Patch Notes 1.2.1.106
Changed:
- Steam SDK updated to 1.42
Fixed:
- Minor bugs and performance improvements
Fine Sweeper
Minor patch to fix start-up issues
Changed:
Fixed:
New buttons and minor fixes
Patch Notes 1.2.1.104
Added:
- "Pause" button to top icons
- "Back to Main Menu" button to top icons
- Tooltips for all top row buttons
- Hit F1 at any time to display the coordinates of how the game sees the mouse position. Useful when checking for the "Hitbox Issue" (see below).
Changed:
- Logo splash screen updated with current logo
Fixed:
- Incorrect / missing linebreaks in all language files.
- Wrongly reported mouse positions over tiles and buttons a.k.a. "The Hitbox Issue" (please confirm!).
- Crash when changing languages and aborting a new game right after the start.
Important for your saved games!
- In your Steal library, right click on Fine Sweeper and select "Properties"
- Switch to the "betas" tab.
- Select the "legacy" branch. That's the old, DirectX9c version of the game
- Restart Steam.
Once you've finished your game, please switch Fine Sweeper back to the "default" branch to receive the latest updates and enjoy the DirectX 11 version of the game.
Sorry for the inconveniences.
January Update is in Beta
Should everything run smoothly, expect the game in the main branch in the next 10 days or so.
Here are the Patch Notes, see below for FAQ.
Patch Notes 1.2.1.001
Added:
- Added "DirectX 11" to the version button.
- Option to switch theme colors off
- Option to turn off floating score pop-ups
- Option to turn off craters
- New background for non-colorful mode.
- Community translation support (see FAQ, below) for
- Afrikaans
- Albanian
- Belarusian
- Bosnian
- Bulgarian
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- Estonian
- Finnish
- Greek
- Hungarian
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Macedonian
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Serbian
- Slovak
- Slovene
- Swedish
- Ukrainian
- Afrikaans
Changed:
- Upgraded from DirectX9 to DirectX11!
- More performant time calculations
- Better looking explosions!
- Increased cap for hearts collected stat from 1000 to 100000. (Doesn't affect achievements, it's just for your bookkeeping)
- Moved up floating scores on tiles to allow for faster playstyles
- Updated Fine Sweeper logo to latest design
- Adapted Fine Sweeper logo for Cyrillic languages
- Updated year in the logo screen
Fixed:
- Level-skipping exploit in Classic Mode
- Wrong or even negative flag count
- Digits grouping would not extend to player's neighborhood on the leaderboards
- Memory leak on each level start due to sprites not properly flushing.
- Line breaks in certain strings
F.A.Q.
Will my saved games from the previous version work with the new one?
Yes, saved games are compatible between version.
OMFG! What did you do to my hi-score?!
It's safe, don't worry: There are separate leaderboards for the beta version and the main branch. It's perfectly fine to test the beta and return to the main version with your high-scores (and all other progress) intact. Only the beta leaderboards are subject to unannounced wipes.
What does "Community Translation Support" mean exactly?
Fine Sweeper's texts get loaded from a corresponding .json files in the game's root\languages folder. Should you be interested in localizing Fine Sweeper in a new language, you can just edit the "eng.json" file and save it under a new name, following the ISO 639-2 specification for the filename for all supported languages, e.g. "slv.json" for Slovene. However, a couple of language-specific aspects cannot be edited in this file, such as thousands grouping or the text on the No Flags Bonus icon. Those get set automatically for the supported languages.
The future is DirectX 11! (with FAQ)
As you might know, currently Fine Sweeper requires at least a DirectX 9 compatible system since the game was built using the Game Maker: Studio engine. But, alas, DirectX 9 is anything but state of the art anymore, and while Fine Sweeper does not hinge on extensive 3D graphics or shader support, the game would benefit nonetheless from stepping up to DirectX 11 and should run smoother due to optimized 2D drawing routines, especially on lower end hardware. With the release of Game Maker Studio 2, this upgrade to Fine Sweeper’s underlying tech is now in reach.
