Heyo everyone! It's not August quite yet, but I have some important news. Here's what I've been working on for the past month, and what will change this month.

Unfortunately due to some situations outside my control (got sick for a good few days), I'll have to postpone the release of the visual improvements update for MF-01 Aerostrike. I don't have a new date planned, but it should be done either in August, or September if delays keep occurring.

On more positive news, this delay does give me some room to add some extra bits to the plans, including creating more decoration props! Additionally, I want to create a proper "wreckage" system, where shipwrecks appear in areas after a big battle takes place. Rebel Ops already has a similar system.

I might also look at changing a few sections of the game, modifying some existing battles, and removing others that feel like padding instead of an entertaining challenge. However, for the time being the visual changes are the priority, so those will come first.

If anyone has more suggestions for features or changes you'd like to see in MF-01 Aerostrike, feel free to contact me at lmg3864games@gmail.com or make a post in the Official Feedback thread so I can look into it.

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Stay safe, Pilots!

Heyo everyone! It's been a while since I've posted here. Here's what I've been working on for the past month, and what will change this month.

With Potatostrike (coming soon to Steam) now on Beta and pending a few playtest sessions, and with MF-01 Aerostrike's Steam release anniversary coming closer, I thought I'd try giving the game a much needed facelift! All walls of the game have been queued for a redesign using new assets.

The first part focuses on the foreground physical walls both ships and projectiles can collide with. They now have a new design, with a bright outer border, and a much darker inner portion. Hopefully this will make them stand out from the background. All the new assets are done, with minor positional changes planned for later.

The next part involves updating all the background walls. Right now they're quite plain-looking by design to not distract from the action. I want to add more detail to them to give some visual variety to the world of Aerostrike, but not too much that the player gets lost during combat.

If anyone has more suggestions for features or changes you'd like to see in MF-01 Aerostrike, feel free to contact me at lmg3864games@gmail.com or make a post in the Official Feedback thread so I can look into it.

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Stay safe, Pilots!

We interrupt your daily flight to bring you a new patch. This one is fairly small, just a new paintjob and some background improvements. Due to certain circumstances going on lately regarding an online personality I personally was quite fond of, I thought I'd show them my support.

The Dragoon paintjob represents the effect one person can have on people's lives. Through joy and laughter, highs and lows, a community was created, and now that community is willing to give back. I personally found a new medium thanks to them, and through it I met many friends and people that have helped me in my journey as an indie game developer.

I wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.

Here is a full list of patch notes:

Additions:

• Added a new Free Paintjob: Dragoon.
  > You can swap to it in the Shipyard or in the Options menu.

Bugs:

• Fixed the Training Room displaying the selected difficulty incorrectly.

Technical Changes:

• New build created with the newest engine version.
  > Should improve game performance slightly.

If anyone is met with any sort of weird bug feel free to leave a comment, send an email to the support address, or make a post in either of the Steam support threads for MF-01 Aerostrike.

Stay safe pilots!

Heyo everyone! Here's the progress report on what's been done for Aerostrike, and what's gonna happen next.

Last week, the last planned patch for MF-01 Aerostrike was released. Yes, the game is officially fully done! From here on out, any patches will be mostly small bug fixes, and maybe a paintjob or two. Focus will shift to other projects.

Right now I'm looking at making a short Potatostrike spin-off. It's in very, very early development, so there's not much information to share right now other than it being a SHMUP. I'm also using it as a test bed for new systems that will come in handy in case I get the chance to make a proper sequel.

One of these systems is a more advanced and flexible enemy spawn system. This, alongside the Hel's Fighters battle loading system, should make creating fights in future titles simpler. I also want to improve the keybind system, as Aerostrike's current one is quite messy behind the scenes.

If anyone has more suggestions for features or changes you'd like to see in MF-01 Aerostrike, feel free to contact me at lmg3864games@gmail.com or make a post in the Official Feedback thread so I can look into it.

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Stay safe, Pilots!

We interrupt your daily flight to bring you a new patch. It improves the code for the Regular and Quick Map, and also adds a lot of optimization and technical changes. While a lot of changes have been made, they can be summed up quickly.

First off, the Map generation code has been optimized. Additionally, it received a few Quality-of-Life modifications. The Quick Map now accurately displays unopenned doors, and doors that can only be opened with a Laser Beam are marked differently to the ones that require Rockets.

On the more technical side of things, a new idle animation system was implemented. Not only does it run more smoothly, it also lets me remove a lot of redundant assets, making the game slightly slimmer. It even allows me to add idle animations to enemy ships!

