We interrupt your daily grub to bring you a new Potatostrike patch.

Patch 0.5.0 reworks the leveling and weapon upgrade system. Levels are earned faster at the start of the mission, and each subsequent level requires more EXP. Additionally, all weapons can now be upgraded up to level 5. This should give players a slight boost in the early game, while making choices matter more as the mission continues.

Additionally, missions themselves have been updated. Multiple enemy waves across the game have been adjusted to smoothen the difficulty curve of each mission. Mission 1 received the most changes overall, and the END II sequence of all missions also saw far more changes than the END I sequence.

Here's a full list of patch notes:

Visuals:

• Added new models for the 37mm Cannon when its damage increases.
• Added new models for the Wave when its damage increases.
• Added new models for the Shotgun when its damage increases.
• Modified Rotating Shields to lose opacity faster when damaged.
• Changed the sprite art of the Knight (shotgun-firing enemy).
• Changed the color of the enemy's Machine Gun weapon from purple to fuchsia.
• All bosses now have a dramatic explosion animation upon death.
• Added text labels to the boss's health bar.
• Increased the size of the boss's health bar.

Changes:

• Increased the item drop pitty rate from 1% up to 2% per enemy killed.
• Decreased the required experience for level 1 from 50 down to 15.
• Each level increases the required experience for the next level by 15.
• Increased the maximum levels of each weapon from 3 to 5.
• Modified level up bonuses for all weapons to fit the increased level.
• Increased the magnetism range of Large EXP pickups from 50 pixels up to 200 pixels.
• Ironstrike is now unlocked after beating the second ending of Mission 1.
• Digistrike is now unlocked after beating the second ending of Mission 3.
• Modified a few of Starchless's weapon loadouts.
• Modified multiple enemy waves on all missions across the game.
• Changed the layout of the Potato and Loadout menu.
• Changed the weapon descriptions in the Loadout menu.
• The END I menu now has a single "Continue" button.
  • Clicking it opens a pop-up to confirm whether to stay for END II or leave the mission.

Additions:

• Added pause and unpause sounds when pressing the "Pause" button.
• Added a confirmation pop-up when trying to exit a mission from the Pause menu.
• Expanded the Tutorial menu with information on pickups, leveling, and weapon types.

Balancing:

• 23mm:
  • Increased the fire rate  from 10 up to 12.
  • Now fires in 4-round bursts instead of full-auto.
  • Uprading the weapon increases the burst length, burst fire rate, and eventually returns full-auto capabilities.
• Shotgun:
  • Decreased the Shotgun's rate of fire from 5 down to 4.
  • Upgrading the weapon increases the rate of fire to previous values.
• Wave:
  • Increased the Wave's base growth rate from 0.05 up to 0.10.
  • Added slight homing capability to the Rocket.
• Enemies:
  • Increased the delay between bursts for the Destroyer (missile-firing enemy).
  • Increased the delay between bursts for the Breaker (Mission 1 Boss 2) during END II.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed being able to unpause by pressing the "Pause" button in the Options menu.
• Fixed upgrade text overflowing from its textbox in Spanish.
• Fixed incorrect upgrade information for the 23mm Cannon.
  • It only gained one projectile per level, not two.

Technical Changes:

• Updated Input library to version 7.0.
• Modified the code used to store weapon loadouts when loading into a mission.

If anyone has any suggestions, feedback, or bugs to report, feel free to leave a comment, send an email to the support address, or message me on any of my social media accounts (preferably Mastodon or Bluesky). Stay safe, Taters!