Welcome back for more patch notes! This release brings some small quality of life improvements, along with lots of internal optimisations that should drastically increase performance on older devices. If you haven't already, you can head to the Video settings and try setting Queued frames to 1 (down from the default value of 2). If you're able to maintain a stable frame rate with this setting (which more devices should be able to with these optimisations), you'll experience a full frame less visual delay on your inputs. Wow! You can now also play the Bits & Bops demo in

• Polish - thanks to Watercats!

Special thanks to all the translators!

Features added

• The Ctrl+M shortcut to load custom mixtapes now also works on the stage select screen
• The custom engine on Windows now uses low latency shared mode audio by default if your audio device driver supports it

Updates

• Flipper Snapper photos no longer incur excessive performance penalties when they are first shown and while they remain on screen
• Many internal optimisations should result in more stable frame rates, lower power consumption and lower load times on all devices
• On Windows, clicking the mouse in the client area to regain focus is now processed as a valid input

Bugs fixed

• When using the default audio output device on Windows, the game will now automatically switch when the device changes (e.g. when headphones are plugged in)
• More keys (e.g. W/A/S/D/F/J) are now correctly handled on Linux
• When using the Fallback engine, volume changes now correctly apply to the in-game sounds
• Audio devices with more than 2 output channels are now handled correctly in more cases
• Animations no longer desync at the beginning of mixtapes
• Input is no longer locked in some cases for mixtapes that rely on implicit first game selection
• The save file is no longer able to become corrupted in cases of power loss or BSOD
• Custom mixtapes that show flashes on beat 0 will now have the starting flash colour extended to the first drawn frame
• Custom mixtapes that specify an explicit end beat will now cause audio to stop deterministically (independent of frame rate)
• The background clouds Flipper Snapper now loop properly in long custom mixtapes
• The sample mixtape no longer includes a meaningless duplicate flash event

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2024-10-05 08:34:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for more patch notes! We've received lots of great feedback for the screen reader support, and we've taken a lot of that on board for this release. If you're blind or visually impaired, please give it another go and let us know what you think in our Discord server! We've also included some translation updates for international players. You can now also play Bits & Bops in

• Vietnamese - thanks to o c Trung!

Special thanks to all the translators!

Features added

• The accessibility settings now include a "Narrate gameplay" option to enable additional narration during levels
• The custom audio engine now has a "Strict buffer" setting which can be disabled for compatibility with non-conforming output devices
• Linux now has basic screen reader support if spd-say is available (apt-get install speech-dispatcher)

Updates

• Loading mixtapes now uses the native OS file picker, which is also accessible to screen readers
• Shortcuts on the disclaimer screen now also accept Shift in place of Ctrl
• The mouse cursor is only locked to the screen on valid mouse input
• The screen reader now describes more details on the title screen, stage select, tutorials and judgement screens
• The default Windows screen reader implementation now supports modern voices and configuration settings
• The Windows build now detects more running screen readers in addition to NVDA
• The default locale for Spanish has been changed to es-MX (from es-US)
• The X button can now be used in addition to the A button on controllers
• The custom audio engine now supports a wider range of audio formats to be compatible with more sound cards
• The custom audio engine now attempts to match your native device format for optimal speed and latency

Bugs fixed

• The Japanese translation was mistakenly omitted and is now included in all builds
• Bubble pop events in Meet & Tweet are now consistently handled before bubble appear events
• The game no longer freezes in some cases on Linux when the audio device is in a bad state
• The custom audio engine now recovers from more invalid device state errors
• Screen reader pacing is now more consistent on non-Windows platforms
• Level names now use translated names in stage select if available
• The keyboard shortcut to enable accessibility (Shift+Win+A) now works reliably and is available on macOS (as Shift+Command+A)
• The game no longer crashes on Windows if text-to-speech fails to initialise
• The "sound check" text no longer disappears after changing language
• The modifier key for disclaimer screen shortcuts no longer sticks on macOS
• The "Screen flash" option now also disables the camera shutter on the Flipper Snapper title screen
• Clicking the mouse no longer interrupts the current screen reader dialogue
• Overlapping nails in Hammer Time customs now use consistent layering

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2024-06-09 09:29:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for more patch notes! This release brings Bits & Bops to even more users! In addition to several new fan-contributed translations, we've also added support for screen readers! This should be enabled by default if you have a screen reader active on your computer, or you can explicitly enable or disable it from the settings menu. If you're blind or visually impaired, please try it out and give us your feedback in our Discord server. You can now also play Bits & Bops in

• Japanese - thanks to shiomichu!
• Russian - thanks to Lisenokk!
• French - thanks to Temulgeh and Romaing!
• Italian - thanks to Feder-28!

