GutBuster v0.7 release

Update 1/27/25: The game is now released on itch.io and Steam! Betas have been removed and update posts have been made public.

Some major tweaks have been done for the sake of rebalancing over the last few days.

What's new:

• Playing through the later  levels I came to a realization: the weapon was too wimpy. So I reworked it so that the level cap went from 10 to 20. Levels over 10 now adds a double bullet for each level, for up to 20 bullets a second.

• I also realized that not enough money was dropping during a level, so Metabolism has a new feature: starting at level 2, there is a random chance that a bonus Lipid will drop with each hit on a target, regardless if it busts the target. Odds go up the higher the level is.

• I also wanted the shield to be a bit more useful, so now it does damage on contact. IT does three times your Might-O-Chondria level. I also have a new graphic for it to reflect its new ability, replacing that boring old circle. It also makes a "CLANG" sound when a target hits.

•  The Hormone Spike/jackpot mode now is an upgradable item. While in Jackpot mode, every single hit landed will drop a bonus lipid, on top of the extra lipids you already get.

• The enzyme appearance rate was tweaked and the Coenzyme upgrade was also tweaked, plus a new feature: higher levels reduce the number of shots needed to open an enzyme target.

• A brand new item has been added: Electrolytes. In a nutshell, it's a money magnet upgrade. Higher levels attract lipids from further away.

• In earlier versions, if you had the max fire rate and picked up a Bile Blaster or Tri-Glycerides, major framedrops/slowdown would happen. That has been fixed for v0.7.

• More rebalancing of level clear requirements, target HP and shop prices.

• The new additions have also been added to Custom Mode

Known issues:

• I'm still trying to figure out that damn level start freezing bug. Hopefully the fix I tried will work. Let me know if the error still occurs. I absolutely want that gone by version 0.8.

• I also hope the fix I'm trying for the bug that keeps the dead Cellecca sprites from disappearing works. Lemme know if that happens, too.

• While testing I noticed that occasionally the invincibility period when respawning after a death isn't working and dying again instantly. Will see to that one soon.

• Sometimes the enzymes drop two powerups. This is a new bug, so I assume it came from the adjustments I made. Two powers at once don't cause any real problems, but my design intended to strictly have one at a time.

Plans for next release:

• Like I stated earlier, I want that freezing bug fixed. Might release v0.7.1, 0.7.2, etc. with attempted fixes until it's gone.

• Will have the save system added. Hopefully doesn't take me too long to figure out.

• More rebalancing, especially in the last few levels, since I noticed they can get a little unfair.

• I grew fond of the little blue Becky Scientist I originally added to the stage background to give it more character, and I wanted to have her more involved with the game. So she'll star in the overhauled tutorial section, plus she'll appear on the between-level menu screen after the cartoons play to give game tips.