Hey, Ballers!

Im excited to share some updates to make your Being Ball adventure even better:

• Bobot Arrives Sooner! Youll now unlock Bobot in the 4th level instead of later in the game. To make this possible, Ive shuffled the level order and redesigned key areas. Now you can roll with Bobot earlier and enjoy the enhanced gameplay he brings!
• Rewind Ready! The rewind ability can now be unlocked in Level 2-1, giving you a second chance to correct those tricky moments. Its time to roll smarter, not harder.
• Fixes That Matter!
  • No more accidental Bobot surprises - hell only join you at the right moment.
  • Abilities will stay unlocked once you earn them. Smooth and steady rolling ahead!

Ive worked hard on these changes to ensure the game feels more balanced and fun. This update has been carefully crafted to keep your adventure rolling in the best way possible. Whether youre rediscovering old levels or trying out the new flow, I hope you enjoy this update! So grab Bobot, hit rewind, and explore the new flow!
As always, I'm eager to hear your thoughts. Share your feedback, and keep rollin!

[ 2024-12-18 06:00:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Features

Cutscene Transitions

Introducing a new transition animation between scenes during cutscenes.

Free Look Camera

A modern way to look around the game world! Dont worryclassic mechanics like rotating the view left or right are still available. You can choose your preferred option in the settings.

Loading Screen

Say hello to a fancy and adorable new loading screen.

Rewind Ability

Bobot now has the power to rewind the ball's position! This ability can save the ball from falling, provided you have enough energy.
[table noborder=1] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]This ability isnt available in the current game version but will be included in a future update![/td] [/tr] [/table]

Additional Changes

• Increased energy consumption for the glide ability.
• The game now automatically loads into the first or last played level on launch.
• Menu background scenes have been permanently removed.
• The game engine has been upgraded to Unity 6. This is a significant update, so expect potential issues. Please report any bugs you encounter!
• Major updates to core mechanics, improving performance and behavior across the game.
• The new rewind ability required changes to key mappings and behaviors. Be sure to review the key mappings page in the settings.
• Ground detection has been improved to fix edge cases where almost wall surfaces were incorrectly treated as ground.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where in-game prompts wouldnt reappear after accessing the menus.
• Fixed teleporters ignoring holdable objects, which caused strange behaviors.
• Fixed an error occurring when objects scheduled for destruction entered a teleporter.
• Resolved pooling issues with water splashes and ripples.
• Fixed a potential issue with the rendering order of UI elements.
• Fixed the menu appearing when using action keys meant for prompts.
• Corrected a shader issue that caused the loading screen spinner animation to freeze.

Big Update, Big Changes!

This update marks a significant step forward for the game! While Ive worked hard to smooth out any rough edges, theres always a chance that a sneaky bug or two slipped through (maybe I planted them, who knows? ). Fixing bugs is my top priority, so if you spot any, please dont hesitate to report them!
And as always... keep rolling!

[ 2024-11-26 08:39:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added extra graphics option for real potatoes.

Changes

• Camera smoothness has been increased for when the ball is occluded by some other big object.
• The slopeness of stairs has been increased, it'll now feel almost like a perfect slope.

Fixes

• Fixed some pickups' idle effect wont show up.
• Fixed loading animation alpha stuck at 100%. It should now fade in and out properly.
• Fixed a potential crash issue caused by some leftovers from a cutscene in level 2-3.
• Fixed leaves balls fallen leaves suddenly disappear.

Keep Rolling

[ 2023-12-11 11:09:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Level 3-1 Releasing Now

Hello everyone, I decided to release the first level in world 3 before the rest. The new levels are a bit different from the previous levels in world 1 and 2. We now have Activities! Every level will have at least one activity to be fulfilled before finishing the level and at least one side activity that is not mandatory. [table noborder=1] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]By releasing the first level now, I can get some feedback from you that'll let me adjust the upcoming levels that are still WIP. In hope that'll speed up developing times that has been reduced due to latest unwanted events that were forced on us.. :( [/td] [/tr] [/table]

Update Notes for Nov 23

• Activities are now more informative.

Fixes

• Fixed repositioning of the box on level 1-1 after the cut scene starts.
• Fixed spinners misplaced in level 1-2. <= check if bug is in production
• Fixed interactable items wont unregister themselves when they went too far on some specific scenarios. You cant grab items when theyre extremely far away now. :)
• Fixed torches still being held when changing balls. (which wasnt intended)
• Fixed misplaced on screen prompts when UI scale is not 1.
• Fixed camera rotation overshoots to the next 90 degree angle when starting from a 45 degree increment.
• Fixed lights of ball changers fixed in place instead of moving according to world curvature.

