Along with leaving early access, this update has some notable changes and improvements.

[h2]Performance Increases[/h2]

• Numerous physics and GPU optimizations.
  
• Level lighting. Some of the level light setups were heavier on performance with little to no visual gain.
  
• Lowered AI perception of the bots. Bots now only see about as far as the average human, and don't waste CPU cycles thinking about stuff happening on the other side of the map they can't even see.
  
• Remodelled/animated crates to improve their performance.
  
• Reworked Air Mines for better performance.
  

• Fixed a bug on the challenge scoreboard.
  
• Fixed a few bugs related to remote player and object syncing in multiplayer lobbies.
  
• Fixed a bug where in target challenges the targets would stop moving.
  

This update is a big one! It includes a number of new features and changes that have been planned or in development for quite a while, as well as a ton of bug fixes as we get ready to leave Early Access.

One of the biggest changes is a complete overhaul of the bots. So much has changed with them that were giving them their own section in the announcement!

We are also happy to announce the game works great on Steam Deck!

[h2]Bots - Changes and Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Bots do a much better job navigating around terrain and dangers. They actively avoid Kalis wake, and react sooner to approaching dangers in levels that would be visually apparent to human players (such as the steam in the Ice Cavern).
  
• Bots are able to use their characters special abilities, and make decisions on when it is appropriate to use them.
  
• They are able to use all other weapons, and prioritize them based on what they can see within their field of view.
  
• Bots will lead their targets when aiming. They dont have perfect aim, but its comparable to a skilled human.
  
• Bots now collect crates passively when attacking or evading, rather than explicitly seeking out crates.
  
• Bots aim their wrench correctly and no longer get stuck in a loop trying to fix their fan.
  
• Bot animations dont react to human input.
  
• Bot AI/decision making is now multithreaded and distributed evenly across multiple frames, so there is no significant performance penalty for having more bots in a match vs humans.
  
• Most importantly - theyre actually pretty competitive now with all these changes.
  

• Changed the description while searching for online games to be more obvious and helpful.
  
• Changed play options language and icons to better explain the options.
  
• Tutorial language has been tweaked for easier reading and understanding.
  

• Updated Steam VR to make sure the game is compatible with newer hardware.
  
• Improved visual readability of the kill feed and item collection feed while in VR.
  
• We implemented a choice in firing modes. Players can now fire a gun in 2 different ways depending on their preference.
  
• Adjusted slingshot to allow for less pullback to reach full shot power. This is especially a problem with quest controllers that are tracked via the headset.
  
• Consolidated all VR controls to one screen regardless of the device the player is using.
  

• Improved performance for how the fan sound was implemented.
  
• Performance increase in how crates are spawned into the levels.
  
• Many small improvements to address performance spikes and increase minimum FPS.
  
• Immediately syncing baskets on respawn now to avoid any visual oddities.
  
• Improved lighting.
  
• Character inverse kinematic target changes for interactions are now interpolated relative to basket positions. Movements are now smoother at high basket speeds, especially for remote players and bots.
  

• The shield crate now gives players a shield that lasts for a short time as opposed to disappearing after taking damage.
  
• Kalis' wake no longer damages friendly balloons. The color of the smoke now matches the player's balloon who activated it.
  
• Bird Blades now behave differently. They deploy, then immediately seek out an enemy target balloon to terrorize and then explode once they have done enough damage or have popped the balloon.
  
• Sicarios invisibility now makes sure that any item you collect while invisible will not be seen by enemies.
  
• The launch velocity of an item launched from the slingshot now properly matches the pullback distance. Max velocity remains unchanged, but lower velocities are now possible and the visual trajectory guide is now accurate.
  
• Laser drones now only target enemies.
  
• Air mines and laser drones will no longer stop a basket if there is a collision while they deploy.
  

• Fixed an issue where the characters head was offset incorrectly causing strange behavior when looking down.
  
• Fixed some trees and other terrain objects to improve performance
  
• Fixed an issue with the visual effect while respawning. There was a bug causing the black hole effect to not show sometimes.
  
• Fixed a bug where the drone could come up while the main menu was open in VR.
  
• Fixed the score screen sometimes laying out incorrectly at the end of a match.
  
• Fixed a bug where a player couldnt bring up the menu while holding grip. If they are holding an object, they still cannot open the menu.
  
