Hey all you Mega Fans! It's been a while since we've talked about development on Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch, so I wanted to shed some light on V6C's development cycle and show off just a couple of things we are working on.

As you can definitely tell, it's been a hot minute since any information on anything in the core game has come out, but I want to ensure you that we are working hard on V6C and all the updates that come with it. After taking a break after wrapping up V6B, the amount of things we wanted to get done in the next version steadily increased so the next version will be a lot more than just bug fixes and balance changes but will include new maps, new skins, and even some new items!

That said, part of the reason why I wanted to make this post was to clarify that we are still a ways out from V6C's release, both in terms of things we want to get done, but also in regards that some of the new/updated features in V6C rely on the latest version of Zandronum. As such, even if we were done with everything we wanted to get done today (And don't get me wrong, we're absolutely not), we are also waiting for the official release of the latest version of Zandronum before we can release V6C properly. I do want to thank everyone for their patience and I wish I could give a more concrete answer to when we're able to release outside of a generic shrug, but for now that's just kind of how the boat is sailing.
That being said, and while this is definitely farther in the future, I can say that once everything is ready and V6C is ready, we will move rather quickly into development for V7A.

While I'm more than happy to pop up on the forums and make an official announcement that "It will come out whenever it does.", I will use this thread to show off some updates every now and again. So real quick, let me show off two updated maps that are going to be in V6C. I'm going to mostly let the screenshots do the talking for me, but I'll add a little bit about them.





Drill Man's stage has gotten a pretty hefty rework! Gone are the incredibly small caves full of power weapons. The map has received a large expansion, although a lot of the power weapons still remain. Though elements of the old map still remain in the new one, it's just expanded upon all around.





Unlike Drill Man, Magma Man's stage hasn't gotten a full on revamp, but it has received a number of layout changes to greatly improve the map's flow without sacrificing the map's unique identity. This isn't just me talking it up because I'm on the development team, but it has never felt better to play on this stage.

As I said before, I intend to post more about new things coming to V6C in the future, and it's not just two maps we have in store. Keep your eye out on this thread for future updates!

then... I'll Be Waiting.

Hey all you Mega Fans! My plan going forward with these newsletters are to post them somewhat regularly with just a couple changes we have at a time. While some changes may seem on the smaller side, trust me that we have a good amount of content backed up to show off to you all, but we gotta make it last! My general plan for the time being is to show off a smaller set of changes, followed by larger ones.

That said, I'm not going to leave you completely high and dry. I'll actually leave you wet because here's Splash Woman.




Splash Woman's stage is actually mostly the same as you remember it with two key differences worth talking about. The first is the return of the side route that was removed from V6B in all of its glory. Your Top Spin needs will be met, do not fret.
The second of which is just a general visual sweep of the map. Not so much an overhaul but some of the Mega Man 9 stages made it a little trickier to get things looking great, but the stage has been spruced up so it just looks prettier. Who knew those water platforms could do so much heavy lifting?

As for something a little more substantial...





We have doubled our train supply! Instead of fighting on one single train, Charge Man's stage will now take place on two trains riding together. A lot of the cars are the same as what you've known, but shuffled around, and the simple ability to jump between trains adds a lot of movement opportunities to a map that struggled with that exact thing.
A lot of the teleporters were also cut down, some due it just being two trains, and others replaced with fans to help take you to the other train quickly.

That's all for today! I'll try to keep things updated every two to three weeks as long as things continue on the pace they're currently at, so we'll see you again soon!

mm5chax walked so V6C mm5cha could run

Hey all you Mega Fans! We're going to be going for the every two week update going forward. It should all work out, but you'll be able to tell we're starting to stall for Zandro if I start just posting pictures of grass.

That said, let's get right to it and look at a couple of maps! Starting with Top Man!




The change to Top Man's stage consist almost entirely of the north side of the map. What was once a mostly straightaway bridge with a pit looming below it is now actual extensive rooms and geometry. It really just helps flesh out the weakest part of the map and helps the map feel more "balanced" as a whole, for the lack of a better term.
Plus the cat is here. That's always a good thing to have.

Now, let's take a look at something completely new.






Ring Man's stage has been completely redone! Don't worry, it's somehow still ring shaped, but it manages to work a lot better at being both shaped like a ring, and being a cohesive and fun map to play the game on. Throw in some more texture variety with the rainbow bridges (sorry, they are just for looking at, they won't be falling out from your feet today) and Ring Man's plethora of minibosses joining the fray, and being Ring Man has never been better.

