Another month of competition with both some old and new names in the ranks. Grey Wolf and Flu Orid went head to head leap-frogging each other earlier in the month. Both crushed their previous bests, with Grey Wolf (MizzKitty on the Solaroids Discord) securing the lead for a 2nd month while almost breaking 300 million!



There was a good mix of Classic and Modern control styles in play during the month with Ezekiel and Crysyn leading the Geometry Wars style players with what used to be pretty respectable scores in the double digit millions. I learned that Crysyn actually holds an achievement of his own. At a game developer conference, and playing on a 30ft screen none-the-less, he was able to achieve over 1 million in Geometry Wars. It's no surprise that he took to the twin-stick controls so quickly.

Come join the (Solaroids Discord Server), exercise some much needed bragging rights, say high to other players, share some tips, and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet.

Sign up my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms, not just Steam.

Hope you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the spring weather. I know we are!

Cheers and Happy Blasting!!

Chad (kiates)

Greetings pilots! A potpourri of new features and corrections for this release, but mostly centered around enhancements to the HUD.



Many of you will be happy to know that Solaroids now has a health bar for player ships. Previously the amount of smoke and sparks emitting from your ship was the health indicator, and was meant to be a soft indicator, introducing a little uncertainty to whether you really can take another hit. But by popular demand, the ships computer system has been upgraded to be able to take more precise measurements of the hull integrity. I've decided to introduce an inner ring just inside the current reticle, allocating the back half to health. As you take hits, this "bar" will shrink from both sides and the color will go from happy green through yellow and orange to unhealthy red. I expect this will also help to get a better understanding of how much damage different hazards and enemies inflict.

But wait, that's not all. Since I've allocated a whole new ring to the reticle, why use it all for health when I can use the front semi-circle area to add another requested feature... Ammo indicators. Rather than having to always glance back up to the corner of the screen to assess what kind of ammo you have available and about how much, I've added some mini ammo "bars" for all three weapon types: primary, secondary, and defensive. The area is divided up into thirds, with primary front and center, secondary to the left, and defensive to the right. Each is color coded based on the weapon slot, and in the case of Xbox controller users playing with the default classic controls, also matching the colors of the controller buttons they are assigned to.



Following with the interface changes theme, I've added some additional indicators to help provide additional useful information.

First, Whenever the multiplier moves by a whole increment, an indicator will be shown near the player ship. The multiplier goes up incrementally as you destroy things, down incrementally when you're not destroying things, and by a lot when you take damage. Now you'll see these changes as the multiplier goes up and down.

Second, most things have a score adder associated with it, and that score is further adjusted by your current multiplier. In this version, the final score adder will now show up at the point where the score was accumulated. This also helps to see the exact score value for point pick-ups since I don't show the exact value on the pick-up itself, but you're guaranteed the points are at least that amount. I expect to add an option in the future to turn showing score adders on/off if it's too distracting - let me know.

Finally, how many times have you started flying towards a power-up only to find it "expire" in a pop of sparks right before you're about to pick it up. This last feature is for you. Now a count-down timer will show up near the power-up/pick-up if it has less than 10 seconds before it expires, giving you a chance to decide if you've got the skill to swoop in and grab it in the nick of time.

A huge thank you to twitch streamer Drakkett and his devoted community for testing out many of the above features last weekend and for the great feedback in shaping them!! Also, many thanks to Ultra C for taking Solaroids for a spin on their YouTube channel and providing feedback/bug-reports.



Work continues on Vector Mode as well. With this version, the configured player ship colors are now rendered, which includes incorporating the player stripe color into the missile fins. Power-up icons now render at the correct size in the HUD as well. Like I've mentioned before, Vector Mode is still very much an experimental feature and is incomplete. Reticle, fonts, and other bits are still missing and/or incomplete.

Come visit us in real-time on the recently Discord approved (Solaroids Discord Server) and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet. Also, don't forget to sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms.

Cheers and happy blasting!

Chad (kiates)

• Vector mode now supports player primary and secondary colors. You'll be able to tell each other a part when playing with friends again.
  
• Added a Max Multiplier statistic, which replaces the less useful Small Asteroids Destroyed stat in the statistics display.
  
• Added a Discord menu-item to join the growing official Discord server. You can always join using https://discord.gg/solaroids.
  
• Add an audio/visual cue to the larger mines. They now chirp and the center light will blink faster the closer you get like the small mines. However, the distance is further.
  
