Black Ice (now at Beta v0.7) $

[superdupergc]

Once again, you beat me to posting the update! Thank you

I'd love to hear if you guys liked the jetpacks. I had to work really hard on the pathfinding and wall-walking to allow them.

[getter77]

Release 9(ish)

This week, I focused on quality of life, useability, and bugfixes. I think you’ll like several of these changes. Here’s the 0.1.590 patch!

    Enemy Spawn Time has been increased (more warning before they land)
    Items now show their cooldown and time remaining on the hotbar
    Drunk Projectiles has been nerfed – it has less effect, and occurs much less often.
    Aimbots fire less often, and no enemy should be able to attack you right when it spawns.
    The options window is now always opaque (and much more readable)
    When a hack is complete, enemies that are far out of the hack radius will respawn inside of it, which should make them easier to track down and kill.
    It is no longer possible to hack the same building twice to get infinite XP.
    Fixed a rounding error in the RAM regeneration calculation
    Started on a Buff system for later

 

The following are the changes from 0.1.581, which was released midweek and you may not have seen.

    Bug Fixed: Returning damage to a dead enemy no longer results in current player health exceeding maximum health.
    Hack Range no longer takes the Y axis into account. Translation: you can go as high as you want, as long as you’re within the ring, the hack will not cancel.  This is great for jetpacking
    Jumping while midair will no longer spend your RAM.
    Teleporters should no longer let you fall through the world.
    The Hacking Music ends when all hacks are complete, not just one, during multiple hacks.
    In case you were hacking something close to the spawn point, hacks now cancel when you die.
    You can now press the C key as well as the T key to access the talent screen.
    Large enemies should no longer have trouble climbing on top of buildings.
    Enemies will crawl down buildings instead of just falling It’s creepy, look for it.
    You can now land on top of an information box. This has a side effect of slightly increased performance.
    The “Drunk Projectiles” affix should show up much less often.
    Jump Puzzle buildings will destroy their reward cube at the top when they are hacked, so pick it up before you hack them for maximum reward.
    Powerups (like Health pickups and Loot Cubes) are now affected by gravity, which means you’ll be able to retrieve them off of buildings by hacking those buildings.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on all the new content. Are jetpacks fun? How’s the pathfinding? Are you experiencing any lag?

Any feedback or suggestions are always appreciated.

[getter77]

Release 10

This week, I have one awesome feature in particular, an awesome new track from V-Axys, balancing changes, bug fixes, and quality of life changes.

    Added Swarm Buildings - here’s what they spawn, and here’s what they look like.
    Added music when you agro the S.H.A.R.K. He’s even more terrifying now!
    Cooldowns on items with virtually no cooldown will no longer show on the hotbar
    Lasgun RAM consumption has been brought up, but it’s still much less than most weapons on a per-second basis
    Low level Jetpacks are a little less powerful
    The tutorial building will now only spawn simple spiders
    Tech Buildings (blue to light blue normal buildings) now spawn easier minibosses
    Healing Items work again
    Special Xmas Surprise next week! It should start tomorrow, and run for about a week.

Let me know how the balancing feels. Are you able to beat Finality? How’s the SHARK?

Any feedback or suggestions are always appreciated.

[getter77]

Release 11

BIG UPDATE THIS WEEK! Sorry for the hiatus, the holidays took a lot out of me.

    -Ranged enemies now lead their targets effectively. The SHARK is SUPER DANGEROUS now!
    -Added Damage Reduction Affix - Percent damage reduction! It stacks, but with diminishing returns.
    -Enemies now move around using real physics. They have momentum!
    -Enemies are much better at climbing up buildings realistically
    -Enemies will borrow their paths from each other; this should result in flocking.
    -The SHARK now spawns in a visible location, so watch out!
    -Swarm building minions no longer attack each other for 0 damage
    -Loading saves from earlier versions should always work now; item affix scrambling is a thing of the past!
    -Hack range no longer checks the Y axis for any calculation (including for the crosshair)
    -I know you love the SHARK's theme song, but it now stops when he dies.
    -Shotguns now have a maximum accuracy so they always feel like shotguns
    -Health Powerups now give at least 25 HP

Let me know how the balancing feels. Are you able to beat Finality? How's the SHARK? Try SHARK surfing!

