Welcome to the Uranium Season Update! It's a big Update so that means a new Season, new Leaderboards and new toys!

First I would like to say a big Thank You to Cntrpl and Pilzkopf from Discord who did excellent work testing this update before it went live! If you want to help or just chat then the Discord is the best place to join in!

As with every Season Update the Leaderboards for the previous Season are archived and will no longer accept new scores.

So without further ado...

ACHIEVEMENTS

There are now 36 Steam Achievements in the game; one for each program.

I've tried to make sure the achievements are challenging and encourage different ways to play the game that rewards in-depth knowledge of how everything works.

There will be more Achievements coming in future Updates so keep checking back!

ITEM BALANCE

There have been some balance changes to Programs, too many to go into detail but here are the highlights...

[h2]Utility Programs:[/h2]

• Repel - Now gets placed in your aim direction and as well as knocking back enemies leaves behind an area that enemies cannot enter for a short time.
  
  
  
  
• Stun - Now briefly pauses enemy spawning when triggered and "Confuses" stunned enemies instead of stopping them.
  
• Glitch - No longer for Emergencies only this program lets you dash between points without passing through the intervening space. Yes you can in fact Glitch through walls and across gaps.
  
• Attract - Replacing "Rage" Attract places a Trap in your aim direction that sucks in nearby enemies.
  
• Barrier - Barrier now lasts longer and heals you if it ends without breaking.
  

• Frag - The Mine Launcher has been changed into "Frag", a rapid fire shotgun whose projectiles bounce off walls with great single target damage at close range.
  
• Sharpshooter - This Beam laser was cutting through Bosses from across the map so now it's damage is reduced by distance. Don't worry though it's still the best single taret damage in the game at any range.
  

• Prox - Wyldfire has been replaced by "Prox", a Burst attack that drops multiple "Smart" Proximity Mines that will home in on nearby targets. Excellent for Area Denial.
  
  
  

• Focus - This Buffer now grants you a stack of "Focus" each time you use a Utility program. Focus can stack up to six times and each stack reduces the cost of using your Utility program.
  
• Equilibrium - Equilibrium now massively increases your Energy regeneration when you aren't firing your main weapon but has much lower passive Regeneration.
  

• Overclock - Similar to Focus this Program grants a stack of "Overclock" each time you use a Burst attack reducing the Adrenaline cost of future Bursts. Stacks up to six times.
  

• The Boss Fights have each had a second pass and have gained unique Arenas, new abilities, better balance and are more polished.
  
• You can now find Extra Lives in Dive mode.
  

Vote for Waves!

Today is a day of excellent news! Waves 2: Notorious has made it to the Quarter Finals of the WN Unreal Dev Contest!

The top prizes for this contest include Publishing Deals and Development funding that would help support the rest of the game's development.

Head over to the games page and give it your vote!

The Achievements Update

The next update nears closer. I have consistently overestimated how much work I can get done while being part-time on the game but the end is now in sight.

During today's live stream I managed to get the number of broken or untested achievements down from 9 to just 3 out of 36. There are still 5 that need changes to Items before they can be tested but those changes are minor and should be done by this time next week.

User Interface Improvements

At some point, the ability to use the arrow keys and the D-Pad on controllers stopped working to navigate the menus. Next patch this will be fixed and there have been multiple tweaks to the UI flow and layout to make things easier for those players using control pads! No longer will you have to go all the way back to the main menu just to edit your loadout and picking your loadout will be much easier than ever before!

Localization

The Localization effort is going amazingly well!

While most of the languages are sitting around 50% complete the reality is that most of the remaining strings have been translated by Google and are getting upvoted by native speakers of those languages so the most popular languages are almost ready for their first trial in-game!

There are still ways to help out! The more votes a suggestion gets the more the green bar will fill up indicating the confidence in the translations are high. In order for a string to be considered "finished" it needs at least 3 votes so at this point we really just need help proofreading what's already there!

Thank you to all the members of the community who have helped translate the game to date!

I am streaming some Live Dev of Waves 2: Notorious over on Twitch today from 3 PM GMT. These streams tend to run for 3-4 hours so feel free to pop in and say hi!

This week I am working on some of the unfinished achievements in the game trying to push for the next update. Fairly dry stuff so I could use some company!

You can join the Discord or follow me on Twitter for notifications on when I go live as well as just hanging out with other fans of the Waves games!

I am streaming some Live Dev of Waves 2: Notorious over on Twitch today from 3 PM GMT. These streams tend to run for 3-4 hours so feel free to pop in and say hi!

This week's project is a new UI flow, testing some achievements and maybe getting in some new Structures into the game if we have time.

You can join the Discord or follow me on Twitter for notifications on when I go live as well as just hanging out with other fans of the Waves games!

I will be streaming some Live Dev of Waves 2: Notorious over on Twitch today from 3 PM GMT. These streams tend to run for 3-4 hours so feel free to pop in and say hi!

This week's project is making some changes to Buffer and Cache Programs to reward you with Stacks of certain Buffs when you use your Utility or Burst Programs.

You can join the Discord or follow me on Twitter for notifications on when I go live as well as just hanging out with other fans of the Waves games!

Over the last few Dev Streams, I have been working away on the new Attract Utility Program. Like the previously announced revamp of Glitch it uses the same slot as Slowmo but has significantly different functionality.



Attract gets dropped in the direction you are aiming and any enemies that come into contact with it will be sucked towards its core rendering them temporarily helpless.

Multiple Attract Programs can be active at once letting you herd enemies or cluster them together for a powerful Burst (Quake is a good fit here).

Attract lasts 5 seconds however if you want to end it early and get some energy back you can always collapse it by touching the Core causing a shockwave that knocks away enemies.

The downside? Attract has a limit on how many enemies it can manage at once. Go over this limit and it collapses early potentially launching those enemies right at you. If you plan on using this to counter Bosses in Dive then you might want to upgrade it so it doesn't collapse quite as quickly!

Attract will be replacing Rage so if you've already unlocked Rage you will automatically receive Attract in the next update.

I will be streaming some Live Dev of Waves 2: Notorious over on Twitch today from 3 PM GMT. These streams tend to run for 3-4 hours so feel free to pop in and say hi!

This is starting to become a regular thing! 4 in a row that I've Live Streamed some game dev and I don't intend to stop! Thanks to everybody who joins me it's great to have some company!

This week I will be working on Particle Effects for the Attract and Glitch Abilities as well as general polish on both of them. I will also be testing (and probably fixing) their related achievements.

You can join the Discord or follow me on Twitter for notifications on when I go live as well as just hanging out with other fans of the Waves games!

Thank you to everybody who is helping localize the game over on localizor!

Since we started I've added Spanish and Slovak by request and translations are underway for both of them already.

I also spent a few days going over the text strings in the game and pruning all the ones that either aren't used or won't be used as well as combining most of the duplicates together into string tables.

This means the word count has now dropped by two-thirds and the number of keys to translate has gone down by over 400!

I've also been responding to requests for contexts and providing screenshots where needed.



We still need translators for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic (I'd really like to try and get Arabic right as it's almost always butchered in games).

We also need more proofreaders to vote up the accurate translations. Once a suggestion gets 3 votes it gets approved and once enough of a translation is approved I can start putting them in the game.

There will be more keys getting added as development continues but I will try and keep everything as up to date as I can.

Thank you again!

I will be streaming some Live Dev of Waves 2: Notorious over on Twitch today from 3 PM GMT. These streams tend to run for 3-4 hours so feel free to pop in and say hi!

The stream will mostly be focused on turning the "Attract" prototype I built last week into a working Item and I will also be fixing some bugs, and tracking down some localization issues.

You can join the Discord or follow me on Twitter for notifications on when I go live as well as just hanging out with other fans of the Waves games!

Join the few, the proud, the multilingual!

If you speak any languages in addition to English then perhaps you can help translate the text in the game so that others might enjoy it as much as you do!

I'm using a site called localizor to manage the community translation of the game and so far Polish is winning by about 30%.

Joining is free for translators and you can suggest translations and vote on them, the top voted translations go into the game.

https://www.localizor.com/waves-2-notorious

If a language is missing from the list then just leave a comment or DM me either on Twitter or Discord.

Several members of the Discord are already hard at work translating the game into French and Polish and will be happy to help if you have any problems.

For the next few hours, I will be live over on Twitch creating the new "Attract" Utility item (aka a black hole).

Part of the next update will be a re-vamp of all the Utility Items in the game.

Utility Items are (as their name implies) not about killing things but being generally useful. They use Energy instead of Adrenaline and the most popular Item to date has been the default "Stop" (aka slow-mo).

It's important that every item in the game have a use but so far Stun, Repel, Rage, Barrier, and Glitch have not lived up to their potential always being out-done by Stop.

I intend to change this.

Today as part of a Live Stream I converted the old Glitch (previously called Emergency Teleport) into a brand spanky new Dash move (also called Glitch).

It lets you do things like this...



or even this...



oh and let's not forget about this...



Your ability to Glitch through/over things is only limited by the Cooldown and having enough energy and the Overdrive will cause a shockwave at the location you were at stunning nearby enemies.

I've been enjoying this Item a lot and I can't wait until everybody else can get their hands on it!

I will be aiming to do a Live Stream of some Dev work every Saturday and I will try to announce them here, on Twitter and on Discord so make sure you're following at least one of those!

Cheers!

Rob

If you've just joined the Waves community recently or you've been around since the start you can find other fans on the Squid In A Box Discord Server!

By joining the Squid In A Box Discord Server you can:

• Ask the Devs direct questions and get a direct answer.
  
• Promote your stream of Waves!
  
• Chat with the Devs and other fans about almost anything.
  
• Share pictures of your pets!
  
• Organise multiplayer games.
  
• Use Waves themed Emotes (clearly the best bit).
  
• Submit Bug Reports (It is still early access after all).
  

020 just sucked, didn't it? Good riddance I say.

It's no secret that Squid In A Box Ltd is in fact just one person. It isn't a studio with a half dozen full-time employees it's just Li'l ol' me trying to get as much done as I can.

2020 was just awful for that. Between starting a new job so we could pay the bills, moving cities, and everything else it left me going from working full-time on Waves 2 to working at weekends. I've been averaging maybe 6-8 hours a week this year where before I would be working 40-50.

The Winter 2020 season in-game has lasted all year rather than the 3 months a season normally lasts and it will continue until the next major update sometime in Jan of this year.

So if there haven't been any major game updates in 2020 what have there been?

