Jupiter Hell 1.5 "Ancient" upgrades Io branches and mainline, introduces a boss at Io Gateway, improves fire mechanics and visuals (and Fireangel!), adds more manufacturer perks, adds the Fanatic, improves AI and more!
It's been a year since the official 1.0 release of Jupiter Hell. And there was much rejoicing. Well, let's celebrate with yet another update, and no, we're not slowing down ;)
But first - we're taking the first steps into making Jupiter Hell fully modable - the basic systems are in place, and on the Jupiter Hell Discord (https://discord.gg/jupiterhell) the community is already building and sharing the first mods! If you want to give a shot at modding JH, or take an early shot at trying them out, come and hang out with us!
Let's divide the update into sections - Io, Ancient, Fire, Fanatic and The Rest.
==Io==
NEW #1728 - CRI Laboratories branch/special rework!
NEW #1730 - Shadow Halls/Dark Cathedral rework!
NEW #1725 - Europa Ruins/Frozen Temple rework!
NEW #1769 - Warehouse/Infernal Lock revisited!
CHANGE #1770 - improved Io level generators (mostly visual)
CHANGE #1772 - Wealth and Power wishes improved```
Io got the same treatment as Callisto and Europa before it. However, when it comes to level mechanics, due to Io being added fairly late in development it already had plenty mechanics of its own - hence we did a bit different approach. The twin paths of Black Site and CRI Armory have a very noticable change - however "fully completing" their branch challenges is MUCH more harder than with the other branches. It's a challenge, not something you're expected to do each game. There are spoilers on the Discord if you're interested ;).
Ruins and Halls got improvements on their twists, and visual, generation, music and especially loot improvements. Definitely a path that is worth revisiting again!
Be on the lookout for new manufacturer perks - word is that they're very spicy!
##### ==Ancient==
```NEW #1718 - Io has a brand new boss!```
With this, our old plan to have a boss on every moon is complete! Mwahhahahaha....
Akhem. This ones a tough SOB. Be prepared to die from time to time. The whole Io Gateway got a makeover and is now an Ancient ruin. There's some more stuff related to the Io Boss that will come in a later version too ;).
##### ==Fire==
```NEW #1767 - improved fire visuals and added flame tiles!
NEW #1767 - Fireangel revisited! (burning 3->1 but added area burn!)
CHANGE #1767 - burning status prevents regeneration
CHANGE #1767 - burning limited to 50 stacks
NEW #1765 - AI now actively avoids harmful hazards if possible```
Fire visuals have been overhauled and the floor can now be set on fire too. Fireangel is now the premium Master Trait for people who "want to set the world on fire". Burning is more useful too as it prevents enemies from regenerating. Well, the player too, but you won't play with matches, won't you? Well if you do, there's a new napalm grenade to be found. Word on the street says it makes short work of the Cryomancer.
These changes required us to improve the AI a bit - it no longer happily punches barrels and walks into environmental hazards!
##### ==Fanatic==
```NEW #1600 - new Callisto enemy - fanatic
NEW #1767 - Callisto-only level modifier "Desolation"```
Callisto did get some "love" this update too! You can now encounter a new enemy, with a very popular game mechanic :P. Also, there's a new level event to be on the lookout, taking advantage of the new fire visuals.
This is not the end of Callisto changes - we are aware that "the beginning is a very delicate time" and strive hard to improve variety in the early game - more improvements coming soon!
##### ==The Rest==
```CHANGE #1768 - rotaries have higher chance to hit more targets
CHANGE #1767 - warlocks do less ranged damage but more burn and flame
CHANGE #1767 - visual - Mephitic tier 2 buff has a visual effect
CHANGE #1767 - visual - crater decals no longer are always centered
CHANGE #1767 - Callisto Mines mechanic is displayed as an event
CHANGE #1767 - Endless level variety increased (along with manuf. perks)
CHANGE #1727 - you can now swap places with any friendly AI
CHANGE #1772 - CRI phase devices sample 2x more possibilities
CHANGE #1766 - improved icon visibility (esp on white backgrounds)
FIX #1766 - critical defence (helmets) work against ranged attacks
FIX #1766 - fixed several issues with fx system targeting```
Apart from many unlisted fixes theres some improvements too. Rotaries (the Spin up perk in particular) have an inherent bonus to hitting other targets then the initially targeted one (if they miss, or the enemy dies), which improves their crowd control capabilities. Any non-hostile AI can now be swapped places with using SHIFT move. CRI phase devices sample twice more potential spots, so bigger chance to get you to a really safe spot. Helmets finally work as advertised when it comes to crit damage protection. Finally icons are now more visible, especially on bright floors (thx Deemzul!).
#### ==Full changelog==
```Release 1.5 - Ancient - August 15th, 2022
NEW #1718 - Io has a brand new boss!
NEW #1727 - Black Site branch/special rework!
NEW #1728 - CRI Laboratories branch/special rework!
NEW #1730 - Shadow Halls/Dark Cathedral rework!
NEW #1725 - Europa Ruins/Frozen Temple rework!
NEW #1765 - AI now actively avoids harmful hazards if possible
NEW #1767 - improved fire visuals and added flame tiles!
NEW #1767 - Fireangel revisited! (burning 3->1 but added area burn!)
NEW #1767 - Callisto-only level modifier "Desolation"
NEW #1600 - new Callisto enemy - fanatic
NEW #1769 - Warehouse/Infernal Lock revisited!
CHANGE #1768 - rotaries have higher chance to hit more targets
CHANGE #1770 - improved Io level generators (mostly visual)
CHANGE #1767 - burning status prevents regeneration
CHANGE #1767 - warlocks do less ranged damage but more burn and flame
CHANGE #1767 - visual - Mephitic tier 2 buff has a visual effect
CHANGE #1767 - visual - crater decals no longer are always centered
CHANGE #1767 - Callisto Mines mechanic is displayed as an event
CHANGE #1767 - Endless level variety increased (along with manuf. perks)
CHANGE #1727 - you can now swap places with any friendly AI
CHANGE #1772 - CRI phase devices sample 2x more possibilities
CHANGE #1772 - Wealth and Power wishes improved
CHANGE #1767 - burning limited to 50 stacks
CHANGE #1766 - improved icon visibility (esp on white backgrounds)
FIX #1766 - critical defence (helmets) work against ranged attacks
FIX #1766 - fixed several issues with fx system targeting```
##### ==What's Next==
Well, it's high time to revisit Dante, right? No worries though, the next update will also bring changes to the early game for you ambitious people struggling to get your first win and refusing to play on Easy :P.
And with that, I'll take it Easy for a day or two. And then off to 1.6 and Beyond!
Oh, one more thing before we go - if you're new to Jupiter Hell, but you already own POSTAL: Brain Damaged, you can get Jupiter Hell with a special PBD-owner discount through the following bundle:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/26624/Cheesy_OneLiners_Galore
**Yours,**
Changed depots in dev_test branch