• Add a heath "bar" to the reticle. It is displayed in the back half of the reticle and decreases in size and transitions to red as you take damage.
  
• Add primary, secondary, and defensive weapon ammo indicators to the reticle. These are shown in the front half of the reticle, and are color coded to the weapon slot type. For example, primary=green, secondary=blue, and defensive=red.
  
• Adjust mouse idle time from 2 to 3 seconds. When the mouse goes idle (isn't moving), the ship will orient to face the direction you are thrusting for cruising as opposed to strafing mode.
  
• Added indicators for when multiplier changes (in integer increments). When the multiplier goes up the new value is shown in green at the player ship's location. When the multiplier goes down by 1x (usually due to normal multiplier decay) it will show the new value in orange. When the multiplier drops significantly (due to taking damage to your ship), the delta is shown in red.
  
• Added indicators for score adders. Now when something of value grants you points, you'll see the actual total points awarded (with multipliers accounted for).
  
• Added indicators to power-ups that are about to time out. When a floating power-up has 10 seconds or less before it will be removed from the game, you will see an indication of the time that remains.
  
• BETA and VECTOR MODE IS EXPERIMENTAL text is now less in your face when playing.

• Fix issue where having keyboard and gamepad bound to player one doesn't toggle the PRESS # FOR KEYBOARD / CONNECT CONTROLLER messages for other players.
  
• Fixed issue where up on the D-Pad was switching the theme when trying to pick your secondary (stripes) ship color.
  
• Fixed issue where ship would briefly stop tracking the mouse target when flying in certain parts of the arena. This was at seamless wrap points.
  
• Fixed an issue where some components of a boss were not granting the intended score value.
  
• Fixed an issue with rapid fire where when picking up one it finishes firing the last burst of 5 (mis-fires).

• Vector mode is still very much an experimental mode. For example, the Reticle still has issues. No support for fonts, and power-up shapes are not optimized.
  
• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

The end of April marks the first complete month since the periodic leaderboards were added. The competition was pretty fierce resulting in two new all-time high scores and the emergence of a new top player using the Classic control scheme.



Congratulations to Grey Wolf for a zero to hero show, and Flu Orid, the reigning champion for some time, for putting up a good fight to try and hold the title!

Talking to Grey Wolf on the (Solaroids Discord Server) a few days prior to the achievement, it sounds like they play inertia based shooters almost exclusively, and have spent a lot of time honing their piloting skills playing the famous Subspace.

Come join the (Solaroids Discord Server), exercise some much needed bragging rights, say high to other players, share some tips, and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet.

Sign up my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms, not just Steam.

Hope you all had a good April and I look forward to what May will bring!

Cheers and Happy Blasting!!

Chad (kiates)

Hello everyone! Needed to do a quick update to fix an issue with Mouse Locking that was being a little to aggressive in dual monitor setups.

A big thank you to twitch streamer Drakkett for tracking me down, bringing it to my attention, and working with me to isolate the cause. The result is not only the fix for the dual screen issue, but the full ability to turn mouse locking on/off (MS Windows only) from the option menu as well as a hot key (F5). I also added a hot key to toggle borderless window mode on and off (F6) in addition to the existing option menu item. Now dragging the Solaroids window to a second monitor and pressing F6 is a quick way to get it on a 2nd monitor.



Finally, I had made some additional progress of Vector mode, so might as well push it out to everyone, right? Vector mode is now in Color! The colors aren't finalized, and especially ship color isn't respecting each players choices, but it's starting to take shape. I'm also starting to work on converting parts of the HUD to vectors, so now the icons for the power-up prompts are showing up as well as your extra ships and active primary, secondary, and defensive weapons. With respect to those, they are showing up way to small, so I'll be tracking down the cause soon. It's still very much and experimental mode with score, fonts, and such needing the vector treatment, as well as refinement of the current vectors to make them more readable - especially in the case of power-ups.

If you miss the Asteroids Deluxe color scheme, don't fret. I plan on making it an option as Vector mode matures.

Come visit me in real-time on the (Solaroids Discord Server), and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet. Also, don't forget to sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms.

Cheers and happy blasting!

Chad (kiates)

• Mouse Lock - Toggle locking of the mouse to the Solaroids game window while actively playing. It is availabe under the Video option menu, but can also be toggled by pressing F5.
  
• Added F6 hot key to the borderless mode.
  