[h2]A Growing Community[/h2]

There are plenty of loyal fans playing the game every single day, especially on the last day of each month for those last-minute leaderboard grabs! We've been at around 200 monthly active users all year which is actually an increase over 2019 so the community has been growing which is amazing!

Plenty of bugs have been reported both on the forums and in the discord and I am addressing all of them as best I can.

[h2]Console Ports[/h2]

A Nintendo Switch version of the game is in the works! It's currently playable but needs lots of UI changes and optimizations and won't be released until after PC reaches 1.0 but it is definitely going to happen!

[h2]Achievements[/h2]

Steam Achievements are coming soon! Most of my 2020 has been spent working on these and I have 36 achievements* implemented that are currently undergoing testing and balancing. Some of them require changes to Items in the game so it's taken longer than expected but they will be part of the next big update.

[h2]Boring Project Management Stuff![/h2]

Finalizing the design of the game and getting all of the work needed into a task tracker (Jira for those that are curious). Not all of it is required to ship but it's good to have a definitive list of everything left to do.

2021 will hopefully be different. I'm working on the next major update and while I originally planned for it to be released in December that didn't happen due to a small case of catching Covid and being put out of action for almost 3 weeks.

There are almost 800 hours of work left to do in my backlog for the game. Was I working full-time this would be around 6 months of work (including contingency) but at my current rate of around 8 hours a week that shakes out to over 2 years.

Unless I can secure funding to allow me to work full-time again then either big features have to be cut (such as all of Dive mode and Multiplayer) or everyone is going to have to keep on waiting.

It's not the news you all wanted to hear and it's not the news I want to deliver but it's the way things are.

THIS GAME IS NOT DEAD!

I will continue with development until my last breath if I have to. I love this game and I love our community and I want to do my very best for all of us!

I hope you have a good 2021 and with any luck maybe I can get back to full-time development again.

Please follow me on Twitter for more frequent updates and don't forget to tell your friends about this great little twin-stick shooter called Waves 2.

* I also need 36 achievement icons, so if you are an artist and interested in developing a visual style for them then get in touch at rob [at] squidinabox [dot] com

I will be streaming Waves 2: Notorious until 23:00 GMT tonight!

Come and hang out and ask any questions you want about the game and how early access is going!

I know it's been a long time but all I can say is it's 2020!

As a solo developer sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and get a "real" job (aka one that pays a living wage) which is what I did.

Development continues but I'm not able to work full-time on the game anymore.

Bosses!

There has been a "Prototype" boss fight in the Campaign mode for a while now and the feedback has been good! So good that I've spent some time polishing it up, making 2 more and adding all 3 of them to the Dive game mode.



Every 5th level in Dive will be a Boss Fight and they get tougher the deeper you go. Each Boss is designed to test a specific set of skills core to the game and I have another 3 I'm working on right now.

Dive Mode

In addition to getting Boss Fights Dive Mode has undergone some other changes (actually almost all of this Patch is about Dive mode).

• Timers no longer restart when entering a new level. You take whatever time you had left with you to the next level.
  
• XP from kills has been nerfed but completing Objectives and Downloading Files now rewards XP and the amount increases as you get deeper.
  
• There are more Files to download in all Dive Levels.
  
• Dive now only has 1 Arena Type but the Maze levels have been added to the standard map rotation.
  
• Entering a Level gives you some extra time depending on the type of level.
  
• Completing a Level no longer stops enemies from spawning or the timer from counting down.
  
• Completing a Level no longer despawns any Subsystems you haven't destroyed yet so you can go back for those Files you missed.
  
• When the Exit spawns it no longer kills everything in the level.
  

• Enemies killed by spawning under the player no longer stay visible.
  
• Using the Glitch Item doesn't crash the game anymore.
  
• Fixed a crash in the Loadout editor.
  
• Fixed Rotation of the Quakes effects.
  
• Beam weapons no longer lose damage output at low framerates.
  
• Added Floating Text when the player gains Experience.
  
• Added Option to disable Floating Text.
  
• Added Option to disable the Status Ring.
  

The crash when starting a campaign game should be fixed in the most recent version.

The fix for this requires using the 64bit version of the game and as such the 32bit version is no longer supported.

Also fixed in this patch is the Tutorial not progressing past the first stage.

This patch brings a few quality of life and UI improvements primarily for the Campaign mode as well as replacing the old Campaign "Shoot the Core" boss encounter with a new prototype Boss Fight.

Due to changes in how Objective Data is stored your existing Campaign saves may not work correctly. It is advised that you start a new game. This does not affect Arcade mode at all.

Boss Fights

Replacing the old confusing and fairly dull "Shoot the Core" boss fight in the Campaign is a new breed of Bullet-Hell style Boss.



This current version is just a prototype with only a few attacks in order to create the framework for better Bosses in the future.

Instead of bullets Bosses spawn enemies which can be destroyed and count towards your combo allowing you to earn adrenaline during a Boss encounter however some of their attacks will just have to be avoided.

As part of the development and testing process a new game mode will be added to Arcade in March that features Endless Boss Fights.

Bosses will eventually be added to the Arcade Dive mode (Which will be renamed to "Rogue" in a future patch) and will appear at set milestones throughout the game.

Unreal 4.24.1

The game is now using Unreal 4.24.1. This marks the end of support for Shader Model 4. Please let me know any issues you may be having as a result of this patch with regard to crashes on startup or graphical or sound glitches. Most people should be unaffected by this change but you never know!

UI Changes

The rest of this patch is predominantly UI changes/fixes.

• Pause Menu now has useful information on it including your current game mode, Objectives, Stats and more.
  
• Objectives Display on the HUD and Campaign Menus has been updated to include more useful information.
  
• Longpresses are now only required for gamepad users when interacting with the Campaign Maps. Mouse users can now Double Click on things.
  
• Network Map no longer lets you replay a level you have completed.
  
• Network Map shows which levels you have completed with a Checkmark.
  
• Network Map no longer lets you select Locked Levels.
  
• Network Map highlights available levels more clearly.
  
• Campaign progress is saved when returning to the Network Map instead of only on Logout.
  
• Secondary Objective Progress is now saved and restored correctly in Campaigns.
  
• Reputation for completing Objectives is now being awarded correctly after completing a Server.
  

The Winter 2020 Season has begun! Just as before the leaderboards for the previous Season have been archived and can be seen from the Leaderboards screen and a new Season with new balance changes has begun!

- ARCADE
New Arcade Season 2020_WINTER has begun!

- EXPLOSIONS
Explosions from structures no longer auto-kill Cubes doing damage instead.
Explosions now briefly deform the arena floor (graphical effect only).
Explosions now cause mild camera shake when nearby.

- DIVE
Countdown no longer ends when unlocking the Exit instead adding 10 seconds to the timer.

- SPAWNING
Administrator AI now takes into consideration which enemies the player is killing when choosing what to spawn.
Spawning in Maze type arenas improved.
Enemies can be "respawned" in Maze type arenas nearer the player if they get too far away.
Triggers spawn closer to the player in Maze type arenas.

- ENEMIES
CPU Performance of all enemies improved.
The Cube now has a "Shooting" attack.
Cube now knocks away nearby enemies when stepping.
Cube Stepping animation improved.

- HUD
CPU Performance of HUD improved significantly.
Added a Compass that shows direction of Triggers and Bosses as well as their remaining health.

Thank you to my Patrons for their ongoing support. If you are interested in becoming a Patron and getting a behind the scenes look at the games development then go to Patreon.com/SquidInABox

This is just a small patch to address a crash that occurred when using the Flamethrower weapon.

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash when an enemy dies from a Status Effect.
  
• Re-enabled Datavaults in Dive mode.
  

Starting at 1am GMT on October 1st the Arcade leaderboards will tick over to the Fall 2019 Season.

The Fall Season will last for 2 months until December 1st when we will transition into the Winter Season.

Rankings for the Summer 2019 season will be archived and available to view in-game as will all of your past scores. Rankings for the Fall 2019 Season will be reset and start from scratch as the latest patch includes several new enemies and gameplay tweaks that would make it unfair to compare scores between updates.

New Enemies

All the Arcade game modes have 3 completely new enemies added as well as some changes to existing ones.

Blobombs

The Blobomb (aka the Red Slime or Exploding Blob) now explodes on proximity to the player.



You have a short window in which to escape the blast zone before taking damage so think fast.

Lime Jelly

The Blobs have also added a new flavour to their arsenal in the form of the "Lime Jelly".



Like the Blobomb it too explodes on proximity and death but rather than just doing damage it leaves behind a slime patch that slows down anything that touches it. Flying enemies are immune to the goo but you are not so watch out.

Epidemic

There are some new Viruses in town that are exhibiting some strange behaviours. The First of them is known as "Epidemic" and it replicates incredibly quickly.



Epidemic like all Viruses can mutate into a Boomer but due to its tendency to die off when surrounded the opportunities for mutation are much rarer.

Epidemic also has lower health but is worth only half the points of the regular Bloom Virus.

Worm

If you walk without rhythm then won't attract the Worm they say. That's not true when you're a ball inside a computer and the Worm is a virus.

The Worm makes a point of replicating towards intruders (IE You) with the older cells dying off to make room for new growth.



Be careful of Boomers that mutated from the Worm as they will continue to replicate spawning new Worm cells that will continue to track you.

New Map for Dive

Dive mode has gotten it's first update in the form of a new Arena Type called "Maze". These new arenas are much larger and take the form of Rooms connected via Corridors.



In future updates the Maze map type will be integrated with the existing arenas and will increase the variety in Dive (and eventually the Campaign). For now they still need more testing and feedback on their size and the amount of time they take to complete.

When playing on the Maze arena type you will get slightly more time to complete a level than normal to account for the increased size of the maps.

Bugfixes

The game sometimes gets stuck in an infinite loop when trying to spawn enemies/triggers etc. I have added additional failsafes to try and reduce the chances of this happening.

If this was happening to you then please let me know if it is still happening after this patch. I've not been able to reproduce it myself so I'm mostly just guessing at what might be causing it.

FALL 2019 SEASON STARTS OCTOBER 1ST!

As the title says: There is exactly one month left in the Summer 2019 Arcade Season so get those Highscores in!

There will be a big patch to accompany the Season change which will include new enemies, AI changes and new Arenas to play in. If you want to get a preview of what's to come then keep an eye on the SquidInABox Patreon where I will share everything I'm working on in my Wednesday vlogs.

