Skyratz Patch Notes 4/23/2021!

Over the past few months we’ve been hard at work making improvements to Skyratz’ Top of the Flock Mode and have been incorporating a lot of notes from our test groups and message boards. So with our hearts sky high, we’re excited to finally issue our very first update to let you know what has changed.

Patch Notes:

General Changes

Gravity

• Gravity has been increased for all birds.

• This should add a more natural feel to the physics of flight and make it easier to pick up weapons.

• The speed of all birds has been doubled to compensate for gravity.

UI

• Player names have been added to each match so you find your friends and know if they killed you.

• In game menus have been streamlined to make it easier to find a match.

• You are now able to form parties on the Social page, by using the + icon to add your friends.

• A “Refresh Lobby” button has been added to the character select screen to make it easier for you to find a match, without having to leave the lobby you are in.

• You can now adjust controller sensitivity on the Settings page.

• A link for our Discord has been added to the Social Page.

Minimap

• Your position and enemies' positions are now indicated using Isosceles triangles, making it easier for you to tell their orientation relative to you.

• Carats have been added to let you know if an enemy is above or below you.

Danger Zone

• At the 3-minute mark of every Top of the Flock match, a cylindrical ring will appear on the map and will shrink every minute the match goes on.

• If you are caught on the outside of the ring, your health will decrease by 5 for every second you are in the danger zone.

• This is meant to force engagements when there are few players remaining.

SFX and VFX

• Red flashes have been added to let you know when enemies are shooting at you.

• Distinct SFX have been added to let you know if you are taking health, armor, or shield damage.

• Numerical damage indicators have been added so you can see how much damage you are taking and are dealing to enemies.

• Wind lines have been added to the boost.

• SFX have been added for all maneuvers.

Weapons

Shotguns

• Shotguns have been buffed to increase their power compared to other weapons. Should be possible to double or triple tap enemies at close ranges.

  • Level 1 up from 12 to 30 damage per pellet (5 pellets)

  • Level 2 up from 14 to 32 damage per pellet (6 pellets)

  • Level 3 up from 16 to 34 damage per pellet (7 pellets)

Dynamite

• Collision has been added to Dynamite sticks so they will explode automatically if they collide with a building or enemy.

Proximity Mines

• Proximity mines now beep after they have been planted alerting enemies near them.

Maneuvers

U-turn

• The animation is now much faster and gives the player a "free" boost.

Somersault

• Radius of the loop now twice as big, allowing for better evasion.

Brake

• Now only lasts for 1 second with a 2-second cooldown.

Corkscrew

• VFX have been added so you have a better sense of when you are invulnerable during a corkscrew. (only effective for Shotgun/machine gun fire)

Boost

• Combat is now faster due to the gravity changes so the boosts for each bird has been doubled.

Map Additions

New Areas

• We now have a park

• Some rocks out at sea

• A skyscraper section on the map.

Vehicles

• There's a big ol' blimp

• A plane flying through the sky

• A few boats

• A couple of hot air balloons

• Cars roaming the streets

If you have any suggestions for features/fix/modes or more in the future, we’d love to hear about them! We’ll be working hard on delivering a new mode in the next couple of months, upgrading the Training Arena, and introducing a Mac version! We hope you’ll be flying with us then!

Skyratz Second Playtest: January 9th 2021!

Our 1st Skyratz Playtest was a massive success! Friends were made, champions were crowned, and everyone thought the missile launcher was overpowered. As such, I’m happy to finally announce our 2nd test is on the horizon!

The date for the second test will be January 9th 2021 from 2pm – 4pm. Like last time, players will expected to play multiple matches over the course of 1 hour and a half then answer a quick survey, then participate in a quick Q&A.

At this stage, most of our combat features have been improved, most voice lines and art are in, and major improvements have been made to the UI. We’ve officially entered pre-alpha territory and we’re trying to see how everything is coming together. 

If you’d like to join one of our playtests please email us at info@megachompinteractive.com and be sure to tell your friends!

How to Play Skyratz: Characters

Let’s finish our Skyratz tutorial with the first decision you’re gonna make: choosing your character.  Based on their stats, each Hero has their own strengths and weaknesses so players can learn how to fly their own way or pick a character who’s personality fits them best.

While we eventually want to add abilities and class roles to emphasize their individuality more, we’re hoping that each character’s flight mechanics, voice lines, and character art will provide a distinct experience on their own.    

Naturally, all these characters have their own stories and large roles in Skyratz’ lore, but we’ll save that for a post down the line.

Ava – As the aerial trickster of the group, Ava’s got the skills to pay the bills.

Ava’s balanced stats make her a good pick for new players, but aerial experts will soon realize that her stamina is her true strength, as her ability to do multiple maneuvers can help you turn the tables on any engagement. Her only weakness is that she’s got a slightly bigger hitbox than the birds in her weight class, so good players will need to learn how to stay out of their opponents’ sights to survive the danger zone.

