Vector Storm — Major Update 1.4.20

The largest update since launch

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

A lot has changed since the last patch. Here's everything new.

NEW SHIPS — FOUR ADDITIONS

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

BASTION (unlock: wave 10)

Blue hull / HP 160 / Shield 80 / SPD 3.8 / Bombs 4

Passive shield regeneration — recovers automatically between

encounters. Slow and nearly unkillable.

IRONCLAD (unlock: wave 20)

Gray hull / HP 200 / Shield 60 / SPD 3.2 / Bombs 5

Thorns passive — reflects contact damage back at any enemy

that rams it. Slow, but punishing to fight against.

WRAITH (unlock: wave 50) NEW!!!!

Teal hull / HP 90 / Shield 30 / SPD 7.8 / Bombs 2

Phase Echo — absorbs one hit every 8 seconds, recharges

passively. High skill ceiling, very high reward.

APEX (unlock: wave 75) NEW!!!!

Pink hull / HP 170 / Shield 90 / SPD 5.5 / Bombs 6

Thorns aura plus full passive shield regeneration.

The hardest unlock in the game.

BASTION and IRONCLAD appear in the roster as locked slots.

WRAITH and APEX don't appear at all until you earn them.

CODEX (Bestiary)

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

A full enemy encyclopedia is now in the main menu. Every

enemy type and boss has an entry with its sprite, description,

and behavior notes. Separate tabs for standard enemies and

bosses. Scroll wheel navigation.

SURGE MODE

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

New mode available from the main menu. No waves, no shop

breaks — just a continuous, accelerating stream of enemies.

Boss spawns every 90 seconds with a guaranteed gear drop.

Spawn rate climbs fast. For players who want pure combat

with no interruptions.

CAMPAIGN — SAVE SLOTS

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Campaign now supports three independent save slots. Each

shows your current wave, selected ship, and last-played

date. Progress auto-saves after every wave clear and boss

kill. Quit mid-campaign and resume exactly where you left off.

SWARM SYSTEM OVERHAUL

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Swarm enemies now fully freeze when your freeze ability

activates — full stop, not just a slowdown. They also

maintain minimum distance from the player, preventing

instant-death contact stacking at close range.

Enemy cap tuned to 340 and bullet cap to 640 to maintain

performance in late waves without reducing difficulty.

LATE-WAVE QUALITY OF LIFE

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

When only 5 enemies remain on a wave, they're highlighted

with an orange glow and a directional arrow. No more hunting

for the last straggler before the boss spawns.

BOSS SIGNATURE ATTACKS

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Each boss now has a named, telegraphed signature move:

Omega Sentinel — OMEGA CAGE (four closing walls)

Leviathan — DEATH BREATH (rapid aimed column)

Void Reaper — RIFT BLADE (drifting line)

Inferno Titan — MAGMA COLUMNS (three-column drop)

Nebula Core — SUPERNOVA (three-ring burst)

Crystal Matrix — PRISM WALL (horizontal, one gap)

Nano Swarm — HIVE RING (encircle)

Pulsar — NOVA BURST (double ring mid-recharge)

Hydra — rage reposition on head death

v1.4.20 SPECIFICS

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

• Gear drops now play a crystalline shimmer when they appear

on the field, and a bright chime when collected.

• Shop cards now show colored rarity stars (★ to ★★★★)

instead of number labels. Tier colors: gray / cyan /

orange / purple.

• Dash duration increased 22% (18 → 22 frames).

• Splinter Shot gear fixed — no longer requires pierce

bullets to trigger. Shards now spawn on any hit.

• Default fresh-install volumes: music 6%, SFX 9%.

Bug fixes:

• Campaign flag no longer persists when backing out of

the slot select screen, which was launching roguelike

runs as campaign.

• Custom ship hit/dash flash replaced with a soft circular

glow sized to the ship's collision radius.

• Gear panel cards no longer clip outside the panel border.

• Ship select no longer throws an index error with the

new locked ships in the list.

• IRONCLAD and BASTION taglines trimmed to fit card width.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Thanks for the patience between updates — this one had a lot

in it. Feedback welcome in the discussions.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Thanks for playing — feedback welcome in the discussions!