We interrupt your daily flight to bring you a new patch. This patch will be the stable Steam release version of MF-01 Aerostrike. It mostly focuses on visual improvements, QoL features, and various optimizations. No big changes until after launch day, but Hel's Fighters is still being actively worked on.

On that note, Hel's Fighters had quite a few changes. The Gladiator had its High Explosive Shells modified. It no longer increases the overall damage of the projectile, but the AoE damage distribution was modified to be more effective against light ships and shields. Armor is resistant to the AoE effect.

Prices on the Hel's Fighters store have also been adjusted. Shield upgrades cost less, as do the Templar and Bomber. All upgrades for the Arrow D, Templar, and Bomber were modified as well. Sadly, the change is not retroactive, so you might have to restart your run to enjoy the benefits.

The last noticeable change is that the game now supports Fullscreen, Windowed, and Borderless Windowed modes, all at the same time. Previously, an engine limitation forced me to choose between Regular and Windowed mode. A recent update removed this limitation, allowing me to have both!

Here is a full list of patch notes:

Visuals:

• Increased the size of the "Damage Taken" indicator.
• The "Damage Taken" indicator will now be drawn on top of other UI elements, except the FPS counter.
• Changed the model of the Paladin's Explosive Cannon projectile.
• Reworked the visuals of the UI Healthbar.
• Reworked the Tiny and Huge UI Radar to be less small and big, respectively.
• Reworked the visuals of the Heat Gauge.
  • The color of the entire Gauge changes as the weapon heats up.
  • For charge weapons, there is one color for charging and another for fully charged.
• Reworked the visuals of the Protective Shield Duration Gauge.
  • It is now a single static color instead of a gradient.
  • The cooldown indicator that appears when the Shield is turned off remains the same.
• Moved Generators and various other gameplay objects towards the foreground when drawn.
• Adjusted the border coloring of foreground walls.
• Added a small dark spot on the borders of background window walls.

Audio:

• Increased the volume of Boss ship death explosions.

Campaign:

• Added a Docking Bay on the Viewpoint in Area 4.
• Removed a rocket pickup that spawns here during a specific event.

Hel's Fighters:

• Removed the Gladiator's High Explosive Shells damage increase.
  • Total damage per bullet to the enemy hit is now the same as without the upgrade.
  • The damage increase proved to be too strong, especially with Full-Auto Mode.
• Redistributed the Gladiator's High Explosive Shells area damage values.
  • Increased area damage vs light ships from 20 up to 30.
  • Increased area damage vs shields from 10 up to 20.
  • Decreased area damage vs armored ships from 30 down to 10.
• Changed the Arrow D's Forward Shield with a Reinforced Shield.
• The Templar's unupgraded Bouncing Plasma Cannon no longer loses damage after each bounce.
• Increased the anti-armor damage of the Bomber's Bomblet Launcher explosion from 5 up to 10.
• Reduced the price of all Enhanced Shield upgrades from 5,000 J down to 2,000 J.
• Reduced the price of the Templar from 35,000 J down to 30,000 J.
• Reduced the price of the Bomber from 45,000 J down to 35,000 J.
• Adjusted the pricing of upgrades for the Arrow D, Templar, and Bomber.
• Reduced the total shields of Shielded Breaker from 1500 down to 1200.

Shipyard:

• Added the Spinner II entry.
• Added the Sentinel Zero entry.
• Added the Shielded Breaker entry.
• Added the Gladiator entry.
• Added the Siren entry.
• Added the Arrow D entry.
• Added the Templar entry.
• Added the Bomber entry.
• Any ships you buy from Hel's Fighters will unlock its respective text entry.
  • If you already bought the ship, just select it from a blue Dock, or in the store.
  • This will make the game check if you bought the ship, and unlock its shipyard entry.

Options:

• Added a Regular Border Windowed option to the Display settings in Video Options.
• Renamed the UI Size options from Tiny and Huge to Small and Big.

Bugs:

• Fixed Spinners not having a shadow or smoking when heavily damaged.
• Fixed the Arrow D having the wrong description in the Hel's Fighters docks.
• Fixed the heat gauge of the Stinger II and Arrow D not disappearing when letting go of the trigger.

Techical Changes:

• Technical changes in preparation of Hel's Fighters Part 2.
• Improved the spawn code of the Reinforced Shield.
• Updated the Input library to version 6.0.4.
• Modified the Credits of the game, moving all links to a separate file included with the game.
• Added a new .txt file included with the game that lists all links previously found in the Credits.
• Removed old data that handled the Borderless mode.
• Optimized the firing code of the Spinner and Spinner II.
• Reworked the internal coding of the UI Healthbar.
• Reworked the internal coding of the UI Radar.
• Reworked the internal coding of the Heat Gauge.

HOTFIX 1.4.3.1:

• Fixed an issue with Hel's special attacks not triggering correctly.
• Fixed an issue with the explosion sounds of proximity-triggered projectiles.
• Fixed health bars appearing on screenshots when UI elements were turned off.

How to update the game manually:

1. Download the new version.
2. Delete the old game folder. Aerostrike's save files are stored in a separate folder, so it is safe to delete the old game files.
3. Create a new Aerostrike folder.
4. Extract the game files inside the new folder.

If anyone is met with any sort of weird bug, or simply thinks that the Templar should cost more to unlock, feel free to leave a comment,  send an email to the support address, or contact me via Mastodon.

Stay safe pilots!