We are excited to share that Patric Catani’s work on Alien Hominid Invasion has landed a nomination for Best Soundtrack at Debug Magazine’s inaugural Indie Game Awards!
While Patric has a sound aesthetic that is very much his own, he crafts a sonic identity unique to each game utilizing a finely curated palette of instruments and sounds, and his work on Alien Hominid Invasion was no exception.
A longtime collaborator of The Behemoth, Patric puts a new spin on old magic, blending classic chip sounds with modern instruments. In the Invasion OST, you will find original SID (C64) and Sega Chip sounds in an organic mix with analog synths, acid basslines, and even guitars!
This was not only inspiration drawn from the game, but also mirrors and plays with these in-game dichotomies and story motifs. In other areas, there are intentional synthesized sound elements that reflect the content they represent, such as using granular synthesis to create the wasp buzzes and synthesized voice/vocaloid-esque beloved “bapi bapi” of the post-level music celebratory aliens.
Can we get a big BAPI BA for Patric’s incredible work on Alien Hominid Invasion? For more information about the awards and other nominees, please visit Debug’s website.
It’s time to deck the headquarter halls with grenade garlands, digestor choirs, and adorably adorned aliens! That’s right, Part 1 of our Alien Hominid Invasion update has finally arrived! Part 1 is now live on Steam, with consoles to follow soon.
Along with plenty of bug squishing that we were able to implement thanks to YOU sending us your feedback, this update is loaded with alien gifts for all! Update Part 1 will be focusing on adding 23 new achievements, a more interesting map algorithm that forces harder choices, giving players larger pools of starter equipment for more interesting re-plays, boss tuning and a good number of bug fixes. And this is all LIVE NOW! Go get those new achievements and show us what you’re made of!
Coming soon… Update Part 2 will be the largest update we’ve had yet, focusing on variety and player feedback that will make level-to-level gameplay more different – featuring new hazards, vehicle usage, adjustments to objectives, some new enemies, and more dropping next year.
Happy Holidays, from our team to yours!
More Achievements, Cosmetics, and CHOICES
1. 23 New Achievements
A whole new set of achievements have arrived! Time to show us what you’ve got. Again.
2. Updated Map Algorithm
What’s that you say? You like making more meaningful decisions in your invasion paths? We have great news for you, then!
There are more deliberate pathways in the generated mission maps, making it more common to have hard choices! Uh oh! Overall Danger-Per-Level added per block has been lowered to compensate for the longer pathways that can appear.
3. Mutations Galore?
When you defeat a boss at their HQ, you can now select from a wider initial pool of Mutations, increasing randomness and making playthroughs more curious!
4. New November AND Winter Seasonal Attire
The aliens have observed us and increased the discoverable alien head pool with November-esque and Winter cosmetics!
Balance Pass
1. Alien Irradiator
This weapon now takes 0.3 seconds longer to reach ultra-white-hot-melting on targets.
2. Enemy Danger Level Behavior
We’ve tuned the Agency’s scaling to work differently. In later Danger Levels, enemies won’t fire bullets with as much boosted velocity as before, meaning the cloud of green death will approach you a bit slower and give you a better chance to dodge!
3. Agency Grunt Standard Issue Blaster
Grunts are massacring invaders, and still will, though their damage per-bullet output has been lowered, along with a longer time to reach maximum velocity for more of a “tell.”
4. Agency Mini-Mech Attack
Damage per-bullet output is lowered when Agents are operating the Mini-Mech. They don’t know how to use them as effectively as you!
5. Installball 2.0, Spinner of Fists
Installball’s Megaflight ability now tracks players better – “Injustice rains from above!” Stationary tantrums hurt less, because stationary tantrums shouldn’t hurt that much.
6. Lozenge Man Attack
Damage per-bullet output lowered for Lozenge Man, whose main job is supposed to be more “slowing aliens down” and less “mowing aliens down like he’s holding four blasters at once.”
7. Hunterbot Attack
Speed, range, and follow time on the Hunterbot’s projectiles have been slightly reduced, but their homing has been increased. Hunterbot attacks should still be spooky, but are now a bit more satisfying to dodge.
Other Changes
1. Update to Maximum # of Enemies, Part 2
Previously, we lowered the number of enemies that spawned per player. Now, we’ve tweaked the solo experience as well. The overall number of enemies should look less like a flood and more like a… slightly smaller flood.
2. Update to Objective Placement
Objective objects (fishbowls, ice cream, etc.) now have a greater chance of spawning lower in the level. Aliens are great climbers (and flyers!), but repeatedly needing to get to the tops of tall buildings could be especially rough on new invaders.
Bug Fixes
Steam
Compat – Fixed a bug where setting the max framerate caused issues on high framerate monitors
Input – fixed several analogue issues with Pro Controllers
Input – fixed button icon orientation for Joy-Cons when Steam Input is enabled
