Hiatus of Multiplayer

Hey everyone! This is an occasional dev update to prevent radio silence, but I have a somewhat upsetting announcement. I unfortunately have to break my promise of v1.1.9 being The Multiplayer Update. Turns out, making a by-design singleplayer game multiplayer is extremely difficult, and requires a lot of time and effort that I can't put in without taking forever and end up not meeting a lot of self-made deadlines for updates. So, for now, multiplayer is pushed onto the back burner while I try to slowly rewrite some parts of the game to better support multiplayer. Current issues that I had with the first attempt were: [olist]

The input system was redesigned to only allow one type of input (keyboard or controller) at a time; with controller being auto-selected when controllers are enabled. The code is correct, but UI is still unusable with controllers, like it's not switching the input mode even though it knows there are controllers.

The input system also doesn't automatically create new Players in gameplay, also like controllers aren't connected.

To continue #2; All controllers will still end up only controlling the same main player ship when in gameplay. [/olist] I've done some debugging yet still couldn't yield results. So, instead of making update progress go to a halt while I tirelessly work to make multiplayer work, I'm going to put it fairly low on my priorities, while still working on it between updates so that no progress is made.

The Endless Mode 2.0 Update

So, instead of v1.1.9's main focus being the Multiplayer Update. I'm going to instead highlight it being the Endless Mode 2.0 update! This was going to be with the multiplayer update anyway, but this is now the main highlight of the update. The Endless Mode update will:

• Overhaul Score; making gameplay actually score-based and not just time-based.
• Add Minibosses to drop special buffs and grant a bunch of score.
• Add a lot more Endless Mode rewards and even an exclusive Endless Mode shop/upgrades (since technically some Ship stats are actually different in Endless Mode.)
• and some more things that I currently can't think of but will probably throw in when I do.

So hang tight, I've still got something cooking up.

Heads up about v2.0.0

Sorry to leave some important information at the bottom, but before talking about v2.0.0, I want to inform all the people that don't yet own Pellet Dodge that PD's price will increase to USD$7.99 when v2.0.0 releases. This is because v2.0.0 is going to be a huge content update that will increase the value of the game. It'll include the second part of the Base Game, first part Base Game story improvements, gameplay modifiers (to shake things up), replayability features (something sorta like New Game+,) and a lot more Ship customization options, as well as some other stuff I may come up with on the spot! After v2.0.0, I'm going to take a hiatus from PD as a whole to start new projects and get better at making games. That doesn't exactly mean PD won't get any new updates after v2.0.0, since there's still some stuff that needs to be improved ahem, Custom Levels and Multiplayer WILL eventually be added.

I'm tired of typing now

Anyways, thanks for reading this (sorry for the wall of text) and for playing PD! Your feedback is extremely valuable to me and I am very willing to look for any of it to improve the experience for everyone. In the meantime, keep saving the Universe, infinite clones of Ship #274; we've still got a lot to do.

[ 2024-12-20 03:29:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello! Since PD is an unknown (gem?) game, Valve has yet to add information regarding compatibility of the Steam Deck. So, here's my own words to tell you:

• All content should work well using the default controller layout, as PD has had a long history of optimizations to controller support. (As long as I didn't bug anything.)
• PD shows generic controller glyphs, but they still apply to the Deck's layout.
• The game runs a flawless 60FPS at the Deck's native resolution of 1280x800. The game also defaults to run in the Vulkan rendering engine on Deck for improved battery life.
• The UI is legible. PD has had mobile and small screens in mind since Day 1, so all the text is nice and large, but not too big. The font may be hard to read for some, but there is an option to change the font in PD's Accessibility Settings.

[ 2024-12-05 23:44:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of any updates and a bit of radio silence! I just want to report that I'm still working on update v1.1.9, it's just that progress is slow. Turns out that making a singleplayer game, by design, multiplayer isn't the easiest thing to do, but things are getting done! I can't give a complete estimate on when the update is out due to my inconsistent work motivation, but I'm hoping to get the update out before the New Year! Speaking of which, I want to talk a bit about things I want to do in 2025:

• Release update v2.0 which will contain a massive amount of new content for the Base Game and overall story structure fixing
• Release PD on at least one type of home console!
• Release PD on the Google Play Store for Android devices to officially play!
• Start work on Custom Level 2.0 (Better level creation experience and the ability to create large-scale levels and even upload them to the Steam Workshop... speaking of the Workshop)
• Allow Custom ShipTypes; basically upload a square 256p image (PNG, JPG, or even a GIF!) and there ya go! Also let these go on the workshop.
• Events!

