Work still in progress - New browser-based buzzers & more
Hello everyone!
While we haven't been very good with communication lately please be assured that we are still working on the game. There are some major changes in store that simply take a lot of time for our small team. But good things are waiting for the patient!
In the meantime we just published a few improvements for the current version of the game.
New Browser-based Buzzer
When you open a new game now you will notice that there is a new text above the lobby's QR code reading something like "buzzer.link/some-text". This is a link you can open in any web browser (on your phone, tablet or PC) to join the game. The text after the slash ("/") is a randomly generated lobby code. This way people who spontaneously want to join the quiz can do that immediately and do not have to install an app beforehand!
So from now on to join the game with your phone you can scan the QR with your phone's QR code scanner or enter the displayed link directly in your browser. Alternatively you can also visit just https://play.askutron.com and enter the lobby code (the random text after the "/") there.
The new buzzer will also display the QR code and link in the ready screen so you can easily share it with your friends.
Please note that we are in the process of replacing the old Android and iOS apps with enhanced versions based on this new version of the buzzer. Until then please simply use the browser-based buzzer. The old apps do not work with the new version of the game.
Online-Multiplayer Improvements
A new version of our online multiplayer server has been deployed and should be more reliable than the old version.
Preview: Next Version of Askutron and Movie Quiz DLC
While news have been slow, the work on the next version of Askutron Quiz Show is still very much in progress. The goal is to leave Early Access before the end of 2019. A new version will be ready for testing soon and new features will be rolled out on a continuous basis.
What to Expect
One of our goals for the new version of Askutron was to improve the graphics, finally giving the game the appropriate TV studio set it deserves. But we also made changes to the core gameplay and eliminated many bugs based on the feedback of our valued Early Access players.
Here is a list with just some of the most important changes you can expect in the new version. Many of which will already be included in the upcoming test version, while others will only arrive later next year.
completely new 3D TV studio set
improved overall graphics and user interface
better question selection algorithm
revamped core game mechanics, especially in "Cake Conflict" and "Finale" modes
more powerful game options including the possibility to mix and match different quizzes in one quiz round
2 players can play on one keyboard
join the game with your mobile devices even without downloading the app, just scan the QR code and the Buzzer will open in your browser
players can leave and join the game at any point in time, even during the game
further improved Buzz! buzzer support (showing the appropriate colors in the user interface)
a new browser-based quiz editor that allows players to collaborate and share more easily
and more...
Free Movie Quiz DLC
Also upcoming is a free movie quiz DLC that offers thousands of questions for movies of all genres and eras, including new and different rounds and question types. This DLC will also support various languages on top of English and German!
Timeframe and Development
We are planning on releasing the next version of the game that includes many of the features mentioned above within Q1 2019. With some new features (especially the new quiz editor) following later in the year.
If you want to be on the bleeding edge or already would like to take advantage of some of the improvements (like browser-support for buzzers), we are planning on releasing a preview on a beta test channel before New Year's eve this year! The announcement will contain details about this version.
Askutron v0.5.2 - Bugfixes, and Work in Progress
Good morning everyone!
While updates have been scarce over the last months we are still working on the game. In fact there are a lot of improvements coming to graphics and gameplay. Our goal was to have all of that done by Christmas this year. We're trying hard to make it happen in time.
In the meantime we just released a small but important bugfix release that was long overdue. Sorry to all the players who experienced problems!
Askutron v0.5.2 - Patch Notes
Fixed: Finale was skipped for some players after the first game played in a session
Fixed: Some players saw repeating questions because the "already seen questions" weren't properly saved
Fixed: In certain configurations the mode "Viewpoints" always lead to the finale, even if more play time had been configured
Fixed: "It Is Known" achievement didn't unlock by playing "A Quiz of Ice and Fire" from the Workshop
Introducing "Quizatars" for Asynchronous Online Play and More Questions
Happy Easter everyone!