[getter77]

Release 12

Do you like Loot? Lasers? Cyberspace? Black Ice is the game for you! It’s a Hack and Shoot – a cyberpunk first person shooter / hack and slash RPG about hacking.

This week was a pretty huge update. I’ve been slaving away for you, my Black Icicles. There may not be a patch next week, so here’s a big one

    -Enemy damage has been brought down except for the SHARK. This should have the most effect late game.
    -The stars, which represent data, will sometimes move around a bit. It’s pretty.
    -There is a “Sell All” button in the shop GUI now.
    -Damage Returned no longer affects enemies more than melee range away.
    -The game will silently check the version number and tell you if you need to update. This does not stop you from playing offline!
    -The Sprint tooltip now mentions that it must be held down to be effective
    -Debug Option added: Shift-F4 to level up
    -Debug Option added: Shift-F5 to toggle flight mode. Space to go up, left control to go down.
    -Enemies with affixes (mines, shields, acid) show up at lower hack difficulties
    -Jumping can now be charged up – more height, but larger RAM cost.
    -Enemies use a completely new method for climbing up buildings, which works much better (if they don’t run into each other)
    -Enemy pathfinding now doesn’t go backwards (because what?!)
    -The SHARK will not spawn right next to the player anymore. This should cut down on dead noobs.
    -Swarm building minions will no longer attempt to attack each other
    -Rare items now have only 3-4 affixes, not 3-5. Set items have 4-5. Set items continue to have higher stats than rares, but are still misnamed.
    -City Size is now limited to 9 tiles by default, instead of infinite. This can be changed in the options menu.
    -Mines now spawn underneath you and then drop to the ground with gravity. They can no longer be used to build a platform to stand on at >100m
    -Popups no longer jump in midair
    -Aimbots no longer get stuck on walls
    -Enemies now get info on where to go from their neighbors, resulting in flocking behavior.
    -Enemies no longer get stuck as DEREZZED (and unkillable)
    -Enemy shields aren’t nearly as strong anymore
    -Lasgun knockback has been reduced by 40% to account for perfect accuracy
    -Higher rarity lasguns consume more RAM now
    -Lasgun RAM consumption makes sense now – each tick of RAM consumption gives you one second of firing time if you hold the button down.
    -Black Ice now has a wiki!

How does the new jump mechanic feel? Does it make it feel unresponsive? How is the lasgun?

[getter77]

Release 13

-This week brings more content! I hope you like fire.
-Added a basic Buff system. Why, you ask? Because FIRE!
-Added a new projectile type: Fireball! Your rifles/shotguns/snipers can now shoot fireballs, which light things on fire for damage over time!
-Loot Cubes now always drop items!
-Loot Cubes are now colored by rarity
-Projectiles now only show up a certain distance away from the player (No more big red circles!) Thanks @Spooderw!
-Instant Healing Items no longer spend their cooldown if the user doesn't have enough RAM
-Loot/HP Notifications scroll about 50% faster
-Enemies dying as the hack ends no longer zombify.
-Updates to the Wiki
-Lots of new content on /r/BlackIce

[getter77]