Special thanks to all the translators! For macOS users, we noticed an oversight in the last build that meant users weren't being switched over to the custom engine by default. With this new release, you'll be switched over unless you've explicitly chosen the fallback engine in the settings. As usual, if you experience issues, please report them in our Discord server.

Features added

• The game now supports narration with text-to-speech for blind and visually impaired users
• Custom mixtapes can now be loaded by pressing Ctrl+M on the disclaimer screen
• In-game volume controls now use a more natural-sounding curve
• Linux and macOS users can now explicitly select their audio output device in settings
• The mouse cursor is now locked to the screen during gameplay
• The in-game Discord link now points to the Polish channel if your system language is Polish

Updates

• The kiss sound effect in Flipper Snapper now more closely matches the judgement timing
• Many fan translations have received updates from the contributors and our community
• The default game volume has been lowered for new players (but can still be increased in settings)
• The wren is now able to giggle for the last input of Meet & Tweet
• The Hammer Time "Cool" judgement text now ends with a full stop instead of an exclamation mark
• The custom engine now makes use of SSE2 instructions on Linux and macOS
• The bundled version of SDL2 has been updated to 2.30.0
• The included version of miniaudio on Linux and macOS has been updated to 0.11.21

Bugs fixed

• The custom engine is now enabled by default on macOS
• The "Want more?" CD now animates in with the others on first play
• Photos taken in the Flipper Snapper tutorial now match the tutorial background
• The hammer no longer gets stuck if held at the end of the Hammer Time tutorial
• The in-game Discord link now points to the Chinese channel if your system language is Traditional Chinese
• Translations now use the correct title font on error screens
• The custom engine no longer preferences installed versions of SDL2 in /usr/local/lib over the bundled version
• The custom engine no longer fails to load SDL2 on macOS for some users
• Transitioning to the main menu from the splash screen can now be done with any button or key
• Unused audio settings are no longer present on macOS
• All randomised effects no longer exclude one of the choices for the first selection

Internal changes

• Custom mixtapes with a large number of BPM changes no longer cause frame drops on some machines
• The camera now fades out consistently when quitting custom mixtapes
• Some missed judgement lines are now included in translation files
• The bubble animation in Flipper Snapper now scales with song BPM
• Reduce likelihood of block desync at beginning of Hammer Time in custom mixtapes
• Blocks used in Hammer Time outro animation in custom mixtapes are always the correct length
• Hit nails in Hammer Time can no longer become stuck on screen
• The exercise_2 bubble in Meet & Tweet customs now shows the correct sprite
• The canary's perch shadow in Meet & Tweet now scales with song BPM
• The sound effects and animations of speech bubbles in Meet & Tweet customs now match the main game
• Custom mixtapes no longer fail to load if open in another program
• Translation files now allow arbitrary grammar for the translator credit in the disclaimer screen
• Translation files can now specify a scaling factor for settings tab labels
• Translation files can now specify the separator used between option names and values
• Translation files can now specify the length at which audio device names are truncated
• Text bounds and overflow settings have been updated on multiple screens
• Decimals in numbers now use a locale appropriate for the chosen translation
• Where possible, valid content is used from invalid translation files
• Translation filenames are no longer required to match a list of known language names
• Judgement messages triggered by custom mixtapes can no longer bleed into the main game
• Several inconsequential warnings and errors no longer appear in the log file

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2024-04-29 04:47:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for more patch notes! This release brings Bits & Bops to the international community! We've had a whole bunch of new people discover the game, and a handful of dedicated fans have translated Bits & Bops into other languages. You can now play Bits & Bops in

• Korean - thanks to Big Jaekuk!
• Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) - thanks to Kirbysfan!
• Portuguese (Brazillian) - thanks to Ghostabo and teu!
• Spanish - thanks to valentinmacc!
• Danish - thanks to Rapandrasmus!

Special thanks to all the translators! We've also set up international channels in our Discord server, so if you want to talk about Bits & Bops in your language, now you can! If you like, you can also learn how to create your own translation and share it with your friends! Finally, we've made some compatibility changes to the macOS build that should ensure the game runs on all supported devices. If you had trouble last time, please give it another go and let us know if it's still not working for you.