Keep rolling!

[ 2023-11-14 12:35:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• You can now grab items.
• Added torches. You can grab them and use them to illuminate your path! (this will also take a greater role in future major update)

Changes

• Changes to how resolutions are saved in the settings due to engine deprecation. You might need to reapply your resolution preference.
• Lots of core changes have been made due to that engine upgrade. Some things may behave weird.. Please report any issues!
• On screen keys indicators have changed.
• Toilet paper pickup time bonuses for low, medium, high and gold have been raised from 1, 2, 4, 8 to 3, 5, 10, 30 seconds respectively.

Fixes

• Fixed a script error when unloading levels that can potentially stuck the game on a loading screen on (extremely) rare occasions.
• Fixed one of the three rotating spikes that jittered too much on level 1-3.
• Fixed a hidden area barrier not clearing away when its condition is being met in some specific level :).

Keep Rolling

[ 2023-10-09 10:11:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Our first update for the game is out! It features the fixes & changes below.

General Changes

• Small style changes to the skybox materials.

Fixes & Changes to Level 2-1

• Fixed moving platform in left wing area (moving & rotating platforms) going out of sync with other platforms after a long while. By doing so, a new bug was discovered and immediately squashed!
• Fixed jittering while on the small platform attached to the big wooden wheel in level 2-1.

Additions, Fixes & Changes to Level 2-2

• Changed the ground blocks at the start area to bush blocks so itll absorb the impact of the ball thus making it easier to land on it.
• Puzzle hints got redesigned and now, hopefully, is much less vague.
• Added some more pickups.
• Fixed pickups position too high above the wooden planks.
• First respawn point has been relocated to the beginning of the floating planks array.
• Added a new respawn point just before the golden key puzzle.
• The long and boring rails to the end area got replaced with a new interesting area with more obstacles and another door to unlock.

Please Notice

Please report any bugs you encounter while playing! Feel free to open a discussion over here or hit me up on my Discord Server.

[ 2023-09-03 05:12:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Being Ball is Releasing Now!

I am excited to announce the full release of Being Ball! [hr][/hr]

Play Unique Levels

Now you can complete levels in a beautiful cube world as a rock, leaves or wooden ball! 12 Unique levels are ready for you to investigate, solve, complete and explore, with 6 more challenging levels coming soon! [hr][/hr]

Get Some Help

[table noborder=1] [tr] [td]Unlock Bobot's power with he's 4 unique abilities to complete more advanced puzzles! Bobot can help you find hidden areas to get some shiny loot! As long as you keep him energized.[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr] [/table] [hr][/hr]

Score Fast

[table noborder=1] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]Compete with your friends by beating levels as soon as you can! And don't forget to clean the area from scattered toilet papers.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [hr][/hr]

[ 2023-08-30 02:21:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Being Ball is now Released.

• Added ratchet sound to the submerged rotating lever.
• Fixed broken links (after 3rd party tool upgrade) that causes internal conditions to be skipped for objects (such as switches, bridges, lasers, interaction hints, cutscenes etc) in levels 1-1, 1-4, 1-5, 2-2 and 2-5.

[ 2023-08-30 02:21:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Added missing sounds.

Changes

• Velocity threshold changed for some objects to make them emit an impact sound when the impact is a bit low.
• Changed the wooden rickety stairs collapsing sound at level 2-3.
• Teleporters now use a new sound as well.
• Camera view changes to the initial cutscene in level 2-6.
• Gates on levels 1-3 and 2-4 will remain open after their corresponding puzzle is complete.

Fixes

• Snooker balls now use a proper sound when hitting each other.
• Fixed garbage bin lid (sometimes) falls through the ground.
• Fixed a sneaky curvature script error.
• In-game console auto-completion is now fixed.
• Fixed a script error preventing the game from fully launching the first time.
• Fixed an odd issue preventing the settings menu from showing up only in Linux builds.
• Performance improvements to some segments in levels 1-1, 1-3 and 2-1.

[ 2023-07-09 22:45:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added Hebrew localization in the settings page.
• Added a under the hood support for some other languages so if the game will load with their corresponding CSV file beside the game's executable, they will become available in the game. So you can add your own translations to the game. If you think the translation is pretty good, please feel free to contact me and Ill see how to incorporate it into the game.
  • Linux users may have issues launching the settings page. If so please report for bugs.
• Respawn points can now direct you in the general forward direction to progress in the level when respawning the ball.
• Added missing basic sounds. This is still WIP so things might sound a bit off..

