Upcoming Quickplay Updates
Exphelius: Arena Patch Notes — January 5, 2020
Aggregated from Steam, cross-tracked with Battle.net coverage on GamePatchNote.
Hey folks, hope you all had a good holiday!
A lot has been happening in the development of the next set of updates for Exphelius: Arena. More specifically, preparation for the first rollout of Campaign mode, but more so the overhaul of Quickplay. Lots of changes to the code base and optimisation as well as some AI tweaks means a more performance-friendly experience. On top of that, lots of new features and content to keep you playing. This post serves to inform you of how these are going to be delivered, and what to expect in them.
Part 1: Quickplay Parts
The Quickplay Update will actually be split into several smaller updates so that their features can be delivered earlier - there's a lot in development and I didn't want to keep everyone waiting for too long.
The first update will feature an in-game currency, an XP system and a performance part system, allowing you to earn parts from matches or purchase them from an in-game store using money you earn from matches. These parts have randomised stats and rarities similar to what you might find in an ARPG. You can equip parts into an 'equipment slot' that persists regardless of the ship you are using, since Quickplay features stock regulated ships that are designed to interface alike.
You can only own one item of each category at any one time, but you can easily compare your stats before and after before confirming which part you wish to keep. The part you don't keep is turned into currency which can be used to purchase other parts, new ships or later, ship skins.
Part 2: Quickplay Overhaul
This one focuses more on the actual gameplay featured in Quickplay. At the moment Exphelius features only a few gamemodes, one of which does not entirely work all too well (Marathon). In this update, Marathon will be removed, and other gamemodes are intended to be added in its place.
More powerups and a powerup limit are planned, meaning more variety but you also have a limit to how much you can use the powerup. As it currently stands, you can fire off a Laser Beam or Minigun powerup for as long as you like as long as you aren't killed or don't pick up another powerup. This tends to get a little overpowered. The solution will be to add an ammunition count for each weapon. When you run out of ammo, your ship returns to its regular fire mode.
That's all for now. I'm almost done with the parts system and will be pushing that into beta for insiders to test before making it an official public release. If you're interested in becoming an insider, consider dropping by our Discord server (https://discord.gg/YzSbR6z) and sending me a message. I'm also preparing myself a setup to start doing development livestreams on our YouTube channel within the next month, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.
- Khaeops