Neon Aileron

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Latest news

• Patch Notes·6 May 2023Official

  First Update in 3 Years!

  After taking some time off from developing Neon Aileron, I have resumed work on the game at the beginning of 2023. This update directly addresses some items that were brought up in reviews for the game. Level 8 – Level 8 is a boss rush level and previously level 8 was only available if you played on “hard” difficulty. This level also had a “true last boss.” Because of this, I don’t think many players saw the level or the final boss. I decided to make this level available for all difficulties to make the game more enjoyable for all skill levels. Widescreen – Neon Aileron was original presented in 4:3 aspect ratio to resemble retro games. I decided to change to 16:9 aspect ratio after playing a couple of modern games with pixel graphs that presented and felt very comfortable in this ratio. The result was that Neon Aileron should feel less crowded when there are many enemies on screen. All levels, enemies, and bosses have been reworked to accommodate the new screen real estate. Hitbox Update - The player's hitbox in Neon Aileron was previously the entire body of the player's jet. This was also done to mimic the shooting games of the 80s and early 90s. This has been updated to a consistent and significantly smaller hitbox that is represented by the ship’s "power core." When enemy bullets come near the player, the ship sprite fades and the power core becomes visible; letting the player know where their hitbox is. This approach allows the player ship sprites to be larger without sacrificing the ability to dodge bullets with precision. In playtesting, this also made busier enemy sections more recoverable. Specifically level 3 (Area 51), which can have periods where large numbers of enemies and bullets appear on screen, is much more manageable now. Scaling Boss Attack Difficulty - All of the end-stage bosses in Neon Aileron have been reworked so that the attacks become more challenging when you increase the difficulty. For example, shooting attacks may have more or faster b...
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• Patch Notes·11 Jan 2020Official

  Patch Release: Leaderboard Fix and Damage System Settings

  A new patch has been released that allows players to modify the damage system. A player can now reduce the number of hits a ship can take or turn off the damage system for additional challenge. This setting is located in the Setup menu and can only be changed before starting a game. Bonus points are given at the end of each level for playing with the damage system turned down. Part of this patch has also been dedicated to correcting some issues with the leaderboards. The leaderboard was accepting new scores, but it was only showing the top 5. This has been corrected. Thanks to Twitch user NipzyGG who posted a video of this behavior. Version 1.3 Corrected leaderboard load issues. Leaderboards were set to only retrieve the top 5 scores. Any scores previously submitted were intact, but were just not displaying. Found and resolved an issue that would cause the leaderboard to partially load. Added damage system setting in setup menu. Available options are: 4 Hit - This was the previous default. The player's jet can take damage to 4 parts. 2 Hit - The player's jet can take damage to 2 parts. The 3rd hit will kill the player. 1 Hit - A hit damages all parts, with the subsequent hit killing the player. No Hit - This turns the damage system off. Any hit will kill the player. Bonus points are available for players who turn down the damage system: 4 Hit - No points 2 Hit - 10,000 points 1 Hit - 15,000 points No Hit - 20,000 points
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• Patch Notes·9 Jan 2020Official

  Patch Released

  Playtesting uncovered some issues with 2 player mode that warranted a mid-week patch. This also provided the opportunity to include the fully mastered soundtrack in the game. Version 1.2 Updated sound files to mastered soundtrack provided by Von Hertzog Corrected several issues with 2 player mode that caused the second ship not to operate and recognize points properly.
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• Patch Notes·4 Jan 2020Official

  Patch Released for Minor Issues

  Neon Aileron has been updated to correct a few minor issues. See details below: Version 1.1 Corrected an issue that prevented previous month leaderboards from loading. Fixed an issue where lasers were not properly colliding with Queen Bee boss. Added a target hint to Monarch butterfly boss to help players predict fire blade attack location. Added version number to config menu for visibility. Note: The story mode patch is coming later this month.
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• Patch Notes·1 Jan 2020Official

  Neon Aileron Released - Story Patch Coming Later

  Neon Aileron has officially been released. The game includes 8 levels and about 30 minutes worth of gameplay. Monthly leaderboards are also active, so come post a high score! One item of note: the game currently only has the "arcade mode" active, which provides a quick playthrough with no story. I'm still working through the story panels and will provide the "story mode" later this month as an update to the game. -Vince Saturday Development
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