Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 15th, 2023, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 8th, 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.




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!


Last week, we released Hotfix 0.16.9.1, which added new items and features, but most importantly upgraded Tower Unite to use Unreal Engine 4.21.

While the changes in 4.21 won't be directly visible to the end user, the upgrade gives up improvements for build times, fixes for engine bugs, and new tools for the development in the game.

There was also a small path for this hotfix to fix issues that occurred when that update was released.

You can read the initial hotfix notes here, and the hotfix's patch notes here.


Johanna continued working on the map, Frostbite, mainly working on optimization.

joshua continued working on the new animation rig, as well as some guns.

macdguy continued working on the HUD and gameplay loop.

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.





Lifeless continued working on the Ball Race map, Heavenscape, getting it ready for release.

Nuclearxpotato worked on some condo items.
That about covers everything that happened since May 8th, 2023 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

This update addresses several bugs from the engine update.

Concerning Catsacks
As you may have heard, the engine migration to 4.21 caused some issues with opening catsacks. We're working on a fix that will be ready for early next week that reworks the catsacks, improving how they open and resolving previous bugs where they never opened in the first place. In the meantime, we have disabled the ability to open catsacks until that fix is ready. We apologize for the inconvience.

We are investigating and resolving other 4.21 engine bugs such as webM playback issues which a fix is already underway.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Theater and Nightclub media players not having voteskip options (4.21 engine bug issue)
  
• Fixed light build artifacts/issues with Condo Hub
  
• Fixed light build artifacts/issues with Knightsend-by-Sea
  
• Fixed Canvas Decal shine not working properly (4.21 engine bug issue)
  
• Fixed Cafe Table not being colorable
  
• Fixed an out of bounds bug with default Condo

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
http://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

Fish and earn double EXP during this weekend event starting this Friday and ending on Monday. There's also a bunch of more rare fish swimming around for you to catch this weekend as well!

Tower Unite will occasionally feature events that multiply your rewards for playing the game! Have fun fishing and stay tuned for further events!





Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
http://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

This update addresses several bugs from the new update including new items and features.

As part of our ongoing commitment to improve the game and offer the best experience to our player base we have upgraded the version of Unreal the game runs on from 4.20 to 4.21. Just like previous engine upgrades, effects may not be immediately visible to players, as many of the changes are fixes for engine bugs (which we frequently have to work around), improvements for build times (which lets us test changes faster), new features and tools for us to use when developing new portions of the game, and engine optimizations which may be more impactful for some users than others. Essentially, expect engine upgrades to pay dividends over time rather than up front, especially as this is a step to later engine versions which have other features and fixes which may be more immediately impactful for everyone.

This engine update required us to rebuild lighting on the majority of our maps, which will cause this update to be a larger download than usual updates. We apologize for the inconvenience, but there was no way around it (unless you wanted to see broken lighting in the game).

Changes

• Engine Upgraded from 4.20 to 4.21
  
• Added Readable Book, Sandbag Wall, Sandbag, Ancient Brick Wall, Ancient Brick, Restroom Stall Door, Restroom Stall Panel, Restroom Stall Divide to D.I.Y. store
  
• Added Decorative Dumpster, Dumpster, MCD Keyboard, Industrial Barrel, Toolbox, Rolling Toolchest, Hammer, Handsaw, Paintbrush, Sledgehammer, Paint Can, Paint Tray, Paint Roller to Rob's Imports store
  
• Added Basic Wall-Mounted Urinal, Plastic Cubby, Retro Stool, Small Grid Bookcase, Toilet Paper, Toilet Paper Holder to Sweet Suites store
  
• Added Tennis Ball, Windball to Toy Stop store
  
• Condo IO: Added new Random module with up to 32 random outputs
  
• Condo IO: Added Hidden Button/Volume
  
• Condo IO: Added Comment Volume
  
• Condo: Added a search bar to the material surface browser
  
• Condo: Added Advanced Edit Mode top bar notification to make it more noticeable when advanced edit mode is enabled
  
