Better Than Dead Update 0.40 is live
Update 0.40 is now available. This update is mainly focused on a general cleanup of Better Than Dead, addressing a number of quality-of-life issues and recurring problems reported by the community. A lot of the work is under the hood, with improvements to controls, movement, bullet collision detection, enemy and civilian behaviour and several other systems across the game.
Controls and movement
I have cleaned up a number of small issues that could make character control feel inconsistent during combat. Sliding has received several fixes and adjustments, including issues that could leave the player crouched after a slide or cause the first shot to be missed when starting to sprint.
Improved bullet collision detection
Bullet collision detection has been improved across the game. Shots should now register more accurately around level geometry and environmental objects, reducing situations where bullets could collide with something they visually appeared to clear.
Player wound system
The player wound system has been adjusted. Wound effects now last roughly half as long as before, and successfully hitting an enemy can clear them early.
Enemy and civilian behaviour
I have been working on improving enemy and civilian behaviour across the game. Wounded enemies will no longer immediately start firing as soon as they get back up. They can now retreat first and regain distance before returning fire, making these situations feel more natural and less abrupt than in previous versions. Dynamic civilians have also received an initial pass. They should now react more consistently to what is happening around them and handle dangerous situations more reliably. This work currently applies to dynamic civilians rather than scripted civilian sequences. Civilian behaviour is still a work in progress. This is a first step toward making their reactions more consistent and believable, while still keeping some pressure and unpredictability for gameplay. The work is taking longer than initially expected, and I will continue refining it in future updates. Enemy ragdolls have also been reworked. My goal is to keep them closer to the exaggerated physical reactions of Hong Kong action cinema rather than purely realistic deaths. The ragdoll system is still a work in progress and is taking more work than initially expected. I will continue refining and adjusting it over the next updates.
Lens distortion option
This has been one of the most requested options since release. Better Than Dead requires a lot of fast movement, and I know that the combination of camera movement and lens distortion can cause discomfort or nausea for some players. A new graphics option has now been added that allows lens distortion to be completely disabled.
Level changes
Several smaller changes have also been made to the levels:
Added additional lighting to the first level.
Reworked part of Kill the Man in White to make navigation and progression clearer.
Improved collisions in Pleasure Rots Here, including areas where enemy bodies could intersect with walls.
Patch Notes
Improved controls and movement consistency.
Improved sliding.
Fixed an issue that could leave the player crouched after sliding.
Fixed the first shot sometimes not registering when beginning to sprint.
Improved bullet collision detection across the game.
Reduced the duration of player wound effects.
Player wound effects can now clear early after hitting an enemy.
Wounded enemies can now retreat before returning fire instead of immediately shooting after getting back up.
Initial improvements to dynamic civilian behaviour. Further work is ongoing.
Reworked enemy ragdoll behaviour. This system is still being refined.
Added a graphics option to completely disable lens distortion.
Added additional lighting to the first level.
Improved navigation and level clarity in Kill the Man in White.
Improved collisions in Pleasure Rots Here.
General bug fixes and small improvements.
Thank you everyone for the feedback and for continuing to support Better Than Dead. -MonteGallo
