Version 0.3.1 ALPHA
This update contains a new track alongside a bunch of significant balance changes.
Added
- Added new track (Metro)
- Added new enemy distance type (Lowest)
- Added new control setting (Modcall)
- Added distance type icons to Enemy Radar markings
- Added defeated dialog to the Bandit Queen
- Added fade effect to minimal dialog UI
- Added shortcut keybind to open Modcall UI
Fixes
- Fixed enemy bullets not increasing in damage properly as waves progress
- Fixed special projectiles not respecting damage modifier rules
- Fixed being able to fire a blank shot with the Shotgun immediately after reloading
- Fixed not being able to heal players through molotov fire
- Fixed Hovercopter’s sniper passenger not firing
- Fixed Medics not being able to earn EXP from non-self inflicted burn damage
- Fixed enemy health not being affected by Double Trouble
- Fixed not actually healing back to full health at the end of a wave if no Medics are present
- Fixed Blimp cannonball’s tag offset
- Fixed Desert being improperly aligned with set pieces
- Fixed Basebound using the incorrect Vanessa dialog
- Fixed EXP counter adding up when losing EXP shortly after gaining some
General Changes
- Increased base wave time from 90s > 120s
- Standard enemies now have the ability to spawn in a barrage
- Passengers will now only reload on full stops when playing in Rapid
- Restricted Cranked during boss waves
- Increased volume of the Blimp’s cannon fire sound
- Increased Cadillac Driver’s max damage from 6 > 10
- Increased Cargo Truck’s rifle passenger damage from 2 > 4
- Increased Cargo Truck’s rifle passenger max damage from 8 > 12
- Increased Patrol Copter’s passenger damage from 2 > 4
- Increased Patrol Copter’s passenger max damage from 8 > 12
- Updated Passenger target icon for the Enemy Radar
CREDITS
- @ItzMeCream - New Track
- @raddoob, @woopercooper - Animations
- ZXEZX, @matteo19919 - Meshes
- @BriggeyBruh, @exwumm - Assets/Textures
NOTES
Documentation
Enemy Radar & Distance Types
The Enemy Radar upgrade has received a bit of a change! On-top of already being able to see what enemies are currently targeting, you’re now able to view what distance they’re firing at as well.
If you aren’t aware of what distance types are, this determines what range an enemy will be looking for targets at. Example: if an enemy’s distance is set to Farthest and is targeting players, they’ll fire towards the person who is the farthest away from them each time. This has been present in the game since some of the earlier ALPHA versions, though was never visually displayed anywhere until now.
For the new Lowest distance type, this one is a special case and is currently not given to any enemies at all times by default. Any enemies that can spawn with a fluctuating distance type will now have a chance to temporarily switch to Lowest if any low health players or sectors are detected. The intent of this mostly stems as a way for enemies to be able to quickly pick off hanging sectors so there’s a minimal amount of cases where low pieces stick around for a long period of time.
Left - Right: Nearest, Farthest, Populated, Lowest, and Random.
Balance Changes
This update consists of 3 changes that I’d consider pretty significant.
Damage Modifier Fix
Enemy bullets & special projectiles have all been fixed to respect damage rules. Previously, this was ONLY working properly for default bullets hitting the train. This has been the case since 2020’s Christmas update, and I’ve only noticed things were like this very recently.
Now, all forms of damage whether it’s against a player or the train now respects anything that may modify the result meaning you may notice that you’ll be taking a lot more damage than before as the game progresses.
If this makes things TOO difficult now, please let us know and we’ll look into a follow-up!
Increased Wave Time
This was done mostly because I felt like early waves were too short with things not picking up in pace until mid-game. This new change makes that happen a bit sooner alongside shortening how long the average game will last. This was intentional! I’m hoping this change brings games to a close a bit sooner so things don’t drag on for longer than they need to.
The increased times will also indirectly increase how much EXP you’re gonna be coming out of a wave with. We want to know your thoughts on this if there are any concerns!
Enemy Barrages
Lastly, we have a new addition which is the Enemy Barrages. This is a new addition to how enemy spawning works which will be able to start appearing right away on Hard, the 5th wave on Normal, and the 10th wave on Easy.
When it’s time for an enemy to be spawned, there’s a chance that it will call for a barrage instead of a solo spawn. This is indicated by a horn sound and will spawn in 2 - 4 enemies in a group. This will only include any that are considered “stock” and not any that have special weapons or unique attributes. The maximum amount that can spawn is determined based on the player count and the difficulty set.
Enemies spawned in a barrage work the same as a standard one, though are given significantly less health and will take a longer time to start firing upon arriving to the train.
If enough people like this feature, I’ll go ahead and throw in some unique alert sounds to specific tracks that could use one. Currently, this ONLY uses a horn sound effect.
Progress Report
What’s next?
This update unfortunately was cut down in scope a bit and was originally intended to include the other 2 tracks left for the track submission catchup. Since this update in specific contained a good chunk of significant changes, I didn’t want these to sit for long while we were working away at the other tracks.
This will pack things down for the update following this one which would focus on the remaining two tracks alongside ironing out any possible adjustments to this update’s balance changes.
Currently, we’re gearing to have the Summer updates ready for RBLXWare & Battleboards sometime in early June. This means any work on Defend The Train throughout this month is just being done in-between. After that, we’re looking to get the rest of these tracks done right away so we can spend the majority of our summer preparing the BETA update!
