
  
• Bosses should no longer capable of becoming permanently invulnerable
  
• Final bosses now have appropriate names in the death stats screen