So after my push to get the demo out by the beginning of August I was feeling some severe burnout. On top of that I really wanted to clear my head and re-consider what the player controls felt like. After a good bit of chin scratching and some light work (most of the code was already in place actually) I implemented an omni-directional aiming system.

My original intent was to mimic old-style beat 'em up games so I only allowed players to aim left and right. Up and down motion was mostly intended for dodging and positioning. However, players really started showing their frustration at not being able to run around in the full 3D space while maintaining aggressive firing on enemies. Originally I wasn't keen to this change since I didn't want to make yet another generic twin-stick shooter, but I have to admit the new system has grown on me. Even better, it has opened up new encounter scenarios that were previously impossible (like a giant boss at the top-center of the screen!) for me to play with while developing levels.

On top of the the controls system and a bunch of animations to go with it, I've also added several new weapons, a much higher drop rate for them, and even the beginnings of a super-attack system! While there isn't really anything new in terms of levels or content, I'm super-excited to see that most of the technical legwork is now complete and I can really focus on making levels i.e. new ways to kill players >;)

I'd strongly recommend that anyone who tried out a previous version of the game, should download the latest version and see how it fares compared to before. I'm hoping you'll be surprised and delighted by it!