Space Mercenary Defense Force — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| v1.0.2.3 - Bug Fixes | 2024-05-02 | Fixed issue with encounter reward upgrade choices where the sprite and colour was incorrect for synergy and final upgrades. Fixed Outer Atmospheric Lightning animation not playing correctly after pausing or levelling up while the threat event is active. Fixed the charger miniboss counting as 2 completions for the encounter when killed. Fixed Armour Repair Drones now correctly gives 1HP on pickup. Fixed the turbo mode text now changing to the high res font when selected. Fixed game over stats and credits text scaling issue when the high res font is selected. Fixed text panel scaling issue for ship skin descriptions when high res font is select |
| v1.0.2.2 - Bug Fixes | 2023-12-18 | In the game over screen, changed the displayed equipped perk icon so that nothing is shown for locked or unequipped perks. In the game over screen, changed the layering so that the equipped perk icon is behind equipped module names. Fixed an issue displaying HP that affected ships with more than 3 HP. Fixed issue with minibosses and the laser teleporter miniboss' portal remaining when returning to the menu. Fixed the ship purchase sfx stopping early. Fixed the clone backup challenge modifier so that the clone bosses no longer affect boss HP bar values. Made it so that the laser twin bosses cannot be ionised while performing their double spin |
| v1.0.2.1 - Unique Boss HP Bars & Fixes | 2023-12-10 | Boss HP Bars Added full-sized HP bars for boss fights with unique icons for each boss. Including double HP bars for the laser twin boss fight. Fixes Fixed score and streak not displaying in the game over screen if score tracking is disabled in the options. Fixed Astral Upgrades not showing their new values upon buying stacking upgrades (until restarting). |
| v1.0.2 - Boss Death Animations, Camera Transitions, & HP Bars | 2023-12-07 | Boss Changes This update focuses on quality of life and clarity improvements regarding bosses and boss deaths. Bosses now have a visible small HP bar similar to module charge bars on them so you know your progress in defeating them and how close they are to death. Also added are death animations for all bosses similar to the player death animation where explosions trigger and the boss splits into pieces before fading out. Lastly, after the animation has ended, the camera will no longer instantly jump back to centering the player. Instead, it now pans over to it's new position over a 1 second duration, creating a smoother, less jarring transit |
| Controller UI Hotfixes - v1.0.1 | 2023-11-22 | Fixed an issue when trying to select the 4th or 5th challenge invasion in a system with a controller. When returning from the challenge invasion screen with a controller, the challenge invasion button will now be selected. When entering the mode select screen with a controller, the classic mode button will now be the default selected button instead of the challenge invasion button. |
| Update 1.0 - Challenge Invasions, Ship Skins, & TONS MORE | 2023-11-14 | 1.0 Release Update The major 1.0 release is finally here, bringing tons of new content, unlocks, improvements, fixes, and changes! Since this is planned as the final update, I wanted to make it worthwhile and include as much as possible to push Space Mercenary Defense Force to the best it can be. Thank you for playing the game and I hope you enjoy this update. Challenge Invasions The primary focus of this update is the new Challenge Invasions, unique challenge runs with gameplay modifiers to overcome. Customise your build to best suit each challenge and try to save the planets from the invading aliens! Complete challenges to unlock additional |
| Final Defensive Modules & Synergies - 0.9.5 | 2023-08-11 | New Modules Although the last update announcement said they were the final modules, this update brings the true final modules in 3 much needed new Defensive-type modules. These should provide more variety and function to defensive and hybrid builds as well as more utility to the defensive module Astral Upgrade. The addition of these 3 modules brings the total count of modules to 50! This is the final update before the 1.0 launch meaning the next update will be delayed as it will be the largest yet, adding, changing, and fixing a lot of things - ready for exiting Early Access! Temp. Stat Loader Module Periodically grants random temporary stats |
