This is now what...the 4th year of doing these annual review/preview blogs? You know the drill, let's do it.
2021
A slow year for development. After 2020's blistering pace, 2021 came to a screeching halt. Nevertheless, there were things that got done.
1) Mythlink 3D Models and Animations
There was some decent success here in 2021. Two of the three initial planned Mythlink's have had their 3D models completed and they both have a healthy slew of animations to work with. More animations will be needed for the final release and the third Mythlink is not yet modeled (it's in progress), but overall I think this ended in a good spot.
2) The Game Development World Championship 2021
The unexpected success of 2021 was GDWC, which Mythlink took part in June of 2021. Although Mythlink did not walk away as winner of the "weekly favorite", I still thought it was a fun and interesting way to get exposure. Here's to hoping more of these opportunities come around as we near release!
In 2021 I mentioned that ultimately, my goal was to release the paid version of Mythlink within 2021 or the early part of 2022. I suppose it depends on your definition of "early", but as previously announced, I don't see it happening before July of this year. You can call that a miss, but not one I feel too guilty about.
2022
So, we've still got some work to do (what else is new?)
1) Release the Paid Version of Mythlink
Look familiar? This is the same goal put forth in the 2020-2021 review/preview! It will happen this year though, I just know it and have been working hard to make it a reality. As previously mentioned, the game will release with 3 unique Mythlinks, each with their own abilities and quirks. The current target date is before July of this year. That means the current release date is June 30, 2022 I suppose! I really would feel horrible about missing the release date, but would feel more horrible if the game released as a buggy mess, so if it gets delayed, it gets delayed. I'm definitely doing my best!
2) Start a Fierce Marketing Campaign
This should probably be listed as number 1, since these efforts will start before the game is released. The short of it is, Mythlink advertising has been non-existant. This was for a number of reasons, but will change soon. I touched on this a little bit last year, but now I've got personel in place and the time is almost right.
3) Enter Competitions, Conventions, and the Like
Related to 1 and 2, the best part of release year is all the things you can do out the gate! Award shows, conventions, and lots of fun to be had. Assuming I can get Mythlink out in a timely manner this year (and I don't mean December 31st), it would be really awesome to hit the road (either physically or virtually) and take part in these things. I'm quite looking forward to this. It almost feels like a victory lap after years of development.
Of course, as I've said many times before, once Mythlink is released, it's just the beginning. There is work to be done that only starts with the release and I hope that it is successful enough to justify acting on those ambitions.
Mac OSX The Whisperer is now available on Mac OSX and 2560x1600/1800 resolutions have been added to the list for retina displays. If you enjoyed the game and know a few Mac users that might enjoy it as well, don’t hesitate to let them know about it.
Very low graphics With the GPU shortage, I know some of you are stuck with a 2010 graphic card. If that’s your case, this is for you! You can now play the game on very low graphics, which will give an important boost to some computers.
Resolution fix This is what we call an “attempted” fix. Some of you have reported resolution bugs. I have been able to replicate most of them, but they are Unity related. So I cannot fix them, but I implemented a workaround that should work. If it doesn't, let me know in the forum!
This first round of optimizations was a lot of work, but I'm pretty satisfied with it!
More is coming, I'm sure everyone will benefit from a lighter client when I'm done! But this doesn't mean we're not working on new content~
Size: 767.0 MB MBs
Additions and Changes:
ːswirliesː Every main Princess asset has been reworked (much fewer files and MBs are being used) ːswirliesː "Laguna Treasure" costume for Desert Princess and Progeny has been added. You can forge it at Jardin's forge ːswirliesː New Game Over screen - Sink like a Bucket ːswirliesː "Dragon Courtesan" costume added for Dragon Progeny (Sea Dragon) ːswirliesː Pregnant forms added for Moth/Cat/Dog/Human alternative forms (Fairy/Catfish/Shitzu/Porgy)
Fixes:
ːswirliesː Fixed "Crystal Helm" icon ːswirliesː Fixed Desert Princess "Painful Love" not being shown correctly at times ːswirliesː Fixed Moth Princess "Koganamizu" not being shown correctly at times ːswirliesː Fixed Moth Princess "Restrained Wings" not being shown correctly at times ːswirliesː Fixed Mermaid Princess "ReDeep Kelp" not being shown correctly at times
This is patch 1.16, and I am very excited with the changes. I have been playing the game myself and been taking notes of my experience, as well as others. Here are the changes:
NEW MODULE: Focused (Makes guns that hit once and hard even stronger, the counterpart to the Weakened Defences module)
Many guns have been slightly nerfed (Explosive Shotgun) or buffed (Bouncy Gun, Shotgun, Tornado Gun)
The health amount of almost all enemies have been reduced. This should make the game overall slightly easier, and also make it less button-spammy to go through the levels without a powerful gun.
Happy New Year! The team is back from the holiday and firing on all cylinders - we’ve got a few updates for you today.
First and foremost, we’re on track to ship Steam Deck on time. Global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding, it looks like we'll be able to start getting these out the door by the end of February. You can view your estimated reservation availability window here, in case you've forgotten.
In parallel, work and testing for the Steam Deck Verified program has been underway. You’ll soon be able to see Deck Verified status for a growing set of Steam games. We’re checking four major categories: input, seamlessness, display, and system support. You can learn more about the program here.
It’s also important that we give developers the ability to test their games in order to get that nice green Verified check, so we’ve been sending developer kits out in quantity. We've been approving another wave of dev kits, and hundreds have been shipped out in the last month (and we're continuing to approve and send out even more). Thanks for your patience devs!
But what good are words when we have photos? Our production build is ramping up, and we have some of the first units in-house to test and evaluate (they're looking great).