Hello! Today is a day filled with excitement and stress. With just 24 hours until release, we still have some fixes to make despite our hard work. Alongside that, the final additions are made, some new tweaks here and there, all in all, lots of exciting and stressful things. We have deployed version 0.9.99 on the testing branch, and we will make a few more versions by tomorrow, still on this testing branch until we reach version 0.9.99999 and finally, the ultimate 1.0.0! Let's take a look at whats changing in this final version that I hope will meet your expectations.

Final Kickstarter Key Distribution

This section is for our Kickstarter backers. As I have explained several times in almost every article. If you dont respond to the survey, I cant send you your keys. I send emails from my professional email @dreamirl.com, so please check your spam! As you read this message, the final key distribution has already taken place. If you didnt respond to the survey before, I apologize a thousand times, but you will have to wait. It is a long process to sort the Kickstarter data and send the emails, and I am going on vacation (finally) Monday evening (leaving me the weekend to ensure the games release goes smoothly). I will do another distribution when I return, in early July. Also, feel free to contact me directly via the Kickstarter messaging system! As for the physical rewards, I will work on them starting in July alongside completing the console port ^-^

Final Optimization and Asset Packing

This is a bit technical, so I dont blame you if you dont read it all :) If there was one thing I wanted to do to optimize the game, it was this, and its done! It required changing a lot of things and it wasnt guaranteed I would finish it before the games release. Some flaws are noticeable (but they are minor). Ill explain. Before, in the game, each object (or almost) was in a single image. For level decorations, we had several files, each containing multiple images organized by types of objects or layers. Basically, for Biome 1, there were 14 files (12 on the screen as I moved 2).
The principle of packing is to put as many images together as possible, removing transparency as much as possible, to have the fewest images at the same time. This greatly optimizes the speed of the graphical rendering. Today, Biome 1 fits into 3 files! Here is a capture of all the games decorations.
And hold on tight, almost all the games content now fits into a single image, with all the enemies, visual effects, player animations, switches, etc. All this represented over 100 different images! And now it all fits into a single image.
So on one hand, the game loads faster, level loading, FPS should increase if you didnt already have 60, and it also reduces the impact on the graphics RAM used. Finally, the last positive point of packing is that we now have a dynamic loading/unloading system. So when you are in Biome 1 for example, the other biomes are not loaded unless necessary. The downside will be a slight loading time in transition zones, but overall it makes the game much lighter and faster.

General Increase in Text Size (and Steam Deck)

If you have already played the game on PC, this change might surprise you. We decided to increase text size almost everywhere, to make the game easier to read for people who dont have perfect vision (like my girlfriend) and for the Steam Deck and the future Switch port! In short, it doesnt negatively impact anything, so we might as well do it! Regarding native Steam Deck compatibility, we found a way to have perfect control allowing you to play without any additional configuration. A screenshot of the buttons that do things
Well, it's not very telling ahah. As I write this, its not finished yet, but I hope it will be for the final release! We believe and we dont give up ^-^ (strength to David ).

Adding Sounds for All Bosses

Now every boss has its respective sounds effects! And yes, it greatly enhances the pleasure of combat and its epic feeling! There might be 2-3 sounds missing, and if we dont finish them before 1.0, they will come later. No need to dwell on the subject, you will discover them all in-game ^-^

Opening the Last Hidden Zone of Biome 1

Several had already noticed that a certain area of the first biome was not accessible. It is now open, enough to satisfy those wanting one last challenge at their level, essential to finish the game 100%. Happy exploring! Im off to rush the final tweaks and fixes, one last time, thank you all for your unwavering support!

PATCH LOG:

Adds/improvements - bigger font size everywhere - Sounds effects for all the bosses - the attack damage is now displayed on the screen when it changes - last hidden area of the game - final optimization and assets packing, resulting in a huge gain of FPS and loading times - assets pool loading/unloading system (which helps smaller configs) - can now skip text dialog with the mouse - add a category "unknown" for the other memorials in the logbook - add scroll bars in the bestiary and logbook to make it more easy to understand (not compatible with mouse tho) - more quality settings Bugs: - fix a few achievements (we still need to test all of them to make sure it's okay) - many bosses bugs fixed - Golden Widow camera fix - Spells Master first frame fixed - heart misplaced - many small fix on level-art and level-design - a lot of sounds fix, specifically for smaller configs - crawley can now aime at the ghost - frogs and affiliated monsters "wall walkers" should not go outside of the map anymore - fallen king fix fight and now deals 2 damages - initial language on screen - can now fight the final boss again (maybe not for the old save :'( ) - boss 7 "stuck" bug is now solved - if you get one more HP while being attacked, it makes the UI bug, fixed - and many other smaller fix

[ 2024-06-20 16:10:03 CET ] [ Original post ]