After a week filled with exciting news coming from E3 in LA, it's time to get back into space! Or more specifically, the 80's cartoon space of Awesomenauts! In this address we'll go into some more detail about the balance fixes, talk a bit about the timing of the patch and we also have a cool giveaway! But first, some news: the game will also be released in Korea on PSN on June 20th!
Now lets talk about some of the changes we'll be making in the patch. One of the issues we're addressing with the update is the power of Voltars' drones. They are too effective at tanking turrets and their maximum damage output is a bit too high. So we've reduced the drone base health and replaced the Force Fields item with an item that makes the drone shots blind enemies. To compensate, the drones now explode and deal a bit of damage when they die. This ties in with our second change: replacing the second shot damage item with an item that improves their explosion upon destruction. Both these changes make the drones better at support and defense, as they were originally intended.
Some other examples, previously announced on our facebook page: Upgrading Leons tongue ability, while sacrificing your melee damage, will now be a relevant strategic option. We've also replaced the Power Pills Turbo items with an item that increases your health by a small amount for free, once. This will be a useful tool for players who want some extra early-game power at the cost of more late-game oriented items. Lonestar's bull will get an item that makes it explode on death, dealing some hefty aoe damage. This item will replace the bull speed upgrade.
Our goals for the changes are twofold: fixing balance issues and to make more item builds viable. We can't wait to see what kind of combinations you guys come up with. We'll be distributing a Preview build to interested press very soon. Hopefully you'll be able to read their impressions while the patch passes through certification.
As for the question that is on everyones' mind: when is the patch coming out? Well, it'll be a bit later than we originally hinted at. Fixing the connectivity issues has proven to be more difficult than we anticipated. Unfortunately not all aspects of this process are in our control but we'll do everything in our power to speed it up.
Once the patch is live there will be two subtle changes you'll notice. First off, we'll be displaying your NAT type on the game session setup screen. If this displays 'NAT:moderate' or 'NAT:strict', you could try and change your router settings. But you might want to try heading online first, because we've also greatly improved the connectivity for players using the Moderate and Strict settings. This last fix has given us some trouble, but trust us when we say it will be worth the wait!
Finally, giveaway time! We've got a very cool pair of sneakers that we'll be giving away, curtesy of Kyozokicks! Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook for a chance at the most awesome pair of shoes in the Galaxy!
Awesomenauts will be out in Korea on PSN on June 20th - More item build diversity - Big connectivity improvements - Awesomenauts shoes!