Anyways, I don't know how to make a conclusion, so uh, yeah.

[ 2024-12-05 23:34:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is an update to the Steam-side of the game, and doesn't require any game updates. Linux Runtime 3.0 (sniper) is now enabled to support more distros of Linux.

[ 2024-10-26 05:02:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Sorry about last version's issues! This update:

• Fixed the settings menu's bugs and issues
• Adds Rich Presence support for Discord.

[ 2024-10-13 20:41:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

• Fixed the Title Screen not showing, therefore softlocking the game after selecting a save file.
• (Hopefully) added functionality to the in-game Achievements menu.

[ 2024-10-11 17:51:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone! After too much procrastination, I finally had the motivation to work today, so I finally finished this update that should've only taken 3 days! This update overhauls the Settings menu for a better experience visually and has better controller support, as well as fixes and improves some stuff!

[ 2024-10-11 05:32:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

As of today, August 18th, 2024, Pellet Dodge has been in development for 3 years (well, since its release originally on itch.) Here's to more development, even after the version 2.0 update. I wanted to push out a big update to celebrate and have some cool stuff, but I just couldn't reach this deadline due to general loss of track of time, and internal errors with some backend stuff that was preventing me from working until they were fixed, so hopefully that stuff will come soon enough. But I just wanted to thank everyone who has purchased, played, and enjoyed Pellet Dodge. (As a reminder, v2.0.0 is NOT the absolute final update to PD. I'm just going to go on a hiatus of major PD updates after it to work on other projects I've been planning for a while. There's still a lot of things I want to add to PD later on; mainly a revamped Custom Level editor with Steam Workshop support later on the line.)

[ 2024-08-18 19:59:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone on old systems, super budget PCs, or Intel-CPU Macs! I just want to apologize to how poorly Pellet Dodge may be running. PD isn't a very demanding game visually, so every GPU should run PD just fine, but it's been put to my attention after personal testing on a 2017 MacBook Air that... I wasn't the best at keeping CPU usage low when working on the game early on. For that, I want to greatly apologize. I want my game to be a fun experience, but also to be accessible to as many as I can; So in version 1.1.8.5, I'm not only adding more performance options in the redesigned Settings menu... but I'm also going to go through all my scripts and figure out which of them use the most CPU and I will try to optimize and cut down as much unnecessary computation as possible. My goal is to optimize enough that at least Intel-Macs go from <30FPS to a mostly stable 60FPS! Hopefully this will also apply to other systems. So, as I always say; Thank you all so much for playing Pellet Dodge, and I hope more of you will have a better experience! (PS: If I don't do this... I forgor, so please yell at me if I do!)

[ 2024-07-27 05:18:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! Summer is here on Steam, and you know what that means! Sales! Pellet Dodge and its Soundtrack are participating in the Steam Summer Sale of 2024 with PD being 40% off and the soundtrack being 20% off!

[ 2024-06-27 04:00:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update adds Steam Achievements (for real this time) and fixes a bunch of things, as well as lowers the resources allocated in Steam Cloud and also adds Mac support for saving Save Files to Steam Cloud.

[ 2024-06-24 02:26:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello all Ship #274s! Thanks for traversing the void of Space to save us from the Corruption. Some things have changed with the timeline The following is the most important: - The stars now look different - You will be acknowledged for your Achievements - Enemy behavior has changed. They now seem to be mindful if there are multiple Ships now... ...as well as some other changes. (The full patch notes can be viewed in-game.) As we get closer to v2.0 (or v1.2, which I am making a leap) I want to thank everyone for everything! v2.0 is going to be a MASSIVE content update with so much. With that, it's important to note that the game's price will increase from USD$4.99 to $7.99. Another thing to note is that v2.0 probably (and hopefully) won't be the last update to PD ever. After v2.0, I'm going to be taking a hiatus from PD to work on a new game. PD will still get smaller updates from time to time. After the new game at least has a playable Alpha or Beta, PD development could take off again. Until then, I think you'll like what I have in store for the near future! ;) Anyways, as always, I want to thank everyone so much for playing my game and I hope you all stick around to see me and my projects grow. Maybe one day I'll make the top charts! Haha, one can dream, but again thank you all so much! Every single player, no matter the number, means so much to me.

[ 2024-06-05 20:34:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! You may have noticed something new in Pellet Dodge's Steam Client page; achievements! Unfortunately, if you're not on v1.1.8 (which isn't out yet at the time of writing this) or newer, you can't collect these yet. v1.1.8 is going to be out soon sometime this week featuring some overhauls on bad animations, QoL changes, and the reintroduction to achievements! Stay tuned! --Lyvri.