What will change?
With the next patch due in January 2017, the default executable of Fine Sweeper will the DirectX 11 executable. This will be the main version of the game, meaning it will receive patches and updates. Perhaps I will release it a few days into the beta channel to see what problems are cropping up before committing the DX11 version as the default one.
What do I have to do to run the Direct 11 version of Fine Sweeper once it’s out?
Nothing. :) Steam should automatically update the game for you.
What will happen to my saved games & progress?
Highest level reached, high-score, and the number of unlocked heart containers won’t be touched. I am not 100% sure about saved games in progress but to 99%. So in theory, a saved game should be as safe as the name implies. As soon as I know for sure, I will let you know.
I don’t have DirectX 11 compatible hardware. What does this mean for me?
According to the Steam hardware survey you are amongst the 9% of Fine Sweeper players that fall into this category. For you, I am planning to keep the last DirectX 9 version of the game selectable via the "Beta participation" tab in the properties. Since that version won’t receive new patches or updates, it’s recommended that you switch to the default, (i.e. the DirectX 11 version) of the game, once you have hardware capable of running it.
If there are any further questions, please head over to the forums and post them there.
Thanks for playing and fine sweeping!
UPDATE: Since the latest version (1.2.0.94) broke the game for some users, the default version still is 1.2.0.93. The DirectX 11 version will be in the beta channel until it's running smoothly for as many players as possible.
UPDATE 2: Alright: There's a new beta version out with a possible fix and an auto-logger active, so the title screen may be a bit sluggish, but it's fine in-game.
So version 1.2.1b is the new DirectX 11 version in beta mode, meaning that there are separate leaderboards for the BETA branch of the game and the DEFAULT one.
This is normal. Please don't panic: Any high score you set in the default branch will be kept should you switch between beta and default branch. Only the beta-leaderboards are subject to sudden wipes, so don't get attached to those :)
Please head to the forums if any of you are having issues with the beta.
Some Bugfixes
Patch Notes 1.2.0.89
Fixed:
- Checking for possible leaderboard-reset dates would sometimes crash the game on title screen
- Logo screen animation
- Misc. little bugfixes under the hood
New Features in Version 1.2!
The biggest update to Fine Sweeper yet is here: Version 1.2 introduces an entirely overhauled scoring system as well as new gameplay mechanics. Competitive players can rank up their high-scores by beating the par-time in each level for additional score bonuses, casual players may enjoy the introduction of the new abilities which allows them to safely open tiles or even to automatically flag bombs.
What’s new?
On top of the board you will now find an hourglass indicating how much time you have left to beat the level. There’s no penalty if you don’t make it, but if you beat the par time, you get more points the faster you are.
To the left is the new Bank of Hearts. Right-click a heart you find on the board to deposit it in the bank. The more hearts you save up, the better your reward will be, ranging from a simple extra life when you need it to safely opening a field of tiles with automatic flag placement.
In every level you also have the option to play entirely without placing any flags for an additional score bonus. It’s hard, certainly, but it also promises another way to amass points.
With the new system in place the leaderboards and saved games are wiped to level the playing field for everybody. But don’t worry: You won’t lose any achievement progress!
Fine Sweeping!
Patch Notes 1.2.0.88
Added:
- Par-time based scoring
- Sounds for new mechanics and elements
- Notification with countdown on the title screen when a leaderboard reset is imminent
- News notification on title screen (provided there are any news)
- Bank of Hearts mechanics to “How to Play” slides
- Thousands grouping of numbers
- Option to disable version when crucial updates are pending
- Some Russian strings (Google Translate, though)
Changed:
- Entire scoring system!
- Disabling the timer will now carry over level-ups and is stored between sessions.
- “Show Neighbors’ highlighting also enabled in “Classic Mode’
- Tiles that once were bombs now allow neighbor highlighting as well.
