When publishing the level editor, I apparently hadn't set the correct build for the demo in the Steam backend. Thanks to Hobo, I finally noticed that almost a day later. 😸

Auri, Hobo and SaimizZ then tested the level editor and noticed a bunch of bugs. The critical ones were fixed soon afterwards in a hot fix.

They also submitted their levels, here they are:

Auri:

Hobo:

SaimizZ:

Watch the video for the last two levels here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLnjwJXakw 

Roadmap

With November looming, it was time to try and finish this game. I updated my roadmap and added rough estimations:

• October: L̶e̶v̶e̶l̶ ̶e̶d̶i̶t̶o̶r̶, Credits
• November: Unlockables
• December: Achievements/Database, finish soundtrack, add challenge mode
• January: Testing, Translations
• February: Release 🎉

After fixing more things that came up in the editor testing round, the roadmap dictated that credits were the next task to tackle. There is no finished game without a cool credits sequence, so I spent two days just working on that. I also made a new song just for the credits based on the old looping sample that was playing in the original flash version.

With the credits out of the way, the next feature to be implemented would be... 

Unlockables

Every time you collect a crystal, you gain money. This money can then be exchanged for new abilities/cosmetics.

I started by planning 15 unlockables, 10 of those are gameplay abilities, 5 are "cosmetics" like skins and commentary mode. Once planning was done, I asked Khimitsu for some feedback. Like back in the old days of the flash version of Turnament, I got some amazing notes back, which improved my plan (thanks Khimitsu!).

Here's the full table (don't read this if you don't want to be spoiled):

I got to work on the Unlockables scene and realized that the unlocking sequence needed to be awesome, so here's what it looks like now.

With sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kenddudjNRg 

Working on the Desdemona video with lots of different particle effects was really paying off right now. :D After that unlocking animation was done, I made sure that unlockables can be unlocked and toggled on/off, and it saves everything in the game's save file. And just before I could actually implement the first ability, my body said, stop.

A Short Break

At around this point I actually got ill for a week. Not Covid again, thankfully, just some regular coughs and sneezes.

On the first day that I felt better again, I took a walk through Vienna with Auri and we stumbled upon this street:

I thought that looked really cool, and if you see flying umbrellas in my next game, now you know why. (Yes, I'm always thinking about my next game at this point.)

Back on Track

After that little excursion, I decided to do some smaller things to get back into the groove.

First, the "turned square" needed to be spiced up a bit, so I decided to add a separate shader for it.

Second, I've always wanted to add a music/sound visualization to add some detail to the whole screen, and I added it to the bottom of the screen. I'm not sure yet if this is too distracting, but I think I'll leave it in for now. You can barely see it in this gif (it's more noticeable in the game):

Third, I've updated the dialog of the first few cutscenes to make them shorter and clearer. This was a feedback from a review back in 2006, and it has been repeated by players of the demo, so this was important. I also updated the layout of the first 5 levels just a bit to make them more interesting.

And now... it's time to actually implement all of the unlockables. I'm not sure I can make it all in the remaining two weeks, but I'll try my best. Once that is done, the game will feel almost complete, and I can't wait.

Demo Update?

The demo will be updated one more time before release, but unlockables will not be a part of it. I'll now slowly transition to private beta tests with the full game. If you'd like to be a part of it, let me know via email: muddasheep@gmail.com

Tell your friends to wishlist Turnament on Steam! Every bit helps.

To close off this post, here's one more photo of last Sunday's adventure.

To be continued... 💎