Excessively Late Update (October 2020)
A massive update teased throughout 2020, the Excessively Late Update was a dramatic overhaul of the game that attempted to take the foundation and apply a more defined gameplay structure to it. Release was on the horizon.
In the process, however, the dramatic changes ended up polarizing the fanbase, and engaged another period of revamp and rebalance that would continue into June of 2021.
Overview
The ELU was a comprehensive revamp and attempt to improve on practically everything.
Movement was rewritten, maps had to change to suit the new movement, enemies were rebalanced, removed, and introduced, upgrades were added, and more. A dramatic set of changes and additions were made, not least among them a whole new plaermodel & first person rig.
The new rig alone demanded the weapon list be trimmed down and reanimated in totality - every gun from the last update was looked at, and either scrapped or redone on the new set.
In conjunction with the weapon revamp was slowed movement, an attempt to change combat around, and the implementation of changes long requested and voted upon such as endless spawning. Long weeks of anticipation built, trailers were made, showings were had.
Significant amounts of effort from Andrew and contributing artists - modelers, animators, etcetera - all came together, and months of effort culminated in the ELU released October 2020.
Changelog
- Health-on-Kill removed.
- Player Speed reduced.
- Movement rewritten.
- Custom Map support was removed for the time being.
- Very large. Will take considerable time to compile, if even possible.
Reception
The reception was divisive, at times hostile, and sent the game into many more months of course-correction amidst hard Holiday times and more. Criticism at times revolved around the decision to slow down and emphasize combat in a game that had once been straightforward with an end goal, and the restrictive effect it had on pacing.
Health on kill was removed, and combined with slower movement, deadlier enemies, and endless spawning resulted in what, for some, was a horrific difficulty increase. For others, the game became laughably easy to exploit due to the new upgrade system. There were those who simply enjoyed it, regardless of what people said about it.
For a select angry group, it was grounds for personal attacks on the developer.
In spite of this, Andrew has expressed considerable regret and openness, and has by June 2021 continued his work to course-correct and expand the game, working closely with his tester group to right what had gone wrong.