I've received feedback about my UNJAM system and it is NOT it. I wanted to add a unique system to a double decade old game but discovering something unique doesn't always mean its fun. One of my philosophies for games is "If its in the game, is it fun?" and while I thought the UNJAM was fun for me personally, I realize the frustration it caused during gameplay. I've decided to remove the system and reapproach the "unique" gameplay style. Introducing....

Gun Temperaments is a design that's seen some light in other games. How this system works is each gun has its own special effects and defects. These effects and defects will occur when the equipped gun reaches a certain "Temper" level. The Temper levels will range from Cool, Heated, Furious to Meltdown. There are Global temper zone effects and defects and there are individual gun effects and defects depending on what zone your gun Temper is at.

Every shot builds temper. Four zones:
- Cool (0-30%) - Normal stats
- Heated (30-60%) - +15% damage, weapon perk tier 1 activates
- Furious (60-85%) - +30% damage, -15% accuracy, weapon perk tier 2 activates
- Meltdown (85-100%) - +40% damage, -30% accuracy, -20% fire rate

No hard lockout at 100%. You can always keep shooting.

Each weapon has a unique perk that activates at Heated and gets stronger at Furious:

- 9mm Pistol (Pierce) - Heated: bullets pierce 2 enemies. Furious: pierce 3 enemies.
- MP5 (Rapid Fire) - Heated: +10% fire rate. Furious: +20% fire rate.
- Revolver (Knockback) - Heated: extra knockback. Furious: knockback + 0.3s stagger.
- Sawn Off (Burn Spread) - Heated: 20% wider spread. Furious: 40% wider spread + burn damage over time for 2s.
- M4A1 (Mini Crit) - Heated: 20% chance for 1.5x damage. Furious: 33% chance for 1.5x damage.
- Bolt Action (Explosive) - Heated: 50-radius AOE at 30% damage. Furious: 80-radius AOE at 50% damage.
- Golden AK-47 (Gold Drop) - Heated: 1.5x gold on kill. Furious: 2x gold on kill.

I played a lot of Gears of War growing up and there was one mechanic I wish I saw in more games. The Slam Reload. When you're reloading your gun you will now see a "sweet spot" on the reload bar. If you tap the reload key as the reload bar fills into that sweet spot you will successfully Slam Reload your equipped weapon. This comes with some bonuses!

- During reload, a gold sweet spot appears at 75% progress
- Press fire during the gold zone for an instant reload
- Slam also reduces temper by 20% and gives your next 3 shots +25% damage
- Missing the window does nothing, reload finishes normally

I really enjoyed Hell Divers 2 Strategem system, that's why I thought up the UNJAM mechanic. I realize now, my mistake as previously stated, but I still want this gameplay mechanic. I know it can be fun for this game type. The final addition to this multi-layered gameplay mechanic is Overdrive.

Overdrive is a special activated ability where your gun is HOT. In fact, its in the Furious zone. Well, we get some sweet benefits from this zone, so why not hold onto it for a little bit longer? When your equipped gun is at the correct Temper level, you can tap the Overdrive button to the combination minigame. This time, you are free to shoot as much as you want, you aren't punished as bad for making a mistake, and you get to rid of the pesky defects from the Temper!

- Available at 60%+ temper, press J to start
- WASD key sequence appears on screen, input them to activate
- You can still shoot while doing the sequence
- Higher temper = shorter sequence (6 keys at 60%, 3 keys at 90%+)
- Wrong key only resets that key, not the whole sequence
- Press J again to cancel with no penalty
- Complete the sequence for an 8 second buff:
  - All temper damage bonuses stay locked
  - All penalties removed (full accuracy and fire rate)
  - No temper buildup
  - Temper drops to 0% when it ends
  - 45 second cooldown per weapon

Let's address the elephant in the room. The UI. It looks generic and basic. Well, I thought so. I have a new drawing setup, upgrading from using an IPAD Pro to a Wacom Tablet and Krita. This has enabled me to experiment more and pump out art on the same machine I'm building the game code.  I'm by no means an artist, I have only ever attended a Graphic Design class in Highschool over 10 years ago. My art isn't great or even pretty but It's mine and I'm happy with it. I will likely be learning more and developing my skils so expect all Art assets to be ever changing over the course of development. Also my ADHD takes me on a rollercoaster when I sit at my desk, so I will be touching everything, everywhere, all the time.

I completed an overhaul of the UI, you will see my latest art work! There's still more to change and update but I'm confident every time you come back, you'll be glad to see it's art and not generic rubbish. I love feedback, especially negative feedback, it helps keep me humbled. If you think the UI needs to be addressed, feel free to let me know in a review!