0.75.1 PATCH NOTES

This patch removed the old camera and replaces it with a fresh new one!

This means new Camera settings are available in the Game Settings menu so you can fiddle and tweak it to your hearts content (you can even choose to turn it off and just lock it to the player if you want).

- Camera
Camera code completely rewritten to be faster and smoother.
Camera no longer gets distracted by nearby Triggers.
Camera no longer lags behind the player.
Camera handles small spaces better.
Camera can now be "Locked to Player" in settings.
Max Offset determines the maximum distance the camera can be from the player (defaults to 350 which is max).
Wall Strength determines how close the Camera is allowed to get to a wall (defaults to 350 which is max).
Aim Strength determines how far the Camera can be offset based on players current Aim direction (default is zero or off)

I'd like to thank my Patrons for helping fine tune the new default camera settings. If you are interested in all the behind the scenes work that goes into the development of the game and getting access to highly "experimental" builds then please check out the Patreon at Patreon.com/SquidInABox

This is entirely optional!

Some people have been asking me to set up a Patreon so they can further support the development of the game and who am I to tell people they can't do that?

https://www.patreon.com/squidinabox

Every Wednesday I will be writing an in-depth post going over what I've been doing the previous week, these posts are going to be fairly programming and process focused so you can peak behind the curtain at what I get up to on a weekly basis.

This weeks post is entitled "How New Levels Required A New Camera" and details how adding new levels to the game had the knock on effect of requiring an entire camera re-write.

There will also be some Patreon only test events going on for features that are VERY Work in progress (IE they are pretty much guaranteed to break and may never make it to the actual game and definitely won't have leaderboard access) so if you want to get even earlier access to changes to the game then you might want to check it out.

At the end of each month Patrons will also be invited to take part in a live Q&A session. Only Patrons can submit questions but the resulting Livestream will be available afterwards to everybody.

As I said before this is entirely optional and if you just want to play the most stable version of the game then you don't have to do anything however if you do choose to join the Patreon then it will really help me out.

Rob

I've re-enabled the Campaign but added a pop-up explaining that it isn't ready for prime-time and is not being actively developed right now. You can still play it if you wish but most of the fun stuff is going to be prototyped in Dive mode first.

I've also made some small fixes for Dive mode which were actually being caused by changes to the Campaign.

-Dive

• Dive mode uses Wanted Levels.
  
• Dive modes timers don't reset when you destroy a control node anymore.
  
• Structures De-Rez at the correct time during level transitions.
  

After much consideration I have decided to remove the Campaign mode in it's current format from Waves 2.

It will be replaced in time with a much more streamlined and easier to understand version however right now it is currently not available.

This decision was made based on the fact that after several years of development only a handful of players have ever actually played it and enjoyed it. I've decided to focus my attention on the bits of the game that players are actually enjoying right now: The Arcade.

A lot of what was intended for the Campaign will make it's way to the Arcade game modes (uploading viruses and boss fights for example) but un-encumbered by all the problems that have stalled the Campaigns development for months.

Hopefully this will result in more rapid content focused updates in the near future.

Campaign play will eventually return but only when it's ready.

- GRID
Temporarily Removed From the Game

The Trello is currently being updated to reflect these changes.

Now that the freeze has turned into a crash (crashes are better they at least leave a crash dump file) I was able to hunt down the exact problem that was occurring and fix it.

The crash was happening when there was nowhere left to spawn Triggers or Structures because there were too many Cell type enemies around. This happened mostly in smaller levels and more on the hardest difficulty.

Now when spawning Triggers and Structures the AI will merely prefer spawning where there are no Cell type enemies and if it has to spawn over them they get destroyed so you can at least see where the Trigger is.

As part of this Hotfix when the Cubes trample a mutated Cell (the orange ones that explode) it won't cause it to explode preventing it from causing a chain reaction.

This is a small patch to address a rare freeze that sometimes occurred when File Lockers were being spawned in Arcade.

It's very hard to reproduce so this isn't guaranteed to have fixed it so if you are getting the game freezing (not crashing!) during arcade then please report it on the forums.

Thankyou!

That's right! If you want to play Waves 2 on Linux then now you can!

This is not emulation but a custom build. I've tested it on Ubuntu 18.04 and so long as you have the most recent proprietary graphics drivers for your hardware it should work fine.

There are however some known issues on Linux:

Known Issues (Linux)

• Circular Progress Bars are too thin.
  
• Supported resolutions aren't always accurate if you have multiple monitors.
  

• Added Random button to the Loadout Editor. This will create a Random Loadout and Build Order based on your current unlocked Items.
  
• Added Export button. Pressing this will copy a text code for the current loadout to the clipboard that you can share.
  
• Added Import button. Opens a screen where you can enter Loadout codes generated from the Export feature. You can only import loadouts you have the items unlocked for.
  
• Unlocking an Item in the Loadout Editor now immediately equips it.
  

• Rush: AI now has one less Boss card to play preventing players racking up time forever.
  

• Fixed: Chassis Items weren't being unlocked correctly in Campaign.
  
• Fixed: Chassis Descriptions weren't formatted correctly.
  
• Fixed: Arena Derez animation correctly plays now.
  

If you have an AMD Graphics card AND you are experiencing a crash on startup then you should try the new OpenGL option in the launch menu.

This crash is caused by buggy AMD drivers for older cards and as AMD doesn't support these cards anymore getting a fix for them is unfortunately impossible.

Using the OpenGL launch option may fix the issue however it will likely result in the game looking a bit odd (in my tests the bloom post processing was far too intense) but it should at least work.

Hopefully this solves the majority of the problems this was causing. If the game was working fine for you on the default options then you don't need to do anything and should continue as you were.

Just a small one this time.

Difficulty modes in Arcade are now a thing! That's right if you want to just chill and do some PewPew or if you want a nightmare challenge you have the option.

Leaderboards don't care what difficulty you used to get your score but the more bad guys that spawn the more points you can score so the higher difficulty modes have theoretically higher score caps.

I also adjusted the spawn rate of the Red Bouncers because they were more of a challenge than expected.

Changes

• Administrator now doesn't care if there are only a few enemies of a type in play when working out it's weightings.
  
• Red Bouncers now spawn half as many but are worth twice as much.
  
• Added Easy and Hard difficulties to Arcade modes.
  
• Chase mode now grants 3 seconds for touching a checkpoint rather than 2.
  

As is normal immediately after a big update there are smaller patches to address issue that the community has found. I'm very grateful to everybody who submitted bug reports and gave feedback on the forums and in the Discord.

There were some bugs that were causing the game to be much harder than intended plus a few minor balance changes.

EDIT: I've also switched from Unreals default Deferred Renderer to their Forward Renderer because in my tests it gives a massive performance increase.

BugFixes

• Bugfix: Administrator AI was getting 1 mana a turn too much (Rounding error).
  
• Bugfix: Red Slimes killed by a Cubes death explosion were harming the player with their resulting explosion and not awarding credit for any kills to the player.
  
• Bugfix: Followers were starting off at maximum speed when they first spawned (this has actually been around for 3 years)
  
• Bugfix: Datavaults should no longer spawn outside the arena.
  

• Changed: Some Ambush Tactics have been re-costed to better reflect how difficult they are.
  
• Changed: Shard speeds reduced slightly.
  
• Changed: Boids are now brighter.
  
• Changed: Losing your last shield no longer kills you. The next hit from any enemy while your shields are down will.
  
• Changed: Added "Shields Lost" voice line to announcers.
  
• Changed: Reduced intensity of near-death glitch effect.
  
• Changed: Moved and re-coloured the Energy and Adrenaline bars on the HUD to be more obvious.
  
• Changed: Made the Burst Ready effect to be easier to see.
  

This build is currently available on the Preview branch and will be going live on July 1st heralding the start of a new Leaderboard Season!

- Multiplayer (Alpha) -

This update includes the first multiplayer mode for the game.

When you queue up for a multiplayer game you will be matched against up to 7 other players for a round of Last Man Standing. The rules are similar to Survival except that Scores don't really matter and there are no extra lives. If you lose your last life then you are knocked out, be the last one standing and you win. You can see how the other players are doing on the scoreboard displayed on screen while you play.

This mode is very much an Alpha version; essentially a proof of concept. If it's popular then I will expand upon it to add ways to attack other players via building your combo and adding objectives to complete. Leave feedback in the forums and if you are looking for people to play against then why not join us in the Discord server to organise a game!

- Health Overhaul -

Previously your energy bar acted as your health bar. Whenever you used a Utility like "Stop" your energy would be depleted making you more vulnerable. As a result nobody really used the Utility items because more health was always the better choice.

This is no longer the case.

Health and Energy have been split up into their own resources. Energy is now used solely by Items and Health is only affected by damage.

Your Health is shown to the left of your Avatar on the HUD (See below) as a series of filled circles; each representing 50 health (aka 1 Shield as all damage is divisible by 50).

Shields do regenerate over time however they regenerate much slower than Energy. You may find you are more fragile than in previous versions of the game. When regenerating each Shield will gradually fill up and once full is available to use again. Taking damage before a Shield has finished regenerating will reset it's progress in addition to the damage you would normally take.



Enemies have been re-balanced so that the damage they do is consistent across the different types of enemy and generally scales with their physical size.

• Cells, Shards & Shard Clusters do 50 damage.
  
• Spheroids do 100 damage.
  
• Slimes do 150 damage.
  

• Restore - 150 health, fast regen. Overdrive: +30 Weapon Power.
  
• Jackal - 250 health, average regen. Overdrive: +50 health.
  
• Berserker - 350 health, slow regen. Overdrive: Overdrive: Generates Adrenaline when hit.
  
• Rebound - 250 health, 50 Armour, slower regen. Overdrive: Knocksback enemies when hit.
  
• Carapace - 150 health, 100 Armour, slower regen. Overdrive: +50 Armour.
  
• Shield - 150 health, slowest regen. Creates an energy shield that absorbs damage. Overdrive: +50 Energy.
  

• Boids - These form huge flocks and swoop unpredictably around the arena.
  
• Bees - Chase the player in unpredictable patterns (These aren't new but have been re-balanced).
  
• Hornets - Form swarms that flee the player and try to avoid their weapons. Generally harmless unless angered.
  
• Angry Hornet - *Only appears as a Shard* When a Hornet Cluster breaks apart it spawns 2 Angry Hornets. These fly straight towards the player at high speed although they aren't very agile and can be dodged.
  
