Crisis Point: Extinction v0.49 Release + Download Link!

Hello everyone; it's finally time, Crisis Point: Extinction v0.49 is OUT NOW and ready for you to enjoy!

Here's the download link, accessible for all $10+ patrons:

https://anon42.itch.io/crisis-point-extinction-v049/patreon-access

You can watch the trailer up above for the main bulletpoints; I'll go more in detail on what's included in this update in a little bit, but there's one major change I want to talk about first! You might realize this already because of the itch.io link up above, but we're going to be changing the way we deliver Crisis Point: Extinction updates going forward, starting with this update.

The way we used to handle update releases doesn't really work anymore, thanks to changes Patreon made in their Relationship Manager filters, which makes it impossible for me to easily keep track of who should be receiving the updates. To counter that, we're going to be delivering updates through itch.io from now on - you DO NOT need an itch.io account to engage with this system, although it will make it easier to keep track of which versions you have access to.

Essentially, the way the new system works is that you'll link your Patreon account on itch.io through the link up above. Doing that will generate a Download Key for that specific CPE update for you, which is basically just an url like the dropbox link we used to send out. As long as you save that download url (or set up an itch.io account, which will save it to your Library on there), you'll be able to reuse the link to download the update as many times as you need. Whenever a hotfix comes out for that update, it'll be uploaded through itch.io and you can redownload it to get the newest version.

The main benefit of doing it this way is that we can set up the page for the NEXT version of Crisis Point (in this case, v0.50), as soon as we start developing it, and we'll post that link here on Patreon. Once we do, you'll be able to preemptively register your Download Key for the next version when you pledge, and then you'll have access to it once the update actually releases, even if you've unpledged by that point. It'll function just like our old dropbox links did, but now the file is being hosted through itch.io, and by syncing it with your Patreon account I don't have to worry about keeping track of who should and who shouldn't receive the update anymore, saving me literal days of diving through spreadsheets every time an update comes out.

Hopefully the new system isn't too confusing; if you have any questions about it feel free to ask me, and I'll do my best to answer, but I do apologize if there's any confusion or any snags as we adjust to the new system.

There is one nuisance we're going to have to deal with right now: because we just set this system up, and it requires people to preemptively link their accounts to get their download key, the download link up above is only going to work for Patrons that have active pledges right now. For everyone that pledged to receive v0.49, but has since lowered their pledge (or unpledged entirely), you'll still be able to get the update, but I'm going to have to ask you to message me about it directly! I should be able to help get you set up with a download key manually, but the only alternative would be me going through a list of several thousand people and checking each of their eligibility one at a time, which would be at least several days of pure spreadsheet work, and I just.. don't have the capacity for that on top of the inevitable hotfixes v0.49 is going to need right now. Getting this update out without delaying it even further has really done a number on me and I'm feeling the burnout pretty hard right now. I'm really sorry to have to inconvenience any of you like this, but this new system will avoid this problem happening in the future, so it'll just be this one time. I really appreciate your understanding.

TL;DR, if you can't access the download link up above, but you think you should qualify for it (if you've pledged at the Commander or Captain tier even once since after v0.48 came out), message me and I'll work with you to figure it out as soon as I can.

Now, with all that preamble out of the way, let's get into the details of what's been added in v0.49!

        Crisis Point: Extinction v0.49 Major Changes and Features

-Completed the Story Rework, adding several new cutscenes and more context to Alicia's relationship to a certain important NPC, as well as establishing some new plot points that will be important going forward. There's still improvements we want to make to early game cutscenes, but we put a lot of love into these ones, with lots more character animation than usual, so I hope you choose to start a new playthrough and experience all of the new story scenes! With this rewrite finished, we're finally in a good position to start developing new story content again, which will be the main focus of v0.50.

-Reworked Alraune and Poison Alraune combat behaviors; Alraune now have a wider variety of attacks, and Poison Alraune function as proper minibosses, with much trickier attack patterns.

-New Alraune Duo H-scene added; now that the Alraune's combat behavior has been tweaked to accommodate multiple of them in a single fight, we've added a long-requested three way scene between Alicia and two Alraune. (No BE variant for now, but that will be coming in a future update)

-Implemented an Achievements system, and a Shop menu to purchase cosmetics/"for fun" gameplay tweaks using points earned through achievements, like the ability to play as BE Alicia without being in BE state.

-Added a new gameplay mechanic, Partner Actions; currently the system only supports 2 different Actions, which are automatically selected at certain points of the story. In future updates, we'll be adding more Partner Actions and allowing you to pick which one you want to have equipped at any given time.

-Added Ladders as a gameplay mechanic, including a few shortcut ladders to improve backtracking

-Added visible Blaster Stats to the menu, allowing you to more easily see what kind of impact your blaster part choices are having without needing to test them ingame.

-Big Alicia's sprite in the pause menu now supports recolors and changes based on Alicia's BE status; the new cutscene CGs added in v0.49 also support recolors (but not the previous H-CGs, sorry; they weren't set up with the recolor system in mind, and we couldn't really do that without fully redrawing them all)

-Bosses are now refightable as many times as you want, and your difficulty can be changed mid-playthrough

-Lots of other smaller changes and tweaks

With v0.49 finally released, I'll be keeping a close eye on the update and issuing hotfixes for any major problems that arise as soon as I can. Once v0.49 seems stable enough, we'll start development of v0.50 properly (probably in a week or two), and post the link to the itch.io page for v0.50 - which will be a blank page with no downloads, but you'll be able to grab your download key now in preparation for whenever that update comes out. I'm not going to post a full list of our plans for v0.50 just yet, since some of them are still under wraps, but the main thing is that we're finally going to start developing BRAND NEW CONTENT at long last - so expect new areas, some new enemies, and hopefully even a new boss fight!

Before I end this post, a BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE to every one of our generous Patrons for continuing to support us; you all are beautiful and amazing and I appreciate you more than I can say for sticking by us. On top of that, an EXTRA big shoutout goes to our top patrons for the v0.49 dev cycle:

Katsune Teku
kenyama
Angel Tinkerer
Thomas Kleis
Akira Anshin
healers
Gemini
ZeroBusterXZ
BuckleyPlayz
Hexerin Null
Butterfish
Genkishi
Wrathaeon
Orion Gifford
F O X Y

Y'all are the best fanbase I could ask for, and I can't properly express how grateful I am to each and every one of you following along. We wouldn't still be here doing this without your support, so thank you, and I hope you enjoy v0.49 of Crisis Point: Extinction!

-Anon42

Crisis Point: Extinction v0.49 feature trailer (18+ Adults Only Metroidvania) (YouTube)