[ 2024-05-01 20:53:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! Thanks for playing PD! I've updated the game with some fixes and improvements, as well as added some Mac support for testing. It's experimental since when I had a friend test, their colors were really dark and nothing had transparency which took up a lot of screen space. So, hopefully that was just a specific thing and wont happen on your Macs, but if they do, please send me an email at pelletdodge.dev@gmail.com and tell me about it so I can fix it ASAP!

[ 2024-03-28 20:39:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone! I'm checking in so you're not being left in the dark. I've been having some issues opening the wonderful engine, known as Unity. When I launch the editor, it'll just immediately close before the Unity interface completely loads. I'm trying my best to get this fixed so I can work on improving PD, since I've noticed a lot of issues. l also wanted to go over and update the roadmap I laid out in the previous announcement here, so this is what's going to happen: v1.1.7 - Project Cleanup. Some music and audio that's unused/unnecessary will be removed and/or used in other projects that fit better. Mini-projects like the new CyberRyft and Strongholds will be removed and will be completely reimagined in another game. The removal of this audio will also affect the Soundtrack. v1.1.8 - Cutscene/animation overhaul and fixes/improvements v1.1.9 - Experimental Local Multiplayer v2.0.0 - Fully polished Local/Online Multiplayer, Steam Achievements, Radar rework, Endless Mode 2.0 Update, and an improved Story. This is the last major update for Pellet Dodge. I want to again thank everyone to playing. Lyvri; lifting off.

[ 2024-03-11 21:53:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Soundtrack Price Cut

Hello everyone. I recently published the soundtrack for all of you to pick up. The thing was it was at a price higher than even what the full game will be, which is worth the effort, but not for the cool guys that actually want to buy the stuff. So, I have cut back on the pricing and it is going to stay this price.

The Future for Pellet Dodge

I want to thank everyone that has bought the game and enjoyed it, and I want to especially thank everyone who played it during its BETA phase and helping me over the past 2 years to shape the game into what it is today. The announcement I want to make is that Pellet Dodge will go on a development hiatus when v2.0 rolls out. I'll still do minor fixes, but v2.0 will be the last major content update for a while. This is still a long ways to go, but I just want to work on new things to show off what I can do. Pellet Dodge is something I'm proud of, but I want to make better and more advanced things, especially focusing on 3D. I have two games in mind, one is an open-world 3D RPG in which is my personally improved version of a game I like, but lacks in some features (spoiler alert it starts with a g.) Anyways, I want to now lay out a sort of expected roadmap of what I have planned. So, here's what I will try to work on as follows: v1.7 - Local Multiplayer support (so you can finally play with your friends), Endless Mode score changes, Endless Mode Content Overhaul, and General cutscene and storytelling improvements (again). v1.8 - Steam Networking support (Steam-specific leaderboards and more...), Endless Mode Tournaments (Steam-exclusive for now, as it will use Steam Lobbies), and Steam-networked Online Multiplayer (so you don't have to make your friends suffer by Remote Play latency when playing with you) v1.9 - CyberCity expansions and basic storyline, as well as fixes and polish to make sure everything is tip-top. v2.0 - The full first Stronghold, Completion of the CyberCity (DLC), Part 2 of the Base Game (I cannot assure this can be another 40 levels, I'm lacking in enemy ideas), and hopefully more things finished that I started. Keep in mind that this order of operations is more of a suggestion and some things may be pushed back. These updates are also going to take a long time, depending on the amount of effort and my work efficiency. Again, thank you everyone, and let's have some more fun in what's to come.

[ 2024-02-21 17:00:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thanks for playing Pellet Dodge!! This update: - Fixed the Left Stick not being able to navigate the main menu - Added the ability to press Esc, Buttons, Or [Circle] Buttons to go back menus on the Main Menu. - Redesigned some buttons - Allows Desktop players to change the rendering method of the game window (Fullscreen, Borderless, or Windowed) ...and maybe something else I forgot lol. The full notes are always in-game, and I'll see you all soon! (Sneak peek of the next version: Experimental local multiplayer... I hope.)

[ 2024-02-18 21:21:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Steam Cloud has been fixed to work properly for Steam Deck and some Linux distros. This is because it used to only download to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/LagMakesGames/PelletDodge/SaveFiles, but some Linux machines (and the Steam Deck) save to ~/.config/unity3d/. This also fixes Cloud saves just generally not working on Linux for not being setup right ($XDG_CONFIG_HOME/LagMakesGames/PelletDodge/SaveFiles, it's supposed to be $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/unity3d/LagMakesGames/Pellet Dodge/SaveFiles).

