Due to the two pieces of detailed feedback I have received since January , an update to the visual novel is coming within a fortnight. (two weeks)
Here is what is getting worked on...
START AGAIN. Start again is broken. It is an option at the bottom of the select screen as seen in the rewind video tutorial on youtube. It should appear after your first playthough and allow you to skip through credits, story, the battle of Tern and planet background. These unskippable scenes were only supposed to be that way for the first playthrough only. This worked properly in the demo, but got broke somehow. I discovered this major blunder myself. To Fix this issue, START AGAIN option will be static on the select screen. This will allow you to skip the opening credits, overarching story, battle of Tern and planet background. Skipping over the 'encyclopedic exposition'
CONTROL. Space bar will be added to right mouse and enter as progress keys.
TEXT Many typos will be corrected. But since my eyes will skim over some of them, some will survive.
STEAM OVERLAY I don't know how this quite works yet, but I would like to include it in this update.
UNLOCKS On the current live build, if you click on Elyssia's jeweled necklace on the select screen, all points of change will be unlocked. In update, story events that require multiple points to be triggered will now have an option to have the trigger solutions displayed. This will make viewing certain events such as, the foursome in the cafe, Azalea's escape from chains, or Flora's murder much easier to enjoy. (or know the exist)
I hope you look forward to the update. Here are two links to Youtube videos. The first is the mentioned rewind video. The second is the trailer for Episode 2.
Watch as Cristof, Lukasz and Walczak take you to the sprawling Tortura and share secrets of the game development in what is the second ever episode of Retrovibe's live Dev - a series of daily streams showing game dvevelopers working on their games. Tune in daily at 10:00 PT / 13:00 ET / 19:00 CET
Blender 2.93 LTS marks the end of a series more than twenty years in the making. It also marks the start of a new era: 3.0 arrives very soon indeed.
For now, 2.93 intends to go out with a bang, featuring a huge number of enhancements. These enhancements are featured in the 2.93 LTS Features reel and showcase.
The EEVEE depth of field rendering option was rewritten for increased accuracy, allowing it to better handle fall off and close-ups. Ambient occlusion and volumetrics were also improved.
Geometry Nodes was expanded to build on the attribute system -- texture sampling, support volume data, and usability were all upgraded. A multitude of new nodes were added, including proximity, sample texture, remove, convert, clamp and more. Amongst the large number of improvements to Geometry Nodes was the Spreadsheet Editor, and several usability tweaks. Additionally, it’s now possible to add a range of primitives without leaving Geometry Nodes. And Geometry Nodes received its own default workspace.
In Grease Pencil, the line art modifier was added to create stylized lines. The fill tool was updated to make it faster, and other tweaks like multi-frame filling were included. Also, it’s now possible to export SVG and PDF for further editing in other programs.
Modelling updates included new taper modes, leading to enhanced control. Subdivision surface options introduced more UV smoothing possibilities.
VSE now automatically generates proxies, while Cycles has again become faster -- plus other developments, like less blurry normals. Lighting now includes the option to add a honeycomb or grid in front of an area light. Sculpting, animation and rigging also received updates.
Of course, there were many more improvements and bug fixes, all of which can be further explored in the release notes.
As always, enormous thanks to the community, and the over 5000 individuals and organizations contributing to the Development Fund.
v0.01 hit the private testing group just last week, and it was awesome to finally get the first build of the game out there! Key feedbacks:
The scoring system needs to update immediately. v0.01 scoring system ramped up the number of points frame by frame, so it took a while to get to the actual score. The game moves really fast, so the score was always just changing and you never knew what your real score was.
Bullets are hard to see. This is something I've fought with from the get go, mostly because of the limited palette. The decision is to make the bullets larger, and one bright color with a contrasting dark border. In v0.01, the bullets are smaller and also blink which makes it a little more difficult to see.
We need sfx! v0.01 launched without sound effects (this was planned due to time constraints), but they will be in the next test build. Also, Amanda will have a voice in the next build, too. :)
Menus need work. The splash page needs to be skippable, and I'd like to re-work the menus to be more "pixel art" style. For the first build, I just put something together quick to get it out there.
My goal for the next test build is a couple of weeks! If you'd like to help test early builds of the game, you can join the discord server and level up to lv 6, then get access! A public alpha is planned for late summer, which will be open to everyone.
Thanks for supporting the game! It means the world to me.
• Enemies are now more likely to sonar-ping you before starting their depth-charge run • When attacking escort sonar-pings, ALL escorts in hunter group now also ping • Added “Enemies Launch Torpedoes” toggle to Modding/GameVars/Enemy Torpedoes • Modding Editor checkboxes for true/false variables • Added Custom Convoy ship list editor to Custom Game Settings • Prevent enemies launching torpedoes if target is blocked by terrain • Added helper text to “End Mission” button • Fixed additional escorts being added to custom convoy games • Fixed bug where diving then immediately surfacing could leave sub in submerged state • Fixed dive overshooting target depth on mobile devices • Fixed bug where crew overall health gauge could show incorrect value • Fixed bug where game could occasionally freeze on Fast Travel • Fixed bug where target ship could be missing from “sink the ship” side mission • Fixed bug where saved game enemy base side missions could be broken when I change the area map
as some of you know we launched a Binding of Isaac kickstarter campaign last night and it has already eclipsed the previous one by nearly 1m dollars... in 24 hours! this kickstarter is going to be insane and i have sooo many cool things to unlock and for you guys to do along the way to unlock even more stuff.
so far we have unlocked 2 warp zone packs from other games ( The End is Nigh, Spelunky and Gish ) and are working on unlocking a new pack on twitter today ( https://twitter.com/edmundmcmillen ) ill add images of the cards at the bottom of the post.
i know a lot of you aren't interested in the card game, and for you we have added the ability to pledge 1$ and gain access to all merch items! we have apparel, plush dolls, figure sets and many many more ( also tons more to come as well ) so please check it out, last time we did this it didnt reach as many people and isaac fans got screwed after the fact by scalpers on ebay ( the original gold box is still selling for 250$ on ebay) so if you are on the fence you have till the 1st of july.. but if you act now...
ALL BACKERS WHO BACK IN THE NEXT 14 hours! get a free Tained Isaac Figurine for any order $35 and above!