Overview

It's been a boring three months since the Third Beta release back in March, and I've made some improvements and added new features to Hasheneer. This update focuses on enhancing the audio experience, refining game balance, improving the UI (still looks like s**t), and making the economic simulation more realistic.

Audio Overhaul

New Music System

• Classical Music Collection: Added several classical music tracks including:
  • Canon in D (Interstellar Mix)
  • Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G
  • Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King
  • Beethoven's Egmont Overture
  • Chopin's Préludes, Opus 28
• Dynamic Playlist System: Implemented a shuffle playlist system for each game environment so music remains fresh and varied

Audio Controls

• Revamped Audio Settings: Complete redesign of the audio settings panel with separate sliders for:
  • Master Volume
  • Music Volume
  • SFX Volume
• Improved Sound Effects: Enhanced weapon sound implementation for better audio feedback during combat

UI Improvements

Visual Refresh

• Refined Font: Updated the game's typography with new pixel-perfect fonts for better readability
• Themed UI Elements: Redesigned UI panels, buttons, and controls for a more cohesive aesthetic
• Tabbed Settings Interface: Completely restructured the settings menu with separate tabs for Video and Audio options

Quality of Life

• Currency UI Enhancement: Improved the currency display with better visual indicators for BTC and fiat
• Weapon UI Redesign: New background textures and improved layout for the weapon display
• Skill Tree Polish: Enhanced the skill tree nodes UI for better interaction 

Game Balance

Weapon Adjustments

• AK-47: Increased damage from 50 to 100, extended bullet lifetime
• AWP Sniper: Increased damage from 100 to 250, improved range
• Shotgun: Increased damage from 10 to 25, improved bullet speed
• Uzi-Twins: Minor improvements to bullet size and renamed from "Twins" to "Uzi-Twins"

Economy Rebalancing

• Upgrade Costs: Significantly adjusted costs for many upgrades:
  • Health upgrades provide more benefit for their cost
  • Weapon unlocks are more balanced between fiat and Bitcoin prices
  • Special abilities like Block Core Finder have more reasonable Bitcoin costs

Economic System Enhancement

Federal Reserve Simulation

• Realistic Inflation Model: Starting inflation rate now begins at 2% (the official target) but can (and will) increase dramatically
• Dynamic Currency System: Improved the simulation of fiat currency inflation vs Bitcoin's deflationary model
• Transaction Authorization: New system that can occasionally deny large fiat transactions, just because we can

Bitcoin Network Changes

• Halving Acceleration: Originally there were going to be 105 levels, so having the halving every 21 levels, was not a bad idea. Then I realized, that's a lot of levels! So now there will be 21 levels and the halving will occur every 2 levels 
• Subsidy Adjustments: Rebalanced fiat and Bitcoin rewards throughout the game

Technical Improvements

• Performance Optimization: Fixed several issues to improve frame rates
• Audio Engine: Completely rewrote parts of the audio management system for better performance and flexibility
• Graphics Settings: Added V-sync mode options in the settings panel

What's Next

I'm planning on adding these new things in the coming months:

• More weapons and upgrades
• Additional enemy types
• Expanded level variety
• Further improvements to the economic simulation
• Weapon Armory to upgrade weapons and bullets

Thank you playing and even reading this. Any feedback to this new version is highly appreciated!