Major Update .5a - New Ways to Die, and New Ways to Live!

OK, 'patch notes' don't quite cover it, but here we go anyway. Let's start with the good stuff, the things more 'player friendly'. Hehe, sure.

New Buffs -n- Stuff

1. Invulnerability

   

   The Invulnerability does just what it says, for a short while you will trigger no trap OR BUFF and no mobile (wolves, zombies, etc) will track you. In fact, if you are being tracked, this will clear that and let you go on in peace.

2. Omniscience

   

   The Omniscience buff will show you where all of the hazards are at, at least the non-obvious ones. This is a HUGE buff because sawblades, spears and such become MUCH harder to miss. The hazards icon looks like this...

   

3. Status Icons

   

   Currently only Invulnerability and Omniscience get status icons, but now the system is in place and making more icons will be easier. They do also show remaining duration via a sweep-style animation.

4. Warning Screen

   

   Playtesters were getting frustrated by the difficulty level of the overall game. We could have made it easier, but nah, let's put up a warning instead. :) Also, there is data in the lower left about how many traps vs buffs were spawned. You might think this would help you, but testing revealed that this actually made despair set in quicker. LoL.

Hmmm thought that list might be longer... oh well. Now on to new ways to die...

New Hazards

1. Pit Trap

   

   Who doesn't love a deep pit wherein you are invited to plummet to your death? This is one of the few hazards that doesn't have a tell. Step lightly? Maybe? I dunno. Above is a player testing out the gravity in the maze. It still worked.

2. Mimic Trap

   Ahhh mimics. Whatever deranged sicko came up with this idea? It looks nice, it looks like something you want... but nope. It's actually icing-coated death and dismemberment. Hate mimics, hate whomever came up with them. Oh, and I put them in this game. Pics? That would take ALL the fun out of it. Enjoy!

3. Block

   Steam post imageBecause a static unchanging maze is soooo boring. The Contessa said, and I quote, "That's so 1700's, dear." Therefore we give you the Block. It just teleports to new locations, taking a nice, gentle tour of the maze. Every few seconds a new location. It won't kill you, it won't even spawn in on top of you. But, on the off chance that you are being hunted by something it can damn sure make getting away a little challenging... like so...

   

4. Alarm Trap

   Hahaha, love this. I mean everyone knows that laser tripwires always mean fun and excitement. For someone. Probably not you, but someone's laughing.

And of course, bug fixes:

1. Ragdoll Dance - After a few minutes the score-keeping ragdolls would start to jitter all over the screen, VERY distracting. They've been given a good scolding and should sit much more still.

2. Edge case for double-killing the player - As much as the Contessa enjoyed a good double-killing from time-to-time, playtesters were less cool with it. So we fixed it. Spoilsport playtesters.

3. No/Few Traps spawned - On smaller maps there could be as few as ZERO traps spawned. The Contessa was not happy with this so we fixed it. If the boss ain't happy, no one's happy.