• Fixed the drone screen sometimes being stuck behind terrain. Now if you are too close to terrain when the screen pops up, you are pushed back slightly to make room.
  
• Fixed a bug with the way the UI buttons work in VR.
  
• Fixed an issue with any shootable weapon where it might hit your gun before leaving the basket if you were traveling fast enough. This would cause rockets to blow up in your face. While kind of funny, not really how they are meant to be used.
  
• Fixed a bug where the fan would become unhinged and result in the basket not being able to fly correctly.
  
• Fixed a bug where players would be stuck and couldnt move after respawning and hitting a wall.
  
• Fixed a number of bugs related to grabbing interactions in multiplayer.
  
• Fixed Darwin's missile not always shooting from the gun in multiplayer.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause unloading the slingshot to result in a bug where the item flies out of your basket and your character reaches for it and flies through the air trying to grab it.
  
• Balloon sounds are now fixed to play at the balloons position.
  
• Fixed an issue where Kalis teleport could take a long time to complete if there was a basket collision during the teleport.
  

Its time to suit up and get ready to take to the skies once again. After taking some time to work on our other title, Groove Gunner, we are working on several big updates to Balloonatics that we hope to release in the near future.

Well have a more detailed update soon but here a summary of what you can expect in the next few updates...

• Game engine update from Unity 2017 to 2019 LTS, and a rework of many parts of the game to support the new engine features.
  
• Updates to OpenVR/SteamVR libraries and support for external cameras and mixed-reality rendering. Support for LIV.
  
• Substantial performance improvements - Multi-threading, physics optimizations, and other changes that will improve the performance throughout the game and allow for larger matches with more players. A higher minimum framerate should also help mitigate performance related motion sickness issues on lower end systems.
  

• Additional performance improvements related to the models and physics of the baskets and fans.
  
• Fixing some outstanding weapon bugs
  
• Shader and special effects improvements
  
• A new match UI (before/during/after match)
  
• Brand new tutorial system for new players
  
• Improvements to comfort and accessibility of the game
  
• Additional behaviors and skills for the AI - bots will be more aware of their own characters skills and strengths and be able to better match the play of skilled human players. We will either scale the bot skill level to match the human players in a match, and/or allow this to be selected when starting a match.
  

Usability Update for our VR Players
We have included a way to rotate your playspace for all VR platforms. This will allow all VR players to play easily without the requirement of full 360 degree tracking, and will allow seated play for those who choose to or must play in a seated position.

New Weapon - Fake Crate!
The Fake Crate is the perfect way to set a trap for your enemies. Enemies will think they are getting rewarded with a weapon but will instead be damaged by the explosion as they hit the crate.



Weapon Select System
We have implemented a weapon select system. No more looking at weapons and pushing E in non-VR. Instead, press 1, 2 or 3 to grab the weapon in the appropriate slot.

Special weapons now spawn directly into your hand in Non-VR. This change was made to accommodate the weapon select system and to make it feel more natural for players.

We are happy to announce we have released an update to add support for Windows Mixed Reality to Balloonatics.

In this patch we are finally introducing bots, and some exciting game format changes including respawning!

Bots

• Bots have been added to party matches allowing you to play solo or with friends in any of the party match types.
  
• Bots use the same characters as humans, and need to collect their weapons and powerups just like human players.
  
• Free for all games will be topped up with bots up to 5 players.
  
• Team matches will split human players across teams before filling any remaining slots with bots.
  
• Online matchmaking will continue to use only human players for the time being.
  

• Rounds are now time limited (5 minutes).
  
• Points are awarded for damage, with bonuses for balloon pops and downing other players.
  
• Downed players will respawn with a full set of balloons but without any previously collected weapons. Previously, the round ended once there was a single player (or team) left with balloons and players would have to wait on the level floor for the match to end.
  
  

In this patch we have added a new arena, Sunrise Temple. We have also made a change to how balloon health and shields work.

Sunrise Temple
Tempt fate by flying through Sunrise Temple before things get too heated. This level offers plenty of cover, paths, and a deadly burning trap. Don't get caught in the open.

Health and Shields

New UI
The new UI is designed to be more user friendly and not require the player to look at a small screen attached to their basket. Instead, we wanted a full screen where we could put more content and make it easier to navigate.



Lava Pit Level Updates
The Lava Pit has new teturing and a few new design elements include 2 giant skulls carved into the surrounding walls.



