Just in time for the holidays here's a little update. As the jump in version number implies this includes a couple of smaller updates that were previously just released on mobile platforms, but with this update all the changes are now implemented on all platforms. For the iOS and macOS version of the game, just search for Vlobs on the Apple app store. Changes and improvements:

• Improved bomb and block clearing special effects.
• Added leaderboard row for the player ranked one step above your score, so you know what to beat to advance.
• Added billions score number format separator and adjusted leaderboard layout to fit higher scores (Wow Player#503!).
• Fixed issue with global leaderboard ranking not being shown correctly unless you were in the top 20.
• Separated fancy graphics setting into individual antialiasing, shadow quality, post-processing and particle settings.
• Continuing a game with the current best score will no longer show the new best score effect each time.
• Fix combo tiles sometimes being incorrectly rotated when continuing a game on a rotated level.
• Game now defaults to windowed mode instead of full screen on first launch.

Hope you all have a nice end of the year, and a good start to the new one!

[ 2023-12-19 09:20:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

After the big 1.1 update here's a follow up with some smaller fixes and improvements. Changes and improvements:

• Improved antialiasing to make the game less blurry on low resolutions.
• Improved adaptive camera zoom on smaller phone screens.
• Show a hint message about placing vlobs if you tap the Next panel.
• Fixes a bug some tile graphics could get out of sync with board rotation.
• Fixes a possible bug with locks count getting out of sync.
• Fixes vsync framerate issues on some platforms.

By the way, after the introduction of the online global leaderboards in v1.1 I'm completely blown away by the scores some of you have been getting. It's far beyond what I ever expected and I can't wait to see how far player are going to push this in the future.

[ 2023-07-19 05:49:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

New update with a lot of changes and fixes to introduce more variety and a bit more arcade feel to the game, with more focus on scores with better score display, new combo multipliers and online leaderboards. Changes and improvements:

• New combo multiplier tiles for risk/reward balancing.
• New upcoming vlob display for more strategic gameplay.
• Improved score display showing current group score and combo for more arcade feel.
• New global highscores leaderboard where you can see how you compare with other players.
• New lock block mechanic for later level locking and unlocking action.
• New level up score bonuses (try to combine with combo multiplier!).
• Improved special power visual effects.
• Track and show some gameplay stats in the main menu.
• Engine update for improved performance, stability and compatibility.
• Adjusted vlobs dot spawning chances over the levels for more even difficulty curve.
• Best score level is now saved along with the score.

Bugfixes:

• Correctly update the connection selection vignett when game board rotates or resizes.
• Restores previous vlob to place after a special power has been used.
• Fix issue with changing device orientation while Game UI is transitioning in.
• Fix cursor location after selecting special power.
• Fix fullscreens state not being saved on macOS 10.15 after using window fullscreen toggle.

[ 2023-07-10 06:05:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small update, adding a save & continue feature in case you need to quit in the middle of a game and want to continue it later. Changes and improvements:

• Progress is now saved if you quit during a game so you can continue later.
• Save game window size if it's been resized and restore next time game is launched.
• Properly center window mode game window when using multiple displays.

[ 2023-04-22 07:16:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another smaller update, this time with more focus on the desktop versions of the game. Thanks for all your feedback, and keep it coming with suggestions for improvements or bug reports! Changes and improvements:

• Better connection select spotlight size based on game zoom level.
• Better game window size based on monitor resolution when switching to windowed mode.
• Added little name labels to the special power icons to help remember what they do.
• Added a dialogue asking once if you want to turn off fancy graphics if the game is running very slowly.
• Fixes a graphical glitch with moving blocks on some devices.
• Fixes a bug with the game over screen highscore display after restart.
• Fixes a bug with the time bar max value after restart.

[ 2023-03-25 09:38:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Since the original release of Vlobs we've now sent out two smaller patches, the first 1.0.1 just for iOS and now the second 1.0.2 for iOS and desktop platforms. The first brought a big improvement for mobile players in the form of portrait mode support, and the second now fixes some other small issues. Changes and improvements:

• Portrait support on mobile!
• Prevent board clicks while the board is animating to avoid misclicks.
• Removed gray vlob color as it was a little too similar to the black.
• Better Settings and Credits menu scaling on narrow screen mobile devices.
• Fix bug that could sometimes cause incorrect game over on the last vlob placed, even if it should have saved you.

For those of you who've wondered we're also working on an Android release, and a version is currently in testing. There are however some issues we've yet to resolve, so no promises on when it will be released.

[ 2023-03-20 16:53:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

The full 1.0 version of Vlobs is now released on Steam (for windows and linux)! For more info and to get the game on other platforms (like iOS and macOS) go to lostminds.com/vlobs A special thank you to all testers who offered valuable feedback to track down bugs and make the game better during the public play testing. And also to the Godot engine and community for offering the game engine that made this game possible to build and publish!

[ 2023-03-10 08:35:47 CET ] [ Original post ]