Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 8th, 2023, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 1st, 2023. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
May 2023 Art Contest - Game Worlds
Hey everyone! It's time for another art contest! This art contest's theme is Game Worlds!
So, make something related to Ball Race, Minigolf, Little Crusaders, Zombie Massacre, Accelerate, and/or Virus!
Entries are allowed until May 25th, 2023 at 11:59PM CT.
Be sure to check out the prizes and follow the rules below!
Prizes: 1st Place - 1,000,000 Units 2nd Place - 750,000 Units 3rd Place - 500,000 Units
Prizes may be raised, and we also award participation prizes!
You can read the rules and how to participate here!
Engine Upgrade from 4.20 to 4.21
We have been working on updating the game to use Unreal Engine 4.21. Progress has been steady and we are hoping to get the upgrade out soon.
SDNL: New Game World
Johanna continued working on the map, Frostbite, mainly working on optimization.
joshua worked on view models.
macdguy finished the overall gameplay loop. He also worked on the HUD and the Scoreboard functionality. Added some weapons such as the Dual Uzi and Grenade Launcher.
Nuclearxpotato continued working on a new map, Disposal, which is based off the Virus map, Corrosion.
Sketchman worked on weapon traces for the SDNL weapon prediction.
Wheezwer worked on some concept art for the map, Meadows.
SDNL: Disposal VERY EARLY WIP BLOCKOUT
Ball Race: Heavenscape
Lifeless continued working on the map, working on optimizations.
Will continued working on the music.
Ball Race: Heavenscape (Background Art WIP)
Miscellany
madmijk continued working on MIDI support, working on the item that allows the player to manipulate multiple MIDI instruments at once, as well as the drum machine.
Nuclearxpotato worked on some condo items.
Sketchman continued working on the engine migration to Unreal Engine 4.21.
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since May 1st, 2023 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Experience the wonders of double ticket earning this weekend starting now and ending on Monday.
Tower Unite occasionally features events that multiply your rewards for playing the game! This weekend is double ticket weekend, so hop on over to the Arcade and shower yourself in prizes.
EVERY Arcade game gives double tickets during this event!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 1st, 2023, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 24th, 2023. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
May 2023 Art Contest - Game Worlds
Hey everyone! It's time for another art contest! This art contest's theme is Game Worlds!
So, make something related to Ball Race, Minigolf, Little Crusaders, Zombie Massacre, Accelerate, and/or Virus!
Entries are allowed until May 25th, 2023 at 11:59PM CT.
Be sure to check out the prizes and follow the rules below!
Prizes: 1st Place - 1,000,000 Units 2nd Place - 750,000 Units 3rd Place - 500,000 Units
Prizes may be raised, and we also award participation prizes!
You can read the rules and how to participate here!
Engine Upgrade from 4.20 to 4.21
We have been working on updating the game to use Unreal Engine 4.21. Progress has been steady and we are hoping to get the upgrade out soon.
SDNL: New Game World
Last week we had a lengthy internal meeting discussing the goals, gameplay, and weapons / maps we want to include in SDNL’s first release. We're excited to prepare and share more information soon about SDNL in the coming developer logs. We have officially begun full development of SDNL.
Johanna continued working on Frostbite. She also conducted art and sound passes on several weapons: Magnum, Pirate Gun, Garand, Laser Saber, etc.
joshua worked on a new skeletal rig for SDNL.
macdguy worked on several of SDNL weapons: Laser Saber, Chainsaw, Stealth Box, Magnum (w/ scope), M1 Garand, Katana, Bullpup, and RPG. He also worked on Sliding movement, double jump movement, and dash movement (for Katana).
Nuclearxpotato started working on a new SDNL map.
Wheezwer worked on signage for Frostbite.
SDNL: Laser Saber WIP
SDNL: Throwable Chainsaw WIP
Miscellany
Lifeless continued working the Ball Race map, "Heavenscape".
madmijk continued working on MIDI support, working on the item that allows the player to manipulate multiple MIDI instruments at once.
Nuclearxpotato worked on condo items.
Sketchman continued working on the engine migration to Unreal Engine 4.21.
Wheezwer worked on graffiti text for use in maps.
Will continued working on music for the Ball Race map, Heavenscape.
MIDI: New Electronic Keyboard Sounds
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since April 24th, 2023 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for April 24th, 2023, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 17th, 2023. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
Update 0.16.9.0 - Catzek Temple
Last week we released Update 0.16.9.0, which included the new Virus map, Catzek Temple as well as various plaza improvements and other bug fixes.
Johanna continued working on Frostbite, adding more detail to the outside areas.
SDNL: Frostbite
Slaughterday Night Live
macdguy started working on the movement and weapons systems for SDNL (Slaughterday Night Live).