Finally, one of the most important changes is that a new free paintjob has been added to the game, called Carol. Its main feature is a cute little christmas hat on top! Unfortunately it doesn't offer jiggle physics, as I'm yet to figure out how to do those.

Here is a full list of patch notes:

Additions:

• Added a new Free Paintjob: Carol.
  > You can swap to it in the Shipyard or in the Options menu.

Visuals:

• Secret Doors are now painted green instead of gray on the map.
  
• Removed Secret Doors from the map key, as they act just like regular doors.
  
• Added a new Map icon: Sealed.
  > This icon marks doors held shut by a special sealing lock.
  
• The Quick Map now accurately indicates which doors have been used before.
  
• Enemy ships now have an idle animation when Idle or Alert.

Campaign:

• Increased the activation arc of the Centurion's Forward Shield from 10 degrees up to 90 degrees.
  > It's mostly to deal with a rare issue with the Forward Shield.
  > Shouldn't have any tangible impact on the fight itself.

Rebel Ops:

• Reduced the number of Paladins that spawn in Mission 6.

Bugs:

• Fixed several Dock icons being incorrectly tinted.
  
• Fixed an incorrect objective marker in Rebel Ops Mission 6.
  
• Fixed a bug where using a specific secret door in Rebel Ops didn't make it appear on the map.
  
• Fixed the Hel's Fighters Store map room displaying a Landing Pad instead of a dock.
  
• Fixed enemy projectile sounds stacking during the last two phases of the final boss.

Techical Changes:

• Updated the Input library to version 6.1.5.
  
• Optimized the Map creation code.
  
• Optimized the persistent enemy code.
  
• Optimized the enemy lead calculation code.
  
• Created a new idle animation system for the game.
  
• Removed the now unused idle animation sprites.
  
• Removed several obsolete objects.
  
• Removed several unnecessary lines from the final stats window after finishing Hel's Fighters.
  
• Removed several obsolete functions from the code.

Steam-exclusive Changes (does not affect non-Steam releases):

• Updated the achievement icons for all Hel's Fighters achievements.

This is currently the last planned update for MF-01 Aerostrike. From here on, patches might be simple bug fixes or maybe a few extra free paintjobs. I'm looking to work on other projects for the time being, including a possible short Potatostrike SHMUP game.

If anyone is met with any sort of weird bug, or simply thinks that the map should have inverted controls, feel free to leave a comment, send an email to the support address, or make a post in either of the Steam support threads for MF-01 Aerostrike.

Stay safe pilots!

Heyo everyone! Here's the progress report on what's been done for Aerostrike, and what's being worked on this week.

Multiple optimizations have been made in the past week. The biggest one is an improved idle animation for the Aerostrike, which cuts the amount of sprite images required by over 350. Not only that, but the new animation has been applied to enemy ships to also give them idle animations!

Most of these changes are involve very sensitive portions, so this week will focus on making sure that everything works correctly. Between that and a shorter work week due to personal matters, the patch 1.5.2 will have to wait until next week.

I'm also working on a new free paintjob for this Christmas. It's a work in progress with some changes pending, but it seems promising. The new icons for the Hel's Fighters achievements are also ready and will be applied when patch 1.5.2 is released.

If anyone has more suggestions for features or changes you'd like to see in MF-01 Aerostrike, feel free to contact me at lmg3864games@gmail.com or make a post in the Official Feedback thread so I can look into it.

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Stay safe, Pilots!

Heyo everyone! Here's the progress report on what's been done for Aerostrike, and what's being worked on this week.

The map improvements have been going well! A substantial portion of the Map creation and handling code has been optimized, especially anything related to the Quick Map. The new code runs better, and also allows for some other changes.

Among those changes, the Quick Map will now properly mark which doors have been opened before and which haven't. Previously, any room at the edge of the Quick Map would appear unopened. Now it properly keeps track of where you've been at any given time!

Finally, a few map icons have been changed. Secret Doors are now colored green, just like normal doors, and doors blocked by special locks are marked as "Sealed" instead of just "Blocked". No need to double-check which is which anymore!

If anyone has more suggestions for features or changes you'd like to see in MF-01 Aerostrike, feel free to contact me at lmg3864games@gmail.com or make a post in the Official Feedback thread so I can look into it.

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Stay safe, Pilots!

Heyo everyone! Here's the progress report on what's been done for Aerostrike, and what's being worked on this week.

Well, all the content that was planned for MF-01 Aerostrike is finally in the game! All the modes, all the achievements, all the story bits, and all the paintjobs. As such, further development of the game will slow down from here on out.

Now that's not to say there won't be any updates or support. Right now I'm working on improving the Quick Map system, with the hopes of reusing the new code sometime in the future. Additionally, any reported issues or bugs will be fixed as soon as possible.

