Online is (Almost) Here!

Hello! It's been a while since a new update, and that's because I've been hard at work on our new online update! Adding online multiplayer to an existing game is a large feat, and a lot of changes had to happen to make this possible. The last month or so I've been working on integrating all those systems, as well as preparing them for future functionality. Today I am releasing the online beta to everyone who owns the game! Our online mode is not finished yet, but it's really close! There are some known issues that I will outline below, but all of the core functionality should work. You can currently play coop with a friend and go through the campaign, or play with up to 4 friends in deathmatch! All through the power of the internet - wow! It will likely be about 2 or 3 more weeks to finish up the rest of the functionality, but I wanted to release this early to everyone to give them a chance to try it out, and report any bugs you may find. This did change a lot of core ways the game works, and so it may have also introduced bugs in the singleplayer as well. I hope that releasing this early can help to find more bugs and issues than I would be able to alone.

Getting Access

I have put access up for the game as a branch. In order to change over to the special online branch, you'll have to right click on the game in your Steam library, and select "Properties...". Then go to the Betas tab on the left. From there, there should be a dropdown allowing you to swap to online mode. This will then update the game to the newest version. I DO recommend you make a backup of your save game as well. While I don't believe there should be any corruption that could happen, given this is such a large change, it would be better to be proactive. To back up your game you will need to navigate to C:\Users\[YOUR WINDOWS USERNAME]\AppData\LocalLow\Dreamfire Studios\Battle Tracks (for Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/com.DreamfireEntertainment.BattleTracksDreamfire Studios/Battle Tracks (for Mac). There you will want to simply make copies of BattleTracksSaveData1 - 3

Playing the Game

You should then have access to the game, and playing should function mostly the same in singleplayer! There are a few known issues, some may affect singleplayer, some may only affect online.

Playing Online

Playing online should be simple! On the main menu, you can invite a friend to play coop. Press the + button in the bottom left to generate a code. You can then give this code to a friend. They can then select "Join a Friend" to enter that code, and join you! The host will then control entering levels or other controls. Deathmatch is very similar. Entering deathmatch will clear out any connected individuals. Then you can start hosting a lobby. Players can use the "Join a Friend" to then join deathmatch. Players can then hit spacebar (or the top face button on controller) to change color. Host can select deathmatch settings.

Known Issues

• Endless mode will not work online, it may be buggy in singleplayer
• The final boss will not work online, it may be buggy in singleplayer
• Some levels may not have enemies move. I've only seen this once, if seen please report.
• We are lacking controller support for the new Main Menu UI for joining/hosting an online session. You will need to use keyboard and mouse for this for now.
• Typing in the online join code may cause the selected button in the background to move. Hitting enter here will likely result in broken functionality as well.
• Two players may be able to join deathmatch as the same color, not 100% confirmed yet
• A player joining another will not have their profile picture show up on the main menu

Feedback

If you find any bugs, issues, or even just a suggestion on how to make the game better, there's lots of ways to chat with us! Feel free to contact us through any of the following listed ways, whether its to report something, or just talk about the game. Chat with us on Discord Tweet at us on Twitter Get involved with the community in the Steam Discussions

[ 2023-05-26 20:33:18 CET ] [ Original post ]