• Options with hotkeys show the hotkey next to the option name for reference.
  
• Experimental vector mode is now in color.
  
• Power-up/tip icons now show in vector mode in the prompt area at the bottom of the screen.
  
• Extra lives, and active power-ups now show in vector mode in the player HUDs.
  
• Many other tweaks to vector mode.

• Fix issue where resetting mouse lock was only allowing movement on the primary monitor.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Hello everyone! Thank you to all the players that have tried out some of the recent updates and posted scores to the new Daily/Weekly/Monthly leaderboards.

It's been about a week since the update to add Daily, Weekly, and Monthly leaderboards and I see both some familiar names as well as some new ones. What do you think so far, yeah or meh?

Here's the top scores for the week!!



And for the month of March (partial month)!



Speaking of leaderboards. I think it would be fun to have a speed run leaderboard. For the current Campaign it would be through Level 10 possibly with intermediate ones for each level to track progress, and for Free Play mode it would be through a certain number of waves possibly with intermediate ones as well. What do you think?

In other news, work continues on the experimental Vector mode. I've converted more of the graphics and have been playing with simulating the look of a real vector display. Here's what it looks like with the Asteroids Deluxe colors -- as available in this EA V1.2.4.2 build. This still picture doesn't really do it justice, as the flicker effect adds a nice touch of authenticity.



I'm also playing around with adding color into to the mix. Here's a early sample of what it's looking like so far. What do you think? I'm thinking of making options to tune the vector mode to your liking. If I do it would probably include an adjustment for full-color vs a single color, line thickness, beam intensity, and flicker. Would you rather see these kinds of detailed options, or just a high level Monochromatic/Multi-color option where I pick the settings?



That's all I have for this update as far as the bigger changes, but there have been several other smaller tweaks, so see the patch notes below.

Come visit me in real-time on the (Solaroids Discord Server), and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet. Also, don't forget to sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms.

Cheers and happy blasting!

Chad (kiates)

• Cycling leaderboards now cross fade as a transition.
  
• Alternate main high score display layout with Daily/Weekly/Monthly tables at the top and Local scores at the bottom.
  
• Always show Daily scores first at the end of a game.
  
• Daily leaderboard will show your score for at least one day, up to two if your really early in the day.
  
• Enhance vector mode to emulate an Asteroids Deluxe style look.
  
• Tweak background transparency for Stage 1 graphics.
  
• Fix initial zoom factor.
  
• Suppress controller vibration when a player is not actively in the game.
  
• Fix potential issue when forfeiting.
  
• Restart soundtrack when entering the actual game.
  
• More updates to German translations.

• Fix issue with local leaderboards not refreshing immediately when cleared.
  
• Fix issue showing daily/weekly/monthly rank.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Hello players! Round one of leaderboard enhancements is ready for prime time. Solaroids will now show Daily, Weekly, and Monthly scores.



During the EA V1.2.4.0 update last week that released the early version of the Vector mode, I also put in some behind the scenes work to start collecting scores for some additional leaderboards. This includes Daily/Weekly/Monthly boards that are like the First Credit and Any Credit boards that are already established, but also starts recording scores for Control Style specific leaderboards (not exposed yet in-game as I'm working out details on where and how I want to display them).

Anyway, this update allows the Daily, Weekly, and Monthly First Credit / Any Credit leaderboards to be displayed in game. They show up on the left side of the main leaderboard display where the local leaderboards show. That area now cycles between Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Local boards, switching every 5 seconds.



Come visit me in real-time on the (Solaroids Discord Server), and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet. Also, don't forget to sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms.

I hope you enjoy the new boards, and stay tuned for more tweaks related to leaderboards soon.

Cheers and happy blasting!

Chad (kiates)

• Daily, Weekly, and Monthly leaderboards.
  
• Updates to German translations. More coming soon.

• Per player leaderboard displays now correctly change between First Credit / Any Credit scores while playing.
  
• Improve handling of statistic and leaderboard refreshes.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Hello everyone! A little update with some new features mostly around options and to give you an early glimpse of the work-in-progress on the new Vector mode.