• Orbits - Attempt to orbit the player at high speed. Their orbit decays over time until they eventually crash into you.
  
• Ricochets - Travel in a straight line bouncing off walls.
  

• Blue Slime - Chases the player and regenerates health.
  
• Red Slime - Chases the player and explodes when killed.
  

• Cube enemies no longer get stuck on Geometry.
  
• Administrator no longer plays enemies that would exceed the enemy limit.
  
• Fixed some Voice Cues not playing.
  
• Fixed Voice Cue levels.
  
• Fixed Audio volumes not saving correctly.
  
• Fixed {nextmax} appearing on some UI elements in the Loadout Editor.
  
• Fixed Arena Walls sometimes not being created correctly.
  
• Player should no longer get stuck inside spawning Structures.
  
• Player camera now considers players velocity.
  
• Upgraded to Unreal 4.21
  

That's right! The current Leaderboard Season will be coming to an end on June 30th as the next big update is ready to go live!

This also happens to be a Sunday night so the Week, Month and Season will all end at the same time so if you're looking to steal the top spot you'd better get playing!

The next update is primarily focused on Arcade mode with some changes spilling over to the Grid and will also add the multiplayer Battle mode to the full version of the game.

There will be more detailed patch notes closer to the day and a preview build available tomorrow.

Here is a quick rundown of what you can expect:

• Overhauled health mechanics.
  
• Lots of Item changes (anything that related to Health)
  
• 7 new enemies!
  
• Improved enemy avoidance.
  
• Improved spawning AI (now it learns during a game).
  
• Multiplayer Battle mode.
  

For those of you that wish to risk your save games there is a new preview build available in the preview branch.

In order to use the preview branch just right click on Waves in your Steam library, select properties->betas and then choose preview from the drop down list. You will have to download an update for it to work.

I make no promises that this version won't break your existing GRID saves (it probably will).

BATTLE MODE
This preview version has a new menu option called "Battle" which is an experimental mode that pits players against each other in real time.

This mode is similar to Battle Tetris as players do not attack each other directly but are instead all competing to be the last player left alive.

The game mechanics at the moment are the same as regular Arcade gameplay but if it proves popular then I will add the ability to send attacks to other players by scoring points and completing combos.

The mode is very experimental so it's quite likely to be buggy which is why it's only available in the preview branch for now. Please report all bugs encountered on the forums or in the Discord.

https://discord.gg/Xz5PUkB

ITEM CHANGES
Gone is the Energy = Health mechanic instead replaced by actual health! Your Chassis determines how much health you have and all 6 of the old Chassis items have been replaced with all new ones.

If you had previously unlocked some of the old chassis items then you should fine that you've already unlocked some of the new ones as well.

Health is displayed to the left of your Avatar. Small enemies do 1 damage, medium ones do 2 and large ones do 3. It takes longer for health to regenerate than Energy used to so you may find you're more fragile than you used to be.

Levelling up your Chassis will speed up regeneration and at level 6 each chassis gains a bonus effect from extra health to knocking away enemies when you get hit.

Hopefully this will encourage players to use their utility items more as energy is no longer directly tied to health.

Some Buffer items have been redesigned as they were no longer compatible with the new health mechanics.

Hello! I'm still here working on this game.

I'll admit I've been a bit lax on the updates recently but there is a whole thread about that on the forums. Short version is that I ran out of money.

I am however back to working full time on the game and I fully plan for it to leave Early Access this year.

I've update the Trello with a roadmap to shipping the game and I've started some threads in the Suggestion Box asking for your feedback on specific topics.

I need your help to finish this game and make sure it's the best it can be! I encourage you to get involved on the forums and to share your opinions.

I'm planning an update for the start of March which will introduce several new enemies to Arcade mode and kick off a new Season on the leaderboards.

Thankyou for your support during this incredibly long Early Access period. I hope to reward your patience with an excellent game at the end of it!

- Rob

Another small patch to address some issues in 0.6.

Bugfixes

• Rebinding Keys no longer gets stuck waiting for input.
  
• Compatibility Mode no longer crashes at startup.
  
• Pause Menu can no longer open over itself.
  
• Pause Menu can no longer interupt game startup sequence.
  

This is just a maintenance patch to fix some performance issues as well as a bug in the Crunch Time Leaderboards.

Engine

• Upgraded to Unreal 4.20.2
  

• Fixed hitch when towers spawn/despawn.
  
• Fixed hitch when Garbage Collecting.
  
• Fixed periodic slowdown in OS Nodes in GRID.
  

• Fixed Crunch Time scores sometimes being submitted to a non-existant leaderboard.
  

The Vlog is on Youtube!

The Leaderboards are dead! Long Live The Leaderboards!

As of this update Steam is no longer responsible for the Waves² Leaderboards as the game is now using Gamesparks to manage all of it's online functionality.

This means no more score limit of 2,147,483,647 as the scores are now stored as 64bit integers. If you get a score that maxes out one of those then you must be cheating.

Every combination of Game Mode and Arena Type now has it's own Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Season based leaderboards and you are awarded points every day, week and month which increase your Rank for that mode.

Seasons are an arbitrary length often determined by major balance updates. The current season is "Early Access".

- RANKED REWARDS

All points are awarded at Midnight UTC.

DAILY
#1 - 150 points
#2 - 120 points
#3 - 100 points
#4 - 80 points
#5 - 60 points
#6 - 50 points
#7 - 40 points
#8 - 30 points
#9 - 20 points
#10 - 10 points
Top 50% - 5 points
Everyone Else - 1 point

WEEKLY (Week starts on a Monday)
#1 - 2100 points
#2 - 1680 points
#3 - 1400 points
#4 - 1120 points
#5 - 840 points
#6 - 600 points
#7 - 560 points
#8 - 420 points
#9 - 280 points
#10 - 140 points
Top 50% - 70 points
Everyone Else - 14 points

MONTHLY
#1 - 16800 points
#2 - 13440 points
#3 - 11200 points
#4 - 8960 points
#5 - 6720 points
#6 - 5600 points
#7 - 4480 points
#8 - 3360 points
#9 - 2240 points
#10 - 1120 points
Top 50% - 560 points
Everyone Else - 112 points

PATCH NOTES

- LEADERBOARDS
● Integrated Gamesparks.
● Added Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Season and Ranked Leaderboards for every GameMode/Arena Combination in Arcade.
● Rank is awarded at midnight UTC each day for daily, each Monday for weekly and on the 1st of each month for Monthly leaderboards.

- UI
● Redesigned Leaderboards screen.
● Redesigned Arcade Mode Select Screen.
● Redesigned Game Over Screen.
● Added Gamesparks connection indicator to Status Bar.

- ENEMIES
● Swarms and Bees (aka "Shard" Type Enemies) can now fly over holes in the Arenas.

- GRID
● Barrier can now be equipped in the loadout screen once it has been installed to Programs.

- Bug Fixes
● Startup Movie now plays while game is loading.

There is a Dev Vlog about it on Youtube!



Are you Unknown, a Newbie or are you Notorious? This update adds User Ranks to your GRID Profile. Cash in your hard earned Reputation in exchange for a better User Rank. Higher ranked Users have a higher Level Cap on their Avatars unlocking up to 30 upgrade points!

What use are all those Upgrade points though without something to upgrade?

The Repository provides all our Runners with access* to the latest software updates for their Avatar. Check the Repository frequently for new software prototypes as well as updates to existing projects!

*Access requires expenditure of Reputation.

- GRID
● User Rank is now displayed on the GRID Dashboard.
● User Rank can be increased by spending Reputation.
● User Rank determines Avatar Level Cap (6-30).
● Loadouts can now have less than the maximum number of upgrade points.
● Equipped Items Max Level is determined by Version (Prototype, Alpha, Beta, RC, Stable, Modified)
● New Repository Folder in File Manager.
● Software can be installed from Repository in exchange for Rep.
● Repository updates after clearing a Server.
● Filters added to File Manager folders.
● Can now select multiple files in File Manager.
● Clicking on a File will show a Description of it's content.
● Mousewheel can now be used to scroll through Files.
● Rep is now shown on the Status Bar when in GRID menus.

- Items
● Some Items have been renamed. This is a purely cosmetic change.
● Some Items have new icons. This is a purely cosmetic change.

- Bug Fixes
● Multiple music player bugs fixed.
● Spark weapon should no longer ignore the shield in Shoot The Core missions.
● General performance optimisations.

- Discord

There is a Squid In A Box Discord now for anybody who wants to hang out and talk about the game with other players and the Developer (me!)

A small patch to add Rich Text support and improve the Help sections in the GRID.

UI
● Rich Text Support.
● GRID Help Screens updated.
● Fixed that vertical line that appeared on some UI elements.

Update 0.53 Patch Notes - 18 April 2018

These changes should be live right now!

There is a Dev Vlog about it on Youtube!



Reputation & File Lockers

Reputation is the currency of the GRID. Without it you're nobody. You need it to get access to new software, create proxies and heal brain damage; it's also good for bragging rights too.

You can gain Rep by taking over networks, completing objectives and releasing files you've liberated to the public.

You can find files in File Lockers. Each one must be broken open revealing the vulnerable file; you can now download a copy of the file to your local system. Be on your toes though as the network security don't take kindly to strangers downloading things without permission - you'll have to defend yourself.

Downloaded files can be found in your File Manager after a Run where they can be uploaded and cashed in for Reputation.

Discord

Theere is a Squid In A Box Discord now for anybody who wants to hang out and talk about the game with other players and the Developer (me!)

Patch Notes

- General
● Improved Game Thread performance.
● Pickups will no longer timeout during travel.

- Arcade Mode
● "Tiny Cube" is now in all game modes.

- GRID Mode
● Starting a new game provides a choicee of 2 Avatars with unique skins and loadouts.
● Files can be downloaded from File Lockers which can be found in all systems.
● Downloaded Files can be "Uploaded" using the File Manager to earn Rep.
● Rep is rewarded for completing objectives and controlling systems.
● Rep can be spent in the GRID Loadout Editor to unlock items (temporary).
● GRID Leaderboards now track Reputation.

- UI
● All settings screens redesigned.
● GRID Networks are now displayed vertically to save room.
● GRID Game Manager Screen redesigned.
● GRID New Game Screen redesigned.

I've set up an official Discord server for all Squid In A Box games.

You can join it here https://discord.gg/b4uYczM

The Rules!

