Update v0.9.1

(TL;DR at the end)

With this update, we’re rolling out several improvements and minor bug fixes, most of them directly inspired by suggestions and requests from our community. Steam post image

Improvements

• We’ve added a Neural Network Control toggle to the Settings menu, giving players full control over how they manage Neural Network speed.

  • When enabled (default), players can adjust Neural Network speed using the mouse wheel.

  • When disabled, the mouse wheel is deactivated for this purpose.

  • Regardless of this setting, Neural Network speed can still always be adjusted using the + and – keys on the keyboard.

• The Autosave feature can now be configured from the Settings menu, with 15-minute and 30-minute options.

• For new players, we now display a small mouse-over helper tooltip during the first two levels, explaining how to fire when turrets are selected. These hints automatically disappear after reaching Level 2, as we assume players are already familiar with the controls by then.

• The old switch design in the Settings menu was confusing for some players. We’ve replaced it with a new, clearer switch design that clearly displays check and X icons.

• At the start of a new game and at the entrance of the tutorial level, we added a large and clear visual guide showing that the Neural Network can be controlled using the mouse wheel.

• Based on community feedback regarding Left Click / Right Click usage, we reviewed the entire control logic. Some adjustments were already made in previous updates, but we hadn’t properly documented them.

Current Click Logic Overview

• LEFT CLICK is now used throughout the game to select objects (except the Main Ship).

• To attack enemies, simply LEFT CLICK on the target while turrets or fighters are selected.

• To move the Main Ship, select it with RIGHT CLICK, then RIGHT CLICK again on the destination.

We believe this separation is now clear, intuitive, and no longer confusing.

Bug Fix – Turret Targeting Glitch

For some time, we noticed a rare glitch in Twitch and YouTube videos from streamers. Because we’re very familiar with the game’s flow, this issue was surprisingly difficult for us to reproduce.

In certain rare situations, when players selected multiple turrets and failed to click precisely on an enemy sprite, the turret selection boxes would keep blinking, but the turrets would refuse to retarget the enemy until they were reselected. Reproducing this issue required hundreds of attempts.

It’s completely understandable that players reacted with:

“I left-clicked, but it didn’t fire,” then tried right-clicking, and became confused when nothing happened.

Experienced players could recover quickly by reselecting the turret and resetting the targeting process, usually in less than a second — but the issue was still there.

With this update, we’ve eliminated this glitch entirely.

• Misclicks during turret targeting no longer break the selection flow.

• As long as a turret remains selected, clicking on an enemy will always issue an attack command.

• Players no longer need to reset turret selection or targeting manually.

Additional Quality-of-Life Change

• We added a secondary confirmation prompt on the Settings screen when returning to the Main Menu, to prevent accidental clicks.

Thank You

Before the final release, we’d like to thank everyone who supported us with suggestions and bug reports, helping us make these final improvements.

We’re people approaching our 40th year in the video game industry, and through Pirate Patrol’s community, we’ve met many smart, creative, helpful, and science-fiction-loving people. We’re deeply grateful for your support throughout this 4-year journey. 🚀 See you in space, captains. Stay sharp out there. ************************************************************************* TL;DR

• Added a Neural Network toggle to fully control mouse wheel behavior

• Autosave is now configurable (15 / 30 minutes)

• Clearer mouse wheel tutorials and visual hints for new players

• Simplified and clarified Left Click / Right Click logic

• Fixed a rare turret targeting glitch that caused selection issues

• Improved Settings UI and added confirmation before returning to Main Menu