[ 2024-02-09 22:13:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update fixes a lot of bugs, introduces a new main menu look, adds full support for 16:10 displays (aka Steam Deck), and that's all I can remember. Check the in-game patch notes for a full detailed list of new things.

[ 2024-02-02 03:26:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update 1.1.4 is here and brings the gifts of festivity, bug fixes, clarity improvements, and allows you to play a little bit of what the first Stronghold is.

[ 2023-12-08 21:30:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Steam Awards are almost here and Pellet Dodge can be nominated for one of the categories. I chose soundtrack since it was what I thought would best fit.

[ 2023-11-21 18:00:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update fixes some bugs, adds a slider for controller vibration intensity, prepares for localization, and experimentally redesigns the main menu (may lead to an accessibility feature)

[ 2023-11-19 20:30:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, everyone. I apologize for the really slow and general lack of updates that PD usually has (at least during its BETA period.) The reason these have been taking so long is lack of motivation. This coming update (was going to be v1.2, but will just be v1.1.2) was supposed to bring a lot of things; Strongholds, a new Rift that was supposed to branch and show off elements and how they react with each other (There are currently two elements. Fire, via the Endless Mode exclusive IgnitedPellet, and Acid, via the currently unused CorrosivePellet. These elements will have a mixture of different branching reactions. Another thing that was gonna come was some major changes to the HyperRift; allowing it to look better and fit into the Pellet Dodge base storyline. One more thing that was going to come was the Boss Rush gamemode. However, since I'm only one person, this is impossible within the time I mentally give myself. There wouldn't be enough time to keep things fluent and also keep thing to the highest quality (and would probably have a lot of bugs.) This ended up overwhelming me every time I open Unity. So, to actually get updates out, things will remain small and unfortunately won't be this big content pool I want to add. How I am currently planning these major things will be as follows: v1.1.2 - Bug Fixes and further backend support so Endless Mode Tournaments can come soon v1.1.3 - Boss Rush v1.1.4 - HyperRift updates v1.1.5 - The First Stronghold (may or may not come with Co-Op support at launch.) I also want to add support for Local Drop-In Multiplayer (for supported levels like the Base Game) and Local Split/Screen for Open-World/Large-Scale levels somewhere down the line either as its own update or bundled with one of the previously mentioned ones. In conclusion, I greatly appreciate all of you and hope that you can stick around for these updates that should be more regular. (I want to get into a schedule of at least 1 update around every week.) Thanks for playing Pellet Dodge and please share it with your friends and help me out with growing so I can have more feedback to improve!

[ 2023-11-17 17:00:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Introduction

Hello everyone! I'm announcing today that I have officially begun slowly working on a new game. This is an open-world 3D RPG game in Unity with low-poly graphics. The first goal of development is to give out a product that is highly optimized and will run well on low-end hardware, but also looks good. The second goal is to provide an impactful, dopamine-inducing heavy-weight melee combat system that will always feel good when you land a hit. Let's talk a bit of small points now.

How much will it be?

It's gonna be Free (completely free, or Free to Play with some low-priced and free DLC.)

When can I play it?

Right now, development has just begun and the Unity project is a cylinder with an uncomplete camera system. At the moment, the main focus is to build a small prototype of the character and combat system for very local playtesting. Assume a possible public alpha around a year (but a stable build could take more or less time.)

What's gonna happen to other projects like PD?

Nothing really, my main focus is still Pellet Dodge at the moment and just working on the RPG when I feel like it, but after the 1.2 update for PD, (which is a bunch of major content) I'll be focusing on the RPG. However, to avoid burnout, I will be alternating which projects I focus on... and may just not work on them for a day or two.

Why are you announcing this early?

I want to show that PD isn't the only thing I work on and want to show off all sorts of skills I can manage. Another reason is funding. This (finished) game will only be available on Steam and will use Steam Networking. The problem: Uploading a game is expensive (USD$100 per game) and the only source I can get funding for uploading this game would be Pellet Dodge. With that, I appreciate all of you and hope you can share my game around with friends to help me with my goal of being able to even upload this project. Thank you everyone, Enjoy PD, and have a great weekend!

[ 2023-10-28 20:36:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thanks for checking out Pellet Dodge! After a long time of hard work, here's some of the things that's changed in this version: - Save Files have been redone to now save in physical files, which now allows Steam Cloud to be supported. - The Linux graphics API is now Vulkan by default to preserve battery life for the Steam Deck. - The Steam Deck's keyboard should now automatically appear when selecting an InputField. - A lot of new and reaaaalllly old bugs have been finally fixed.