Other Improvements

This patch introduces updated basket designs, a HUD for non-VR players, and a new weapon!

Changes and Additions

• Non-VR HUD - Non-VR players now have an always-visible HUD to display damage feeds, racked weapons, balloon health, turbo, and special status. A new VR HUD is in development and will be released in a future update.
  
• Bird Blades - A new weapon! Throw or launch a bird carrying deadly rotating blades.
  
• Improved Basket Design - Baskets have been redesigned to allow for future customization, with new textures and sizing consistency between VR and non-VR baskets.
  
• Basket Physics - Basket shapes and materials have been updated to reduce friction and make it easy to manueuver when you drive into another basket or obstacle.
  
• Basket Controls - Fan will transition faster between reverse and forward. Reverse speed has been increased and allows the use of turbo. Overall acceleration increased by 13%.
  
  

Bots are on the way, but first we wanted to implement some changes to gameplay that we have been developing with our community of players. It was important for us to get these changes in before finishing bots.

Gameplay Changes

• Shooting While Driving - Players can now grab and use weapons, throw items, and load/shoot the slingshot, all while driving.
  
• Weapon Rack - There is now a rack in the player's basket to hold collected weapons, making it easier to grab weapons while driving. Players are now limited to 3 items at a time. This results in weapons being used more frequently, less stockpiling, and overall much faster and fluent gameplay.
  
• Basket Sizes - Baskets are no longer sized to your play space in VR. All baskets are the same and allow for both standing and room scale VR play. Everything is reachable and feels much better in VR.
  
• New Tutorial - We have created a new tutorial to help new and existing players better understand these new gameplay features.
  
• Slingshot Loading - Slingshot can be quick-loaded/unloaded with the weapon you are carrying or with a spike ball from your ball rack in non-VR. Items can be dropped onto slingshot to load in VR, and grabbed again to unload.
  

• Darwin's weapon now locks onto a target before you fire. Look at a target with your laser eye, and once it locks on you can fire your missile and it will chase down the target.
  
• Klause's ice now melts faster when freezing fans.
  
• All exploadable weapons now have an improved splash damage algorithm. This includes Darwins Missile, Merves Banana Bombs, Bazooka and Air Mines.
  
• Saws now have a trail when shot, making it easier to see where they go.
  
• Weapons that have ammo will be dropped once empty, immediately freeing up your weapon rack slot.
  

• Full Controller Support with editable bindings
  
• Editable key bindings when using keyboard/mouse
  

• UI Basket screen buttons animated on hover.
  
• UI sliders in VR now improved and match controllers pointer position as you drag.
  
• Projectile shooting and item throwing physics accuracy improved.
  
• Scoreboard improved (consistent layout and team colors)
  
• Local settings now take priority over steam cloud settings.
  
• VR players now positioned correctly when driving.
  

We have a big update coming and we wanted to share a new roadmap to show how we fit it in. Look for the update in the next couple of days.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1468442459

While we work on adding new weapons, game modes and levels, we're also still focused on increasing the performance and stability of the game.
This patch includes some significant improvements in these areas that we have made over the past couple of weeks.

Game and Performance Improvements

• Signifcantly optimized the graphical performance on each level with an average 50% decrease in draw calls per frame.
  
• Increased graphical performance of player baskets.
  
• Retextured some game items including basket fan, frames, walls and more.
  
• Many weapons and items now have Level of Detail rendering which decreases their polygon count as they move further from view.
  
• Empty weapons no longer stay in your basket. If you drop them in your basket they will despawn immediately. This declutters baskets and makes it easier for players to know which weapons still have ammo. You can still launch empty weapons from your slingshot if you load them instead of dropping them.
  
• Added environmental details into the Ice Cavern and Base Camp.
  

• Fixed a bug that caused the laser drone to fall out of sky randomly.
  
• Fixed some UI and Navigation bugs.
  
• Fixed a bug that would stop players Special Ability from charging after use in certain situations.
  
  
  

Today we are releasing another significant update for Balloonatics.

Character Specials
Every character in the game now has a unique special ability.

• Darwin: Big Friggin Bazooka - Deliver a laser guided missile with the help of your trusty laser eye.
  
• Thana: Shield of Bones - Spawn a shield made of bones that spins around your balloons making it difficult for your enemies to attack.
  