Changes

• Changed the menus fonts to Google Noto Sans.

Fixes

• Small performance boost.

[ 2023-05-28 20:15:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added voices for the three buddies that help you get Bobot for the first time in level 2-3.
• Added more missing sounds to basic objects. Theres still work to be done.

Changes

• Shield ability has changed.
• Improved leaves ball falling leaves effect.
• Some machines' sound loop will start from a random seek position rather than the start.
• In-game console replaced with a new, simpler one.

Fixes

• Credits will now also scroll when theres a level loaded (and paused) in the background.
• Fixed overly stiff grass patches near garbage bins.
• Fixed a texture not being rendered in the level summarize screen.
• A flipping platform on level 2-1 will now be reset when the ball gets respawn.
• Fixed misplaced lantern in level 1-6.

Remarks

So April is here and it bring along with it a few exciting holidays which means less "office time". I do my best to release updates consistently :) There's still work to be done, missing SFX and tweaks to overall performance, but full release is just around the corner! Keep rolling

[ 2023-04-01 13:55:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added a chest box that unlocks the last Bobot upgrade in.. well, Ill let you find it yourself :).
• Added sounds to the wooden valve thats responsible for opening gates.
• Added fire mechanics.
• Added more color variants for rails.
• Added missing thumbnails for levels 2-5 and 2-6.
• Added missing background music for levels 2-3, 2-4, 2-5 and 2-6.

Changes

• Changes to the base of the wooden valves, it shouldn't be in-your-way too much now.
• The mass of (any) ball debris now reflects the actual ball mass.
• Removed the necessity of using curvature offset scripts in (some) VFXs. Thus reducing the load on the CPU a bit.

Fixes

• Fixed wrong impact sound for 2 rails in level 1-2.
• Fixed random missing UI elements when requesting them.
• Fixed ball detectors malfunction sometimes after level start.

[ 2023-03-08 15:34:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Fixed some light bulbs misplaced in level 2-6.
• The non-spawning splashes seems to magically fixed itself. Issue was related to Unity's VFX graph.

[ 2022-12-27 17:01:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added a check in bindings page to determine incomplete actions. You will now receive a prompt indicating missing bindings for particular actions.
• Level 2-6 is out for testing.

Changes

• Realigned a bit the two annoying rails separated by a bridge at the end of level 1-2.
• Changed the 3 boxes buttons with a newer object detector variant. Itll be easier to align a box on top of it now.
• Changed the button on level 1-4 with the newer object detector.

Fixes

• Fixed a crash when recycling the small rock balls obstacle in level 1-5.

Known Issues

Water splashes stopped working. will investigate but be aware this is not game breaking issue :) therefor priority is low.

Further Notice

Please be advised that this is the last update that features new levels until full release and we are now entering the"tweaking & fixing" phase in which, at some point, a release date will be determined.

Happy holidays, Christmas and Chanukah!

[ 2022-12-23 10:20:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

So the holidays are gone and updates are back!

This month's update brings a new level for you to test. As you can tell from the latest levels, some things aren't done, like decorations, vegetation and in some places some pickups missing. This is to make level development a bit faster leaving all those missing elements to the fine tuning and tweaking at the end. I hope you enjoy! please report any issue, here or at the Discord channel.

Additions

Level 2-5 is now available for you to test. Please provide feedback, any feedback..

Changes

Added a forgiveness threshold to the jump ability to allow the ball to jump up to ~200ms after it leaves the ground. Changes to lasers to make them look better when they reflect a surface.

Fixes

Fixed shield abilitys pickup still spawns after subsequent plays of level 2-4, even if you have already picked it up and finished the level. Added a workaround to Unitys known issue (which they simply wont fix) for the water shader that causes wrong lighting and shadows. Fixed ripples not being rendered correctly.

[ 2022-10-30 19:33:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch only includes a few fixes:

• Fixed shield ability effect wont scale by the size of the ball.
• Fixed force applied to the ball when its size is set to < 1.
• Fixed shield abilitys chest consumed prematurely, causing the abilitys pickup to never spawn, thus not possible to get the actual ability.

[ 2022-09-21 13:01:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added a duplicate protection for key rebinding. You can now swap keys when prompted.
• Also added a way to remove binding for a specific key. Should you want to, for example, to clear the alternative binding for Roll Right.
• Added a simple guide to certain situations.
• Level 2-4 is out. You can now unlock the shield ability!