| Zombie Killer Module Pack - 0.9.4 | 2023-08-05 | This is the final module pack update before launch bringing 4 newly inspired offensive modules! New Modules Ray Gun Shooter Module Fires a burst of piercing rays, dealing increased damage after each hit Upgrade to increase piercing damage, accuracy, fire rate, damage or bursts, pack for all stats up, & more! Strongest through all stages of the game Cosmic Retriever Module Throws a piercing tomahawk that returns and homes towards enemies on the way back Upgrade to increase damage, homing, shot speed & range, pack for increased area damage, & more! Strongest in the early-mid game Electro Zapper DG2 Module Fires an arcing beam of electricity tha |
| Mothership rework, Death animations - 0.9.3 | 2023-07-21 | This update brings in a full rework to the final boss fight, adds transition animations upon winning/losing, includes 5 new achievements, and fixes some bugs. Mothership rework The final boss mothership fight has been reworked with new attacks, and a new death animation upon killing it. The corners above and below the mothership will no longer be safe. The laser beam attack no longer sweeps across the screen, now only firing directly forward Bullet hell focused attacks to push you away and out of attack range Increased down time between attacks to get damage in New mothership death animation instead of the game ending abruptly Death animation |
| Explosion Hotfix - v0.9.2.1 | 2023-07-16 | Fixed Virgo Celestial Modifier explosion scaling. Explosions will correctly scale to have a doubled explosion area. Fixed poison cloud scaling over time Fixed poison cloud explosion damage not doubling with the Leo Celestial Modifier Fixed and improved score text rainbow flashing effect at 50+ killstreak |
| Hotfixes - v0.9.2.0 | 2023-07-14 | Fixes & Changes Fixed off world targeting scaling incorrectly Fixed Steam rich presence in-game timer going below 00:00 Fixed Prize Earnings achievement not unlocking Fixed quitting while a killstreak is fading not resetting the killstreak text Fixed imbued enemy effects not showing sometimes Increased imbued shooting enemy shot speed Fixed issue with returning to menu and encountering off world targeting breaking the first explosion |
| Threat Events - v0.9.2 | 2023-07-13 | This update introduces all-new threat events bringing additional challenge to the game as well as some fixes. Threat Events Every run you will encounter a random threat event sometime after the 2nd or 3rd boss randomly. This update adds 3 different types with varying spawn rates and positioning. Threat events last 60 seconds and you will only encounter 1 per run. Off World Targeting Prepare to evade incoming mothership blasts as the target reticle hones in on a nearby location, blowing up anything in its crosshair! O.W.T. has a middling spawn rate, highest chance to target your predicted location, and a middling random offset. Outer Atmospher |
| Imbued Enemies Hue Shift - v0.9.1.0 | 2023-07-09 | Fixes & Changes Added true hue shifting to imbued enemies as opposed to a colour overlay for better colour changes Fixed shooter imbued enemies having their alpha affected and becoming transparent Fixed size scaling of imbued enemy effects and made shooter aura flash less flashy |
| Imbued Enemies & Rich Presence Update - v0.9.1 | 2023-07-08 | This update brings fixes, Steam enhanced rich presence functionality, & introduces imbued enemies to the game. Imbued Enemies Imbued enemies are empowered with random effects, making them harder to kill, and giving various abilities. Throughout the game, enemies have an increasing chance to spawn imbued with a random effect. Imbued effects include gaining the ability to shoot, explode on death, leave a poison cloud on death, become smaller and gain movement speed, & grow larger and gain additional health. All imbued enemies gain 50% HP. Increasing imbued Chances When enemies deal damage to you, their chance to becoming imbued increases and on |
| Chance Events Update - v0.9 | 2023-06-30 | This major update brings 2 all new chance events & changes to the slot machine. Chance events are luck-based random chance minigames like the slot machine event that has been in the game since launch. This update introduces the coin flip and wheel spin events to the game to provide some bonus help and excitement to your runs! Coin Flip Event Test your luck through the flip of the coin and win big with it's payout rewards! Pick your side, charge up your coin flip, and let it go - just hope it lands on your choice! Risk it all with the double or nothing double-down, after successfully winning once, do you have what it takes to repeat your luck? |
| Dessert Module Content Pack Update & Legacy Save Fix - v0.8.5 | 2023-06-24 | New Modules This update brings 4 new dessert-themed modules to the game to help defend against the alien invasion while satisfying your sweet tooth! Ice Cream Cannon Module Cycle through launching different flavour scoops with different effects Choose between upgrading each flavour up to a max of 2 times or spread them out evenly between all flavours! Strongest in the mid-late game Banana Skin Deployment Module Launches banana skins that ionise enemies Upgrade to increase the amount of banana skins deployed, their active time, ionise duration, aoe ionisation, & more! Although they dont deal direct damage, these banana skins are strong in the |
