Auto Fire v0.6.06: Perk-olation

It's been a couple weeks since the last build, but a lot has happened due to things that I've wanted to get in for the Rogue Celebration 2019, which I'll talk about in another article.

For Auto Fire, RogueCel primarily meant that I had a lot I wanted to do in proving out playstyles.  This manifests in the player's vehicle chassis selection...  It includes speed perks (passive effects triggered when driving at 60 MPH or higher), and special maneuvers (gas-consuming all-in-one moves that launch the vehicle to a new location and affects everything around it.

What's New

General Improvements

• Line of Sight is more accurate and forgiving now.  You can target around obstructions and along walls effectively.
• Vehicles now automatically pick up items from the ground adjacent to the vehicle, rather than requiring the radar to be used.  It feels so much better!
• The player also automatically picks up adjacent items in the overworld!

Gameplay Systems

• Vehicles now have two new equipment slots (which are not player-editable):  Speed Perk and Special Maneuver.  This equipment will in most cases be baked into the chassis itself when used.
• Created the ability for equipment to have passive effects when installed, and remove them when uninstalled.  This will allow for special visual or gameplay things to result from triggers such as being hit, losing control, or colliding.
• A minimum speed also now exists for certain effects, allowing for things like speed perks which trigger whenever the vehicle is traveling 60 MPH or over.
• The stun condition keeps an AI (or player) from firing or controlling their movement until it wears off.  This means pedestrians stay in place while vehicles will continue forward at their existing speed (or until they hit something).
• The focus condition increases the subject's ability to hit targets and inflict crits.
• Turret fire (the F key or the gamepad triggers) now can launch any weapon or special ability.  It also won't attack the ground the way it used to.

Vehicle Upgrades

• Ram Blast (Stallion):  Speed perk that triggers an explosion whenever the vehicle collides at high speed.
• Ram Piston (Stallion):  Special maneuver that launches forward and bashes through the selected target, knocking it aside.
• Advanced Radar (Stallion):  The Stallion has special radar that has a bigger radius than other vehicles.
• Hyperfocus (Panther):  Speed perk that increases the hit and critical chance when at high speed.
• Jet Thruster (Panther):  Special maneuver that launches forward and puts the car at max speed, leaving a trail of fire behind.
• Jet Wash (Cricket):  Speed perk that stuns vehicles and foot soldiers that are passed at high speed.
• Bootlegger (Cricket):  Special maneuver that launches forward and spins the car around, ending with a large stunning pulse.
• Note: Special Maneuvers all consume gas!

Visuals

• Created new shader for the fog of war that moves more dynamically and has interesting edges.  It's an improvement over the previous mushy look because a lot of the screen is usually under some level of this fog.
• Destroyed vehicles now do not fly into the air as ridiculously far.  It was fun but you often never even saw the vehicle because it flew so high.
• Adjusted the color of the ordnance and gas can icon and model to be more prominently colored, so they are easier to spot.
• Added glinty materials to pickups to make them catch the eye better.

Content

• Adjusted the loadout of starting vehicles to match playstyles. 
• Updated start screen to give more description of cars. 
• Updated some tutorial text to match the new control method.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed bug with effects such as dropped items. One symptom was smoke and oil overwriting each other. This may also eliminate some of the mysterious crashes I've seen.
• Fixed a problem with firing while stationary, which remained in slomo during execution.
• Changed the ragdolls for humans and dogs to move smoothly.

Audio

• Added audio mixer slowdown when slowing down time. 
• When destroyed vehicles are flung into the air, they now play sounds when falling to the ground.
• Added a techy burst sound for the bootlegger.

User Interface

• Targeting squares are more yellow now, rather than green. 
• The (A) button prompt disappears when the player centers the gamepad stick.