Yeah, so I have not updated this game since launch!  This was a bad oversight on my part.  But unfortunately I forget things from time to time unless people remind me.  So now you have access to the latest version of Paradox Vector (1.1.8) with all the new bells and whistles.  Here are all the updates in the order they came out...

Updated to 1.0.1

Some great feedback has made it back to me. This testing version addresses the following points:

• Vsync has been disabled by default. One player reported having an issue starting the game (and probably others too) and I wanted to test whether the vsync might be at the root of the problem. You can re-enable it by going to "C://users/-your username-/AppData/Local/Paradox Vector" and opening the "config2.cfg" file. You will see the last entry is "V-Sync,0" - simply change the zero to one, and save the file, to re-enable vsync. I will include an option in the preferences menu when going to the default branch.
  
• Purple Locks should now appear more clearly on the map. Some players have had trouble finding these, especially in the later levels. Hopefully this will make the gameplay a little less frustrating.
  
• One outdoor area, and one dungeon have also been adjusted slightly to make them easier to navigate. One part of the gameplay is to observe your surroundings to find the various paths. However, in some cases they are so well hidden that players may get frustrated and quit. The idea with these adjustments is to find that balance between too easy and too hard. I won't give away the exact locations that have been changed, but hopefully the game will be more accessible as a result.

1.0.2

This is a small update, that simply changes the default key for the map to "M" instead of TAB.

Some players, while checking the map on the run (while holding shift) would accidentally open the Steam Overlay. This somehow caused the game to keep playing based on the most recent input, making the player run into trouble, with no ability to stop them fast enough.

This problem can still happen unfortunately, if you press SHIFT-TAB while playing, but hopefully it will not happen as often, since the map key is not longer set to TAB by default.

If you have made any changes to your game's configuration, it will save a custom key configuration, and the map will still be tied to your TAB key. Going to Options>Preferences and clicking on "Reset Keys to Default" will fix this issue.

Paradox Vector Updated to 1.0.3

Based on some critical feedback from a number of players, I have updated the weapon sounds in Paradox Vector. Otherwise the game is unchanged.

Here is a sneak preview of the new weapon sounds...

YouTube™ Video:

Views: 0

I hope you enjoy this update. Paradox Vector is basically a finished game, but I am still here and open to hearing your thoughts and feedback.

Paradox Vector Updated to 1.0.5

I have updated the game.

• The "Killed by a Robot Guard" Achievement *SHOULD* be working now.  Not Relevant for Itch
  
• Players who "persist" may find a new secret area ... or not ... it's not really important ;)

Very small patch

The game was updated last night to fix a minor bug that was introduced in the last update.

You should no longer accidentally teleport into an endless, eternal void of nothingness without warning in the fifth dungeon ... or any other dungeon ... well, most other dungeons.

Paradox Vector in E1M1 Magazine!

I'm thrilled to see Paradox Vector in print! Thanks to the amazing people at E1M1 Magazine for taking notice and reviewing so many cool games!



If you like Retro FPS games, you should check them out!

Secrets Fixed (Update 1.0.7)

A helpful player pointed out that the number of secrets on a level, as well as the number of discovered secrets, was not always displayed accurately. To check the secrets, press the map key (M by default) and look in the upper left hand corner.

I discovered a probable cause for this issue in the script, and have addressed it. My testing has shown it to be resolved, but it's always possible that I missed something. Please let me know if the issue crops up again.

Fixed a Hole (Update 1.0.71)

Thanks to a helpful player, I was able to fix a small hole in Dungeon VIII. Not a major issue, but it was possible to get stuck in the level.

Here's the fixed hole :)
Extra Health (Update 1.0.72)

Extra health! For everyone, at no extra charge!

Paradox Vector Updated to 1.1.1
New Ammo System for Main Gun!

UPDATE: I have just uploaded version 1.1.1 which has another small but significant fix based on user input. The default gun's bullets now move a bit faster, and the crawling robot enemies move a bit slower.

PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT:
Something I should have done a long time ago. The basic gun that you find on the first level of the game now has infinite ammo, much like Quake 2.=
Previously, if that weapon ran out of ammo, it would respawn on the level, and you could go grab it to get some ammo back. This system was counter-intuitive and simple required players to run around needlessly. I regret this decision, and am trying to make up for it.

Although the changes to the game are small, I still consider this a major update since it will seriously effect the gameplay, especially for new players. I hope people will try the game out again, if you did not "get" it the first time through, I think it will be a more enjoyable experience.

Paradox Vector Updated to 1.1.3 - UI Scaling

The game now supports UI scaling. It is basically just scaling up the entire window to fill your screen, so the game will appear a bit pixelated if you use this option.

To activate it, just use the video options panel to set the game to a lower resolution (like 1280 x 720) and make sure you select Window Mode.

When you restart in Window Mode, press F10 to toggle full screen mode.

Note: This scaling is a feature of the game engine I use. The main drawback is that the windows mouse cursor can sometimes appear over the game window when scaling like this. It should not actually cause any problems or interact with the game in any way, but it might be distracting.

If you do not like that, consider using Full Screen mode at a lower resolution that your monitor supports.

Paradox Vector Updated to 1.1.4 - Enemy Speed Update

Someone on the forum complained that the enemies in Paradox Vector were too fast. I took this as an individual preference at the time, I thought they were fast, but not so fast as to be of concern to most players.

However, I recently updated my graphics card and realized that the enemy speed (for the green spider-like robot guards and the green floating eyeball guards) was somehow linked to the framerate!



This was poorly designed and should have been discovered during testing, but I guess I did not have access to a fast enough graphics card at the time.

So I have made the guard movement independent of frame-rate, as it should have been at the first.

Game Updated to Version 1.1.7

Paradox Vector has gotten some great feedback lately, thank in large part to the recent speedrun competition.



One thing I have heard a lot about is how the difficulty seems to spike a lot once you reach the caves. Well, this is definitely by design, the game should get harder as you progress, but I am a reasonable person. If something is ramping up the difficulty too much, too fast, I am willing to work on smoothing things out a bit.

So a couple enemies have been moved to "Hard Mode Only" status, and some additional health has been added in a key place. I do hope this helps players enjoy the game more.

Game Updated to Version 1.1.8

I just made a small update. First, I added a title screen so you don't have to look at the default 3D Gamestudio start screen.

I also changed things slightly so the siren/alarm will no longer repeat, but only play once. I wanted it to give the player some anxiety after getting a paradox triangle, but I think it veered into the annoying...

The Second Part

Also, I recognize and acknowledge that the later levels of this game seem to be off-putting to many players. I would like to fix this, but I am really unable to make major changes to the game at this time.

The main complaints against these levels are the following:

1. They are more linear than the levels in the first area of the game, i.e. there is no longer any need to go back and forth
   
2. They do not provide any new, cool weapons or upgrades
   
3. The enemies are too unpredictable and tend to jump out at players with little reaction time
   

Now I am interested in getting feedback. With minimum changes, how can I try to address these things?

When I say minimum changes, I think adding new weapons, items, abilities or enemies is not an option right now. But, for instance, giving players more ammo or health, could offset the extra damage caused by jump-scaring enemies.

Maybe I could move the enemies around and make sure players have more time to react, that would be an example of a minimal change that could potentially solve one of these issues.



One option I have considered is to actually remove the whole factory section. That's where things tend to get super difficult/annoying for people. After the caves section the player could just transfer to the last level, and it would make for a much more streamlined experience.

I could then reintroduce the factory section as an optional DLC (for free), in case players wanted to try the original version of the game. That would potentially solve the issues, but it would make the default game considerably shorter too.

I am interested in all of your thoughts on this if you have any.