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April Update

· 5 min read
Prince Owen
Prince Owen
Developer

🎉

You can try it here. Feel free to compare it with the previous release

Changes​

  • Rollback now works on mobile (swipe right to rollback, left to to roll forward)
  • AnimationCanvas: Smoother scenes with support for static, sequenced and video playback
  • Improved performance, reduced memory usages
  • Better compatibility across all browsers
  • Faster loading times with bitPack, less server load
  • No glitches during character transitions
  • Fixed interactivity bugs
  • Further improved Editor and Build tools

BitPack​

Why?​

  • Fixed sized asset chunks (5MB default)
  • Searchable + Splitable
  • Major reduction in server load

Basic format specification diagram​

Upscale Previews​

Before (left), after (right)

MrsL upscaled.webp

Isabelle Upscaled.webp

Lindsey Upscaled.webp

Reported Bugs​

  • black screen when accessing the link for the very first time, have to refresh to fix
  • first time you enter a location or look at a scene, it stutters
  • sometimes the background flashes
  • a cool feature to have would be in-gameplay translation by fan with crowdsourcing upvotes on the translation.
Lilwa​
  • sometimes when you click on objects the actions to interact/investigate don't appear
  • maybe there should be a volume bar so you can easily adjust the game volume?
  • bag items can't be clicked
  • for big screens there's black spaces on either side of the game picture
Mobile feedback (Android):​
  • Intro music isn't looped perfectly, and it's clear it ends and starts over
  • Menu is too small imo, it's hard to read or tap anything
  • Once game starts, the screen feels a little too small
  • Starting screen is black, menu like "New game" etc is there, but no art
  • On the in game phone, the messages are black blocks instead of text
  • The menu choice options for dialogue are also black boxes
  • the quest marker bouncing over objects is also a black box, as are the interact/investigate buttons, and they're difficult to tap on

Responses​

  • black screen when accessing the link for the very first time, have to refresh to fix

This is likely due to the webpage still loading (slower internet can contribute). The game eventually shows up when given some time. To resolve this we need to design an simple loading screen to keep the users busy while the page loads.

If an artist can design a concept using a .svg file format (Adobe illustrator or Inkscape). I can add it to the engine. Here are a few examples (it doesn't need to be animated, I only need an image or a sequence of them).

This will not be a concern in native Android or PC builds.

  • a cool feature to have would be in-gameplay translation by fan with crowdsourcing upvotes on the translation.

To save time we could use open source tools like Mozilla Pontoon or Weblate. Crowd-sourcing translations can be a bit dangerous. They can be abused, 4chan users are notorious for this.

With our already working account system, we can:

  • Assign specific users translation roles
  • Put together a system that allows game texts to be translated and synced with our servers
  • Link these API to the Game UI if we need to

for big screens there's black spaces on either side of the game picture

I'm not sure which black spaces are pointed out here. A screenshot would be helpful.

595c4ee7e98aae6fe9e282c3305af6b5.png

If you mean these (marked with red). It's probably because our game screen resolution is 16:9. Fixing it would mean we might have to unevenly stretch the game or crop out some parts. Maybe we can discuss, plan and figure out a solution in the future.

  • Menu is too small imo, it's hard to read or tap anything
  • Once game starts, the screen feels a little too small

This very correct. I don't think mobile devices were considered when the initial engine was built. We may need to design a mobile specific UI. This would include:

  • Bigger and better placed buttons
  • Gestures for navigation

I'm much better at implementing these types of ideas than designing them (sorry, Goodluck).

  • Starting screen is black, menu like "New game" etc is there, but no art
  • On the in game phone, the messages are black blocks instead of text
  • The menu choice options for dialogue are also black boxes
  • the quest marker bouncing over objects is also a black box, as are the interact/investigate buttons, and they're difficult to tap on

I'm certain that these issues should be resolved. But if they persist, try reducing the game resolution in the settings page.