Changes

• Game will try to calculate the best UI scale based on the screen height upon first launch.
• Level locked condition changed to include new levels when all previous levels are completed.
• Added a progress bar in prompts.
• Added a 10 seconds timeout when rebinding a key.
• Changed the keys in key rebinding pages to user friendly fancy icons.
• Big overhaul to the hints & prompts system.
• Big overhaul to the on screen key binding glyphs.

Fixes

• Settings will now load earlier to let new UI changes take effect prior menus show up.
• Fixed a script issue causing some of the pickups to not spawn at all.
• Fixed a script error causing low framerate on levels with spikes and ball presence detector overlapping trigger area.
• Removed the center of mass calculation performed on buoyancy objects that produced wrong center points. This causes the ball to fall aside imitating floating behavior.

[ 2022-09-19 15:13:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added UI scale setting.
• Added ball zoom setting. To see the change live, make sure the ball is in control before launching the settings page.
• Added a key rebinding page in the settings. (Duplicate protection is still a WIP)

Changes

• UI Sound resources optimizations.
• Settings page now uses alphanumeric text.
• Few changes to the Summary page.
• Removed mouse cursor, navigation controls and redundant pause menu screen.
  • Just press the back\cancel buttons to navigate back in menus and skip cutscenes (without prompt).

Fixes

• Pointer input is now disabled when the cursor is not visible. Preventing it from unexpectedly highlighting UI items. (This issue was fixed prior mouse cursor removal)
• Fixed a potential issue preventing UI sounds in settings page to play when the main menu scene is not the first scene that loads. (which is not currently possible anyway) :)
• Fixed bypassing level boundaries while shield ability is up.
• Fixed game controls will not get disabled when the game is paused. Causing the ball to jump as soon as the game unpauses if the jump button was pressed while the game was paused.

[ 2022-08-25 04:59:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! Just a small patch to let you know Linux builds are back. In this patch there's also one change:

• Sokoban puzzle difficulty at level 2-3 has been slightly increased.

[ 2022-08-10 22:43:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added missing props in level 2-3. (Vegetation is still WIP)
• Added reflection probes in level 2-3.

Changes

• Boxes rotation has been locked to make it easier to solve the Sokoban puzzle in level 1-3.
• Bloom post processing effect intensity has been reduced.
• Various optimizations to pickups.

Fixes

• Added missing collider on stone door frames.
• No more height accumulation on jump chaining.
• Fixed wrong impact sound for some grass blocks in level 1-4.
• Fixed broken environment lighting in level 1-4.
• Fixed wrong water level height in buoyancy script, causing it to take effect sometimes while you are on the ground.

[ 2022-08-07 19:10:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Being Ball version B7.0.0 is live and brings with it our new friend Bobot!

With the help of Bobot, you can now jump. In a future update the rest of the abilities will be accessible through different levels. To jump, simply tap Space (keyboard) or Button South (gamepad). In an upcoming updates, you will be able jump, glide, boost your speed and shield yourself from hazardous objects, after attaching Bobot at the designated positions and filling your energy bar with new energy pickups. [table] [tr] [th]Ability[/th] [th]Action (Keyboard)[/th] [th]Action (Gamepad)[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]Jump (Tap)[/td] [td]Space[/td] [td]Button South[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Glide (Hold)[/td] [td]R[/td] [td]Left Trigger[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Boost (Hold)[/td] [td]CTRL[/td] [td]Right Trigger[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Shield (Tap)[/td] [td]F[/td] [td]Button West[/td] [/tr] [/table]

More Additions:

• Added hints to some levels.
• Added boundaries for each level. The ball will now get destroyed on misadventures.

Changes:

• Slight increase to the force applied to the rock ball while on ground. Itll be a bit easier to move around with it now.
• Reduced the bounciness of the leaves ball by half.
• Some previous levels have been revisited to include new Bobot content.

Fixes:

• Fixed the clog detector malfunction issue in level 1-1 after a checkpoint when the bridge is still intact.
• Removed post processing from UI.
• Fixed an error in a script used to translate objects through the level (and cutscenes).
• Fixed a potential script error in objects that can be destructed.
• Fixed wrong position pulling times in the camera that follows the ball.
• Fixed the wrong collider mesh for lots of islands.
• Fixed a script error that potentially resets objects to wrong initial values.

[ 2022-08-01 10:54:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Greetings everyone!

I am keen to inform you about new content that is about to be released in Being Ball in the next coming month in form of a new companion.

Meet Bobot!

