Just wanted to give a small update here...
Yes, I AM still working on this! There hasn't been an update for quite some time, but it's definitely not abandoned!
I've received some much needed feedback, and am currently updating or revamping quite a number of weapons. Too many weapons effects felt similar to the Spitfire, in that they usually just resulted in a scatter of projectiles being released after impact. Therefore, I am working on either making certain L2 or L3 effects baseline for a weapon (Buster, for example), or giving a weapon a total revamp. (Rapid Vulcan being an example) This is being done for two reasons:
1.) To make weapons feel more interesting and fun to use - with attempts to make each unique and no longer having some feel similar, as opposed to before.
2.) For those unfamiliar with the mod, choices won't affect the player as negatively as before. For example, say you have a weapon at L3, and you swap out to another at L1. Say a new player takes that L1 weapon to the next map - they finally manage to level it up, but feel it wasn't worth leaving their previous weapon behind in another map, as the effects of said weapon don't fit with their playstyle, or isn't a good fit with the current map. With the coming changes, such a situation won't have as big of an impact, as a weapon would have useful effects even at level 1, rather than having to wait until a higher level to unlock any features of it.
Of course, not EVERY weapon may receive such updates, as some are already fine as is, or others would feel out of place having an effect just for the sake of it.
Using the examples above, here are previews of what changes are in development:
OLD
Buster - Shoots out at a medium range and explodes in place.
L2 - Causes a large explosion once the main projectile dissipates.
L3 - Causes 4 smaller burst shots to fire out after the initial explosion.
NEW
Buster - Shoots out at a medium range and explodes in place. If at least 4 enemies are hit at once, the end explosion is powered.
L2 - Causes 4 smaller burst shots to fire out after the initial explosion.
L3 - Firing at the smaller burst shots triggers a larger explosion.
---
OLD
Rapid Vulcan - Fires in bursts of 5.
L2 - Enables critical strikes.
L3 - A burst of shots are released in random directions upon dealing a critical strike. Some of these shots can chain.
NEW
Rapid Vulcan - Fires in bursts of 5. Shots mark targets, causing them to take extra damage from Sub-Weapons.
L2 - Marks slain with a Sub-Weapon restore partial Sub-Weapon Ammo. Improves Sub-Weapon recovery time.
L3 - Hold fire to target up to 8 enemies and release to shoot.
Next up, I am updating the weapon information panel. The drawback of this change will only allow the currently selected weapon to show, and not all three at the same time.
(Click for a larger image)
[imgur]
https://i.imgur.com/Cf7AEDc[/imgur]
However, with this change, more information about a weapon can be displayed on a single page. As you can see, there is much more room for level effects now, so if there are ever L4 effects or possibly more, there would be no problem adding them in! Perhaps even more weapon slots as well? The weapon type (Rapid, Area, Power, etc.) is also displayed, as previously there was no information about them in-game at all, so players would have no idea of what they meant, unless they read that section of this topic. Towards the bottom is a weapon experience bar, which will increase as you kill enemies or pick up duplicate weapon powerups. Completing the first portion of the bar will cause any L1 weapon of that type to always start at L2 when picked up, while a completely filled bar causes picked up L1 weapons to start at L3. This will ease the choice of weapon swapping, and also give those who do not use the pistol start option a form of progression! There is also a nifty weapon graphic for each weapon, courtesy of HyperUltra64!
Other than the updated weapon panel, the rest of the changes are in the current dev build, along with the Zombieman replacement. If you would like to test these changes, simply download the dev build from the first page!
Thank you for playing!