Strengths: Great Stamina, Great Stamina Regeneration

Weakness: Slightly Large Hitbox

Baeleron – If you’ve got killer instinct and a need for speed, choose Baeleron to tear up the skies.

As the bird with the fastest flight speed, he can get in close and punish his enemies before they know what hit them. But his speed comes at a price: low handling and stamina prevent Baeleron from being able to regain his target if they escape his sight, and with one of the biggest hitboxes in the game, his foes can take pot shots at him before he can soar away. To assert their dominance, good Baelerons need to learn how to get the items quick and get the kills quicker, so the match ends before anyone else has a chance to play.

Strength: Great Speed

Weaknesses: Low Stamina, Large Hitbox, Low Handling

Owlington – Owlington’s a wise choice for players that want to keep a keen eye on their targets.

He’s got the best handling in the game, which makes it so hard to break his lock-on that you’d swear he can turn his head around. However, when vision is lacking, his average speed and low stamina make him a sitting duck against any attacker that may spot him first. So to win, you gotta swoop in when it’s safe, get the kill, they sneak away before anyone gets any smart ideas.

Strength: Great Handling

Weakness: Low Stamina

Didi – The bigger they are, the harder they fall, which is good because Didi is REALLY tiny.

Sure, she may have less health than most of the other birds, but her small hitbox allows her to escape most enemy’s shots without taking a scratch. Her biggest weakness comes from area of effect damage, like homing missiles, dynamite sticks, and proximity mines, but with a little luck, and some tight maneuvering, a good Didi player will show you that pound for pound, there’s no one better.     

Strength: Small Hitbox

Weakness: Less Health

Dodger – If staying straight and flying right isn’t your thing, Dodger’s probably your best bet for this game.

With a small hitbox, good stamina, and great handling, Dodger can drive her opponents batty while they try to hit her. However, if she’s flying still, hawk-eyed players mindful of her low health and speed will realize that she can be easy prey. That said, with multiple avenues for evasion, a good Dodger player just needs to balance their maneuvers and handling, and they’ll prove that losing really is for the birds.   

Strengths: Small Hitbox, Great Handling

Weaknesses: Less Health, Lower Speed

Steelwind Mk. 4 – If survivability and the cold comfort of steel armor plating are your thing, then the Steelwind Mk. 4 has got you covered.

*Slaps the drone’s caboose*

This baby can fit so many bullets in its hull, that the birds that hunt it have to count their shots and pray that they can finish the job. The only downside is that Steelwind boasts the biggest hitbox in the game and doesn’t have the stamina or handling to quickly deal with the birds picking on it. Still, with good health management, Steelwind players will be able to not only take a lot of damage, but will know how to pay it back when their foes are stuck with the receipt.  

Strengths: Starts with an extra 25 armor

Weaknesses: Big Hitbox, Low Stamina

How to Play Skyratz: Weapons

Continuing our bootleg Skyratz instruction manual, let’s cover the weapons and items you’ll be hunting as you fight to maintain your spot on the pecking order. Since we want you focused on flying, these objects will be equipped immediately after your bird passes through them.  

For starters, all weapons and items come in three different levels indicating their strength:

Green – Level 1 – Common

Blue – Level 2 – Rare

Purple – Level 3 – Epic 

Every time you pick up a weapon or item of a higher level it will automatically replace the lower level item equipped.  If you pick up the same weapon of a lower level it will simply add its ammo to your existing count.

Weapons

Currently, we have 4 different primary weapons.  Players can equip two at a time to balance their loadout and be able to fight at all ranges.

Machine Gun – a mid-ranged, rapid fire, hitscan weapon with a decent spread. The machine gun’s individual bullets don’t do a lot of damage, but they have plenty of ammo, so with good tracking you should be able to shoot down even the most evasive bird. At higher levels, the accuracy and damage output of the machine gun increases.

Shotgun – a short range, burst shot, hitscan weapon. Shotguns do a lot of damage, but their bullets fan out the further you are from your target. The ammo count is somewhat limited, but if you can get close enough it shouldn’t take too much to knock your target out of the sky. At higher levels, the shotgun’s damage and rate of fire increases.

Homing Missile – a mid range, burst damage projectile with slight tracking towards its target. The slight auto-aim and high damage of the homing missile make it a must-get for new players, but experienced aces will know how to use their maneuvers to shake its lock. At higher levels, homing missiles do more damage and move faster.  

Laser Rifle – a long range, burst damage, projectile weapon. With low ammo and a slight charge time. Lining up a shot with a laser rifle might seem tricky, but a couple of hits will be all you need to down even the most armored of birds. Just be careful, because even if your shot can hit an enemy across the map, everyone will know where it came from. At higher levels, laser rifles do more damage and carry more ammo.   

