So it's finally come to this... The road to SAGE 2025 is in sight!

More work has been done on Galactic Blasters BR since the last progress update, with it now basically being content-complete for the SAGE 2025 demo I'm planning on putting out! Now of course, I've still got bug-testing to do before forking off the project file for the demo, but I don't really have much else to do other than that. But without further ado, let's get into what I've added into the game this time...

[UI Changes]

The first thing that you'll notice when starting up the game is that the logo's animation has been changed. Previously, it kinda awkwardly unstretched itself without any other visual flair. But now, it fades into existence as it unstretches, and even has a little afterimage appear when it's finished! Take a look at these .gif files (however you pronounce it) for a comparison.

Before (Previous Build).

After (Current Build).

As you can see, it's much more polished now! Another thing I did was add some proper text into the music player's commentary section that's seen before you start playing tracks, as music comments only appear when you play them. It originally said, "Music Comments Go Here" but now this two-paragraph beauty shows up, telling you the purpose of the music player and some stuff regarding the commentary!

No, I'm still not spoiling the track names...

In addition, I've updated the music comments to replace the old leftover Galactic Blasters D2 comments with new placeholder ones that simply tell you where they're used in the game. I don't really feel bothered to make actual music comments for the Galactic Blasters BR tracks right now since not all of the tracks are made, and I tend to start making commentary once the soundtrack is complete. At least that's what I do nowadays... But enough of this UI stuff, we all know you're here for the potatoes and mea- er, meat and potatoes!

[Additions]

I've finally completed all the ultra difficulty patterns for the Stage 3's final boss! Like a bunch of the new ultra difficulty patterns for the returning Galactic Blasters D bosses, I went with something quite different with these attack patterns compared to what was in the original game (and Galactic Blasters BR's normal and hard difficulties), focusing more on flooding the screen with slower bullets rather than having fewer, yet faster bullets. Well, that is until you get to the second part of the boss fight, which has not only been extended for the ultra difficulty with another phase, but also heavily follows the fewer, yet faster bullets approach! And it might have some other surprises in store...

But if you're thinking I'm cruel for putting in some super-fast bullets, I've added in something to help you learn how to best tackle these bosses. Say hello to practice mode, accessed via selecting singleplayer on the title screen then a stage you've already beaten! I didn't originally implement a practice mode due to the UI not being designed with having it present in mind, but thanks to some leftovers from Galactic Blasters D2 (specifically the stage select for that game's practice mode) I was able to conjure up a simple part selection menu. And if you're feeling like you're ready to take on the full stage, there's an option for that at the top of the menu.

You know, practicing old bosses was the whole reason why I got the idea for Galactic Blasters BR...

Finally, I've implemented the endings menu, which I brought up in the previous progress update post but hadn't actually put into the game at that time. Of course, you'll have to actually see the endings first before they'll unlock here, but having a separate menu for re-watching the endings rather than lumping them in with the achievements results in a much cleaner menu. Wouldn't you say?

[Conclusion]

In conclusion, Galactic Blasters BR can now be considered feature-complete in regards to what the SAGE 2025 demo will have (obviously, the game as a whole isn't feature-complete). This means I can now focus on bug-testing, getting the demo ready for SAGE, and getting footage for SAGE 2025's trailer. Until next time, this has been RGamesOfficial, signing out from the Radikal dimension!