Features added

• The game will now default to your system language if a translation is available for it (or you can select a language in the settings)
• The in-game Discord link now redirects users to the language channel that matches their system language (if there is one)
• Some text has been updated for simplicity and consistency

Bugs fixed

• The custom engine no longer fails to load on some macOS systems
• Failure to load the custom engine now redirects users to the generic error screen
• The "Hit X more!" text fades out consistently in all tutorials
• All tutorials are now consistently skippable
• The "Want more?" card no longer produces a minor audio glitch when selected

Internal changes

• Hammer Time mixtapes can now use more blocks before they start disappearing

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2024-01-20 08:35:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy New Year! We've been hard at work developing Bits & Bops, and we're pleased to share a new update to the demo which brings the custom engine to macOS! You'll be switched over by default, so please report any problems if you find them. As always, you can get quick support in our Discord server, or you can email support@tempolabgames.com if you don't use Discord.

Features added

• The custom engine is now available on macOS
• The external links have been updated for those looking for more content and ways to support us
• The frame rate cap can now be set to triple your refresh rate (but leaving VSync on is usually better)
• The demo expiry message now shows instructions for updating the game
• Some judgement stickers have received a visual update (let us know what you think!)
• The dialogue prompt triangle now has a new texture
• Debug logs contain more detail to assist in troubleshooting issues

Bugs fixed

• The custom engine can now be loaded from paths containing non-English characters
• The custom engine can now be loaded on particularly old versions of Windows 7
• The frame rate option can now be navigated backwards (instead of always moving forwards)
• Steamworks libraries are no longer included in non-Steam builds

Internal changes

• All colour flash/fade events are now fully supported
• The long cat zoom event in Hammer Time has been replaced by multiple shorter events
• Custom mixtapes now support .wav format audio files

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2024-01-07 05:55:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for more patch notes! This release brings enhanced controller compatibility using the free and open source SDL2 library! Many controllers that previously required translation layers should now work out of the box with no configuration necessary. You'll be switched over to the new input implementation by default, but you can always switch back to the old implementation in the settings menu (Input > Controller driver > Custom). For anyone playing the game via Steam, we've disabled Steam Input for non-Xbox controllers by default. If you want to re-enable Steam Input, you can do so in your Steam settings, either in your general controller settings or in the override settings for the Bits & Bops demo. If you run into any issues, you are always welcome to ask for help in our Discord server. Beginning with this release, you can also email support@tempolabgames.com if you are unable to use Discord. Please keep in mind that we are a very small team, and email support will generally be slower than Discord support.

Features added

• New SDL2 input backend natively supports many different controllers
• You can now switch between the Custom and Fallback engines without exiting the game (now in the "Other" settings tab)
• Settings which are not applied instantly now force a reload or revert
• Tutorials with long sequences now loop to give you more time to hit three patterns

Bugs fixed

• Extended keybindings (e.g. WASD for navigation) now work in the Fallback engine
• The 32-bit Windows build no longer crashes on startup
• Audio resampling no longer crashes on Linux
• The Flipper Snapper tutorial now shows the correct photo when the camera is pointed downwards
• The player speech bubble in Meet & Tweet now immediately stops jiggling on successful input
• The dialogue sound no longer stutters at the beginning of tutorials

Internal changes

• Custom levels now support MP3 files
• The player speech bubble in Meet & Tweet can no longer find its way into other scenes
• The lyrics event in the sample Meet & Tweet custom level now correctly enables the lyrics
• Events in the sample Hammer Time custom level now correctly specify their length
• The correct bubble is shown for extra inputs at the end of Meet & Tweet custom levels
• Blocks in some Hammer Time custom levels no longer disappear
• All custom level files now identify themselves as originating from Bits & Bops

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2023-09-15 03:54:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for more patch notes! This release brings a range of bug fixes and compatibility updates, largely thanks to the many players who found bugs and reported them in our Discord server. As a reminder, most reported bugs get fixed within a day or two -- so if you find a bug, please report it!

Features added

• All failures to initialise the custom engine now show an appropriate error message on startup
• The custom engine now supports more output formats on Windows (i.e. works with more software/hardware)
• The custom engine now runs on older versions of Linux (with glibc >= 2.15)
• The fallback engine now begins playing audio sooner at the beginning of stages

Bugs fixed

• Letter keys (e.g. WASD) are now handled properly in the fallback engine
• The custom engine no longer crashes on Windows if certain speakers/headphones are disconnected
• The fallback engine no longer stops playing music under some circumstances when settings are changed
• The fallback engine now automatically corrects music desync near the beginning of stages
• The safety catch that puts players on the fallback engine no longer applies on the generic error screen

