Sorry for the delay! I needed some days more than expected, but here it is: A new update for Artificial Defense, shipping a new, interactive Tutorial System. This one had a very high priority for me and put some other important things on ice, which already got back my full attention. Please note that every single promised feature will be implemented. It's just a matter of sequence and work load. I hope you understand, that I sometimes have to prioritize certain features and delay others.
Changes
A new, interactive tutorial system (for mouse, controller and touch). This should make it much easier for new players to get into the game.
A new music track for the first tutorial mission (Offense Tutorial)
Some minor bug fixes and
A few new minor features
Next Update - GFX Upgrade Since the game runs quite great on all devices, I will add another level of detail and upgrade the general GFX level - I will announce more information concerning my plans soon. I just wanted to let you know, that Artificial Defense has some room left for a lot of interesting GFX upgrades :-)
Thank you for your interest and your support!
Take care and have a nice day,
Thiemo
Next Update - coming soon
Hi guys,
I just want to inform you that I am currently working on the next update, which will be shipped very soon - maybe this weekend (or a little bit later). It will contain a new, interactive tutorial system btw - amongst other things of course.
I will get back to you guys as soon as possible.
Have a nice day,
Thiemo
Update released (1.0.1.2)
Hi guys,
This is just little update shipping some bug fixes and a few minor improvements. Bigger updates are in the works. I just wanted to fix the most annoying bugs right now.
Changes:
Uplab Stats Fix (You can see now all differences, displaying the currently installed upgrade stats is on the todo list)
SFX Quality improvements
A few minor bugs fixed
Have a nice day guys! :-)
Thiemo
First Major Update - 2 weeks of community driven progress
Hi guys,
As announced 2 days ago, I updated the game and added a totally new movement mode (Direct Mode). For huge games studios, this would not be a big deal, but for a solo-developed indie game I would call this the first major update since the release.
It's now been about 2 weeks since Artificial Defense was released. I got some bug reports, a lot of feature requests and a ton of motivating messages. Honestly I did not expect to get so much support from the community and I was a little bit steamrolled by you guys - in a very positive way. Thank you so much for your interest in this little game! :-)
Well, let's talk about what happened in the last 2 weeks:
New Features:
Major change: Direct Mode I personally like the default controls, but some of you told me, that they don't get used to the cursor driven input scheme and other complained about the fact that they had to hold LM for dragging the map. Of course you guys were totally right - and honestly my wife told me the same a few months ago. - Well, I addressed this issues by introducing a new movement mode, called "Direct Mode". You can now move the map (or the crosshair - with inverted controls activated) without holding a button. Additionally you can toggle this mode at any time, this way I do not need to change the default controls - since a majority like it this way. Sounds like a minor change but the guys, who had problems with the default movement scheme may notice a huge improvement. By the way: In combination with inverted controls it feels like a common shooter scheme, actually.
Force Launcher Dialogue: I most cases everything should be fine, but in some rare cases you might want to tweak some settings before launch. Just hold SHIFT while the game is started and you will get access to a Launcher Dialogue, which enables you to edit key-mapping and some display settings. The dialogue is hidden by default, because of Full-Controller-Support compatibility reasons.
Minor changes and a couple of fixes
New achievement re-report emergency button
Display weapon stats
Tweaking tutorial texts and adding more information
Controller / Mouse switch issue fixed
FPS issue fixed (games run on some machines at 700+ fps)
fixed a couple of minor issues and flaws
Thank you very much for your support guys!
Thiemo
P.S. If you encounter any issues, just tell me. I will get back to you asap! ;-)
Direct Movement Mode coming
Hi guys,
I just want to announce a new movement mode for Artificial Defense. It will be shipped with the next update coming on the 14th of June.
Why? Some players did not like to hold LM for longlasting move & shoot sequences and others did not like the cursor driven movement scheme at all.