- No sexism
- No racism
- No discrimination
- No bullying
- No spam
- No inappropriate content
- English only please, so most people can understand :)

Anyone who doesn't follow the rules will find themselves at least muted, and possibly banned. Let's create a nice, safe place to have fun!

These changes should be live right now!

There is a Dev Vlog about it on Youtube!



New Enemy!

Introducing the Tiny Cube (Better names on the forums please).

Currently only spawning in Survival Mode as they are something of an experiment the Tiny Cube is the first of many new eneemies to go in the game. I'm planning on rolling them out one or two at a time so I can gather feedback on each one as I balance them.

Tiny Cubes are slightly faster than their larger cousin but cannot Charge and are not guarenteed to kill the player on touch. They have a large health pool and high armour with a slow regeneration. They explode on death damaging enemies within 500 units. They sometimes get stuck in walls when they spawn (known issue).

There will be more forms of Cube enemy being added to the game in the future with the Tiny Cube being the smallest, least dangerous and cutest.

GRID Changes

This update will invalidate GRID save games as the new data structure isn't compatible with the old one.

The Administrator AI has a new ICE deeck to play with. This version is more modular with more low-cost cards for it to play. This should mean that there is more variety in the exact kind of enemies that get spawned on each Server. This will be a constantly changing process over the rest of development so is by no means final.

Bonus Objectives

Each Server now has 3 Bonus Objectives to be achieved. Similar to the very first version of GRID that ever existed theese objectives are currently stat driven although I have plans for more complex objectives later on.

Whenever a Server is generated the Admin will play 3 unique Objective cards on it to create that servers Objectives. There are currently only 4 possible objectives available but this number will increease in the future. Ideas for future objectives are welcomed so please post them in the forums.

Progress towards an objective is saved so you don't have to complete them in a single run.

Wanted Level

GRID mode no longer uses the same dynamic difficulty system as Arcade mode and instead now uses a Wanted Level system.

At Wanted Level 0 only Passive enemies will spawn representing the Server at rest. Once you start damaging subsystems however they will send out a call for help pumping the Wanted Level up to one and allowing the AI to start spawning more aggressive enemies.

If you don't attack any Subsystems for a while your wanted level will decrease and it can eventually return to zero. This is unrelated to the Trace mechanic which can only be halted by disconnecting.

Wanted Levels are reduced by:

• Player Death
  
• Building Control Nodes
  
• If 20 seconds has passed without an increase to Wanted Level.
  

• Camera now tries to keep important actors on screen such as Subsystems and Triggers.
  
• All Enemies that follow the player can now use Navmesh Pathfinding if they cannot reach the players location.
  
• Cube Avoidance has been improved.
  

• Can now choose which type of Arena to play in on the Arcade mode screen.
  
• Added new "Tiny Cube" enemy to Survival Arcade mode (experimental).
  

• GRID now uses a "Wanted Level" system for controlling Enemy Spawning.
  
• All Servers in GRID now have Bonus Objectives that can be attempted.
  
• Server ICE has been rebalanced.
  

• Time Extend message now correctly displays the time.
  
• Keybinds settings screen added for keyboard and controller.
  
• Added on-screen prompt for triggers that need to be "used" to activate.
  
• Objective tracker added to GRID HUD.
  
• Controllers now use a virtual Cursor to interact with the menus.
  

• Fix for potential crash when using Emergency Teleport when being Charged by a Cube.
  

• Upgrades display not currently functioning.
  
• No Gameover when fatal brain damage incurred during GRID.
  
• Attached Hardware display not functioning.
  
• Clicking on Installed ICE doesn't do anything.
  
• Nothing is awarded for clearing Servers.
  
• Dive mode doesn't use Harder Room Styles as Player gets Deeper.
  

• Some AMD Graphics cards crash on Startup. This is related to UE-51650 There is nothing I can do about this at this time.
  
  

These changes will be live at 18:00 hours on Feb 2nd 2018.

Gameplay Changes

The most significant changes can be seen in Dive and GRID.

Starting a Run (GRID)

Running a Server in the GRID is no longer a linear experience. When you open a Servers Info screen a Scan will be started (if needed) during which the internal Network gets generated.

You only need to scan a Server once and while you can rescan as much as you want nothing will change when you do.

On the Server Info screen you will be shown the Servers Internal Network but you will not be able to see details about any of the Rooms inside except for the Router which will form your starting location. It is from this screen that you begin your Run.

Traces (GRID & Dive)

During GRID and Dive the server will be running a Trace algorithm to try and locate you. This is shown by a countdown until the Trace is completed (just like Rush and Crunch Time). The speed of a Trace depends on the number of Control Nodes the Server has in a Room. Destroying Control Nodes and erecting your own will slow down the Trace.

If a Trace completes your Avatar will be destroyed and you will lose a Proxy (life) in GRID mode or the game will end in Dive.

In GRID mode if you lose a Proxy (life) then the Trace will start over rather than resume (as the Proxy you were using has already been compromised).

Controlling Rooms (GRID & Dive)

To take Control of a Room you must first destroy the Control Nodes in each room and then replacing them with your own by Uploading a Virus. To upload (or download) any file you must first touch the trigger left by a destroyed structure, once a File Operation has begun you must stay within the Trigger for it to continue. Leaving the trigger will pause the process and returning will resume it.

If you leave a Trigger for more than 10 seconds it will time out and either disappear or respawn the original Structure.

When all the Control Nodes in a Room are under your Control (as indicated by their colour) the Level Exit will open. When this happens all existing enemies will be destroyed and new ones cannot spawn.

Level Exits (GRID & Dive)

To leave a Room you must enter the Level Exit and hold down your Use key (E for Keyboard and A for Controllers). Your Avatar will despawn and what hapens next depends on the mode you are playing.

In Dive mode you will proceed to the next room automatically and this will continue until you eventually die.

In GRID mode you will return to the Network screen where you can choose a new destination.

Controlling Server (GRID)

To take control of a Server requires that you take control of the "Core" which can be found in the Servers "Root".

The Core is protected by a Shield making it invulnerable. To disable the shield you must destroy the Shield Regulator strcutures. Once all of the Shield Regulators are destroyed the Core will be vulnerable.

Shoot The Core to take control of the server.

Shield Regulators do respawn so you may have to repeat this process a couple of times.

Once a Server has been taken over the Run will automatically end and you will be returned to the GRID screen.

Changelist

There are a great many changes and a lot of them are behind the scenes stuff plus just months worth of code that isn't even being used yet. This list includes what is actually relevant.

Engine

• Upgrade from Unreal 4.12 to 4.18.3.
  
• Intel Graphics cards now supported.
  
• Compatibility mode for low end hardware (such as laptops).
  

• All Enemies have new unique 3D assets.
  
• Particle System changes for explosion shockwaves.
  
• Arena walls now respond to nearby structures.
  
• Blob/Slime enemies now use custom Metaballs shader.
  
• Arena background height now uses 2D Simplex Noise rather than being random.
  
• Arena transitions between maps.
  

• Added 2 new Arena types to Arcade Mode (Classic and Crossroads).
  
• Arcade Mode will randomly select between arena types (temporary).
  
• Dive Mode Revamp (See above section on Gameplay Changes).
  
• Purple "Datavaults" now use the same download game mechanics as everything else.
  
• Arcade Mode now uses Alpha5 leaderboard tables.
  

• Removed Difficulty Options for Starting a new Game.
  
• New GRID UI.
  
• Players can now Run any Server that is unlocked not just adjacent ones.
  
• Removed Server Bypassing.
  
• Removed Server Missions.
  
• Removed Inventory.
  
• Removed Credits.
  
• Removed Actions.
  
• Servers must be "Scanned" before they can be accessed.
  
• Players can start a Run from any Network Node that is unlocked.
  
• Servers can only be Cleared by completing the Shoot The Core objective.
  
• Number of Proxies (Satelite Icon) determines the players starting lives on each Run.
  

• Status Bars have been repositioned/removed.
  
• Some buttons support "Longpress" actions. Hold down LMB (M&K) or A (Contrroller) until the circle has filled to use them. Only Hexagon Buttons in the GRID UI currently use Longpresses.
  
• Level Exits require the Player hold down "Use" (E on M&K, A on Controller) to activate.
  
• Objective tracker added to GRID HUD.
  
• Controllers now use a virtual Cursor to interact with the menus.
  

• Camera needs to consider nearby structures when calculating Camera position.
  
• Cube enemies need to use Pathfinding to navigate around obstacles properly.
  
• Upgrades display not currently functioning.
  
• No Gameover when fatal brain damage incurred during GRID.
  
• Attached Hardware display not functioning.
  
• Clicking on Installed ICE doesn't do anything.
  
• Servers don't have Bonus Objectives.
  
• Nothing is awarded for clearing Servers.
  
• Dive mode doesn't use Harder Room Styles as Player gets Deeper.
  

• Some AMD Graphics cards crash on Startup. This is related to UE-51650 There is nothing I can do about this at this time.
  
  

The next Vlog is up on Youtube!

ALPHA 5 IS HERE!

Tomorow at 18:00 GMT Alpha 5 will go live.

Alpha 4 Leaderboards will be archived and new Alpha 5 Leaderboards will go into effect at the same time.

This marks the start of a switch to a monthly release schedule. You can expect regular updates around the end of each calender month. They might not always contain much but there will always be something.

Alpha 5 has been predominantly concerned with getting the Grid game mode "finished". It still has some features left to implement but the actual structure and core gameplay aren't going to be changing much in the future.

This update also includes an update to version 4.18.3 of the Unreal Engine so things look a little different and performance should be better. Indeed in this version of the game will actually run on Intel graphics cards rather than just crashing like it used to.

For more details including an unedited GRID Run you can watch the January entry on Youtube



If you want to stay up to date in real time then the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter where I post work-in-progress screenshots and gifs as I'm working.

That's right! It's time for Alpha 5!

There are new leaderboards for Alpha 5 and unlike previous updates the old leaderboards should still be around on the Community hub as an archive of your efforts.

At 18:00 GMT (13:00 EST, 10:00 PST) the Alpha 5 Update will go live on Steam.

Once you've downloaded the update you will no longer be able to submit scores to the old leeaderboards and your current save game files will not work with the old client (so you can't roll back even if you wanted to). This means that you have about 44 hours at the time of writing to get your final high scores in for the Alpha 4 Season.

Full patch notes will be available on Friday as will a Vlog and hopefully a new trailer.

This version shouldn't crash! (It might though)

Unless I find any show stoppers before Saturday this is the version that will be going live on Sunday.