Upon reaching a dead end, the aliens comes to your aid and have been working on a new device that will help you out across the world, by bypassing difficult obstacles or even if you just want to explore new unreachable areas. This device, named Bobot, is your new companion! Bobot will not just follow you around, he will ride on you and will grant you some new abilities that no other ball has dreamed off.
[table noborder=1] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]

Installation

The aliens thought of a creative way to install Bobot on the ball, using a trash bin that's just sitting there on each level without use. They of course cleaned it as well! [expand] [table noborder=1] [tr] [th]Before[/th] [th]After[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr] [/table] [/expand] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table noborder=1] [tr] [td]

Energy

Bobot can give you abilities like jump, speed boost, fly you around and keep you safe with a unique shield. Most of these abilities require energy. You can collect energy pickups that will be scattered around the level. [/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr] [/table]

Changes

Bobot brings new game style to Being Ball and therefore some levels need to be changed. When Bobot become unlocked in the game, it will be possible (yet optional) to return back to earlier levels to complete any sort of unfinished things. Should you wish to :)

[ 2022-06-30 16:36:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions

• Added a screen resolution slider to the settings menu.
• Steam achievements.

Changes

• Overhead view is now toggleable. Simply press left shift or right stick on gamepads.
• Platform cutscene in level 1-1 is now more intuitive.
• Game is now being built with a newer Unity version. Please report any issues!

Fixes

• Fixed hinged wooden bridge jiggles (hopefully).
• Fixed some UI elements not ignoring time scale as they should.
• Fixed curvature not resetting when reaching the end of a level.

[ 2022-05-18 22:19:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Additions:

• A demo is now available!
• Levels 2-1 and 2-2 are now available.
• Moving to beta builds.
• Added that nice LOD cross-fade animation to vegetation too.

Changes:

• Added light calculation in shaders to respect mesh deformation.
• Small changes to ambient occlusion.
• Slight color change to the bonus time indicator.

Fixes:

• Fixed bonus time pickups double indicator.
• Fixed checkpoint lights.
• Fixed light color in bulbs.
• Fixed object detector states.

[ 2022-04-15 22:12:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Changes and Addition:

• Level 2-1 is now available for dev-test.
• New object detectors.
• Reduced amount of shaders.
• Changes to the LOD system to smoothly transit between levels.
• Changed the rails that lead to the end area at level 1-1.

Fixes:

• Fixed wrong water height causing buoyant objects to freeze on top of water as if it was a flat surface.
• Fixed an issue preventing the doors from opening subsequent times after clicking the box's reset button in the 3 boxes puzzle at level 1-3.
• Fixed unexpected water splashes from a grass clamp and one bush at the beginning or level 1-4.
• Fixed a potential issue with rotating rods suddenly rotating 90 degrees away.
• Fixed a potential issue that could occur when all levels are locked.
• Fixed level 1-6 boats wont stop at their destination sometimes.
• Fixed wrong golden pickup counts in levels.
• Fixed some light objects that wont take world curvature into account.

[ 2022-03-16 11:32:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Changes:

• First level cutscenes can now be skipped.
• Separated environment from menu scene to ease development.
• Game will now slowly pause until complete halt. Before that, it was still running slowly in the background indefinitely.
• Changes to the Savegame. Please make sure not to skip this update as it will change your savegame files structure and please report any issues loading your savegame!
• Buoyancy script optimizations.

Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where the last level details wont be saved when finishing the level.
• Fixed potentially wrong details presented in level buttons.
• Fixed an issue preventing subsequent cutscenes from showing.
• Fixed initial cutscenes wont start as blank screen causing picking the level before it starts in some rare occasions.
• Fixed ball wont reset after falling to the water before activating any checkpoint in the first level, causing the game to be stuck at looking at the water indefinitely.
• Fixed a minor issue where levels start before all objects are done loading.

Please Note

Dropping Linux & Android development for now to speed up core game development.

[ 2022-02-16 20:56:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Added LOD crossfade to reduce popping.
• Fixed sound issues in the 3 poles at the end of the first level.
• Internal changes to the logging system.
• Fixed descending objects orientation.

[ 2022-01-18 00:56:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Bonus time is now represented with an image indicator instead of plain numbers.
• Changes to hold buttons.
• Camera view fixes when looking at the current ball.
• Fixed a script bug that potentially prevents the menu from showing all the level buttons.

[ 2021-12-15 18:21:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Steam overlay changes.
• Device disconnection detection.

[ 2021-12-03 23:49:53 CET ] [ Original post ]