USEABLE ITEMS

Right now, we have 3 useable items that players can equip in addition to their weapons. You can only equip one item at a time and only get one shot of these per pick up, but they can easily turn the tide of a dogfight or get your enemies off your tail.  

Dynamite Stick – a small stick that creates a big KABOOM when it goes off. Can massively damage multiple enemies if they are caught in the range of its explosion, so it’s great to use against groups that don’t see you coming. At higher levels, their damage and explosion range increases.

Proximity Mine – A deadly trap that will roast any bird careless enough to enter its area of detection. Proximity Mines are fired behind you, so they are great to use if you’re being tailed by an enemy or want to get easy kills by placing them creatively. At higher levels, their damage and explosion range increases.

Smoke Bomb – Now they see you *POOF* now you’re gone. Smoke bombs release a cloud of smoke behind you obscuring your enemy’s vision, causing them to take minor damage, and slows their flight speed making it harder for them to chase you. It’s best to use them if you are being tailed and need to get away quick! At higher levels, the explosion radius and enemy flight debuff is increased.  

HEALTH ITEMS

These items can help you once you’ve taken damage or beef you up so you have a better chance of survival.

Health Pack – You already know. If you take damage pray that one of these is around the corner. The higher the level of the health pack the more health you will recover.

Armor – A armor plating for your bird that will give you special hitpoints which add +3 resistance to any shots taken. Armor packs can trivialize Machine gun and Shotgun fire because of the +3 effect stacks for every bullet, but aren’t as effective against Laser Rifles and Homing Missiles which only take one shot to do massive damage. At higher levels, you get more armor per pack.

Shields – An electromagnetic shield that adds special hit points and will recharge after not taking damage for 5 seconds, so long as they don’t reach 0. Shields are great for players that know how to shake their opponents and can cause weapons with precious little ammo, like the Homing Missile and the Laser Rifle to feel like a waste. At higher levels, you get more shields per pack.

How to Play Skyratz: Controls

Since our first Skyratz playtests are on the horizon, I thought I’d make a few posts to direct our players to our basic controls and concepts to make it easier to learn the game. As you begin to play please consult this handy dandy image:

For these first tests, I’d highly recommend that players use mouse and keyboard, though the game can still be played with a Logitech F310 controller. Once we are fully integrated with Steam, we will work toward getting Xbox One and PS4 controllers to work with the game as well.

While most inputs are pretty much in line with your average FPS game, it’ll be our maneuvers that will really give you an edge in combat, so I’m going to emphasize their usage and abilities below.

Maneuvers

Corkscrew – A quick dodge that makes your bird spin in place. This motion will reduce your hitbox making you much harder to hit with hitscan fire, like machine guns and shotguns. However, be aware that you are still vulnerable to area of effect damage like the explosions from dynamite sticks, proximity mines, and homing missiles.  

Press: A or D twice quickly on keyboard, L or R bumper twice quickly on controller. (Drains 25 stamina)

Loop de Loop – Your hero somersaults in the air for this vertical dodge. If you are paying attention to your mini-map, Loops are great for repositioning on opponents that are chasing you. Loops can also break an enemy lock on and can evade Homing Missile fire.

Press: Q on Keyboard, L+R Bumper and Up on left joystick simultaneously. (Drains 50 stamina)

U-turn – a quick about-face that will turn you in the opposite direction. Great for escaping an enemy that is chasing you, when you miss an item, or after an enemy somersaults around you. Loops don’t break lock ons or homing fire immediately, but when you pass your enemy’s line of sight, you will escape both.

Press E on Keyboard, L+R Bumper and Down on left joystick simultaneously. (Drains 50 stamina)

Skyratz First Playtest: December 6th 2020!

The time has finally come! With the expected date of the launch Skyratz: Early Birdz fast approaching, we’re currently gearing up for our first set of playtests to introduce the game to a fresh audience.

The date for the first test will be December 6th 2020 from 2pm – 4pm. Players will be expected to play multiple matches over the course of an hour and a half, then answer a quick survey and participate in a quick Q&A.

At this stage, most of our initial combat features have been implemented, but there are still quite a few this missing from the Skyratz experience to make it complete, such as character voicelines, the art, and the final UI. All that being said, we are hoping to add those in the coming weeks and, if anything, their now omission should help us get precious feedback on our maneuvers, weapons, and flight mechanics which are the most important thing.

If you’d like to join one of our playtests please email us at info@megachompinteractive.com and tell your friends while you’re at it! We’ll be holding playtests all the way until Early 2021, so they’ll always be a spot for anyone that wants to join the flock.

Welcome to the Megachomp Interactive Dev Blog

Here we plan to post updates on the Skyratz’ development, as well as any other projects we’re working on. This is where players should go to get notes on balance changes, bug fixes, and progress on all updates.

We might post questions to fans and big announcements here too, so be sure to check here often so you are first to know what’s flying through our heads!