| Improved Save Files & Steam Auto-Cloud - v0.8.4 | 2023-06-16 | This update brings Steam Auto-Cloud saves to the game and improves the current save file structure. Save File Conversion If a legacy save file exists, it will be converted to the new format and location upon launching so your game progress will not be lost. The new filepath factors in your Steam account ID so multiple Steam users can have unique save files on the same PC. The new save file format should hopefully fix potential issues that could occur with the legacy file being invalid. Steam Auto-Cloud The new save file is backed up by Steam's Auto-Cloud feature so your game progress can be shared and continued across multiple PCs. There is c |
| Turbo Mode Update - v0.8.3 | 2023-05-12 | Turbo Mode This update brings an optional Turbo mode that can be unlocked by achieving your first victory and toggled in the main menu before starting a run. If you have achieved a victory before this update, it will already be unlocked for you. Turbo mode speeds up all movement in the game by 50% including enemies and projectiles. If the game feels too slow to your liking normally, test your skill with this new mode toggle! Included with Turbo mode is a new achievement unlocked by achieving a victory with Turbo mode enabled. Changes & Fixes Fixed some explosions having their radius incorrectly set to 0 Increased visibility of the Telekinetic |
| Deployable Module Content Pack 2 Update & many bug fixes - v0.8.2 | 2023-05-07 | New Modules This update brings 3 new deployable modules to help stop the alien invasion! Deployable Sprinkler Sentry Module Deploys a sentry turret that fires in a sprinkler pattern Upgrade to increase deploy rate, active time, damage, attack patterns, & more! Strongest in the mid-game Hull-Piercer Drill Module Launches a drill that attaches to and drills through enemies, continuing until it runs out of time Upgrade to increase fire rate, active time, damage, homing, & more! Strongest in the mid game Telekinetic Arrow Module Sends out piercing arrows that lock onto enemies and charge forward, damaging everything in their path Upgrade to incre |
| Store Page Update, New Achievements, Ship Comparisons - v0.8.1 | 2023-04-27 | Store Page Update The Steam store page for Space Mercenary Defense Force has received a long overdue update adding a new trailer video for the v0.8 synergy upgrades release, showing most of the new content added since launch, new screenshots, and improved gifs in the description section. Game Update This update brings 2 new achievements, ship stat comparison markers in the hangar, alterations to enemy spawn timers, & fixes. New Achievements Big Winnings - Win a jackpot payout from a slot machine. Total Synergy - Acquire 4 synergy upgrades at once. Ship Stat Comparison Markers When viewing ships in the hangar screen you will now see convenient |
| Synergy Upgrades - v0.8 | 2023-04-23 | Synergy Upgrades This update brings module synergy upgrades to the game, providing bonus stats and unique effects to modules. Synergy upgrades can only be acquired once both required synergy modules are obtained. Once you install them, the synergy upgrade will have a chance to show up as a level up option with it's chance increasing the more upgrades you acquire for those modules. When selecting an upgrade in the level up screen, module upgrade trees will now contain an additional panel showcasing their synergy. Hover over the synergy upgrade to view it's name and required module. Every module has a synergy upgrade of it's own and another syn |
| Steam Achievements - v0.7.5 | 2023-04-14 | Achievements This update brings 34 Steam achievements to the game to reflect your earned progress in unlocks and specific goals such as score, credits, & set builds. Many unlock-based achievements will be earned retroactively such as unlocking celestial modifiers and ship perks if you already had them unlocked before this update. There are also build-related achievements whereby you will have to achieve a victory with specific modules to earn the achievement. E.g. achieve a victory with only defensive modules equipped. Here is the breakdown of current achievements: 13 Celestial Modifier achievements 10 Ship Perk achievements 4 Ship build achi |