SDNL: Rocket Gibs
Miscellany
Joshua continued working on new items, such as the music stand and the dragon. He got the dragon textured and ready for rigging. He also worked on the Electronics NPC.
Lifeless continued working the Ball Race map, "Heavenscape", working on the background environment.
madmijk continued working on MIDI support.
Nuclearxpotato worked on bug fixes for the Virus map, Catzek Temple. He also worked on various condo items, such as a dumpster, and added cords to the Retro Gaming Computer.
Sketchman continued working on the engine migration to Unreal Engine 4.21.
Wheezwer worked on graffiti text for use in maps.
Will continued working on music for the Ball Race map, Heavenscape.
Graffiti Art for Maps
New Condo Items
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since April 17th, 2023 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Tucked away in mysterious jungle-covered mountains, ancient ruins lay dormant… waiting. Catzek Temple is designed as the largest Virus map yet, featuring multiple routes sprawling from a rugged jungle to ancient obsidian mines. While the temple-top may seem like an easy sniper’s nest for Survivors, multiple geyser-powered launchpads allow Infected to quickly bombard you from all directions.
The ancient Catzeks lived in a world secluded from humanity for centuries before vanishing, leaving only their cities and possessions as proof of their rich history. While archaeologists stumbled upon this location in the past, some unknown fate befell them before they could complete further studies. Now with your arrival, an ancient game of Virus begins anew.
Changes
New Virus Map - Catzek Temple!
Virus - Subway: Lighting overhaul
New Plaza map board model
Added new icons for characters: Dragon Hero, Speed, Birdie, Daisy, Billy, Kalleira, Franky, She, Virgil, and Vox
Added medallion icons for the minigames
Added map boards to many more areas of plaza, including interiors
Added an extra sign for Dark Voyage to better help players know its location
Doubled VRAM texture streaming usage limits (before it was not always using full VRAM usage)
Bug Fixes
Casino: Fixed duplicate Bingo screens
Fixed Billiards tables in Nightclub being really dark
Condo: Fixed IO persistent connections not being created properly when creating them in the connection editor UI. This fixes Libretro Consoles not always connecting to TVs
Plaza: Fixed collision issue in Laser Tag Arena
Workshop: Fixed flying pet offset not previewing in workshop editor
Fixed Trigger Volumes activating with the third person camera
Condo: Fixed nuke button and seat volume IO delay events not firing off
Condo: Fixed physics items resetting scale when respawned
Fixed TNT milestone not hiding text when thrown
Virus: Fixed use key prompt not updating when binding is changed
Fixed media player trigger volumes not ending when a player dies, causing the media player not to end properly on respawn
Arcade: Fixed arcade NPC (Vox) being rotated wrongly
Fixed Billiards table ceiling lights not hiding when in top down view mode
Fixed party blower not showing up on face
Fixed missing material on bowling benches
Fixed Dark Voyage failing to start
Optimizations
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Heart Stool
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Cafe Table
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Shamrock Table
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Room Table
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Office Table Round
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Office Table Short
Condo: Reduced drawcalls for Race Car Bed
Condo: Reduced drawcalls & standardized materials/textures for Wooden Bar Table
Updated LC use key prompt to no longer update on tick
Optimized player camera collision calculations
Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for April 17th, 2023, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 11th, 2023. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
March / April 2023 Condo Contest - Tree House - CONCLUDED
Congratulations to the winners of the March / April 2023 Condo Contest!
The winners are:
1st Place - 2,000,000 Units - @Han 2nd Place - 1,000,000 Units - @Baby_in_a_Pipe 3rd Place - 375,000 Units each - @Alexer_Zoderia and UnderdogJess 4th Place - 500,000 Units - @TheGreenKing 5th Place - 300,000 Units - @darkcoolyo
Thank you to everyone who participated, and we can't wait to see you all next time.
You can view all the submissions to this contest here.
Update 0.16.9.0 - Catzek Temple
We're very close to having Update 0.16.9.0 ready for release, which will include the new Virus map, Catzek Temple as well as various plaza improvements and other bug fixes.
You can read all the planned fixes and changes here.
Miscellany
Johanna continued working on the SDNL map, Frostbite, finishing the main art pass of the underground area. She also fixed some bugs in the Plaza.
Joshua continued working on new items, such as the music stand, getting flippable pages implemented.
Lifeless continued working the Ball Race map, "Heavenscape", working on the background environment.
macdguy worked on fixing a bunch of bugs that came up with the previous update. He also worked on getting the Virus map, Catzek Temple ready for release.
madmijk continued working on MIDI support. He continued working on the MIDI Maestro item, which allows for controlling multiple MIDI instruments at once.
Nuclearxpotato continued working on getting the Virus map, Catzek Temple ready for release.