I will be spending the next couple of days just playing the game (possibly on a twitch stream if I can get it working again) trying to stress test it as much as I can.

Changes over RC1 follow:

Fixed Bugs:

I've uploaded a Release Candidate for Alpha 5 to the Preview branch for those of you who want to help me track down bugs before it goes live.

WARNING! THIS VERSION WILL CRASH!

I don't know when and I don't know why (yet) but at some point you will almost certainly experience a crash with this version. I can't track them all down without your help though. You have been warned.

To opt-in for the Preview Right click on Waves² in your Steam Library and open properties, then go to the Betas tab and select Preview from the drop down menu. No password should be required.

Leaderboard uploads are disabled for the Preview Branch.

Gameplay Changes

The most significant changes can be seen in Dive and GRID.

Starting a Run (GRID)

Running a Server in the GRID is no longer a linear experience. When you open a Servers Info screen a Scan will be started (if needed) during which the internal Network gets generated.

You only need to scan a Server once and while you can rescan as much as you want nothing will change when you do.

On the Server Info screen you will be shown the Servers Internal Network but you will not be able to see details about any of the Rooms inside except for the Router which will form your starting location. It is from this screen that you begin your Run.

Traces (GRID & Dive)

During GRID and Dive the server will be running a Trace algorithm to try and locate you. This is shown by a countdown until the Trace is completed (just like Rush and Crunch Time). The speed of a Trace depends on the number of Control Nodes the Server has in a Room. Destroying Control Nodes and erecting your own will slow down the Trace.

If a Trace completes your Avatar will be destroyed and you will lose a Proxy (life) in GRID mode or the game will end in Dive.

In GRID mode if you lose a Proxy (life) then the Trace will start over rather than resume (as the Proxy you were using has already been compromised).

Controlling Rooms (GRID & Dive)

To take Control of a Room you must first destroy the Control Nodes in each room and then replacing them with your own by Uploading a Virus. To upload (or download) any file you must first touch the trigger left by a destroyed structure, once a File Operation has begun you must stay within the Trigger for it to continue. Leaving the trigger will pause the process and returning will resume it.

If you leave a Trigger for more than 10 seconds it will time out and either disappear or respawn the original Structure.

When all the Control Nodes in a Room are under your Control (as indicated by their colour) the Level Exit will open. When this happens all existing enemies will be destroyed and new ones cannot spawn.

Level Exits (GRID & Dive)

To leave a Room you must enter the Level Exit and hold down your Use key (E for Keyboard and A for Controllers). Your Avatar will despawn and what hapens next depends on the mode you are playing.

In Dive mode you will proceed to the next room automatically and this will continue until you eventually die.

In GRID mode you will return to the Network screen where you can choose a new destination.

Controlling Server (GRID)

To take control of a Server requires that you take control of the "Core" which can be found in the Servers "Root".

The Core is protected by a Shield making it invulnerable. To disable the shield you must destroy the Shield Regulator strcutures. Once all of the Shield Regulators are destroyed the Core will be vulnerable.

Shoot The Core to take control of the server.

Shield Regulators do respawn so you may have to repeat this process a couple of times.

Once a Server has been taken over the Run will automatically end and you will be returned to the GRID screen.

Changelist

There are a great many changes and a lot of them are behind the scenes stuff plus just months worth of code that isn't eeven being used yet. This list includes what is actually relevant.

Arcade Mode

• Added 2 new Arena types to Arcade Mode (Classic and Crossroads).
  
• Arcade Mode will randomly select between arena types (temporary).
  
• Dive Mode Revamp (See above section on Gameplay Changes)
  

• Removed Difficulty Options for Starting a new Game.
  
• New GRID UI.
  
• Players can now Run any Server that is unlocked not just adjacent ones.
  
• Removed Server Bypassing.
  
• Removed Server Missions.
  
• Removed Inventory.
  
• Removed Credits.
  
• Removed Actions.
  
• Servers must be "Scanned" before they can be accessed.
  
• Players can start a Run from any Network Node that is unlocked.
  
• Servers can only be Cleared by completing the Shoot The Core objective.
  
• Number of Proxies (Satelite Icon) determines the players starting lives on each Run.
  

• Status Bars have been repositioned/removed.
  
• Some buttons support "Longpress" actions. Hold down LMB (M&K) or A (Contrroller) uintil the circle has filled to use them. Only Hexagon Buttons in the GRID UI currently use Longpresses.
  
• Level Exits require the Player hold down "Use" (E on M&K, A on Controller) to activate.
  
• Objective tracker added to GRID HUD.
  

• Multiple Core Shields persist if you fail a run.
  
• Rooms don't need CP to unlock.
  
• Camera has trouble with some Room Styles.
  
• Database (purple) downloads don't reward unlock credits.
  
• Cube enemies can get stuck behind structures.
  
• Player can get stuck inside spawning Structures.
  
• Player can respawn inside structures.
  
• Returning to a Cleared Room in a new Run doesn't spawn Players Structures.
  

• Upgrades display not currently functioning.
  
• No Gameover when fatal brain damage incurred during GRID.
  
• Attached Hardware display not functioning.
  
• Clicking on Installed ICE doesn't do anything.
  
• Servers don't have Bonus Objectives
  
• Most rooms in a Network don't have Objectives.
  
• Nothing is awarded for clearing Servers.
  
• Dive mode doesn't use Harder Room Styles as Player gets Deeper.
  

The next Vlog is up on Youtube!

Yes Alpha 5 is nearly here. There should hopefully be a test version available before the end of the year which will crash in many ways! Your job will be to help me figure out what those ways are and stop them.

This month Dive mode was returned to working order no longer serving as my debug game mode but returning to a proper arcade game mode with some new tweaks.

The ongoing battle against the UI for GRID is almost at an end with most of the UI for Alpha 5 finished and the remaining tasks mostly involving removing stuff rather than adding it.

Work has started on getting the first Boss for GRID mode implemented. I'm starting with a simple single stage boss to test the system out and will add more complexity later.

You can watch the December entry on Youtube



If you want to stay up to date in real time then the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter where I post work-in-progress screenshots and gifs as I'm working.

The next Vlog is up on Youtube!

The last month (well 3 weeks of the last 4 as I took a week off to be with my family over Halloween) has been mostly focused on getting the UI work for the GRID changes done. It's nearly there and I should hopefully have all of it complete over the next couple of weeks. UI takes a long time to design and code when you are artistically challenged as I am.

You can watch the November entry on Youtube



The next major update with all the changes to the GRID mode probably won't hit until early 2018. However I'm working on getting a minor update with all the graphics changes and some bug fixes and balance changes as well as a revised Dive mode before the Holidays.

If you want to stay up to date in real time then the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter where I post work-in-progress screenshots and gifs as I'm working.

I know it's been a while since the last update but such is life when you are a solo developer. In order to try and keep everybody informed about where the games development currently is and where it's heading I started a Vlog a couple of weeks ago which will be updated monthly going over everything that I've been working on.

You can watch the October entry on Youtube



If you want to stay up to date in real time then the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter where I post work-in-progress screenshots and gifs as I'm working.

I'm currently aiming to get the next major update out sometime in November probably closer to the end than the beginning after which I will change to a monthly update cycle and try and keep them synchronised with the Vlogs.

Apologies for the lack of communication but I'm completely heads down trying to get this next update released and I don't want to push an incomplete update live with changes I know suck just to keep to an arbitrary schedule.

Thankyou for your support!

This patch includes fixes for the following problems:

● Slowmo gets stuck on when losing your last life.
● Scores approaching MaxInt display incorrectly on some screens.

There are also some changes to the shaders in this version that might cause your game to take longer than normal to load after the update is downloaded. This should only happen once.

U L T R A W I D E

This patch primarily addresses problems for those of you using Ultrawide monitors. The game now uses a fixed vertical field of view so you see more on wider monitors and the UI scaling has been fixed so the menus and HUD don't get clipped at the top and bottom.

There are also some quality of life and balance changes in this patch (see below).

● Ultrawide support.
● Fixed scaling of Status Ring on HUD.
● Fast Restart in Arcade modes.
● Added setting to disable the Fisheye Wraparound effect.
● Combos are kept alive just by causing damage.

To use Fast Restart on keyboard hold down X for 1 second. With Controllers it's the X button (Square if you're using a DS4).

This was due last week but due to Technical Difficulties* it ended up running a little late.

This patch is primarily a quality of life update for those of you using Control Pads.

● Fixed occassional 403 error on news screen.
● Improved joypad/keyboard navigation of menus (especially GRID).
● Tabbed menu screens can now be navigated using the left/right triggers.
● Leaderboard screen now highlights the currently displayed mode and filter.
● Fixed stall when loading a new music track.
● Fixed stall when opening GRID Game Manager screen.
● New Help text for GRID mode.

* My Graphics card died as did Windows a few days later.

Leaderboards have been reset for all game modes.

Major Changes

• Complete overhaul of enemy spawning AI.
  
• Complete overhaul of GRID mode.
  
• Dive Mode Added.
  
• Chase Mode has been Redesigned.
  
• Gauss Rifle Direct damage improved.
  
• MALLARD Direct damage improved significantly.
  
• Enemy balance has been adjusted.
  

A small patch this one mostly focussed on performance optimizations.

Audio

• Added a Random Music option to the Audio Settings screen. This will randomise the playlist.
  

• Improved performance on Menu screens.
  
• Improved performance in game when there are lots of enemies in play.
  
• Fixed trail effects "stretching" when Swarm and Bee enemies spawn.
  

Turn up your music volume because Alpha 3.6 adds an entirely new soundtrack to the game!

DJ Striden has been kind enough to let me use some of his music in the game. If you want to check out his other work or throw money his way check out his bandcamp page https://djstriden.bandcamp.com/

You can cycle between tracks by pressing the Left and Right bumpers on your controller or . (next) and , (prev) on your keyboard.

Audio

• Added 7 Songs by DJ Striden to the Soundtrack.
  
• Removed Placeholder music.
  
• Added Music Player Control buttons.
  
• Music now won't play if Music Volume is 0.
  

• Adjusted brightness of opaque menus.
  
• Reduced font size on Status Bars.
  
• Added Now Playing Widget to Status Bars.
  
• Moved all Credits and Profile Level widgets to the right Status Bar.
  
• Moved clock widget to left Status Bar.
  

• Startup movie now plays while game loads.
  
• Upgraded to Unreal Engine 4.12
  
• Improved load times.
  