Release 14

    -New Features
        Save Slots: You can now save and load in multiple slots, and choose a hacker handle for each one. There are 1000 slots.
        New Unique: Valentyn’s Love Beam – a lasgun which sets targets aflame
        New Unique: Frostbiter – a lasgun which slows targets dramatically
        Buff Indicators: Buffs on you now show up in the bottom right of the screen
        New Payload: Icebolt – Freezes targets. Available for Rifle, Shotgun & Sniper weapons
        New Payload: Frostbolt – Slows targets. Available for Rifle, Shotgun & Sniper weapons
        New Enemy Affix: Firestarter – Enemies will light you on fire, too. Payback time.
        New Enemy Affix: Slowing – Enemies will slow you down.
    -Improvements
        The SHARK now has increased attack range. Suck it, snipers.
        Missiles now explode at max range instead of disappearing
        Enemy Affix spheres are now always visible
        The Delete Items button has been moved out of the way, making it harder to hit accidentally. (Thanks, Indie!)
    -Bug Fixes:
        The SHARK will no longer respawn really far away from Finality after you die
        The FOV slider affects the camera appropriately now (lasguns won’t show a break)
        Re-debuffing an enemy no longer restarts the particle effect
        The Disc can now destroy mines
        Enemy mines no longer attack enemies from the same server
        Disc clipped through buildings on the way out
        Disc items didn’t save properly
    -New Devblog: Why Buffs are Metal
    -Updates to the Wiki
    -Lots of new content on /r/BlackIce

Any feedback or suggestions are always appreciated.

[superdupergc]

Hi All, thought you might want an update. There will be no patch this week, on account of both RL (Valentine's Day) and that I'm working on Multiplayer! It's going well, but it's not ready yet, and I definitely need to break a lot of things before I can fix them.  I'm aiming for a patch next week.

[getter77]

Enjoy yourself and good luck banging around on the Multiplayer side of things! 

[getter77]

Release 15

This is a two-week patch, mostly because a lot of the work was done in the background, working on preparing for Multiplayer. Unfortunately, Multiplayer isn’t ready yet, but I am making steady progress!

Improvements & Changes:

HUGE: Enemy HP doubled, enemy damage reduced by about half. This should make the game feel less glass-cannony.
Two new amazing, original musical tracks from V-Axys!
Save & Quit is now the only way to leave the game
The Disc will now return to the player if activated again in midair. You have to let go of the button first, though, so if you want, you can just hold it down to fire it as fast as possible over the full range.
The Frozen debuff now prevents Popups from leaping
Enemy affixes look prettier
Icebolts and Frostbolts travel much faster
Shotguns now have a slower base attack speed
The SHARK surfing safe zone is now much smaller (only if you’re on his back)
Lasguns now only get 25% efficacy out of +WeaponRange
The SHARK’s weapon range is now farther than his attack range, rather than vice versa

Bug Fixes:

Debuffs drop from the player when they die – No more burning to death as soon as you respawn!
Health items no longer continue granting health after the player has respawned from death
Discs no longer collide with each other midair
Discs don’t trigger their cooldowns if you try to them again while they’re in flight
Spider mines should behave better when their target dies
It should no longer be possible to get the SHARK stuck on a building. He hunts relentlessly.
Aimbots now rotate much more smoothly
Tooltips on items are now one line longer to allow for weapons like Frostbiter
Spiders should no longer climb on dead buildings
Cooldowns are now rounded in tooltips
Weapons now will not go on cooldown if you don’t have enough RAM
Sound options now work from the main menu

Any feedback or suggestions are always appreciated.

[getter77]

Release 16

Let me ask you a question: Do you like railguns? Of course you do. Everyone likes railguns. This week introduces a new modular payload for the Rifle, Shotgun and Sniper weapons: The Railgun! Railgun shots pierce through everything, including buildings. Really, they’re a bit OP. Have fun while you can, I’m probably going to have to nerf them.