I did not want to change the input scheme completely, since a majority is very happy with it. But I also want to address those players, who did not like the current, cursor driven scheme. So I implemented a new mode:
(NEW) Direct Mode You can toggle the Direct Mode by pressing ALT during the gameplay. Once enabled the mouse cursor dissapears and you can move the map directly, without holding LM.
Inverted Movement If you do not like the default movement direction (moving the map instead of the camera) you can invert the input scheme in the pause menu. In combination with the new Direct Mode, you will get a pretty common, shooter-like movement scheme.
Have a nice day,
Thiemo
Update 1.0.0.1
Hi guys,
The first update / patch is now online. It's not a big deal actually, but it fixes a lot of annoying issues and brings some first, technical improvements.
Changes:
Re-Report Achievements Button Usefull if something weired happend during the achievement report. A player recently reported that his achievements were not synced during offline play.
Alternative key to move the map Some of you told me, that they do not like to use the left mouse button so frequently, so I added an alternative key (Left Alt). If you hold it, the cursor dissapears and you can move the map, as if you would hold LM. I prefer LM myself, but that is a matter of taste I guess.
Force Launch Dialogue Some guys told me that the need to remap keys e.g. when using country specific keyboard layouts. Others want to change the display which is used for the game. You can now edit these settings in the Launch Dialogue. Since this is a Full-Controller-Support flagged game the launcher will only show up, when holding down the "SHIFT" key while starting the game. This is not a perfect solution, but it brings some options to those guys who encountered issues. This topic has still a place on my todo list.
FPS Isues Some guys reported that the game runs with about 700fps on their machine, sounds nice but it devours a lot of unnecessary hardware performance. I limited the game to a maximum of 140fps now.
Other issues A bunch of minor issues and some typos were fixed.
This is of course not the last update I will fire, it's just the first one. Please continue to report all issue you encounter. I am constantly working on the game.
Have a nice day,
Thiemo
Thank you for your awesome feedback!
Thank you very much guys for your awesome feedback. The overall satisfaction seems to be good and I am very happy about it - but this does not mean, that I will put my feet up - quite the contrary! - It's still a 1.0.0.0 version and my todo list got very long, after talking with you guys. ;-)
What are you currently doing?
I am currently working on the first small update, which will be published very soon. This one will handle a couple of technical issues some of you encountered.
Interested in the development?
I know that a lot of you guys are developers themselves or at least interested in the development. If you have any questions concerning my development, please do not hesitat to contact me. I may need some time to reply, since I have to prioritize bug-fixing, but I def. will get back to you asap.
Delays
Sometimes I can not answer a new discussion or a message instantly, since I have to work on the game itself - and modifying the code e.g. needs some undisturbed concentration. The advantage of a solo-development is that the communication is very direct, there is no community manager in between us for instance - but on the other hand I have a lot of work, spread on very different tasks: updates, patching, community, a little bit promotion, etc. - so sometimes I may just need more time. I kindly ask for your understanding ;-)
I hope you enjoy my little game.
Hava a nice day,
Thiemo
Version Update to 1.0.0.0
Hi guys,
Some of you use a Microsoft Surface (or similar multi-input device) and would like to run Steam games on it. Well, Artificial Defense now supports (a side of Mouse, Keyboard and Controller) full touch input. Have fun.
New feature: Full Touch Support for e.g. MS Surface (or similar) devices
Have a nice day,
Thiemo
v0.9.9.5 brings usability improvements and bug fixes
Hi guys,
Some of you reported some really strange issue, so I needed a little bit more time than usual to hunt those bugs down. Additionally I added upgrade stat delta values, which allow to compare different upgrades concerning their stats (e.g. bossdamage, projectile speed, etc.).
Changes:
Added New Upgrades Stats (Difference to Installed Up)
Fixed some major issues (which could occur in the end game)
Fixed a lot of minor issues and typos
Have a nice day!
Thiemo
Update to v0.9.9.4: Features
Hi guys,
It's a small update, but I think it's quite handy for some of our streamers, lets players, etc.:
Changes:
Fullscreen Display Toggle
You can now toggle between fullscreen and a resizable window mode. That's it for today.
