Game Updates 

Hi folks,

It's been a while since I've given an update.

During my absence, Darkblizzard has contributed a substantial amount of work to the game. As he lead the development, he made very sensible changes that resonated with the players. I thank him for doing a good job and credit him for keeping the players happy with the new updates.

Even with me out of the picture, the rest of the team have done respectable work. I honestly did not expect such enthusiasm to prevail. I believe this game could thrive through collaboration, not by some tyrant holding on to some...

Hey Thing players, we've added some new big changes to the game. With these new features, we've also rebalanced the game.

Since Grapple is currently OP (unit target and long range), I've tweaked the stats accordingly. Currently trying to redeisgn Grapple to require more skill.

Ragnov got redesigned.

0.286
Nerfed Thing attack speed from 1.0 to 1.2.
Buffed Thing base health from 140 to 180.
Buffed Thing health regeneration delay from 7.5 to 5.
Enabled Ragnov and Baguio.
Buffed Thing variable health from +12% to +16% per player.

v0.278
Fixed backend code errors.
Fixed Mission Timer from showing.
Fixed EVAC ship suicide bug.
Added song in loading screen.
Redesigned the EVAC ship.
Redesigned Liberty station.

v0.279
Added HotS and LotV dependencies.
Added the VIP system.
Updated Sahara Textures.
Redesigned Aquilon Station.
Removed multiple "Black Holes" from Ragnov.
Fixed some pathing issues on Baguio.

v0.280
Added Perks for Marines.
Fixed 2 hit kill for Thing.
Fixed...

These new patches focused on three things:

EVAC-Throw exploit
Thing skins (beta)
Oxygen system

Exploit needed to be fixed. Thing skins is currently a test on how different skins would affect the game. Revamped oxygen system is willuwontu's and is supposed to make camping much harder.

RELEASED 0.273

Fixed players losing control of their Marine when thrown away from EVAC entrance.
Fixed QuickTip of Wrench mislabled as Infrared Goggles.
Removed Meme Browser.
Fixed game getting stuck at start when all opted-in players are Cadets.

Infrared Goggles is a more useful item now.
Map changes by Probe.
QuickTips for noobs, just a test to see if newbies will respond to it.

v0.272

Buffed Infrared Goggles by giving the wearer maximum sight during blackout and sandstorm.
Decorated Baguio and Liberty indoors.
Updated stations with balance changes.
Fixed glitches involving map terrain and pathing in stations.
Added QuickTips system.
First time players can no longer Opt-In as Thing.
Updated the game's How to Play/Tips screens in the Arcade.

Thing's control has been tweaked to make deception easier. Medkits are now a blood tester in a way.

Maps now have more mechanics involved in their environment.

Shield is pretty much a bonus now, rather than a tradeoff.

Beacon Relay is a kind of a backup Comms Tower in a way too.

Burn area of effect is larger, corpses are now weapons of mass destruction.

v0.271

Fixed Spectators unfollowing when Thing transforms into monster form.
Made major revisions in every map. (Thanks to Probe)
Fixed Stimpack disabled when picking up...

RELEASED:

Fixed Refueling Station refilling Flamethrower until 40 instead of 70.
Buffed Consume channelling duration from 5 to 2.
Nerfed Consume health gain from 30% to 15%.
Added blood effects to corpse target of Consume.
Added explosion effects to corpse target of Burn.
Buffed Burn channelling duration from 3 to 1.5.
Nerfed Burn channelling range from 2 to 1.
Buffed Morale Boost movement speed modifier from 80% to 135%.
Nerfed Morale Boost Thing damage modifier from +30% to +10%.
Buffed Morale Boost by increasing Burrow Detection range to...

UPCOMING:

Thing gains movement speed increase when 1 player left and when players are far apart.
Consume gains less health but consuming is faster. (Or proportional to the players alive)
Consume gains consumed's color.
Fixed the Refuel Station refilling cap.
Add a small cooldown to consuming.
Disallow the Stuck in Door Lock exploit.

POSSIBLE:
Burning a corpse tints it black and unidentifiable instead of disappearing.
Consuming a corpse tints it white and unidentifiable instead of disappearing.

The game needs to improve on its teaching mechanics. So far, to learn the game mechanics, some would have to read the item tooltip, read the How-To-Use text on top of the screen (radio), read the tutorial or, like many newbs, learn from others.

The game mechanics have been becoming deeper such as reviving feature, the EVAC ship steering, and repairing facilities.

In order to address this, I figured a non-intrusive pop up text on the right of the screen that has an option to "Never Show Again" for every item/mechanic/event.

Legacy of the Void is nearer...

Fixed Visuals system.
Fixed NPC glitch in Liberty.
Changed Stats Version from v2 to v3.
Fixed Player Card not showing Aberration portrait for Thing player.
Added black transparent background to Player Card stats.
Remade Player Card stats format.

Mainly fixes.

I'm not sure what to put in the next update, I'll be watching the suggestions.

RELEASED:

Replaced some trees near the waterfall in Liberty with rocks.
Fixed Thing's Throw kills being an error in the score screen.
Renovated the Thing Rating system.
Changed Stats Version to v2 from v1.
Remapped the Transform system's hotkeys.
Renovated the Visuals system.
Fixed Dead Alive Chat and Dead Chat simultaneously opened in Dead Lounge.
Buffed Flamethrower fuel capacity from 40 to 70.
Renovated the Player Card interface.
Replaced vents in Sahara with rocks.

UPCOMING:

Player Card needs improvement, but I finally...

Fixed broken facility ping of Fuel Station.
Fixed being able to Ping in the Intro screen.
Fixed hearing the Thing's detection sound during Intro screen.
Fixed being able to get items stuck using the Anti-Cliff Hiding system.
Fixed Quick Drop not disappearing when dropping Riot Shield.
Fixed Flamethrower bar not updating when replenished by Fuel Station.
Added New Year decorations.


By the way, 0.263 will do a rework of the player cards (the one that shows your stats).

It's currently cryptic and cumbersome. I hope to fix everything in one...

Remapped the Color Selection hotkeys for Transform to Marine.
Enhanced the Transform to Marine ability.
Added sound effect to Throw.
Disallowed carrying of both Flamethrower and Riot Shield.
Disallowed carrying of both Flamethrower and Infrared Goggles.
Nerfed Flamethrower damage from 15 to 11.
Nerfed Flamethrower gas capacity from 200 to 40.
Added a Fuel Station facility.
Fixed Thing player in Marine form unable to be revived.
Fixed the Spectate system.

The Thing (as in the monster) needed special attention lately. It's pretty weak compared to Marines, and unless the Marines screw themselves over, the Thing is unlikely to win.

So I'm doing some buffs and nerfs. Here are some changes expected in 0.261, under development.

1. Flamethrower and Shield can no longer be simultaneously equipped.

2. Flamethrower and IR Goggles can no longer be simultaneously equipped.

3. Thing has an extended Transform to Marine system with quick keys to transform back to a previous color, last consumed color and original color.

Currently, the Thing in thing form would press Y to pick from a submenu of colors.

Some have complained that this could be complicated since colors have a fixed position and hotkey in the submenu. Most would simply pick a random available color in there.

To allow the player to easily select a variable color, I'm changing the initial Y submenu with four more options/buttons:

Transform to Marine:

• Previous: pick the color of your previous color as a Marine. [Y]
  
• Selection: pick from the consumed Marines colors. [U]
  
• Self:...