Another megarelease is upon us! Alpha 14 lands next week, when I'll be sharing details in the release notes as usual, but know that it comes with boatloads (Haulerloads?) of QoL features, lots of new mechanics, and some... interesting new territory to explore. Oh yeah, and difficulty settings!
[Update: Alpha 14 released! Full release notes and changelog here.]Alpha 14 (the non-spoiler stuff) in images:
Melee multiwielding!
Attack with a
lot of weapons at once, maybe even slice through one and just keep on slicing, if you're good enough
Yet more specialized melee parts.
In fact, two-dozen cool new parts, a quarter of them with completely new mechanics.
Unstable machines detected by a Structural Scanner now have an on-map counter showing how many turns remain until they'll explode.
A new range of Thermal Defense Suites with AOE thermal resistance.
The Structural Scanner now has a
fifth ability, highlighting areas that are susceptible to cave-ins due to instability.
Guided waypoints can now be redirected more easily across multiple shots, with the line of fire always being recaculated from each previous waypoint as it is updated in keyboard mode.
Waypoint sets are also recalled automatically even when guided volleys are interrupted by direct fire.
Line of fire is now recolored on the fly as weapons toggled on and off while in firing mode might affect the volley's capabilities.
Hacking feedback now includes the potential for hackware destruction (it's not super common, and this was always intended, but it never happened due to a bug, now fixed).
Mouse users now have access to automated/smart inventory management via a simple left click when with a full inventory.
Mouse users also get new "[CYCLE]" buttons for propulsion and weapons to simultaneously toggle all their states.
The mouse cursor has two new hiding options, for example it can be hidden while you're attacking, so it's easier to see what's going on (especially with small tile sizes).
Or hidden during all attacks, and basically whenever input is blocked.
Right-clicking anywhere outside FOV automatically pans to that location.
Mouse users can also interact with empty equipment slots, left-clicking to bring up a list of all applicable items for that slot.
I changed a few of the stats shown at the end of a run.
To help collect lore, NPCs with dialogue you've already seen is instead marked in gray.
If you've already confirmed via a previous hack that there are no branches that lead out of the current map, calling up exit labels will remind you.
Fractional coverage reporting for those tiny items with < 1%.
Tutorial messages will flash for 5 seconds rather than 1 (maybe more people will actually read them? many are very helpful!).
Difficulty settings.
Optional challenge modes, like Scavenger mode where there are no stockpiles and all loose items are damaged (for bragging rights and higher scores
).
Or Unstable Evolution, where you can't choose how you evolve (also, new slots are always reflected in the log messages now).
Score history info updates.
This and more next week!
