Not Just Shooting

The main goal of this patch is to add new mechanics to the core gameplay to make Oftalmogarden a bit more than a shooter, and in turn open the possibility for cooler abilities and effects, and improve the clarity of some existing mechanics.

Introducing: Gadgets!

Gadgets are infinitely reusable items that have various effects, from offense to defense to utility. Their cooldowns tends to be long, so use them wisely since it’s not like you can afford waiting in Oftalmogarden.

This update includes a first batch of five gadgets: Orbital Strike, Wind Maker, Emergency Shield, Phonic Screwdriver, and EMC2 Printer. Find them in gardens and try them out! (or just read the patch notes)

XP Retrieval

This mechanic allows you to retrieve some of the XP you’ve gathered during your previous run. This is a way to help out newer players with a little XP boost, as well as reward more experienced players that can reach further gardens.

However, you can only retrieve that XP in the garden where you died in your previous run, so you have to do at least as good as last time!

The Curse Hourglass

A common piece of feedback I receive is that it’s not clear what causes curses in the game, players often think they get cursed because of whatever was happening at the moment, but it’s actually just based on time!

So, I decided to completely redo this part of the UI to better show that curses simply happen over time, and turn the curse meter into an hourglass. The XP meter also received an update to match the UI.

Some More Thoughts

I am still working on features I mentioned in the previous devlog, namely boss fights, lore/narration, and unlocks. All of this stuff will take time to put together on paper and then implement, and I need to be careful about feature creeping, but it’s all gradually taking shape!

In the meanwhile, I’ve started a smaller scale side project called SQUAREFACE. For now it’s just a couple of minimalistic microgames in a mobile-friendly format. I intend to add more microgames whenever I feel like it, while trying to keep their implementation as short and efficient as possible, like a micro game jam every so often.

You can find it right here, it’s simple and short so have a go: https://nazorus.itch.io/squareface 

Anyway, back to Oftalmogarden with the patch notes!

Gameplay

[NEW] Gadgets

Gadgets are a new type of item that can be found in gardens, and can be used with the right mouse button for various effects.

You can only hold one gadget at a time, and most gadgets have a relatively long cooldown, but they can be reused as many times as desired.

There are five different gadgets for now:

• [NEW] Orbital Strike
• Calls an array of artillery from the sky around the player’s position, and deals high explosion damage.
• Most effective against ground enemies.
• [NEW] Wind Maker
• Creates a barrier of wind around the player that pushes enemies away.
• Very useful against small chasing enemies.
• [NEW] Emergency Shield
• Grants a large temporary shield that rapidly decays.
• [NEW] Phonic Screwdriver
• Grants moderate healing over time.
• [NEW] EMC2 Printer
• Grants temporary infinite ammo.
• Most useful with fire rate bonuses and ammo-consuming weapons.

[NEW] XP Retrieval

It is now possible to retrieve part of the XP that was obtained in your previous run.

To do this, you have to reach the garden where you last died and pick up the XP Retrieval item. XP Retrieval always appears near the center of the garden.

This is meant as a way to reward players that are able to consistently clear many gardens, but also as a helping hand to struggling players who will now find some bonus XP in early gardens.

Weapons

• Flamethrower: Slightly reduced projectile size.

Presentation

Interface

• Completely revamped the XP bar and Curse Meter.
• Curse Meter is now an animated hourglass to better convey that curses are received over time.
• Curse Meter’s hourglass is also shown in the curse animation for additional clarity.
• XP bar is now vertical and looks nicer.
• Added an icon, tooltips, and cooldown indicator for Gadgets.

Fixes

• Replicated enemies should no longer inherit values from their original.
• Death animation and music can longer be triggered after death.
• Music should no longer get stuck if interrupted during a transition.