- Reworked some sounds to make them more “snappy’
- Monospaced font in leaderboards
- Tweaked space background elements to not clash with the new UI elements
- Nicer logo screen
Fixed:
- Restarting Level 5 would grant players unlimited heart containers, now capped at 3
- User setting for “Preview Neighbors” used to reset when starting a game in Classic Mode
- Custom Mode would sometimes crash the game on game over
New Mechanics in Beta now (+ video!)
Here’s a little video I made just for you in case you don’t feel like reading the next few paragraphs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mdo8c1tg-c
What’s new?
Version 1.2.0.830 introduces a new scoring system (see this announcement for details) where the time it takes you to solve a board factors into your score. In short: The faster you are at finishing a level, the more points you get. Additionally, there’s also a score reward for not placing any flags if you are looking for a challenge.
The other new mechanic is the Bank of Hearts™ (as outlined here). Now you can choose what you want to do with dropped hearts on the playfield:
- Left-click to add it to your extra lives (just like before)
- Right-click to add it to the Bank of Hearts™ that’s displayed in the lower left.
The more hearts you deposit there, the bigger and better your rewards become.
- 3 hearts in the bank give you one heart for free.
- 5 hearts in the bank grant you one SecuriBlast, a safe click on any tile. If it’s a bomb, you lose neither a life nor points.
- for 7 hearts you get a field of 2×2 tiles to securely open.
- 10 hearts grant you an even bigger field for a SecuriBlast, 3×3 tiles. Additionally, you’ll get a heart dropped in the middle.
- A full bank, 15 hearts, lets you safely open a 3×3 field also, additionally all tiles in same row and column as the selected tile get automatically opened or flagged
How does it work?
As soon as you collected enough hearts in the bank, it will spawn the corresponding reward on the top. Just click it there and select a tile you want to apply the effect to. If you change your mind, just right- or middle-click and it returns to the bank. Any selected rewards will also jump back there, when you attempt to safely open tiles that are already opened or on the start of a brand new level.
Why beta?
Because I want to have you folks try it out before the “official” introduction of the new features that will happen concurrently with the scoreboard reset. Also, there is a bit of polish missing on the new features (art, sound, effects) and despite my testing, I can’t guarantee a 100% glitch-free experience with the new features yet.
Beware!
Leaderboards will reset in early March (4th of March 2015) but the game will tell on the title screen when this happens. The leaderboard wipe will also be the moment I push the beta to the default channel, provided everything goes as planned.
Your save game from any version lower than 1.2 will be overwritten once you try to “Resume” your old game, because of internal changes to the save file layout. Saved games from the beta, however, will work with the release version later.
Minor patch
Patch Notes 1.1.3.75
Added:
- Countdown on title screen that informs players of any impeding scoreboard resets starting 14 days before it happens.
- Ability to read title screen notification from online source
Big Announcement: New Scorekeeping System & Stuff
when I first released the game on Steam on May 25th last year, I never would’ve dreamed that Fine Sweeper would one day have more than 30,000 players! Thanks to everyone for playing and for your feedback and support. You gals & guys rock and I couldn’t be happier!
During its lifetime the game had some downs as well, such as a long-standing exploit that would allow players to progress quickly without effort among other little cracks cheaters would squeeze through. As of version 1.1.3.74 this exploit has been fixed but over the months some questionably obtained hi-scores polluting the leader boards have accumulated.
Time for operation “Clean Sweep” and start with a tabula rasa, a clean slate for everyone. If you have any questions about when and how this happen, please see the FAQ at the end of this announcement.
Some players also suggested to reset the scoreboards and / or overhaul the scoring system. I meant to revisit the scoring in Fine Sweeper for quite a while now but I was busy trying to get a Linux version up and running which in the end didn't work out (see this thread)
You probably want to know what will change, what will happen to your saved games or achievement progress and so on. I have compiled a FAQ on the bottom of this article to answer the most pressing questions. For anything else, please post in the forum and I will update this FAQ here.
