Mid-Patch Progress

Hello all!

I just wanted to share a quick update on the current progress for the v0.1.5 patch. This patch is a medium sized one, so I expect to still have maybe two or three weeks of work ahead (in the best case.) If I find out that the scope is just too large to manage in one patch, I will move some material to v0.1.6. So, without further wait, here is what to expect in the upcoming update!

Visual Update

It is no secret that the visuals for Stoink are pretty basic. It is also no secret that I am mostly a developer, and less of a visual artist. However, There are still a lot of things that are in my reach for pixel art work. This update adds lit sprites, 2d lights, particles, and an actual explosion (Good bye old explosion. You might be missed). 2D lights were a breeze to introduce, and I don’t think they added much heavy lifting to the game processing. I still have some profiling to do on Android, but odds are I am good to go on that front. In order to see those in effect, be sure to check the video embeded in this post!

Explosion Before/After

Physics update

It was a big pain point for me to always accidently destroy objects by bombing walls. I didnt feel like it added anything meaninful to the game, nor allowed nice design space. I decided to try and make objects physically react with explosions instead, and found the result to be quite satisfying. This all came from the idea of have a multiplayer mode where you try to eliminate other players by propelling traps on them. (Spoiler: The multiplayer proof of concept is in the works.)

Controller Support

That one is pretty easy to talk about. Playing this game while leaning back on the couch is really fun. I wanna do it. Still need to adapt some UIs to this new control method.

Achievements

This is the feature that may be pushed back to v0.1.6, as I feel like polished physics and visuals are more important in the short term. This also adds a lot of pressure on the Pixel Art side, as each achievement will require its own sprite. This might also be a progressive roll out, with an initial bank of a few achievements, and then further extensions to it.