Asteroids ++ 1.4.2 - Relic Update!

Hi everyone, This one took a while, I've had a lot going on, but 1.4.2 is finally here, and it's all about making Endless Run a much deeper, crazier experience. As promised, relics are in! I created over 100 unique relics, and they're permanent upgrades for your run that come with buffs and debuffs, so every run will play differently. Pick wisely! Some of them will bite you back as hard as they help you. Along with that: a lot of bugfixes, better progression and more variety.

Features

• Relics in Endless Run, collect them between sectors for permanent run-wide buffs... and debuffs. Over 100 unique relics to discover.

• Improved progression and more variety across the game.

• New Relics button in the shop, you can now view every relic you've collected in your current run at any time.

• The relic selection screen is now fully localized and got a visual polish pass (smooth fade-in, rounded cards, clearer selected state).

• Updated the Steamworks extension to a newer SDK, which brings support for more modern networking APIs and, hopefully, even fewer item drop issues.

Relics

Relics come in four rarities

40 Common, 30 Rare, 20 Epic and 10 Legendary. Rarity determines how often a relic shows up in your 3 choices, with Legendary relics being truly rare finds.

Each relic belongs to one of 8 categories

Offense, Defense, Movement, Economy, Ability, Weapon, Survival or Chaos. Chaos relics are the spicy ones, they always give you something good but always take something in return.

Here is every relic in the game, so you know what to look out for:

Common Relics (40)

• Sharpened Rounds (Offense) - Projectiles deal slightly more damage (+8%).

• Quick Loader (Offense) - Weapons fire slightly faster (+6%).

• Extended Barrel (Offense) - Projectiles travel further (+15%).

• Heavy Slugs (Offense) - More damage but slower fire (+15% damage, -8% fire rate).

• Scatter Shot (Offense) - More projectiles but wider spread (+1 burst).

• Hot Rounds (Offense) - 8% chance to deal 2x damage.

• Steady Hands (Offense) - Reduced recoil buildup (-20%).

• Keen Eye (Offense) - Slightly increased crit chance (+5%).

• Reinforced Hull (Defense) - Ship has more health (+20 HP).

• Ablative Plating (Defense) - Take slightly less damage (-5%).

• Emergency Patches (Defense) - Slowly regenerate health.

• Thick Skin (Defense) - Collision damage reduced (-15%).

• Spare Parts (Defense) - Gain money based on HP lost during a sector. Getting hit hurts less when you're getting paid for it!

• Afterburner (Movement) - Ship accelerates faster (+20%).

• Streamlined (Movement) - Slightly higher max speed (+0.5).

• Quick Turn (Movement) - Ship rotates faster (+15%).

• Drift King (Movement) - Better braking but lower top speed (+30% brake, -0.3 speed).

• Bargain Hunter (Economy) - Shop prices slightly reduced (-8%).

• Salvage Collector (Economy) - Earn slightly more money (+10%).

• Lucky Find (Economy) - 10% chance for 2x money drops.

• Coupon Book (Economy) - First purchase each planet is 25% off.

• Tip Jar (Economy) - Earn +30 money when completing sectors.

• Capacitor (Ability) - Ability power recharges faster (+10%).

• Efficiency Module (Ability) - Abilities cost slightly less (-8%).

• Quick Cooldown (Ability) - Ability cooldown reduced (-10%).

• Power Reserves (Ability) - More max ability power (+50).

• Eager Trigger (Ability) - Abilities activate slightly faster (-5% cast time).

• Apprentice Gunner (Weapon) - Weapon XP gained faster (+10%).

• Overcharged Ammo (Weapon) - Weapons count as 1 level higher for damage.

• Calibrated Sights (Weapon) - Improved accuracy (+8%).

• Ammo Cache (Weapon) - Burst weapons fire one extra shot.

• Polish Kit (Weapon) - First equipped weapon deals +5% damage.

• Scavenger (Survival) - Picking up items heals slightly (+0.1 HP).

• Close Call (Survival) - Brief invulnerability after taking damage (+1 i-frame).

• Tenacity (Survival) - Deal more damage below 30% HP (+15%).

• Safety Net (Survival) - Respawn once per planet after dying.

• Magnetic Personality (Chaos) - Larger magnet range but enemies aim better (+30% magnet, enemies +5% accuracy).

• Glass Cannon Lens (Chaos) - More damage but less health (+12% damage, -15 HP).