Yip, I couldn't resist getting your feedback, so I exposed an option to change the theme between the normal modern vector illustration style graphics and a more raw classic vector style. It's still very much a work-in-progress so be gentle. I still have to do work to swap out more shapes/symbols, particle effects (explosions/missile trails), fonts, and of course the main title, but I'm interested to hear what you like and don't like with the direction. Eventually I want to support additional themes too, so I can put in a nod to my old workhorses, the Commodore Amiga and C64, and hopefully some other classic systems as well. You can change the theme from the Effects menu, or for the brave, you can switch while in the heat of battle with the T-Key or DPad-Up, which are the default controls mapped to the feature.



There are also a few smaller updates focused on some usability enhancements requested from players and Youtubers. You can now fine tune the sensitivity of the thumb-sticks and triggers for the supported game controllers. This shows up as Thrust/Rotation Sensitivity options under the Controls option menu. In addition, you can also tone down the power of the thrusters if they're just to much for you to handle using the Max Thruster Power option. It's also fun to dial it down just for more deliberate thrusting experience and a different feel, but unfortunately, if you dial it down too much, you're bound to take a beating from random debris and bullets!!

Come visit me in real-time on the (Solaroids Discord Server), and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet.

Also, don't forget to sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms.

Cheers and happy blasting!

Chad (kiates)

• Enable experimental Vector mode. Note this is really early-early-access. It can be turned on either from the Theme option under the Effects category, or by pressing the DPad-Up button or T-Key if keyboard is being used. The control used can also be reconfigured like other controls per Control Style.
  
• Max Thruster Power option - Adjust the maximum thrust on a player by player basis. This is both useful to tune to your comfort level, and when taken to the extreme, makes for some fun times trying to change trajectory to avoid incoming debris!
  
• Thruster/Rotational Sensitivity control options - Adjust the sensitivity of the controls used for thrusters and rotation when assigned to analog controls like thumb-sticks and triggers. At 100% it will behave as it has, while at 0% most of the control will be at the end of the pull/push, and at 200% most of the control will be at the start of the pull/push. This is also per player.
  
• Reset Controller Layout option.
  
• Display version and EA disclaimer on the in-game option screen.
  
• Add Solaroids logo to the in-game option screen.
  
• Use machine based-translations, denoted with a (*), as stand-ins for text that hasn't been proofread/localized by a native speaker. Yes I finally pulled the trigger on this one and actually put the machine translations in until I can get the real ones sync'd up.
  
• Allow the viewing and configuring of player options and controls from the main menu, not just the in-game pause menu.
  
• Move Autofire and Aim on Fire options from the Gameplay category to the Controls category. They are now configurable per player instead of global options.

• Fix title graphic style/size when starting up under a non-English locale.

• Fix regression in camera handling at the edge of the arena when Seamless Wrapping is off.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great winter and holiday season. We're still buried under snow, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Not a lot of updates for Solaroids for Steam, so my apologies for that. I've been adjusting the infrastructure of the game to support multiple platforms, so mostly hidden work behind the scenes. I'm also working on the promised Vector Mode from the Early Access Roadmap, and Monthly and maybe Weekly leaderboards. I'll hopefully be able to wrap those up soon, but either way will share some progress as it gets more concrete.

With that said however, I was able to spend time to finish a set of Steam Trading Cards that Valve approved late December. So if any of you were wishing for some extra Solaroids "bling", those are available to collect. I tried to make them both showcase some of the artwork I created, as well as be useful for players. As such they include design notes and descriptions of the capabilities of some of the enemy types. They are English only for now, but I would like to commission localization where there is enough popularity and if Steam will let me add them. Here are a few samples from the set of five available.




For those into starry-scapes, in addition to the trading cards, I created several Steam Profile Backgrounds to go with the set. You can collect them while crafting trading card badges. Here's a preview from the set of five available.



There is also a set of Steam Emoji Icons in the Solaroids theme. Collect enough to spell out Solaroids before I do! (SOːsolaroidsLːːsolaroidsAːROIːsolaroidsDːS)

Thank you for supporting me on my journey to try and make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter. If you ever want to chat about Solaroids with myself or other players, or brag about your top scores and share tips, join the (Solaroids Discord Server). It's quiet there now, but maybe you can help change that!

I've also created a dedicated Early Access Page filled with, gifs, links, and a place where you can sign up to be notified at full launch.

Cheers and happy blasting!

Chad

• Performance enhancements for Linux/OSX.

• Fixed issue where soundtrack wouldn't advance on Linux/OSX.
  
• Fixed issue with camera when Seamless Wrapping Mode is turned off.

• Change mouse cursor from "hand" to a cross-hairs.
  
• Balance volume of mine alarm sounds.
  