Here's what today's patch brings.
Quizatars a.k.a. Ghost Mode
With today's patch we've added what we call "Quizatars" to the game, which allows playing online against other people even when they are not online at the same time.
This works by tracking the answers of all players on our servers. For every Askutron player there is an online "Quizatar" (quiz avatar) that behaves just like them. When it encounters questions the player has already played, it will answer exactly like them. For new questions the player's category-specific accuracy is used to determine the answer.
When you select the Online mode, these Quizatars will automatically join and fill up the game if there are not enough actual players online at the same time. Can beat the other players in the Askutron community? Find out!
More Opinion Questions
We've added more than 150 new opinion questions to test how well you really know your friends!
Bugfixes and Developer Console
As per usual we included a bunch of bugfixes. Also, the developer console that displays errors when they occur is now disabled by default. It has to be specificallly enabled by pressing F2 in order for it to show error messages.
Upcoming update and survey about new content languages
While it has been a bit quiet on our end in the last few weeks we can assure you work on Askutron Quiz Show continues.
The next update is planned for Saturday, March 31st 2018. It will include bugfixes, more questions and the new "ghost mode", that allows playing against other players online even when they are not online at the same time. More details about this new mode will be found in the release notes.
Additionally we are planning on adding new official question packs for languages other than English and German. If you use Twitter, please feel free to give your vote in our small survey:
https://twitter.com/askutron/status/979039582351224832
Currently we're thinking about Russian, Chinese, Arabic or Spanish. Please let us know what you think!
Happy new year - Patch Notes Jan 3, 2018
Happy new year everyone!
We hope you had a relaxing christmas and a good start into 2018.
In our first update this year we fixed a couple of bugs.
Bugfixes
Mobile controller connection issues
Mobile controllers had trouble connecting to the Askutron relay which is why they only worked when in the same wifi network as the computer hosting the game. This is fixed now, so you don't have to be in the same wifi. For instance it's enough for you phone to have internet access via 3G.
Exclamation mark!
We had a bug in the host's voice where it would read out punctuation in sentences such as: "Wrong again !"
Here it would read "Wrong again Markus, exclamation mark". This does not happen anymore.
Repeat questions
Some players were rightfully complaining about repeat questions. This should not happen seeing as we have several thousand questions.
The reason it did happen was our question selection algorithm.
It's supposed to favour questions that have been upvoted so that players will get better questions.
Unfortunately we overdid it a bit which is why people were seeing repeat questions. The algorithm always picked the questions in more or less the same order from only the highest rated ones. We now fixed this so that this shouldn't happen anymore.
Upcoming
We're still working on our new "ghost" mode. More about that later this month.
Also we are still adding more opinion questions to have a wider variety of them.
New Characters and Buzzers, and more
Unlockable Characters
With the latest version of the game we added two new characters and 9 new buzzer sounds to the game! However, these won't be available from the start. Instead they have to be unlocked using "Stars" you gain for completing quiz rounds.
The total number of stars earned is displayed below your character's name during the lobby phase. Characters and buzzers have to be unlocked for each player profile individually. Locked items are displayed with their "Star cost" like in the following image:
The mobile buzzer app has not been updated with the new characters and buzzers as of now, but will be in the following days.
Changed Answer Button Layout
Thanks to the feedback of user 'MASHED POTATOES' we changed the layout of the answer buttons to make them more intuitive. They are now aligned analogously to their actual positions on the gamepads.
Work in Progress
There's much more to come in the next few weeks as we are working on finishing some new features including improvements to the online mode and new game modes.
Happy Holidays
We wish all of you happy holidays and that you can enjoy some quality time with your family and friends. And maybe you even get to play a round of Askutron Quiz Show with them! ;-)
Improved Quiz Editor und Tons of Bugfixes - Patch Notes Dec 3, 2017
This week we fixed tons of bugs in the game and the editor. Thanks to everyone who reported their problems!