Alpha 3.5 brings you the MALLARD. A semi-inteligent proximity grenade launcher.

Weapons
MALLARD
The MALLARD fires bursts of 4 semi-inteligent proximity grenades. These grenades will steer towards enemies, bounce off walls and detonate when in close proximity of a target or after 3 seconds.

• Damage: 50 / 75 / 95 / 110 / 120 / 150
  
• Rate of Fire: 0.1s
  
• Burst Delay: 0.45s
  
• Burst Size: 4
  
• Explosion Radius: 180
  

• You can no longer spam the fire button to obtain a higher than desired rate of fire with primary weapons.
  
• Missiles no longer prefer Bugs over Viruses when locking on to targets.
  
• Super Beam and Storm Cloud no longer get stuck "On"
  

• Added Help Screen to Arcade Menu.
  
• Updated Help Screen on Loadout Menu with information about Items.
  
• Added Help Screen to Build Order Menu with information about Upgrades.
  
• Added Loadout Title above Loadout button in Game Mode Menus.
  

• Announcer will no longer interupt itself to say the same line it was already saying.
  

.4 brings some additional balance changes as well as some bug fixes.

Buffers
Redirector
[i]The Redirector was allowing the highest Effective Hit points in the game. This change brings it in line with the other Buffer Items and shifts it's focus on to mitigating damage via Adrenaline gain rather than using the Adrenaline pool as a huge secondary health bar.

• Energy: 200
  
• Efficiency: 30 / 45 / 52 / 67 / 72 / 90
  

• Menus are now more opaque making the text easier to read in the Tutorial.
  
• Pressing Back on the Countdown screen will no longer close the screen early.
  

.4 brings some additional balance changes as well as some bug fixes.

Buffers
Redirector
[i]The Redirector was allowing the highest Effective Hit points in the game. This change brings it in line with the other Buffer Items and shifts it's focus on to mitigating damage via Adrenaline gain rather than using the Adrenaline pool as a huge secondary health bar.

• Energy: 200
  
• Efficiency: 30 / 45 / 52 / 67 / 72 / 90
  

• Menus are now more opaque making the text easier to read in the Tutorial.
  
• Pressing Back on the Countdown screen will no longer close the screen early.
  

.3 brings with it the last Burst Weapon in the form of the Storm Cloud (Better names on a postcard) as well as a Primary weapon balance pass and some changes to the Audio levels.

Primary Weapons
Gauss Rifle
Direct Damage and AoE Damage was a little too high compared to the other primaries. This change also makes the weapon worth overdriving for dealing with the smaller bugs where it wasn't worthwhile before.

• Damage: 160 / 240 / 304 / 352 / 384 / 480
  
• Splash Damage: 80 / 120 / 152 / 176 / 192 / 240
  

• DPS: 3.5k / 5.25k / 6.65k / 7.7k / 8.4k / 10.5k
  

• Max Range: 400 / 450 / 490 / 520 / 540 / 600
  

• DPS: 450 / 675 / 855 / 990 / 1080 / 1350
  
• Burn DPS: 250 / 375 / 475 / 550 / 600 / 750
  
• Max Burn Stacks: 10
  
• Burn Duration: 0.5s
  
• All Burn stacks now refresh on application of a new stack.
  
• Burn stacks cannot be applied faster than 5 every 2 seconds.
  
• Direct Damage now scales to mimic the intensity of the flames. More damage is done where the flame is brightest and almost no damage is done where it's darkest.
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 180/s
  
• Damage: 1000 / 1500 / 1900 / 2200 / 2400 / 3000
  
• Rate of Fire: 0.1-0.3s
  
• Max Targets: 3
  

• Balanced volume multipliers accross all sound cues.
  

The fifth Primary Weapon is here and with it comes some balance changes to the Super Beam Laser as well as a bug fix for the Teleport.

Primary Weapons
Gauss Rifle
The Gauss Rifle is a heavy weapon that accelerates solid slugs to high speed which will pass through small enemies and explode when they hit large enemies or walls. It takes a moment to spin-up to full speed and reduces your speed slightly while firing.

• Damage: 200 / 300 / 380 / 440 / 480 / 600
  
• Splash Damage: 100 / 150 / 190 / 220 / 240 / 300
  
• Explosion Radius: 90
  
• Rate of Fire: 0.125 (max)
  
• Shots Fired: 1
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 180/s
  
• Damage Per Second: 12k / 18k / 22.8k / 26.4k / 28.8k / 36k
  

• Fixed Teleport not triggering when you have exactly 200 Energy.
  

The bulk of this update consists of 27 new Items that can be unlocked and added to your Loadouts. The 3 remaining Items will be added over the next few weeks bringing the total number of Items to 36.

Primary Weapons
Machine Gun
An old favorite. It's undergone some minor tweaks to balance it with the new weapons but it's largely the same.

• Damage: 100 / 100 / 110 / 110 / 120 / 150
  
• Rate of Fire: 0.067
  
• Shots Fired: 2 / 3 / 3-4 / 3-5 / 3-5 / 3-5
  

• Damage Per Second: 3000 / 4500 / 5750 / 6500 / 7250 / 9000
  

• Damage Per Second: 1000 / 1500 / 1900 / 2200 / 2400 / 3000
  
• Shots Fired: 3
  
• Max Range: 400
  
• Energy Steal: 0.05%
  

• Damage Per Second: 900 / 1650 / 1700 / 2000 / 2200 / 2700
  
• Burn DPS: 500 / 750 / 950 / 1100 / 1200 / 1500
  
• Max Burn Stacks: 5
  
• Burn Duration: 2.5s
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 180
  
• Damage: 500 / 750 / 950 / 1100 / 1200 / 1500
  
• Radius: 500
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 120/s
  
• Damage Per Second: 15k / 22.5k / 28.5k / 33k / 36k / 45k
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 180/s
  
• Damage Per Second Per Laser: 9k / 13.5k / 17.1k / 19.8k / 21.6k / 27k
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 36
  
• Missiles Per Salvo: 3
  
• Rate of Fire: 0.15s
  
• Maximum Lock Range: 800
  
• Direct Damage: 500 / 750 / 950 / 1100 / 1200 / 1500
  
• Splash Damage: 250 / 375 / 475 / 550 / 600 / 750
  
• Explosion Radius: 180
  

• Adrenaline Cost: 180
  
• Range: 800
  
• Damage: 1000 / 1500 / 1900 / 2200 / 2400 / 3000
  
• Wind Up Time: 0.25s
  

• Speed Boost: 250 / 375 / 475 / 550 / 600 / 750
  

• Energy Cost: 200
  
• Cooldown: 60 / 45 / 35 / 30 / 25 / 20
  

• Energy Cost: 120 / 80 / 65 / 55 / 50 / 30
  
• Cooldown: 12 / 8 / 6.5 / 5.5 / 5 / 3
  
• Radius: 500
  

• Energy Cost: 200 (Minimum)
  
• Stun Efficiency: 50 / 75 / 95 / 110 / 120 / 150
  
• Base Stun Duration: 1s (Minimum)
  
• Cooldown: 22 / 15 / 12 / 10 / 9 / 7.5
  

• Energy Cost: 100 / 110 / 120 / 130 / 140 / 150
  
• Shield HP: 200 / 330 / 456 / 572 / 672 / 900
  
• Cooldown: 18
  

• Energy Cost: 145 / 146 / 147 / 148 / 149 / 150
  
• Weapon Power: 65 / 100 / 125 / 145 / 155 / 200*
  

• Energy Capacity: 400 / 450 / 490 / 520 / 540 / 600
  
• Energy Regen: 25
  
• Regen Delay: 3
  

• Energy Capacity: 200
  
• Energy Regen: 40 / 47.5 / 53.5 / 58 / 61 / 70
  
• Regen Delay: 2 / 1.8 / 1.6 / 1.5 / 1.4 / 1.15
  

• Energy Capacity: 300
  
• Energy Regen: 25
  
• Regen Delay: 3
  
• Cooldown Speed: 20 / 35 / 45 / 60 / 70 / 100
  
• Energy Efficiency: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70
  

• Energy Capacity: 200
  
• Energy Regen: 25
  
• Regen Delay: 3
  
• Armour: 100 / 125 / 145 / 160 / 170 / 200
  

• Energy Capacity: 300
  
• Energy Regen: 25
  
• Regen Delay: 3
  
• Cooldown: 18 / 12 / 9 / 8 / 7.5 / 6
  
• Burst Energy: 60 / 70 / 72 / 74 / 76 / 80
  
• Energy Over Time: 30 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 40
  
• Duration: 3
  

• Energy Capacity: 300
  
• Energy Regen: 25
  
• Regen Delay: 3
  
• Conversion Efficiency: 50 / 75 / 95 / 110 / 120 / 150
  

• Adrenaline Capacity: 240 / 270 / 300 / 330 / 360 / 480
  
• Decay Rate: 100
  
• Decay Delay: 2
  
• Adrenaline Gain: 10
  

• Adrenaline Capacity: 180
  
• Decay Rate: 60 / 54.5 / 51.5 / 48 / 45 / 40
  
• Decay Delay: 2.8 / 3.2 / 3.5 / 3.75 / 3.8 / 4
  
• Adrenaline Gain: 10
  

• Adrenaline Capacity: 180 / 190 / 200 / 210 / 220 / 240
  
• Decay Rate: 66.67
  
• Decay Delay: 2
  
• Adrenaline Gain: 10
  
• Resting Point: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 80
  

• Adrenaline Capacity: 240
  
• Decay Rate: 120
  
• Decay Delay: 2.4
  
• Adrenaline Gain: 12 / 13.37 / 15 / 16 / 17.15 / 20
  

• Adrenaline Capacity: 180
  
• Decay Rate: 75
  
• Decay Delay: 2
  
• Conversion Effeciency: 50 / 75 / 95 / 110 / 120 / 150
  
  Overclocker
  An Overclocker provides you with added Burst Power multiplying the damage your Burst attacks do.
  
  
  
  • Adrenaline Capacity: 180
    
  • Decay Rate: 75
    
  • Decay Delay: 2
    
  • Burst Power: 30 / 45 / 55 / 65 / 75 / 100
    
  
  
  Chassis
  
  Jackal
  The Jackal does a little bit of everything and is the Chassis you start off with.
  
