It’s been a few years since 1.0 was released, and in the little spare time I’ve had around major life events and a busy work schedule I’ve been slowly working toward a 1.1 update with some fixes and improvements based on feedback from 1.0’s release, and now 1.1 is finally available!
Here’s what’s new in 1.1;
- Gameplay
- Improved Ace pilot spawn logic.
- Ace pilots are now limited to one per level, so once an ace is found (whether it is rescued or killed), no other pilots can become an ace on that level.
- Saucer approach path sine wave now randomises phase so saucer can now arrive on either side of player ship instead of only on the player’s right side.
- Updated messages to match original game’s messages.
- New pilots are no longer spawned as the player approaches the required number of pilots to be rescued, to prevent endlessly rescuing pilots beyond the required number, while still allowing a small amount over the required number.
- Saucers will now divert course away from the player if their systems are turned off or if they are returning to the mothership.
- Saucer sound now fades as the player ship exits the level and boosts to the mothership, preventing the sound from abruptly cutting off when leaving the atmosphere.
- Graphics
- Replaced planet model with a higher detail mesh.
- Sounds
- Added alien snarling and jumpscare sounds.
- Added settings for individual sounds to allow player to reduce volume of annoying sounds.
- Pilot knock is now louder and more staccato.
- Split ambience sound into three separate loops with different lengths to increase variety in ambience.
- Controls
- Control system rewrite;
- Multiple controllers can now be active concurrently, with the control system taking the combination of inputs from all controllers.
- Individual controllers can be enabled or disabled (except the Keyboard), and Joystick controllers now start disabled to prevent unwanted input from extra controllers.
- Added flight control rebinding for Gamepad and Joystick controllers.
- XR controllers now work, as the left and right controllers no longer exclude each other.
- Invert Y setting is now per-controller.
- Throttle axis setting is now per-controller.
- Rebinding persistence and reset now works per controller.
- Added rumble support for Gamepad controllers.
- Added separate control settings menus for each controller that is present.
- Bug Fixes
- Returning to manual flight mode from a menu by pressing confirm button no longer fires the weapon as well.
- Returning to mothership while alien is at player’s windscreen now kills alien before boosting instead of taking the alien with you.
- Fixed critical energy warning light/overlay getting stuck.
- Fixed video resolution selector always showing display’s native resolution as the current resolution under Linux.
- Other Improvements
- Menu items with selectors now show current value in bright white.
- Cockpit landed light now blinks while landing or taking off.
- Vertical meter values are now clamped.
- Split video resolution and video refresh rate into two separate menu entries.
- Score display now flashes when significant score increases occur.
- Retimed mothership exit sequence, added ship startup tone during start sequence.
If you have any thoughts, comments or feedback, leave a reply below or let me know on Twitter or Facebook!
Enjoy and stay safe, pilots!