Version 1.2.0 Update

It has been a year since I started developing Spark Five. The game has received a major update. Whats new then? A lot has changed actually. Following are the major changes to the game.

GENERAL

• Shader updated.

• General theme shading of the game has been changed from orange-yellow to blue-cyan. Game icon hue has been adjusted accordingly.

• Post-Processing re-adjusted. Colored atmospheric ambience has been removed entirely.

• Tutorial updated. Text-to-Speech functionality removed from all levels.

• In-game achievement icons updated.

• Store page updated. New trailer and screenshots added.

• All game elements (models, particle effects, etc.) have been updated, excluding cargo boxes and loot boxes. The basic map arrangement, overall objectives, item pick-ups, turret positions and number of enemy guards for all levels remain the same.

AUDIO

• Ambient music for all levels including main menu updated.

• New explosion sounds added.

• Footstep sound corresponds to walking on metal as opposed to walking on grass.

• Added new sound effects associated with various actions in the game.

UI/UX

• Main Menu updated. Settings panel is permanently visible. Option to enable/disable post-processing has been added to the settings panel.

• UI elements like boxes, buttons, text, fonts, etc have been updated.

• Minimap support removed entirely from the game.

• Perspective camera field of view increased from 50 to 60.

• Minor script adjustments made related to GUI.

GAME ELEMENTS

• Character models re-worked (main player and guards). Animations remain the same.

• Spark form updated. Spark form is no longer a ball of lightning, rather a transparent glowing specter of the original character.

• Rooms have been updated with new models and textures.

• 4 types of turrets and associated bullets added. Type of turret has no impact on game-play.

• Laser machine comes with a radar. A rotating radar indicates that the associated laser is on and vice-versa.

GAME MECHANICS

• Movement speed of main player increased from 3.85 to 4.

• You gain +30% bonus movement speed when in Spark form. The bonus is lost when you are reborn.

• Enemy guards navigation agent radius reduced from 0.5 to 0.2.

• Chase distance threshold of all enemy guards increased from 6 to 7, i.e. they will cease their pursuit if the distance between you and the guard is 7 units or more. (For reference, a room is 10 units X 10 units)

• Re-adjusted detection boxes of enemy guards.

• Time gained from picking up a Time Capsule increased from 23 seconds to 30 seconds.

• Minimum fire rate of all turrets has been increased from 1 second to 2 seconds.

• Turrets have limiters for bullets instead of time constraint. Bullets get de-spawned whenever they collide with the associated limiter or any other collider.

• Speed of bullet varies randomly between 300 and 350 instead of a 300 flat value. Speed is calculated before bullet leaves the turret.

• Spark Replicas can stop bullets.

• All Nemesis Campaign levels have +60 seconds added to the starting timer and start with +1 bomb.

• All Spark Campaign and Mercenarium levels start with +1 bombs and +1 replica.

• Time required to achieve stars increased by 30 seconds for all Spark Campaign levels.

PARTICLES

• New explosion effects added.

• New effects corresponding to item pick-ups added.

• Relevant objects colliding laser produces sparks.

• New particle effect for circular laser defense system.