  
  
  • Speed: 520 / 530 / 538 / 544 / 548 / 560
    
  • Weapon Power: 7 / 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 16 / 20
    
  • Burst Power: 7 / 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 16 / 20
    
  • Energy Capacity: 20 / 30 / 38 / 44 / 48 / 60
    
  • Adrenaline Capacity: 12 / 18 / 22 / 26 / 28 / 36
    
  
  
  Sprinter
  The Sprinter focuses entirely on speed giving you the highest base speed in the game. Additionally when you aren't using your primary weapon you gain a stack of Sprint every second (up to 3 stacks) further boosting your speed.
  
  
  
  • Speed: 550 / 600 / 620 / 630 / 638 / 650
    
  • Sprint Speed Boost (Per Stack): 20 / 30 / 38 / 44 / 48 / 60
    
  
  
  Negotiator
  The Negotiator boosts your Weapon and Burst Power. As an added bonus whenever you take damage there is a chance you will generate some Adrenaline.
  
  
  
  • Speed: 500
    
  • Weapon Power: 20 / 30 / 38 / 44 / 48 / 60
    
  • Burst Power: 20 / 30 / 38 / 44 / 48 / 60
    
  • Adrenaline Chance: 30 / 45 / 57 / 66 / 72 / 90
    
  • Adrenaline Gain: 10
    
  
  
  Defender
  The Defender provides additional energy and regeneration. In addition whenever you take damage there is a chance some of that damage will be reflected on to a nearby enemy.
  
  
  
  • Speed: 500
    
  • Energy Capacity: 40 / 60 / 76 / 88 / 96 / 120
    
  • Energy Regen: 5 / 7.5 / 9.5 / 11 / 12 / 15
    
  • Damage Reflection Chance: 30 / 45 / 57 / 66 / 72 / 90
    
  
  
  Heavy Ball
  The Heavy Ball is the slowest Chassis but the most durable. In addition to giving you additional armour and energy it's reactive plating regenerates a small amount of energy scaling with how much energy it's missing. The less energy it has the more it generates.
  
  
  
  • Speed: 480
    
  • Armour: 15 / 22 / 28 / 33 / 36 / 45
    
  • Energy: 30 / 45 / 57 / 66 / 72 / 90
    
  • Regen Percentage: 2 / 3 / 3.8 / 4.4 / 4.8 / 6
    
  
  
  Banker
  The Banker increases the range at which you collect XP and in addition will reward you with extra Experience periodically increasing in amount the longer you stay alive.
  
  
  
  • Speed: 500
    
  • Bonus Pickup Range: 15 / 22.5 / 28.5 / 33 / 36 / 45
    
  • Bonus XP Threshold: 90 / 60 / 45 / 40 / 35 / 30
    
  • Bonus XP Amount: 10 (30 @150 seconds)
    
  
  
  Data Vaults
  With all the new items being added you needed a way to unlock them. Data Vaults now spawn during all game modes and can be destroyed to reveal Data Streams. Sitting on a Data Stream will download Data and once you've completed a file it will be automatically sold on the black market in exchange for credits which can be used to unlock items.
  
  
  
  • Data Vaults spawn every 30-60 seconds (closer to 60 than 30).
    
  • Data Vault health scales with enemy level.
    
  • Data Vaults can be destroyed to reveal a Data Stream (purple trigger).
    
  • Data Streams reward more Data the longer you touch them (up to 5 seconds).
    
  • Data Streams de-spawn after 10 seconds or once you stop touching them.
    
  • The amount of Data needed for each File Download increases the more files you complete.
    
  • The amount of credits you receive for each File Download increases the more files you complete.
    
  • Restarting or quitting a round will lose all progress made during that round. Data is only "Banked" once the Reward Screen appears.
    
  
  
  GRID
  The GRID wasn't the focus of this update but it did need some tweaks to keep it in line with the changes to Items as well as a few balance and bug fixes.
  
  
  
  • Pacifist objectives removed from Rush and Crunch Time game modes.
    
  • Adrenaline objectives increased in size by a factor of ten.
    
  • Data Vaults now spawn in GRID games.
    
  
  
  UI Changes
  
  Main Menu
  
  
  
  • Added a status bar that displays misc information to the bottom of the main menu.
    
  • From Left to Right - Arena Seed, Hacking Level, Hacking Progress, Credits, Time
    
  
  
  GRID
  
  
  
  • Added a button to set your current Loadout from the available slots.
    
  
  
  Arcade
  
  
  
  • Clicking a game mode will open it's sub-menu
    
  • Clicking a game mode with it's sub-menu open will start the game
    
  • Game Mode sub-menus have a loadout button that can be used to set the loadout for this game mode.
    
  • Starting a game mode causes a countdown before the game begins.
    
  
  
  Loadout Editor
  
  
  
  • Loadouts can be saved and loaded from up to 8 slots.
    
  • Items can be changed by clicking on their icon bringing up a selection menu. Clicking unlocked items will swap the item in that slot.
    
  • Locked items can be unlocked from the Item selection menu. Locked Items cost Credits to unlock which can be earned in all game modes.
    
  
  
  Settings
  
  
  
  • Fixed a bug where buttons would get stuck in an activated state.
    
  
  
  HUD
  
  
  
  • Added a line indicating your aim direction when using the mouse to aim.
    
  • Added a status bar displaying misc information to the bottom of the HUD.
    
  • From Left to Right - Downloaded Data, Hacking Progress, Arena Seed
    
  • Added status Icons for Utility, Buffer and Burst Items.
    
  • Icon Normal - Item is ready for use
    
  • Flashing Battery - Not enough energy/adrenaline to use Item
    
  • Clockwise Arrow - Item is on cooldown
    
  
  
  Pause Menu
  
  
  
  • Resuming or Restarting a game causes a countdown before returning to the game.
    
  
  
  Game Over
  
  
  
  • A Reward screen is now shown before the game over screen that summarizes your progress.
    
  • Reward Screen shows how much Data you downloaded in the last round, progress on your Hacking Level and how many credits your earned.
    
  • Pressing anything on the rewards screen will skip past it to the game over screen.
    
  • Pressing Play Again will cause a countdown before the game begins and generate a new arena.
    
  
  

Thanks to Snow for tracking most of these down/making the suggestions.

UI

• Player Score no longer shrinks in size after getting a high score and restarting the game mode.
  
• Text on the HUD no longer wraps around creating odd artifacts.
  
• Some Item Icons have changed. Functionality remains identical.
  

• Triggers no longer spawn on top of Virus type enemies.
  
• Enemies no longer spawn on top of Triggers.
  
• Triggers no longer spawn on top of Triggers.
  
• Multiplier Triggers no longer destroyed when you die in Hyperactive.
  

A quick maintenance patch to address some issues in GRID mode.

• Hyperactive now has Objectives in GRID.
  
• Hyperactive Combo & Score Objectives have been made easier.
  
• Survival Objectives have been made easier in all GRID modes.
  
• Loadout Editor UI has been updated to allow for additional Items in future updates.
  
• To edit the Build Order in the Loadout Editor you now must press "Edit Build Order" to enter that editing mode.
  
• Some Items have had their names changes. Their function remains unchanged however.
  

Alpha 2.0 is now available.

This update includes many small changes but the major ones are listed below:

Arcade

• Hyperactive Game mode Added
  

• Enemies now increase their Threat Level in response to the player gaining Levelling Up or time passing in a game.
  
• Enemies at higher Threat Levels are much more durable and dangerous than before.
  
• Chasing enemies now Accelerate up to a top speed the longer they are left alive preventing Kiting huge clouds of enemies forever.
  
• Blobs can no longer be killed with a single Level 1 Bomb and are instead knocked away if they survive the blast.
  

• Loadouts consists of 6 Items that can be upgraded as the player levels up.
  
• The Loadout Editor screen lets you define how Items are upgraded as you play. The changes are then applied automatically during game play.
  
• Only 1 Loadout can be saved at a time.
  

• 3 New Objectives have been added to the GRID.
  
• Hyperactive will appear in the GRID.
  
• Completing a Node now only unlocks the Nodes on the corresponding sides of the Cube.
  

A quick maintenance update. Last one I'm doing before Christmas unless a crash bug pops up.

• Adrenaline no longer starts depleting before a Combo ends.
  
• Slowmo ease in/out times now more accurate.
  
• Triggers in Chase no longer disappear after 10 seconds.
  
• Boomer Virus now has correct health (500 up from 200).
  
• HUD Opacity slider added to Game Settings.
  
• Player character now glows red when a Burst is ready.
  

Last update before the weekend. Full controller support is here as well as Borderless Windows!

Bugs Fixed:
* Able to glitch through some Arena Walls.
* Extra Lives not spawned in Survival.

UI:
* GRID View can now be navigated with the Controller.
* Fullscreen has been replaced with a Displaymode option.
* Borderless Window mode is now supported.

It's only 2 days since Waves² went into Early Access and I'm hopeful that the performance problems some of you experienced at launch will now be a thing of the past.

Alpha 1.1 introduced more graphics scaling options in the settings menu and now Alpha1.2 has some significant performance optimizations that (on my aging GTX560 Ti) should result in a significant boost to your framerate.

If you're still getting performance problems please stop by the Technical Issues forums and post your machine specs and as much detail as you can about them.

Alpha 1.2 Patch Notes - 18-12-2015

Optimization:

• Performance should be much better in game.
  

• If you are using a gamepad and not firing the aim cone will no longer be visible.
  
• Changed font on News screen to fit more in :)
  

• Crash when pressing Back on Controller at Main Menu.
  
• Settings not being saved or applied on engine start.
  
• Combo not increasing from kills resulting from enemy explosions.
  
• Game starts up in VR mode when Oculus Rift is connected.
  
• Voice Picker on Audio Settings always set to Jervis.
  
• Trigger & Cube Explosion effects now match the size of the explosion.
  

• Added graphics scaling options to Video settings.
  
• Added Game options to disable Camera Shake and Glitch Effects.
  

Welcome Alpha Testers!

Please. Be gentle.

Waves² has been in development for 4 months now. It's a totally different engine to the original game (Unreal 4) and there is at least another 6 months of development left ahead of us. I don't know about you but I'm very excited!

What you get in Alpha 01 as of 16-12-2015 are 4 Arcade game modes adapted from the original Waves and a new way to play called The GRID.

You can check out the DevBlog about Alpha 01 and leave feedback and bug reports in the Steam forums.

There is an update planned every month with new features and gameplay. The first should be in January and contain more Arcade game modes as well as balance changes and some new core-gameplay systems.

For now I hope you enjoy the game and I look forwards to your feedback on the forums!