• Condo: Added "Disable Collision" button on main edit item property UI next to the lock button
  
• Condo: Setting for toggling surface edit mode is now always visible, regardless of being in advanced edit mode or not
  
• Condo: Custom item names now show on item tooltips, allowing you to quickly see your custom set item labels just by highlighting an item
  
• Condo: Added "Prompt Label" setting to IO levers and light switches
  
• Condo: Manipulate/gizmo UI now shows the title of the item you are manipulating, along with the ability to quickly rename the item
  
• Condo: Added "Relative Teleport" mode setting (keeps objects relative offset from the teleport when moving them to a new teleporter) to Teleporter items
  
• Condo: Added "Keep Velocity" setting (allows you to disable velocity transfer when teleporting objects) to Teleporter items
  
• Condo: Added "Play Once" setting to Sound Emitter item
  
• Condo IO: IO connections now copy over to the newly duplicated item when you duplicate an item
  
• Condo IO: Added "Start" and "Stop" debug buttons to Timer in the settings panel
  
• Condo IO: Added "Start On Spawn" setting to Timer
  
• Condo: Sound emitters display the sound that is being played instead of just "looping"
  
• Condo IO: Optimized internal calls
  
• Condo IO: Improved connection organization, now sorts by delay then alphabetically based on custom & item names
  
• Added IO Events - Buttons: SetPrompt
  
• Added IO Events - Levers: SetPrompt
  
• Added IO Events - Buttons: Activate/Deactivate
  
• Added IO Events - Levers: Activate/Deactivate

Bug Fixes

• Virus - Subway: Fixed hula doll clipping into snack machine
  
• Little Crusaders - Cardboard Castle: Fixed an issue with some models being inconsistent to walk along
  
• Little Crusaders - Cardboard Castle: Fixed some camping spots
  
• Little Crusaders - Cardboard Castle: Fixed some visual issues
  
• Little Crusaders - Cardboard Castle: Fixed some collision issues
  
• Plaza: Fixed "Stuff Discovery" turtle plushy being missing in the Transit Station
  
• Condo: Fixed clients not being able to scale workshop items in co-op condos
  
• Condo: Fixed color palettes not applying when selected (co-op condos)
  
• Condo: Fixed color UI header showing when there is only 1 color
  
• Condo: Fixed Copycat duplicate feature (and various other tools) not working in co-op condos
  
• Condo: Fixed Teleporter Square having a seam in the model effects
  
• Fixed "Longest Putt" stat not displaying anything in the stat book
  
• Condo IO: Fixed hide/unhide toggling collision wrongly
  
• Fixed upgrades in stores showing as unlocked when they have not yet been unlocked/bought
  
• Minigolf: Fixed Alpine Mastered achievement not unlocking properly
  
• Minigolf: Fixed Alpine course par stat not updating properly in stats book
  
• Minigolf: Fixed Mushroom Wood Playthroughs stat not displaying properly in stats book
  
• Condo: Fixed Teleporters teleporting players who are noclipping (now it'll fully ignore noclipping players)

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
http://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

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.




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!


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.


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.





Lifeless continued working on the map, working on optimizations.

Will continued working on the music.








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.

That about covers everything that happened since May 1st, 2023 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

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!

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE TICKETS!

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.




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!


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.


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.







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.




That about covers everything that happened since April 24th, 2023 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

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.

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.

You can read all the fixes and changes here.

Johanna continued working on Frostbite, adding more detail to the outside areas.









macdguy started working on the movement and weapons systems for SDNL (Slaughterday Night Live).





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.









That about covers everything that happened since April 17th, 2023 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

This update addresses various issues that came up from Update 0.16.9.0.

Bug Fixes

• Virus - Catzek Temple: Fixed spots where players could trap themselves
  
• Virus - Catzek Temple: Added measures to prevent exploits
  
• Virus: Added a small fix for crashes relating to autofire weapons

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun!
https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
http://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games

A new Virus map is here!

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!

We're also active on Twitter!
https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time:
https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week!
http://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

<3 PixelTail Games