| Projectile Module Content Pack - v0.7.4 | 2023-04-08 | New Modules This update introduces 4 new projectile-based modules with new attack types. 2 Directional aiming modules to be carefully positioned for maximum value and 2 targeted aiming modules perfect to be positioned in the front module slot of your ship! Sawmerang Launcher Module Launches a piercing saw blade that returns to the ship Upgrade to increase damage, size, range, fire triple shot or 4 sawmerangs around the ship, & more! strong in the mid-late game with good crowd clearing damage and surprise escapability with the omni-directional blades upgrade Bouncing Blade Launcher Module Launches a saw blade that bounces between enemies Upgra |
| Controller Improvements, Score/Celestial Changes, Many Fixes & Changes - v0.7.3 | 2023-04-01 | This update brings improvements to controller/mouse input interactions, Changes to the score system and integration with celestial modifiers, & many smaller changes and fixes to the game to improve the overall experience. Controller Input Fixed issues with switching between mouse & keyboard and controller inputs: Connecting a controller correctly hides the cursor and prevents mouse input until it is moved (previously caused potential UI mishaps) Once moved, the cursor re-appears in the centre of the screen, allowing mouse input Seamless switching between controller and kb+m inputs Many fixes to controller navigation across the game explored i |
| Score System & Text Accessibility - v0.7.2 | 2023-03-24 | This update brings a new score system to the game where you earn points by killing enemies, completing encounters, collecting exp, achieving killstreaks, & more! This new score system can be visually disabled in the options so you can play the game without the points and streak indicators if you wish, while your total score will continue to be tracked and displayed at the game over screen. A new high-res font option has been added to the options, changing all text throughout the game to use a clearer font for better readability and accessibility - enable/disable it at any point in the options menu. Lastly, many smaller changes and improvement |
| Combat Encounters - v0.7.1 | 2023-03-17 | This update brings a new COMBAT category of encounters with 3 new specialised tasks to overcome. Although combat encounters can be more directly challenging, summoning additional enemies to fight, they will drop bonus exp once defeated. This means that alongside the standard encounter rewards, combat encounters can provide a worthwhile payout as a trade-off for their challenge. Combat encounters are added to the pool with the conduit and drop pod encounters so the types you get each run are completely random. Combat encounters Combat encounters focus on defeating an incoming enemy challenge to the complete the objective. Defeat the wave on in |
| Encounters Update - v0.7 | 2023-03-12 | This major update introduces encounters into the game. Encounters are optional side-objectives that appear throughout a run and provide additional rewards on completion. This update features 2 encounter groups each with 3 objectives for a total of 6 different tasks with more to come in the future! Encounters Every 6-8 minutes an encounter will spawn on the map away from the player, playing an audio queue, & occasionally flashing on the minimap to draw attention to it so you don't miss out. This means you will be able to complete 2 encounters every run. You can also choose to ignore encounters and play the game without them but you will miss o |
| Explosive Module Content Pack - v0.6.5 | 2023-03-04 | New Modules This update Introduces 4 new explosive modules to help take down the groups of invading aliens with AoE destruction! Micromissile Array Module Rapidly launch an array of small missiles that seek out enemies Upgrade to increase the amount of micromissiles fired, damage & burst rate or explosion size, chance to fire ionising or double exploding micromissiles, & more! Strong in the early/mid game with good range and less focus on aiming due to their homing Breaching Charge Launcher Module Launch a breaching charge that creates subsequent forward explosions on hit Upgrade to increase the number of breaching explosions, improved subseq |
| v0.6.4.0 Hotfix | 2023-02-26 | Hotfixes Fixed Area Select highlight area overlapping UI elements |
| Cursor Module Content Pack - v0.6.4 | 2023-02-25 | New Modules This update brings 4 all-new cursor themed modules to help survive the alien invasion with new mechanics and functionality. Arrow Clicker Module Launches an arrow cursor that seeks out and clicks enemies, dealing damage Upgrade to increase the number of clicks, redirect to nearby enemies on kill, fire 2 more arrow cursors, & more! Potential for strong mid-late game impact, redirecting on kill to wipe out large groups of enemies Grab Tool Module Launches a hand cursor that grabs onto and kills the first enemy hit, drags them forward, and deals damage to all enemies hit Upgrade to change targeting, damage, drag range, additional gra |