This game, like many, started as an idea, then a concept and now it's a game. Here we are. Well, I didn't consider getting this far when I made my very first sprites in S&BOX. What that means is, The enemy, the background the wall, and the base will be re-designed by yours truly and what exists currently, will be forever no more. I hope you enjoyed my quirky design for the enemies because it will likely not change, but I will do better and polish things up better than I did before.

Here is a list of the current state of the game. Uncensored, Uncut, Just Everything I had to work on in order for you to experience what I intended for you to experience.


Core Gameplay
- Wave-based defense game inspired by Storm the House
- Defend your wall from waves of enemies
- Shop between waves to buy weapons, upgrades, and hire shooters
- 4 difficulty modes: Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane

Weapons
- 7 weapons: 9mm Pistol, MP5, Revolver, Sawn Off, M4A1, Bolt Action Rifle, Golden AK-47
- Each weapon has unique stats (damage, fire rate, accuracy, magazine size, reload speed)
- Some weapons have bullet penetration, letting shots pass through multiple enemies
- Weapon Bench for upgrading individual weapon stats (damage, reload speed, magazine size, accuracy, fire rate)
- 10 upgrade levels per stat

Shooters
- Hire AI shooters to defend alongside you
- Shooters fire automatically from windows on your base
- Equip any weapon from your inventory onto any shooter
- Up to 8 shooter slots unlocked through base upgrades

Defense
- 4 wall upgrade levels with increasing health
- 4 base upgrade levels that unlock shooter slots and provide damage bonuses
- Reinforce system for infinite wall health scaling after maxing upgrades
- Wall repair available between waves

Enemies
- Multiple enemy types: Spearman, Masked Man, Rock Chucker, Technical (boss)
- Melee and ranged enemy variants
- Boss enemies with floating health bars and scheduled spawn waves
- Enemies scale in health, damage, and speed as waves progress
- Armor system that adapts to your weapon choices

Combat Feel
- Kill combo system with money multiplier (up to 3x at 100+ combo)
- Combo breaks when your wall takes damage
- Hit pause on kills for impact
- Screen shake
- Floating damage and money numbers
- Muzzle flash, blood splatter, hit sparks, and death effects

Pickups
- Enemies drop collectibles on death
- 5 pickup types: Money, Health, Ammo, Damage Boost, Nuke
- Shoot pickups to collect them
- Bosses always drop a pickup

Shop
- 4 tabs: Shooters, Defense, Weapons, Weapon Bench
- Wave preview showing upcoming enemy types and counts
- New enemy warnings and boss wave alerts
- Info panel with tips for each shop category

Music and Audio
- Dynamic music system that changes based on game state
- Shop music, combat music, and intense music for boss fights or low health
- Crossfading between tracks
- Sound effects for weapons, enemies, wall damage, purchases, and UI

Online Leaderboards
- Highest wave reached
- Most money earned in a single run

Settings
- Volume controls
- Difficulty selection
- Game feel toggles (screen shake, hit pause)

Other
- Pause menu with resume, restart, and quit
- Quick restart on game over (press R)
- Game over stats screen showing wave reached, kills, combo, accuracy, money earned, and damage dealt

You have probably read enough from me but here's the final essay. I always loved this style of game growing up and I had wished it was expanded upon. Games became more complex but no one revisited these classic with a modern complexity. I have a fulltime job in IT, I will only be working on this game in my free time. With that being said, expect MORE. Expect me to come up with new features, new art and new ways to involve YOU. If you'd like to see more classic games remade/reimagined feel free to reach out to me on the S&BOX Discord, I'd love to hear what you wish you could see redone! Anyway, below is my intended goals for the game currently. This list WILL grow.

New Sounds
- New sound effects made by yours truly. I have been gathering ideas to make unique sound effects and noises across my game. The sound of collecting a pickup is me tapping a metal telescopin pointer against an empty Dr.Pepper can, for example. 

New Art
- Full hand-drawn redesign of enemies, wall, base, and background
- Continued UI polish and new sprite work across the board

New Enemies
- More enemy types with different attack styles and behaviors
- New boss enemies with unique mechanics

New Weapons
- Additional weapons to expand the arsenal
- More variety in playstyles and upgrade paths

New Backgrounds
- New environment art to freshen up the battlefield
- Potential for different themed stages

Co-Op Gamemode
- Defend the wall together with friends
- Multiple players shooting and managing upgrades