• Fix issue with camera on resolution change.
  
• Updates to core open-source libraries used on Linux/OSX versions.
  
• Default to Stage-2 graphics, can be changed from the options.
  
• Default to a maximum of 3-continues. Can be adjusted from the Gameplay options menu.
  
• Updated title graphic.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Hello! Another small update to release a few small fixes and a couple of new features.



I've added a new type of mine I call Mini-Mines. These are smaller weaker versions of the larger mines already in game, but don't unleash a plasma wave when detonated. They also have an interesting feature where their lights blink the closer you get and make an audible chirp. I may add this effect to the larger mines too, since some times they are a little too stealthy. What do you think? They are now introduced on the level the existing mines were, and I've moved the existing mines a few levels later.

Another feature is the addition of an option called Player Spawn Position to choose where new player ships spawn. This is mostly for multiplayer scenarios, but like other options can also be used in single player as well. The default has always been for players to spawn near the sun. Under multiplayer situations, especially Player vs Player setups, this isn't always ideal. So now there are two other modes available under the Gameplay options menu in addition to the default of Near Sun. Random will spawn player ships at a random place on the map, and Near Other Players will spawn player ships near the average of the positions of other players. This later mode is useful when playing Co-op.

I hope you enjoy the tweaks.

• Mini-mines. Now introduced where normal mines were, with normal mines introduced at a late level.
  
• Player Spawn Position Option - Choose alternate player spawn positions.
  Pick between the original near the sun location, a random location on the map, or near other players.
  
• Camera shake is now used at key events like destroying bosses/mines regardless of how close the player is.
  
• Increased amount of camera shake (still adjustable).

• Fixed issue where rumble could get "stuck" when playing in shared screen mode.
  
• Fixed issue where camera shake wasn't working when taking an impact.
  
• Fixed issue where explosions were not being drawn in certain situations.
• Minor changes to the new threat display (justification/sorting).

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Hello everyone!



I've got another small update to incorporate a few new noteworthy features that I wanted to get wrapped up before the Portland Retro Gaming Expo (PRGE). Yes, that's right... Solaroids will be showcased at PRGE this year thanks to the Portland Indie Game Squad. This is the first event for Solaroids outside of my local community, and I'm excited to show it to the retro gaming lovers at PRGE.

Well enough with the ancillary commentary, let's get on to the update.

First, I'm happy to present a new "shared" screen Local Multiplayer option. In this mode, rather than split the screen into up to 4 smaller screens, you can play with or against friends in a single screen. The camera will pan and zoom to keep all active players visible. Dueling has never been better.

The down side is things can get on the small side if players a long way from each other. Use the reticle to keep your direction straight - it always stays the same size and now displays the primary ship color. I'm still working out how to make power-ups readily identifiable when zoomed out for easier identification. You can find this new option under Gameplay in the option menu.

Second, I'm starting to map out additional stages and levels, and I just couldn't wait to share some new background elements with you. For now, I've added an option under Gameplay to select the "Stage" for the background elements to use. Ultimately this will be incorporated into the campaign along with additional enemies and other hazards, but for now it just adds an alternate view. Please let me know what you think and if it's the right direction.

Finally, a message is now displayed to compliment the final level wave warning sound. Players have all too often wondered what the warning sound means the first time they play. In addition, in Free Play mode this message is accompanied by a list of the end-of-wave baddies your about to face. You'll have to let me know if you find it useful to be able to anticipate the onslaught your about to face and possibly be defeated by, or just find it useless noise.

• Shared-Screen Mode - Play on a single screen instead of splitting the screen.
  
• Stage Select - Pick Stage 1 or Stage 2 (only affects background graphics)
  
• Indicate the end of the level with a message in addition to the alarm sound.
  
• List end of level threats in Free Play mode.
  
• Adjust end of level waves.
  
• Adjust Free Play mode difficulty. It gets a lot harder after a few cycles than it used to which was already pretty hard.

• Fixed a bug related to positional audio and seamless wrapping.
  
• Fixed a bug related to particle effects (explosions) and seamless wrapping.

• Borderless window option is only implemented for Windows right now.
  
• Disconnecting an external audio device being used by the game will cause a crash/freeze on Linux/OSX.
  
• Some options and more recent prompts are English only or machine translated right now. If machine translated, they are indicated with an asterisk (*).

I hope you enjoy the new features, and once again, happy blasting!!