• Klause: Ice Day for a Cool Down - Blast enemies with your ice gun covering their fans with a block of ice. They won't be going anywhere for a while.
  
• Sicario: Into the Shadows - Turn invisible for a short time. Perfect for sneaking up on an enemy... or getting away from one.
  
• Merve: Banana Split - Launch a banana into the sky, then watch as it splits into a volley of bombs that fly towards enemy balloons.
  
• Kali: Pounce - Teleport quickly across the map leaving a dangerous wake of acidic mist.
  

• Laser Drone - Deploy a drone that will target any nearby balloons, friend or foe, and blast them with its laser.
  

• Weapon Balance: Saw Slinger projectiles now shoot faster and cover more distance.
  
• UI Improvement: Character selection screen is more responsive.
  
• Updated Textures: Textures in the game have been improved for a more consistent style.
  

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1390933376
We have been working hard on planning the future of Balloonatics. The roadmap shows our current high level plans from now until official release. Much of the work we have done already will make upcoming features easier to implement. We are very excited to share this and looking forward to community feedback.

For our first patch release, we have added a new character, Kali, improved all other character models and animations, reconstructed most of the UI and of course, fixed some bugs.

We also spent a lot of this time getting the game ready for future phases.

Characters

• Recreated every character model with more detail and improved model skinning.
  
• Added facial expressions to each character.
  
• Created animations for character select screens to suit each character.
  
• Added a new character, Kali.
  

• Added new character select screen.
  
• Added matchup screen to show match type and who's on each team.
  
• Added victory and defeat screens.
  
• Added a scoreboard to the end of the match.
  
• Players are now taken back to the lobby automatically after a countdown at end of match.
  
• New Scoreboard layout and design.
  
• New Challenges board layout and design.
  
• Challenges start screen has changed and is more informative. It will also tell you your previous score before you start the challenge.
  
• End of challenge screen has changed to show your medal (if you won a medal), your score and your previous score.
  

• Throw time has been reduced in non-VR, players can now throw at full force much faster.
  
• Weapon spawn rates have been tweaked for balance.
  

• Music volume is now saved.
  
• Fixed a crash that would sometimes happen when loading into a lobby after accepting an invite.
  

For our first patch release, we have added a new character, Kali, improved all other character models and animations, reconstructed most of the UI and of course, fixed some bugs.

We also spent a lot of this time getting the game ready for future phases.

Characters

• Recreated every character model with more detail and improved model skinning.
  
• Added facial expressions to each character.
  
• Created animations for character select screens to suit each character.
  
• Added a new character, Kali.
  

• Added new character select screen.
  
• Added matchup screen to show match type and who's on each team.
  
• Added victory and defeat screens.
  
• Added a scoreboard to the end of the match.
  
• Players are now taken back to the lobby automatically after a countdown at end of match.
  
• New Scoreboard layout and design.
  
• New Challenges board layout and design.
  
• Challenges start screen has changed and is more informative. It will also tell you your previous score before you start the challenge.
  
• End of challenge screen has changed to show your medal (if you won a medal), your score and your previous score.
  

• Throw time has been reduced in non-VR, players can now throw at full force much faster.
  
• Weapon spawn rates have been tweaked for balance.
  

• Music volume is now saved.
  
• Fixed a crash that would sometimes happen when loading into a lobby after accepting an invite.
  

VR Headset Not Required!

We've had a few questions regarding whether Balloonatics is VR only. It is not!

Early Access Release Date

Balloonatics Early Access release is now scheduled for February 13th, 2018. We are working hard to squash some bugs and improve performance before release.

• Added 6 more challenges for a total of 12 solo challenges.
  
• We have remodelled and retextured 3 multiplayer maps.
  
• UI improvements to make matchmaking more intuitive.
  
• Improvements to allow better performance in VR with a wider variety of hardware.
  

We've had a few questions regarding whether Balloonatics is VR only. It is not!

Early Access Release Date

Balloonatics Early Access release is now scheduled for February 13th, 2018. We are working hard to squash some bugs and improve performance before release.

• Added 6 more challenges for a total of 12 solo challenges.
  
• We have remodelled and retextured 3 multiplayer maps.
  
• UI improvements to make matchmaking more intuitive.
  
• Improvements to allow better performance in VR with a wider variety of hardware.