Devlog #4: Head Hunter - Feedback, Juice, Polish, and Bug Fixes

I've focused on enhancing player feedback, adding some juicy effects, polishing existing features, and squashing a few pesky bugs. Here’s what’s new:

New Features and Enhancements

Knockback Mechanics: I've added knockback when hitting enemies to make combat feel more dynamic and impactful. Each hit now sends enemies flying back, adding a satisfying punch to every attack.

Screen Shake Effect: To enhance the immersion and intensity of damage events, I've added a screen shake effect when the player takes damage. This subtle but powerful addition makes every hit feel more visceral.

Particle Effects: To make player actions feel more fluid and exciting, I've introduced new particle effects for running, sliding, jumping, and healing. These effects not only look cool but also provide better visual feedback.

Squash and Stretch Animations: I've added squash and stretch animations for various actions like damaging enemies, jumping, health changes, experience gains, and gold changes. This gives the game a more cartoonish and lively feel.

Decoration Tiles: New decoration tiles have been added for the jungle biome, making the environment more vibrant and visually appealing.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

Snail Movement Refactor: I've refactored the snail movement code to fix several bugs. The snails now move more predictably and smoothly, improving the overall gameplay experience.

Jump Input Adjustment: Removed 'W' as a jump input on web versions to avoid conflicts and enhance control responsiveness.

Gamepad Input Issue on WebGL: Discovered that the Unity Input System doesn't support gamepad joystick vertical inputs on WebGL builds. I'm looking into potential workarounds or fixes for this limitation.

Spawn Position Fix: Identified an issue where players would occasionally spawn below the ground. I'm looking into workarounds to prevent frustrating restarts.

Laser and Drone Projectile Adjustments:

• Lasers now fire through semisolid platforms when shot from below, allowing for more dangerous attacks.
• The drone's energy projectiles now also pass through semisolid platforms from below, making semisolid interactions more consistent.

Other Updates

Biome Progression and Naming:

• Slightly reordered the biome progression to ensure a smoother difficulty curve.
• Renamed the Dungeon biome to Ruins for better thematic consistency.

Run Statistics and Score: Added a feature to display run statistics and scores on the defeated screen, giving players detailed feedback on their performance.

Thank you for following the development of Head Hunter! Your feedback is invaluable as I continue to refine and improve the game. Stay tuned for more updates!