That's all for today! We'll see you again in a couple weeks for some more!

Ring Man getting a serious glow up is very much appreciated- it's always been a bit of a funky map in the game, and usually not in a good way. This makes it look so much better, aesthetically and layout-wise. And the props are top notch!

Can't wait to see what else gets revealed!

Hey all you Mega Fans! We're back again with another V6C newsletter! Let's get right to it and show off the big map change first this go around! Here's another completely remade map from the ground up!





After many, many moons, Elec Man's stage has been completely remade! The old map was certainly iconic for fitting the vertical nature that Elec Man's level in Megaman 1 is, but it was never very popular in terms of actual playability. This new Elec Man takes some cues from the old one (those fan platforms certainly look familiar) but breaks the level out of just being one very tall box, while still keeping the elements of verticality that makes Elec Man... well, Elec Man.

But that's not the only new addition waiting for us on Elec Man's stage. For if we look a little closer...



Oh, hello there.

Magnet Beam is being added as a new mobility item in V6C! It works pretty simply, though it's a little hard to get across in screenshots alone, so bear with me. Just use your item when you have Magnet Beam selected, and...



You'll form a bridge!



The beam will stay for a few seconds too, so you have plenty of time to traverse what you've created. Of course, opponents are able to follow as well.
But it's not just straight bridges! The Magnet Beam will fire in whatever direction you fire it in, and will shoot at that angle!




It can even act as a place down ladder if you shoot it vertically! Completely climbable and everything! But as I said before, just because you can create temporary platforms doesn't mean that other players can't make use of them as well... So it's best to keep that in mind, especially if you're trying to use it as a disengage tool. From experience though, it's a very fun item to use, so I hope you all enjoy!

That's all for today's newsletter! See you next time!
You can now imagine me using Magnet Beam to leave this post.

Fiuf, I haven't been here for so long that my user got deleted hahaha
Nice to see this wonderful project is still going!
That Magnet Beam looks fun to use, will allow players to do many weird shenanigans!
Love those map revamps that still keep the original feeling of them intact.

Good luck to the team developing it!!

And Reworked Airman map? or Woodman map?

Hey all you Mega Fans! We're back again with another V6C newsletter! We have two more maps receiving changes to show off today, so strap on in! Let's begin with another map that spouts more minor, yet very important changes.




Toad Man's stage has always been very thematically fitting for what his stage in Mega Man 4 is, a sewer system. With that in mind, it's quite unlike any other map in the game I would say. While there were improvements to be made, we definitely didn't want to change the identity of the stage at all, so the changes made are simple on paper but very impactful in gameplay: You can now jump out of the currents at almost any point in the map rather than having to be stuck down there until you make it to a ledge. This not only gives you more options when it comes to, you know, getting out of the lowest parts of the map, but not having to commit to being down in the water allows you to make better use of the movement the current provides.

The sewers have also been more populated with some more enemies from Toad Man's stage. There's more than just what's in this picture, so keep an eye out when V6C releases.

Anyway, let's take a look at another map where the blueprints are still there, but the changes are a lot more major.






Blizzard Man's stage is receiving a rather sizable revamp in V6C! There is certainly something very iconic about the stage, or rather, the middle section with the boat. The sides have always been rather unremarkable and the map's openness hasn't always been the most popular despite the boat. So our goal was simple, keep the middle section somewhat similar, albeit throw in some cover and better ways to traverse between the two sides, and completely expand upon the side paths so they're not relegated to buildings that teleport between each other. What we end up with is a map that is a lot more fun to play with, but doesn't lose the most memorable parts of the original map, and you know that boat is staying intact. Albeit it's a lot easier to get on and off it now without plummeting into the icy water below.

As an aside, if you're paying attention to these screenshots, you might have noticed that the assist items now have a blue border around them rather than the standard one that you've seen up until now. This was a decision we've made to help easily allow players to know what's a weapon pickup and what's an item that's going into your inventory. Sure for someone familiar with the franchise, it should be a no brainer that Beat Support is an item and Tornado Hold is a weapon, but for someone less familiar with the Mega Man series, that wouldn't be so easy to tell apart. It's just a small quality of life for the players, but one if I didn't address would probably leave everyone stumped to why Item-1 and Eddie are suddenly surrounded in blue.

Anyway, that's all I have for this newsletter! We'll see you next time!