Sketchman continued working on backend improvements. He also worked on getting Unreal Engine 4.21.2 ready for testing for a future engine migration, as well as making a new poster for the Plaza.
Wheezwer worked on graffiti text for use in maps.
Will continued working on music for the Ball Race map, Heavenscape.
Plaza: New Map Signs
Plaza: New Poster
Engine Upgrade WIP
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since April 11th, 2023 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for April 11th, 2023, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 3rd, 2023. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
March / April 2023 Condo Contest - Tree House - VOTING OPEN
Hey everyone!
The theme for the March/April contest is Tree House!
So, build a house in a tree! You can build your own tree or use one of the existing ones, and feel free to make your tree house in any style.
Also, remember that you can disable collision on items (such as trees) by right clicking and selecting Disable Collision.
Voting is now underway, so make sure to vote for your favorite condo submission!
The voting period ends on April 13th, 2023 at 11:59 PM.
Last week, we released Update 0.16.8.0, which brought back Anniversary events, new items, a updated and optimized Plaza, and more!
Over the weekend, we released Hotfix 0.16.8.1 which fixed various bugs and issues that were introduced with the initial update.
Read all about the initial 0.16.8.0 update here, and the 0.16.8.1 hotfix here!
Virus: Catzek Temple
Nuclearxpotato worked on getting the finishing touches done for Catzek Temple, such as various props and a statuette model for the hidden plushies achievement.
Virus: Catzek Temple
Virus: Theme Park
Johanna continued working on art for Theme Park.
Virus: Theme Park
SDNL: Frostbite
Johanna continued working on art for Frostbite.
SDNL: Frostbite
Miscellany
Johanna worked on fixing Plaza Lighting and getting it ready for release.
Joshua continued working on new items, such as a new Dragon plush.
Lifeless continued working the Ball Race map, "Heavenscape".
macdguy worked on getting the Anniversary update released, and fixed bugs and issues that came up over the weekend.
madmijk continued working on MIDI support. He also worked on an item that allows the player to control various instruments at once.
Nuclearxpotato continued working on Anniversary items.
Sketchman continued working on backend improvements.
Will continued working on music for Ball Race: Heavenscape.
New Item: Dragon Plush WIP
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since April 3rd, 2023 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
To celebrate Tower Unite's debut to Early Access, we're starting our Anniversary Event celebrations!
Kalleira, wanting to celebrate with everyone, caused mayhem by bringing in all the characters and minigames from all the holiday events. Due to her magic, this event features minigames from Halloween events and Winter Holiday events all at the same time!
You can also earn Anniversary Coins from playing any of the game worlds or minigames in Tower and unlock anniversary themed items, Halloween items, and Winter Holiday items!
This event will last for the entire month of April, so you'll be able to take your time getting coins!
New Anniversary Items!
Head to Kalleira near the Plaza fountain!
Easter Events will continue until the 10th!
Also...
Double Ticket Weekend
To kick celebrations off, this weekend we're also having a Double Ticket Arcade Weekend!
Quite a busy weekend!
Little Crusaders and Accelerate Payouts have increased!
We've more or less doubled the payouts for both Little Crusaders and Accelerate to encourage more multiplayer variety. Little Crusaders in particular earns you more when you have more players in the game.
Changes
Anniversary 2023 Plaza Update
Anniversary 2023 Optimization Pass
Added new items to Anniversary store: Catsack Ballon, Catsack Pinata, Holdable Catsack Balloon, Holdable Foil Balloon, Logo Backpack, Logo Cap, Logo Shades, Logo Tie, Party Blower, Rolling Ballrace Orb Pet, Wearable Logo Clock, Spring-Eyes Glasses
Added new items to D.I.Y: Full Vent Hatch, Half Vent Hatch, Vent Panel, Decorative Vent Cover, Wooden Easel
Added new items to Celebrations: Holdable Heart Balloon, Foil Balloon, Festival Booth, Loose Balloon
Added new item to Tower Threads: Dino Eggshell Hat
Added new item to Toy Stop: Rolling Egg Pet
Virus: You can now pickup your TNT after throwing it down
Virus: Dual Silencers no longer require primary and secondary, you just need to fire with primary
Virus: Slightly sped up movement
Added landing sounds
Added splash effects to water surfaces
Minigolf - Mushroom Wood: Added boost rings on certain holes
Libretro: Improved cord connection visuals
Accelerate Payout Increased: 1st Place - 800 > 1500
Accelerate Payout Increased: 2nd Place - 600 > 1200
Accelerate Payout Increased: 3rd Place - 400 > 800
Accelerate Payout Increased: 4th Place and Below - 300 > 600
Accelerate Payout Increased: Best Lap of the Game - 200 > 500