I’ve been working hard over the last month of Feb and boy has it gone fast and so a late post.
I have been doing UI Improvements, adding in time bonus for all stages on easy and normal difficulties, A new pause menu has been implemented with more options like graphics, I’ve created more levels / stages now the game will now release with 15 levels and 150 stages and I’m currently in the process of going through all stages doing various fixes or changes based on videos I have seen people playing on YouTube and my own play testing.
Also now after completing 5 stages you now get a save point to reload from starting with the same score you had and lives you had remaining when entering the 6th stage, completing the level or returning to the main menu will lose your save progress and you can only reload from the save point if you run out of lives.
At least now you can bomb out and restart half way and not go all the way back to the start if you did the first five stage really well.
Changes / Fixes
Jumps
⦁ On keyboard you can jump using up arrow or when gravity is disabled down arrow, now in game not main menu you can use space to jump either direction
⦁ On game-pad Left-stick up and down can be used or LTS (Left Thumb Stick Button) can be used for both jumps and no longer changes to Cursed Element.
⦁ You can now double jump which can help you out, a single jump is mostly used on early levels but can still come in handy doing an extra jump.
⦁ While in air you can use roll left and right it will start moving you left or right so when your jumping be careful not to move yourself unless you want too move.
⦁ Single Warning lights will have an arrow up if the next gate needs to be jumped for or arrow down if it’s on the ground visible only on easy and normal, reverse gravity will have arrows in reverse.
⦁ Double warning lights have an arrow or a X, indicating a jump or not to jump
UI Improvements
⦁ RT and LT now on screen for game-pad, E and F keys for Keyboard
⦁ All UI screens. options, graphics, audio, how to play, achievements, high scores, element styles, stage lists, level list, virtual keyboard when using a game-pad, pause screen have all been improved and have borders, making it all look much better then before in the 1st demo.
⦁ Various fixes to entering and leaving UI screens
Pause Screen Now Has
⦁ Graphics – (Now accessible from game not just Main Menu)
⦁ Audio – (Just like before)
⦁ Controls – (Displays your controls for game-pad or Keyboard which ever is being used)
⦁ How to Play – (might find some useful hints was only in main menu options now easy to find)
⦁ Restart Level – (Back to the very First Stage of the Level your on)
⦁ Next Level – (Only enabled / visible if a bronze has been earned on current level)
⦁ Main Menu – (Yep takes you back there)
Buttons
⦁ On screen buttons now has E key or F key for the cursed element on the HUD and LT and RT for the game-pad
⦁ Now a pause button has been added above songs and albums
⦁ Alt key has been mostly changed to backspace or escape key and is only used on confirmation screens for a NO, Yes is space or enter
Controls
⦁ LTS and Space jump both directions.
⦁ LTS no longer changes you to Cursed Element only LT and RT.
⦁ Missing a Gate will now cause force feedback on controller.
⦁ Controls UI has been updated to reflect new / current mappings.
Stages
⦁ Now I have 15 Levels, 150 stages, 75 normal and 75 mirrored stages. first 4 levels / 40 stages in 2D then 11 levels / 110 Stages in 2.5-D.
⦁ Stage 1-1 and 1-2 now have sign indicating that you need to can back to cursed element to exit the stage to move on, also it has been spread out a little bit so it’s a little more forgiving for the first two stages.
⦁ Stage 1-3 and 1-4 now signs showing buttons on how to jump and jump signs and arrows showing where you can jump across, also when missing jump and dropping down the bottom I have remove little jumps to gates on boxes and have them as ramps making it easier to get past, also at the end of the stage it now has a ramp instead of a jump.
⦁ All stages are in the process of getting jump arrows, exit and exit close or exit ahead signs showing where they are or when you near the end of the stage, This will only show up in easy or normal difficulties BUT not on hard difficulty, they will NOT be visible at all.
⦁ Easy difficulty will now give players an extra 4 seconds per stage and normal an extra 2 seconds to help players on levels that you don’t start with much time.
⦁ Extra time will offset scores between the 3 difficulties i will be coming up with something like elemental’s or elements that when a player hits / collects with the right element they will gain score only in normal or hard – To be implemented in the future.
⦁ Fog, Stars and asteroids have been adjusted to change per level and asteroids have been updated to look better and more random.
⦁ Float rooms have had all materials optimised and adjusted so it’s easier to the difference between green and yellow gates.
⦁ Depending on success of the EA Release will determine how many more levels will be added to the game before full release
⦁ Tubes on all stages have had there materials updated and now have a tint of the stages colour helping to make each stage look more unique.
Graphics
⦁ In general almost all materials have been improved
Local Achievements
⦁ added in the star achievement for levels 11 though 15
⦁ added in number of achievement unlocked to locked e.g. 13/45
In the Future
Achievements will be linked to steam API – it will properly be done during Early Access. hoping to link already earned local achievements to that so they will unlock automatically.
I was hoping to be a little more happy with where i’m at and well I am more and more each day it’s starting to fell much better in both look and game play, but i was hoping to release to early access by the end of march and locking that release date in and releasing a new demo out by the end of this week.
Being a solo developer and testing… it’s all very time consuming, my list of things to do is getting shorter and shorter, hoping to set that release date in mid to end march for a mid to end of April Early Access launch.
Really going to have those Easter eggs in there.
Really been looking forward to it actually, so many great places I can hide them in stages
I was thinking 5 per level / 10 stages but thought if you go looking for one on a stage that doesn’t have one because it’s on the mirrored stage or something it might get frustrating not fun
Starting to think one per stage and collect all 10 for the achievement of that level which would add extra 15 achievements and allows me to put one on the stage and one on the mirrored stage in different places and when you get one on a stage you know your done.
Please consider wish listing to help me out and if you already have thank you for your support.
Chris