Havoc Studios
May 2020 Newsletter
Pardon Our Dust!
We at Havoc Studios hope that each and everyone of you are staying safe and healthy during these troubling times! In lieu of recent events, we were unable to push out a monthly newsletter for the month of April, but we are still dedicated to working on the game in any way we can. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer for the month of May!
(Above image courtesy of @veldoodles)
Additions to the Cast
Havoc Fox already has a large, diverse cast, but new characters are being developed as planning for future stages takes place. We are going to introduce a selection of upcoming characters: meet Aurelie, Guyle, Riken, and Suzy!
Aurelie is a skilled baker and pastry chef in the town of Cerice. She operates a small bakery with the help of her robot assistant: Guyle. While she wouldn’t hurt a thing, players can expect her to pose a challenge; they say that the spoon on her leg isn’t for baking!
Guyle, Aurelie’s robotic assistant, is a failed, repurposed combat bot of the Vanalian military. After numerous failed training attempts, he was reprogrammed for cleaning and cooking. He is a bit unstable and may prove to be a hassle for players!
The “Cerice Cowboy,” Riken, has a knack for adventure and finds great joy in competition. While he’s not formally involved with local law enforcement, Riken keeps a close eye on any and all visitors and, if they’re not criminals, is likely to challenge them to a race.
As both a miner and an archaeologist, Suzy is endlessly searching for new discoveries underground. Often acting on impulse and in an erratic manner, Suzy tends to become a problem for anyone who happens to cross her path and, in her eyes, interfere with her research.
While each of these characters are newcomers to the Havoc Fox roster, they are not the only ones. As development progresses and the story is grown, more characters are designed and fleshed out to populate the world. Check out the characters tab on our website to see all the newest additions!
Current Development Update
Havoc Fox has seen some recent updates to the bosses, encounters, and layouts in the first two stages of Grey’s campaign.
Shown above is C.Y.G.N.A.Y’s fight at the end of Moonlit Cove. While his first phase is relatively unchanged, he now boasts an impenetrable shield that more clearly communicates his invulnerability to players. In the second phase, only his head peeks out from the side as he fires projectiles before taking a breather, which is his moment of weakness. The second half of the fight is unchanged.
At the end of Moonlit Cove’s main stage, an underwater jetstream propels players through a tunnel by the ruins. Immediately after, a laser chases the player as they quickly climb upward to avoid taking damage. The stage as a whole is shorter than in previous builds of the game, but with the added environmental hazards and challenges, the shortened length should feel better for the first stage of the game!
Furthermore, some segments of Aqua Rocket Base have been reimagined, namely the theater and engine room sections of the stage.
In the theater, a new midboss is in development to replace the Yolanda fight from past demos. Yolanda, however, isn’t quite leaving us just yet. As shown above, her encounter has been revised to feel less like a midboss, but still a unique encounter for the stage. This new fight is much simpler (comparable to the “meatball” enemy at the end of the Pool segment of Aqua Rocket Base), and uses new animations and set pieces for Yolanda and the theater, but should ultimately be a welcome change to this section of the level.
Community Spotlight: Veldu
In each edition of the Havoc Studios monthly newsletter, we will highlight the works and/or relations of a member from the community or studio. We are grateful for everyone within the community and would like to recognize those of you who help bring life to the community. Our May community spotlight features Veldu, one of our developers!
Veldu is a long-time member of the Havoc Studios community, part of which is thanks to his contributions towards Havoc Fox’s development. While he has helped out in many ways with bug testing, stage layout, and game design feedback, Veldu has contributed artistically to the project as well. Outside of Havoc Studios, Veldu has been experimenting with his own game project on the GODOT engine, taking inspiration from Havoc Fox and using his own development experiences to assist us. Outside of development and interaction, Veldu enjoys speedrunning games from the Ratchet and Clank series. Through this side hobby, he has taken the challenge to Havoc Fox to help us get an idea of a stage’s length, as well as using it as an opportunity to discover bugs that may have been overlooked otherwise.
Give Veldu some love! Follow him on Twitter at @veldoodles, check out his speedruns, or come say hi to him on the Discord server!
That's all for now!
These past couple of months have been chaotic for most of us, but we’re working hard to keep development strong! If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on Twitter @havocfoxgame. Join the conversation and wreak havoc in the official Discord server: http://discord.gg/havoc-studios. Support us on Patreon! Check out the original soundtrack on our YouTube channel!
Thank you for reading the May edition of the Havoc Fox Newsletter. Stay safe, stay healthy, and we hope to see you again in June!