Internal changes

• Custom levels now load properly on Linux
• Finishing a custom level will now place you back on the menu with the option to replay it
• The Flipper Snapper character switch event now has a toggle to apply immediately
• There is now an event to clear Flipper Snapper's ball popped state
• The option to hide the lyrics in Meet & Tweet now actually hides the lyrics
• The ambient ocean sound now only plays in custom levels that exclusively use Flipper Snapper
• Custom event properties now use more human-readable key names
• Custom levels no longer briefly flash the wrong minigame on startup
• Pressing buttons within a small window at the beginning of a custom level no longer breaks input
• The included custom file containing all Bits & Bops events now specifies a BPM for applications that require it
• All included custom files specify an empty properties object for applications that require it
• The custom level parser now supports newer versions of the file format

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2023-07-06 05:59:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for another set of patch notes! This release brings a handful of bug fixes for the custom engine on Linux (and a few new features to boot). Special thanks to anyone who tried it out, gave feedback or reported bugs either in our Discord server or in the Steam community discussions. Remember, if you ever run into a bug, we want to hear about it! The majority of bugs that are reported to us get fixed within a few days, which saves anyone else from running into the same problem and helps make the game better for everyone. Going forward, we will continue to maintain the Bits & Bops demo, but the releases will be less frequent while we focus our attention on creating content for the full game. As always, you can keep up with our community in our Discord server, including checking out all the cool mods and remixes people have been creating!

Features added

• A catchy new jingle has been added for the Perfect judgement
• The penalty for mashing has been reduced significantly, allowing players to freestyle when the mood strikes
• Players can now use J, F and Right Shift as alternative input keys
• The custom engine now supports multiple hot-pluggable controllers
• The game now warns Linux users who run the Windows build under Proton/Wine

Bugs fixed

• The Linux custom engine now initialises correctly when no controller is connected
• Mouse input has been restored for all minigames (but remains disabled in menus)
• The Linux custom engine gracefully disables mouse input if the user's window manager blocks it
• When using multiple keys in Hammer Time, the hammer now lifts only when the most recently pressed key is released
• The photos in Flipper Snapper now more accurately reflect the scene in more situations with incorrect inputs

Internal changes

• Custom levels now support switching games, toggling input, fading out and ending early
• Custom levels can now be autoplayed by pressing Ctrl+A on the disclaimer screen
• Multiple special stage events can now be used more than once without restriction
• The left end of long blocks in Hammer Time remains connected to the rest in more cases
• Extremely long blocks in Hammer Time will now keep moving for longer

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2023-04-29 04:26:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for another set of patch notes! This release brings the custom engine to Linux! We've tested it for you on the Steam Deck and built in some tailored settings for the best experience straight out of the box. If you're on Linux and you were previously running the Windows build, you may need to manually disable Proton to get the native Linux build (check your compatibility settings).

Major updates

• The custom engine is now available on Linux (including Steam Deck)!

Features added

• The music and SFX volume can now be changed from the settings menu
• The settings menu now uses a consistent font

Bugs fixed

• The fallback engine now desyncs less often on slow machines
• Bop and Bit now have their shadows on the title screen

Internal changes

• All stages support BPM changes
• The birds in Meet & Tweet still bop when the "end pose" event isn't used
• Flipper Snapper correctly handles multiple "pan down" events

As always, you can discuss the latest changes in our Discord server. See you there!

[ 2023-03-03 02:08:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Welcome back for another set of patch notes! This release brings compatibility updates and more bug fixes. We've also managed to acquire a Steam Deck (thanks Sean!) which means we can test and develop against it directly. As always, if you'd like to support us, you can back us over at our Slacker Backer store. All pledges count towards our final stretch goal, and will help us continue to build and improve Bits & Bops.

Updates

• Sounds are now scheduled more accurately when using the Fallback engine
• Mulitple controllers are now supported with the Fallback engine (including external controllers on Steam Deck)
• Menu navigation using D-pad is now supported on Linux (tested on Steam Deck)
• Setting descriptions now more accurately reflect the engine and device you're using
• Mouse clicks are no longer accepted as confirmation in menus (but are still accepted in-game)

Bug fixes

• The cat's stolen hotdog and seal's popped beach ball now appear in any extra photos taken
• Photos taken at the end of Flipper Snapper no longer get stuck on screen
• There is no longer a thin green line at the bottom of the screen in Meet & Tweet
• Failing a tutorial no longer has a small chance to send you to the judgement screen
• Corrupted save files are now correctly backed up for troubleshooting and possible recovery

There are even more internal changes that our Discord community have already started playing with. If you'd like to see what they're up to, join our Discord and head over to the #mods-and-remixes channel!