Introduction to the new Scoring System
In the old scoring system, players are awarded points for:
- Opening a tile
- Correctly flagging a bomb (on level completion)
- Picking up items
Also, there’s a score penalty for stepping on a bomb or an incorrectly placed flag (the latter only on game over, naturally)
The new system will keep most of these in place but also factor in the time it takes you to finish a board, reduce luck-based bonuses and add rewards for the most focused of players.
Let’s have a look in detail:
Heart containers (both empty and full) have a very rare chance of dropping when you open a tile. If you were lucky, you got a lot of points; the game wouldn’t reward how well you were doing, it just awarded you a random bonus, essentially. And that’s not quite fair.
In the new system
- an Empty Heart Container will grant you no points,
- a Full Heart Container counts as much as a regular Heart (but still fills your lives),
- a standard Heart counters precisely the score penalty of stepping on a bomb, just like before.
But: If you finish a level keeping any dropped items untouched, they will give you double their points on level completion, but you can’t pick them up anymore.
It’s about time
In the old system, the timer was only used for the “Need 4 Sweep” achievement. It was such useless beyond level 7 that one player even suggested an option to turn it off.
Time is the most important new factor. Time matters now.
Like in the good old DOOM, every level has a par time to beat based on the average time it took the game’s developer, moi, to complete the level without being in a particular hurry. Hence, my par times are not hard to beat.
Should you take longer to solve a level, no biggie, you won’t get punished.
However, if you beat the par time, even by a mere millisecond, you are awarded a fixed bonus for once. Additionally, the difference between your time and the par time in milliseconds gets added to your score. I’d say that’s a nice bonus for being fast. Maybe I’ll even have that bonus on a multiplier, so being faster on higher levels earns you even more points.
Another exciting addition will be the “No Flags used”-bonus.
Finishing a level without placing any flags is the granddaddy of score bonuses because it will compensate the additional time it takes to click every tile individually (thus missing the par time) since chording/stride clicking doesn’t work without flags. (Should you already consider flagging like usual and clearing them all shortly before completing the level, well, I have bad news for you.)
The “No Flags” bonus gets invalidated if you place a flag just once in a level, even if you clear it again. I have to be strict on this. An active “No Flags” bonus will be indicated by an icon on the UI. If it’s still active on completing a level -- Ka-ching!
This bonus opportunity is reset after every level, so if you placed flags on one level and advance to the next, there you will be given another chance to clear it without planting flags.
This scoring system will affect all game modes. Only the Custom Mode won’t feature the new timer element.
I guess that’s all for now. If you have any questions, suggestions and/or feedback, please post it in the forums where it’s easier to quote and reply and such.
Fine Sweeping!
FAQ: Leaderboard Wipe
Will I lose my place on the leaderboard?
Yes. Both the Campaign and Classic Mode leaderboards will reset for all players.
Can I download or save my place on the leaderboards before the reset?
The only way possible I see is to open the Leaderboards display on the title screen and take a screenshot [F12 by default], but you will have to start from 0 like everyone else.
When will the leaderboard wipe happen?
As of now it's the 4th of Mar 2016, at 9pm. UTC (see here for your local time equivalent)
Also, an in-game notice with a countdown on the title screen will inform you of the reset, starting 14 days before it happens.
Will I lose my achievements?
No. Any achievements unlocked will stay unlocked. Also, your progress for certain achievements (Flagging 50k bombs, stepping on 5000 bombs, etc.) will remain.
FAQ: New Scoring System
Will my saved game work after the update?
While I’m inclined to say “it should,” I can’t guarantee it. As soon as I know, I will update this FAQ entry here. But let’s say for now that your saved game is lost when the new build goes live.
When will the new build go live then?
When it’s done :) Sorry, I don’t know yet, but I think the best time to make it go live is a few days before the leaderboards reset so all players can familiarize themselves with it before "it counts" officially.
How can I tell whether I am running a build of the game with the new scoring system in place?
The new scoring system will up the secondary version number of Fine Sweeper from 1.1.3.xx to 1.2.0.xx (the xx is the internal build number). You can find the version number by clicking on “Credits” on the lower right on the title screen.