As for what else the future holds for the Aerostrike, only time will tell. I do wish to make another game in the Aerostrike universe, I have a lot of cool ideas to try, and a lot of old systems to improve. Maybe I'll try and make an actual Potatostrike Shmup at some point. Would anyone be interested in that?

If anyone has more suggestions for features or changes you'd like to see in MF-01 Aerostrike, feel free to contact me at lmg3864games@gmail.com or make a post in the Official Feedback thread so I can look into it.

That's all for now, thank you for your time. Stay safe, Pilots!

We interrupt your daily flight to bring you a new patch. FINALLY! The patch was ready on Tuesday, but internal problems with Steam kept me from releasing the patch. But hey, it's all fixed now!

Anyways, back to the patch. It adds the Hel's Fighters section of the Story menu, and rebalances the final bossfight to a more reasonable level. It also fixes a variety of bugs and adds some QoL features.

The new Hel's Fighters lore entries include information on various topics. From its origins, to the staff that runs the show, the arenas, and the various Champions. There's a total of 20 entries to read. Feel free to give me your opinions!

Onto the next topic, the final boss of the campaign had multiple aspects changed to make the fight less difficult and more entertaining, especially at lower difficulties. Several bugs that made the fight harder than intended were also patched out.

Finally, several QoL changes were added. The Quick Map now remains open when you switch between rooms. This should make active navigation easier. The feature is built into the game, so no need to mess with Option settings this time around.

Here is a full list of patch notes:

Balance:

• Decreased the damage thresholds required to advance to the next phase of the final bossfight.
  
• Decreased the final boss's weapon range from (1000, 800, 500) down to (800, 650, 500).
  > The order represents (long range, medium range, short range) respectively.
  
• Decreased the amount of time the final boss uses Long Range loadouts from 15 seconds down to 10 seconds.
  
• Decreased the final boss's bullet dodge range for long range loadouts from (150, 200, 250, 300) down to (75, 100, 125, 150).
  > Due to a coding error, the bullet dodge range was locked to 300 acrosss all difficulties.
  
• Decreased the unshielded health regeneration of the final boss from (1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0) down to (0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0).
  
• Decreased the base turn rate of the Blue Disruptor Missiles from (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5) down to (2.1, 2.9, 3.7, 4.5).
  
• The Blue Disruptor Missile Burst was replaced with a giant Disruptor Missile that explodes and releases 5 Blue Disruptor Missiles.
  > Should give players a heads-up to prepare for missiles, or to quickly destroy the big one with a Manual Detonation.

Visuals:

• Interface terminals now have an animated "..." when there's more text to display.
  
• Blue Disruptor Missiles now glow to make them stand out from other projectiles.
  
• Modified the impact particle of Blue Disruptor Missiles to better indicate when they impacted the player.
  > If they didn't directly impact the player, it will appear as a normal missile explosion.
  > If they hit the player directly, it will appear as a large, blue EMP explosion.

Audio:

• Added a sound to Carriers launching Sentries and Drones.

Campaign:

• Adjusted the barrier text in the R&D Admin Landing Pad to give better information.
  
• Slightly reduced the numbers of Knights and Hunters in one specific fight sequence in Chapter 3.
  
• Removed a wave of Hunters at the end of one specific battle in Chapter 3.
  
• Adjusted the A.R.I.A. help text for the final boss.

Demo:

• Slightly decreased the number of Wrestlers and Spinners that spawn in a specific fight on Area 3 of the Demo map.

Story:

• Added a new section for Hel's Fighters story.
  > It includes information on its origins, staff, arenas, and Champions.

Bugs:

• Fixed a bug where several objective markers in Area 2 triggered earlier than intended.
  
• Fixed a bug where an objective marker in Area 5 triggered earlier than intended.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Behemoth's turrets would not appear destroyed if killed during a phase swap.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Conqueror could get stuck inside the player when using the Energy Spike.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Conqueror's bullet dodge range was not adjusting for difficulty.
  
• Fixed a bug where no button would be selected while trying to browse the Rebel Ops menu with a gamepad.
  
• Fixed several Challenge typos.
  
• Fixed an issue where firing sounds did not correctly adjust based off distance to the player.
  > Sounds too far away for the player to hear were still being played.

Techical Changes:

• The Quick Map now remains open when switching rooms.
  
• Improved enemy projectile handling during specific phase switches during the final boss.

If anyone is met with any sort of weird bug, or simply thinks that the final boss should be tougher than before, feel free to leave a comment, send an email to the support address, or make a post in either of the Steam support threads for MF-01 Aerostrike.

Stay safe pilots!