• Risky Business (Chaos) - Crits deal more but normal hits deal less (+30% crit damage, -10% base damage).

• Overclocked Engine (Chaos) - Faster speed but worse handling (+1 speed, -10% rotation).

Rare Relics (30)

• Armor Piercing (Offense) - Extra damage to shielded/armored enemies (+20%).

• Chain Lightning (Offense) - Kills have a 15% chance to chain damage to nearby enemies (50% damage, 150px).

• Explosive Tips (Offense) - Projectiles explode on hit (+25% splash in 40px).

• Rapid Salvo (Offense) - Much faster fire rate but less accuracy (+18% rate, -12% accuracy).

• Vampiric Rounds (Offense) - 0.5% of damage dealt is returned as HP. Siphon your way to victory!

• Reactive Armor (Defense) - -20% damage taken for 3 seconds after being hit.

• Shield Capacitor (Defense) - Shield regenerates faster (+40%).

• Fortified Hull (Defense) - More health but slower (+50 HP, -0.5 speed).

• Deflector Array (Defense) - 8% chance to dodge damage entirely.

• Nitro Boost (Movement) - Strafe faster and cheaper (+20% strafe speed, -15% drain).

• Slipstream (Movement) - Straight-line movement builds speed beyond your max (+0.5/sec, up to +2).

• Momentum (Movement) - Moving increases your damage, stopping resets it (+1%/sec, max +20%).

• Wholesale License (Economy) - All shop prices reduced (-15%).

• Black Market (Economy) - Buy banned items at 2x cost. Some rules were meant to be broken!

• Investor (Economy) - Unspent money earns 8% interest on planet clear.

• Scrap Dealer (Economy) - Enemies drop money more often (+20%).

• Overcharge (Ability) - Abilities deal +25% damage but cost +15% more.

• Dual Capacitor (Ability) - Ability power recharges much faster (+25%).

• Emergency Protocol (Ability) - Your ability auto-triggers at under 20% HP, once per sector.

• Extended Duration (Ability) - Timed abilities last +30% longer.

• Fusion Discount (Weapon) - Weapon fusion costs -25% less.

• Dual Wielder (Weapon) - +10% damage when both weapon slots are filled.

• Specialist (Weapon) - +25% damage to your highest-level weapon.

• Field Upgrade (Weapon) - +1 bonus weapon level on shop upgrades.

• Phoenix Feather (Survival) - Revive once per run at 25% HP on death.

• Adrenaline Rush (Survival) - +30% speed for 2 seconds after taking damage.

• Hemostasis (Survival) - HP regen increases the lower your HP gets.

• Berserker Module (Chaos) - +1% damage per 1% HP missing, but -30 max HP. Play dangerously!

• Gambler's Chip (Chaos) - Free rerolls, but rewards become completely random. What could go wrong?

• Unstable Core (Chaos) - +40% explosion damage, but you take 5% self-damage from explosions.

Epic Relics (20)

• Overkill Protocol (Offense) - Excess kill damage splashes to the nearest enemy (200px).

• Bullet Storm (Offense) - 2x projectiles but 0.6x damage each. There is no such thing as too much firepower!

• Railgun Capacitor (Offense) - 3x damage on your first shot after 2 seconds of not firing. Patience pays off.

• Juggernaut (Defense) - +100 HP, -1.5 max speed. Become the tank you were meant to be.

• Mirror Shield (Defense) - Reflect 30% of damage taken back at attackers.

• Void Shroud (Defense) - 15% chance to phase through damage, but shield regeneration is disabled.

• Hyperspace Drift (Movement) - +2 max speed, -50% brake effectiveness. Good luck stopping!

• Gravity Well (Movement) - Pulls items in from 200px and slows enemies within 100px.

• Golden Touch (Economy) - +30% money from all sources, but +20% on all costs. Live large!

• Loan Shark (Economy) - +200 money at planet start, -250 at planet end. Spend it before the bill arrives!

• Supercharged (Ability) - 2x ability effect, 3x ability cost.

• Perpetual Motion (Ability) - No ability drain while moving, but 2x drain while idle. Keep moving!

• Master Smith (Weapon) - +2 weapon levels, but fusions are disabled.

• Arsenal (Weapon) - New weapon unlocks start at level 3.

• Synergy Core (Weapon) - +1% damage per unique weapon owned. Collect them all!

• Immortal Engine (Survival) - HP never drops below 1, but max HP is halved. You can't die, but you'll feel the pain.