[ 2023-02-09 12:36:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, and welcome to another set of patch notes! The demo was originally going to be exclusively available during the Kickstarter period, but we've decided to leave it up for a while longer to give more people time to play it (and give you another chance to get that last Perfect)! If you missed out on your chance to back the game on Kickstarter because of payment troubles (or you just forgot), we've got you covered. You can still back the game at our Slacker Backer Store. Plus, until January 11, you'll be eligible to receive all Kickstarter-exclusive rewards! Let's get into the patch notes!

Updates

• On macOS, the game now falls back on OpenGL if Metal is not available (fixes black screen issue)
• Canary's two hit effects are now more easily distinguishable
• Wren's three tweet animation is now smoother
• Hammer Time tutorial now has a surface for the blocks to sit on
• The fade out at the end of the Hammer Time tutorial now matches the other stages
• All result photos now have a consistent colouring
• Website CD now has an exclamation mark for extra enthusiasm!

There are also lots of internal changes that our community over on Discord will be sure to dissect. Why not head over and join them?

[ 2023-01-07 00:41:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Bits & Bops Kickstarter is entering its FINAL 24 HOURS!

Remember those stretch goals?

Our final stretch goal is a CUSTOM MIXTAPE EDITOR! If we reach this goal, you'll be able to build your own Bits & Bops levels and share them with your friends! If you haven't already, click here to head over to Kickstarter and back us! Thank you so much for your incredible support so far!

[ 2023-01-03 14:29:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, and welcome to our first set of patch notes! We've been busily adding features and fixing bugs behind the scenes, all while running our Kickstarter, so we'd like to take a moment to share what we've been working on. You might notice the new build is labelled "version 0.2" in the bottom right corner of the main menu screen. Going forward, we'll be numbering builds with a more human-friendly version number in addition to the internal build identifier used previously. Without further ado, here's what's changed between the very first public Steam release of the demo and version 0.2!

Major updates

• Native macOS and Linux builds are now live on Steam and itch.io (though currently without the custom engine)
• Game includes dedicated Steam Deck default settings for better out-of-the-box performance
• Game files no longer trigger false-positive detections in any major antivirus products (as reported by VirusTotal)

Features added

• New option to adjust the global volume in-game
• New option to select audio output device
• New option to disable whole-screen flashing or flickering (currently only the Flipper Snapper camera shutter)
• Settings are now divided into tabs for easier access
• Hammer Time and Meet & Tweet now have dedicated images for Cool on the results screen
• More buttons are supported (Enter and X for confirm, WASD for menu navigation)
• Most audio configuration errors are explicitly detected and automatically switch to the fallback engine
• Scoring a Perfect on all three stages in a row gives a sticker on the fourth CD
• Unlocking the stages at the beginning of the demo now has a dedicated sound
• The "skip tutorial" text is now more visible
• Hidden shortcut to reset all settings to default for those who get truly stuck
• Custom engine logs much more information on failure to aid in troubleshooting
• Graphical update to fourth CD to make it more apparent that it isn't a level (sorry)

Bugs fixed

• Title screen and stage select music now loops correctly across a variety of audio configurations
• Hammer Time no longer shows another camera angle for a few frames at the beginning of the stage
• Hammer Time no longer allows you to move the hammer from its position at the end of the stage
• The block that fades out at the end of the Hammer Time tutorial is now completely invisible
• The beach ball at the end of Flipper Snapper now animates correctly when some inputs are missed
• The game no longer responds to input when the Steam overlay is active
• The nail and hammer sounds pan correctly on the beats where the camera flips and flips back

Thank you so much for playing the Bits & Bops demo! As always, you can get support for any issues you encounter in the #bug-reports channel of our Discord server, and keep up to date with the latest news by following us on Twitter and reading our Kickstarter updates.

[ 2022-12-22 14:37:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello! A quick announcement to let you know that Bits & Bops is currently live on Kickstarter! We successfully reached our campaign's base funding goal in under 24 hours, which is a huge milestone. We are incredibly grateful, and keen to continue working on the game in the coming months. If you haven't backed our project, you still can! We have some awesome rewards for backers, like this boppin' art bundle! (see below)
(There are also pins, but we forgot to draw them.)

But that's not all!

Our campaign also has stretch goals - bonus targets that can fund some cool extra features for Bits & Bops. The first stretch goal is Mixtapes - special levels that combine multiple minigames together! Please check the campaign out if you're interested! A huge thank you to everyone who has played the demo, we hope you've enjoyed it and we look forward to bringing you more Bits & Bops.

[ 2022-12-07 15:43:07 CET ] [ Original post ]