[ 2023-10-21 19:11:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Not-so-quick introduction

Hello everyone, it's a great day for people like me who couldn't adapt to new engines. Unity has changed a lot about the install fee. Now, the fee only applies to those who aren't on the Personal or Education plans. The Personal License yearly revenue threshold has also increased from 100k to 200k USD. And more excitingly, people can stop assuming a game is bad immediately when they see the "Made with Unity" tag in the splash scree, as of Unity Engine 2023, Personal users can now configure and remove the Unity branding from the splash screen, or even remove the entire splash screen. This was reserved for all paid licenses.

Now, the future of PD and us.

With Unity being a usable engine again, all prices will remain normal. This is good, as I can actually be rewarded for hard work. This doesn't mean PD (and future paid projects) won't get their fair share of a bunch of sale discounts. That, and we will continuously release free or cheap games/dlc. (Most of the time, DLC will be either free content updates, or low priced paid ones, depending on the size and quality.)

Why do we money?

Our goal is to provide the highest quality (to our ability) software for low to no prices. We have to occasionally charge money for things because being a game developer is expensive. Engine licenses, uploading games to premium storefronts, and more... costs a very large sum of money for a company with no budget. So, any sales are highly appreciated and will go towards better equipment to make better games, uploading more games, and personally staying alive to make more games. Thank you so much for playing our games, please leave reviews so we can grow and improve, and have a great weekend! (and yes, I will eventually use different background images, I just haven't made any yet.)

[ 2023-09-22 20:33:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

As most of you may know if you've been on YouTube and watched Linus Tech Tips or SomeOrdinaryGamer lately, is that Unity has added a fee to the developers of Unity games (basically after your game reaches 200,000 all-time installs AND you make at least a substantial amount of money per year from it, you'll be entitled to pay, depending on your plan, a small cent fee PER INSTALL past that threshold) which is a big issue for small indie devs, like me. By combating this, I will never reach the revenue threshold, therefore not qualifying for the fee as you need BOTH, since Pellet Dodge will be becoming free when the fee goes into effect (Jan 1, 2024) and any further games we make in Unity will be completely free (until the fee is reverted, even then previous Unity games will remain free). We will try to switch to other engines, like Godot, however my knowledge is extremely extensive in C# and Unity, so It'll take a bit of getting used to. (Also Unity is getting a little stinky, forcing you to only be able to be offline for 3 days. Which is bad because most of my development is done offline.) Thank you for playing Pellet Dodge and I hope you'll continue to support us in alternate ways.

[ 2023-09-16 19:06:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

In the Save File 2.0 update (v1.1.1), this changes how files are saved (from PlayerPrefs to physical files) and also allows for Steam Cloud to work. This update will be out soon, so be prepared. When it does come out, you'll need to convert your old files to new files to restore your old data. You'll be able to do this in the Main Menu > Sidebar > Settings > Save File > [Convert Legacy Save File]. I'll see you all soon when the update's out, but in the meantime... thanks for playing Pellet Dodge, and have a great week!

[ 2023-09-11 03:40:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Some big updates are yet to come, but for now is some small changes to improve the game experience.

• The UI and in-game camera has been improved for 4:3 displays
• Improved the pre-open-world areas of the CyberRyft to be one level
• Decreased the Area 10 Boss' difficulty
• The Pre-Release Main Menu theme has been added to the options of Menu music.

Thanks for checking out Pellet Dodge, and we'll have more impressive updates later on.

[ 2023-09-04 02:58:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

After almost an unfortunate week of issues with publishing, Pellet Dodge is now OUT on Steam! You can pick it up now for 40% off (Now USD$2.99, instead of USD$4.99) for a week, then it's normal price. Please check out my two years of hard work, and stick around since I have much more to come to this project! I will also try my best to reply to every review (key word: TRY, since I don't know if this will just suddenly get flooded with precious reviews) and fix any reported issues. And as a great guy once said; "Thanks, and have fun."

[ 2023-08-24 16:18:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

PD is finally releasing! Thank you everyone for supporting and making my dream a reality. After all this time, I'm releasing PD coincidentally on its two-year development anniversary, (hopefully, it comes down to if it's approved and if I can unlock the game in time, which I think I can.) As a thank you, PD will be on sale when it releases for 40% off for a week. Please check out the hard work I've done and please give me some feedback on anything I can improve!

[ 2023-08-11 16:46:16 CET ] [ Original post ]