Improved Quiz Editor
The new editor UI makes it much easier to quickly enter questions and makes much better use of screen real estate so that you can see the maximum number of questions.
Upcoming
We are still working on new, unlockable characters and buzzer sounds, the 3D studio environment and a few more exciting things that we hope to be able to finish before Christmas so that you can enjoy them with your family!
Stats & Ranks, Popular Quizzes, Reworked Finale, Stars, New Characters... - Patch Notes Nov 24, 2017
This week we have quite a few exciting improvements to the game!
Statistics and Ranks
With this patch we're introducing basic player statistics along with global ranking! Stats and ranks are only recorded for plays starting with this version, so it will take some time for all players to be ranked.
The stats for your main profile (which is named liked your Steam user account) are now displayed right in the main menu. Ranks are updated after every game.
Popular Player Quizzes
To make it easier for you to discover Workshop quizzes created by other players we added a small list of currently popular player quizzes to the main menu (see screenshot above).
Clicking on the title will open the Quiz's workshop page if you want to see details. The stars (between 1 and 5) show ratings by other players. To make it even easier, we added a download button that immediately subscribes, downloads and installs the quiz so you can start playing it right away! (Quizzes downloaded via the Workshop website can only be played after restarting the game)
We hope that this way more players will discover the awesome player-generated quizzes already on the Workshop, such as:
Star Trek Voyager by clemenskaa
All About Harry Potter by kidrocket
Inconceivable! The Princess Bride by kidrocket
A Quiz of Ice and Fire by blackpirateroberts
Video Games by blackpirateroberts
and "alles mögliche" by Larumpa
Automatic Workshop Upload
Up until now you had to manually trigger the upload of your quizzes to the Steam Workshop by pressing F6 in the menu. But from now on quizzes that have the "share on Steam Workshop" checkbox in the quiz editor checked will automatically uploaded when the game launches.
Reworked Finale and Introduction of Stars
The finale now works differently. Player scores are converted into stars at the beginning of the finale, with the best player getting 10 stars and all other players getting a number of stars based on many points they had before in relation to the best player. Correct answers add one star, wrong ones subtract one. Bonus awards also add one star. At the end the player with the most stars wins.
The number of stars you won are persistently tracked in your profile and stats.
Unlockable Characters and Buzzers Coming Soon
The introduction of stars paves the way for our planned content update which will deliver new unlockable characters and buzzer sounds! We'll reveal more about the update in the coming weeks.
What we can already say is that you'll need stars to unlock new characters and buzzers. You can start saving up on stars right now!
Skipping Score Sequence
To speed up the game we added the possibility to skip the high score table sequence.
This patch contains a few bugfixes and improvements. Here are the most important bits:
Online Mode Fixes
Until now the online mode had some serious bugs, which mostly have been fixed now! From a technical point of view the online should just work now!
We're still working on how to better present and perform the match making. Currently you can select all the same settings as in single-player mode including the quiz to play, and once you're matched with someone the host's settings will be applied. Ideally in the future you will be only matched with players that have the same / similar settings. Though as the number of players right now is quite low, we figured this way would be better fow now.
Of course you can also still simply open your online game with a private lobby and simply invite friends to join via Steam.
There is one outstanding issue with the online mode which is image question. Players that do not already have the image for a question (because it's not a standard question and the client hasn't subscribed/downloaded the selected themed quiz) will not see the image in question. This obviously needs to be fixed now by either requiring all matched players to have subscribed to the selected quiz or transfering the image on-demand.
Improved Question Selection
The randomization in the question selection algorithm has been improved to produce more random results from game to game.
The tracking of which players have seen which questions already was also fixed to minimize question repitition (which is already quite low due to the number of questions). When selecting questions the game first computes for each question how often it has been played for each player in the lobby. Subsequently questions are sorted by the number of occurances first so that a question moves to the very end of the selection list once it has been played.