• Soul Harvest (Survival) - +5 i-frames per kill. Invincibility through aggression!

• Entropy (Chaos) - All stat multipliers randomly shift +/-20% each planet. Never the same run twice.

• Double or Nothing (Chaos) - Every projectile: 50% chance for 2x damage, 50% chance for 0. Gamble on every shot!

• Pacifist's Bargain (Chaos) - +50% money earned, -25% damage dealt. Buy your way to victory!

Legendary Relics (10)

• Singularity Core (Offense) - 2x fire rate, but -1 HP per shot fired. Burn bright, burn fast.

• Time Lord (Ability) - 3x timestop duration, -50% ability regen. Time is on your side.

• Dreadnought (Defense) - +200 HP and +50% damage, but speed is capped at 3 and rotation is halved. A fortress with guns.

• Ghost Ship (Survival) - Phase through enemy bullets, but -50% damage dealt and taken. Spooky and untouchable.

• Stellar Furnace (Offense) - A damage nova erupts every 10 kills (150px), costing 5 HP per nova.

• Omega Cannon (Weapon) - Your highest-level weapon deals 5x damage, all others deal 0.5x. Commit to one gun!

• Chaos Theorem (Chaos) - Each sector, 2 of your relics are disabled while 2 others are doubled. Pure unpredictability.

• Neutron Star (Survival) - A 100px damage aura while above 20% HP, draining 0.1 HP per frame. A star you carry with you.

• Event Horizon (Chaos) - Enemies chain-explode on death... and those explosions can hurt you too. Beautiful and dangerous.

• Paradox Engine (Chaos) - Double all current relic effects, but you can no longer collect more relics. The ultimate endgame relic.

Endless Run

• The starting weapon pool now rotates daily. Every day brings a fresh set of starting weapons for each difficulty, and it stays fixed within the day so backing out and re-entering can't be used to re-roll your options.

• Relic picks now save instantly, and planet advances persist immediately, so quitting at the wrong moment can no longer leave your save behind with stale relics.

• "Continue" now validates that a save actually loaded, so a missing or outdated save can't wipe your relic progress.

• Relic selection got some love: click selects and confirms in one press, keyboard and gamepad navigation are smoother with sounds, and a lingering click from the reward screen can't accidentally pick a card for you.

Steam Item Drops, Hardened

• Drops now only spend your Drop EXP and count toward the daily limit when Steam actually confirms a granted item. Previously, a failed or empty result could silently eat your 20,000 EXP and lock you out, that's fixed.

• Failed/empty results now keep your progress and retry automatically after 5 minutes.

• Fixed a nasty bug where a missed Steam callback (like while the game is paused) could block all future drops until you restarted the game, pending drops are now re-polled automatically.

• The drop threshold, cooldowns, daily window and cap are now proper constants instead of magic numbers scattered across scripts, so I stop breaking them when I tweak balance.

• Added automated tests for the drop result validation, so a drop that looks granted but isn't can never silently spend your EXP again.

Performance

• Overhauled asteroid collision handling. Every asteroid used to check collisions against every other asteroid every step, which made dense clusters chug. Now only black rocks scan for asteroids to absorb, big framerate improvement on the heaviest waves.

Bugfixes

• Fixed the color picker in the shop sampling the wrong pixel on non-1080p resolutions, and fixed keyboard navigation reading colors from outside the palette.

• Fixed a crash when completing a planet right after quitting an Endless Run (the game tried to read a campaign that was no longer active).

• The "convert to weekly planet" prompt can no longer trigger outside of weekly runs, and planet completion now properly validates the active game mode instead of trusting stale state.

• Fixed the laser's targeting during UFO waves and validated it with new automated tests.

• Fixed a minor shop info display bug with the Power Star description.

Also, to mention some stuff, some features that are related to steam (like achievements, online functionality) will from now on be managed more by me. GameMaker provided a repository which will hopefully lead to more fixes especially related to item drops, so hopefully we will no longer have item drop bugs!

Ban System

I'm no longer banning people on literal request. Recently I got spammed by a group asking me to ban them just to collect bans on their accounts, and I wasn't comfortable being part of that. Everyone I banned on request has been unbanned. Bans stay manual and verified, cheaters are still flagged by the anticheat, as always.

Thanks for reading this long list of changes. A lot of things have been updated under the hood to support these new features, especially the relics. If anything is wrong (which is likely since I updated the engine, and some libraries) let me know!