Improvements & Changes:

Railgun projectile for the Rifle, Shotgun and Sniper weapons.
Level Requirements: Higher rarity items now have a minimum level required to equip them, up to 15 for Unique items. This text is displayed in red if you cannot equip the item.
Higher level buildings now always drop decent items. Breakpoints at Hack Difficulty 50, 125, and 250.
Sprint now grants you a visible buff for the duration
Teleport items now use the Sprint icon instead of the Jump icon, to better reflect how I think they should be used
Shoguns now display damage like this to make clear they shoot multiple projectiles: (2-3)x6
Lowered Aimbot damage slightly
The SHARK will now drop at least a Rare item, scaling with your Loot Find. No more easy uniques!
Players will now receive a reward for managing to climb on top of Finality.
Acid pools now do less damage
Popups will now tend to jump at the player’s face instead of over her
Buildings outside of the spawn area will tend to be bigger, for a more convenient leveling curve

Bug Fixes:

Spider mines will drop from the player’s position, like normal mines, instead of always spawning at 0 height
Mines no longer will drop through the floor
Items are all deactivated appropriately when the inventory is opened
Permaslow bug fixed (it was an interaction between Slowing enemies and Sprint items)
Swapping items from the deck to the inventory no longer causes trouble
Lasguns appropriately are not blocked by powerup sensor spheres
Buff timers now display properly
Selling all inventory items is no longer super loud
Buffs no longer affect you after you die (for real this time!)
Jump buildings no longer block shots much further outside than necessary
Charge Jumps are fixed
The Music player has been fixed
Shielding enemies should no longer cause a ton of lag

[superdupergc]

Hi guys! I just wanted to tell you all that I'm going to be releasing the beta and starting the steam greenlight process this weekend!  The game will also be available for purchase at the same time - Saturday, March 15. I have a lot more information about this on reddit, here.  I'm excited!

[CaptainKraft]

Hi guys! I just wanted to tell you all that I'm going to be releasing the beta and starting the steam greenlight process this weekend!  The game will also be available for purchase at the same time - Saturday, March 15. I have a lot more information about this on reddit, here.  I'm excited!

This is very cool. I hope everything goes really well for you. Make sure you drop in a link to Greenlight so we can give you some love when it goes live.

[getter77]

Beta v0.2.010

The Black Ice Beta has launched! Click the above to buy and vote on Steam Greenlight!

I’d like to take this moment to thank all of you #BlackIcicles; without your encouragement, I would never have come this far!

Here’s what I’ve done in only two weeks since 0.1.710:

Features:

    MULTIPLAYER!
        Play with up to 10 people in online cooperative multiplayer games!
        No port forwarding or NAT punchthrough required!
        Public games!
        Characters can be transferred from Single Player to Multiplayer with no issues
        Chat – accessed via the Enter key (configurable from the launcher)
        Player List – accessed via holding the Tab Key (configurable from the launcher)
        Health powerups will heal all nearby players
        Every additional player in the game gives all enemies +25%HP and Damage, but all players +15% Loot Find

Enhancements:

    Servers remaining (to hack) and Max RAM are now displayed in the stats window
    Weapon Damage now scales with the number of projectiles a gun fires (Shotgun normalization)
    Character saves are now much more stable
    Saving and Loading takes much less time
    Merged building meshes (better performance!)
    The XP required to get to the next level now can’t exceed 250k
    Added a Maximum Framerate option for those of you with beastly computers

Bug Fixes:

    Shaxwell’s Silver Hammer and Reason now work properly
    Tutorial is working again
    Picking an item up with full inventory plays the sound correctly now
    The SHARK’s drop will now at least be Rare
    Lasguns no longer interact with the player’s body
    Lasguns are much more accurate at close range
    Spawn Points now set up when the hack is started
    Charge Jumps occasionally didn’t jump, or made people fly
    Hacking Finality no longer causes sporadic lag spikes
    Spiders now climb buildings more reliably
    Projectiles are now accurate at point-blank range
    The Railgun sound isn’t so darned loud anymore

Demo Version:

    The Demo version has all the updates the full version has, with the following exceptions:
        Multiplayer is disabled
        Player level is limited to 4
        Cheats are disabled
    Characters created in the demo are carried over to the full version seamlessly

[Zireael]

Aw shucks, it now costs money?