So, I have a crazy big update for you all. Ouroboros: Prelude is in its 0.9.4 incarnation and with it comes a maze full of bugs fixes and additions.
Changes in 0.9.4.0
New room types added: 2
New levels added: 5
New obstacles added: 3
Added a new trap. It's prickly.
Added audio mixing. To make sure sounds do not max out the output where too many sounds may be playing.
Added candle loading. You can now pick up any candle you have lit and dropped and load them into an empty chamberstick.
Fixed torch and light source shadows.
Fixed chain crank obstacles and interactables.
Fixed a problem with one of the starting point points.
Added a new room.
Fixed scare that controls camera movement. It should point directly at the scare now.
Fixed a climbing bug.
Made jumping on free standing pillars easier.
Fixed a bug with the water rendering.
Fixed a bug that controlled a scare changing the environment.
Resized Note text to be larger, spread-out, and easier to read.
Changed hints to reflect updates.
Changes in 0.9.4.1
Fixed another water bug.
Fixed item spawn positioning.
Changes in 0.9.4.2
Added 2 new Start Room variants.
Fixed a bug in the scare system.
Changes in 0.9.4.3
Added fog.
Fixed a lighting issue.
Changes in 0.9.4.4
Removed levels for editing.
Changes in 0.9.4.5
Removed more levels for editing.
Changes in 0.9.4.6
Reinserted edited levels from 0.9.4.4 and 0.9.4.5.
Changes in 0.9.4.7
New rooms added: 1
New levels added: 1
New scare/obstacle. It'll grow on you.
Geists now have corrosive personality.
Fixed crank/torch object.
Fixed crank/bridge object.
Fixed swimming bug.
Tuned the lighting system for smoother transitions from light to dark-light.
Updated the hint system to reflect that you can light unlit light sources with lit light sources by touching them together. Get the most uses out of your torches and candles!
Changes in 0.9.4.8
Fixed death menu bug.
Fixed moving platform bug.
Tweaked physics system to run smoother.
Removed some levels for editing.
I plan on tuning the spawn rates for everything again. It seems pretty hit or miss and though a lot of my game is based on randomization there are some things I want guaranteed. Though, items spawning doesn't seem to be much and an issue anymore.
I plan on added a few more rooms, obstacles, scares, levels, and of course, fixes soon. I plan on adding more specialized rooms and obstacles as well as progression to the level where once you proceed you can't backtrack. Still in the works.
And now I take a nice, long, and well deserved rest.
Until next time, stay sane!
Ouroboros: Prelude - Version 0.9.3.7
So, I burned through a few more versions before this release.
Changes in 0.9.3.3
Added glow to final puzzle objects and results.
Changes in 0.9.3.4
Lowered glow effect on important items and collectibles.
Removed a scare sound effect.
Fixed final level audio dialogue.
Fixed final level creature spawn rate.
Changes in 0.9.3.5
Fixed final level puzzle glow effects.
Halved head bob intensity.
Decreased sanity camera effects.
Fixed bug in darklight system.
Changes in 0.9.3.6
Fixed rendering bug in final level explosion.
Changes in 0.9.3.7
Temporarily removed levels for editing.
Made darklight more variable over time.
Hope you all enjoy the changes and the fix to the lighting system!
Good luck, stay sane!
Another Minor Update Incoming
I am currently working on another update with a few tweaks to lighting and a few tweaks to the final level and final puzzle in the game.
So, I know quite a few people have said that the game is too dark. I honestly could not say why when I bumped up the brightness more times than I had intended to. As from my end I could very easily see and play the game.
Today I found out that there is a sneaky little bug in the system that handles the lighting when you are not in any other light source. To put it shortly, something is causing the player's "darklight" to become too dark. This will be fixed as soon as find out what is causing this.
Until then,
Good luck, stay sane!
Minor Update to Version 0.9.3
Quick update:
<*>Fixed pillar-pit-fall obstacle. It was way too difficult to survive. Made platforms wider.
<*>Fixed bug where going back to the Main Menu after dying or playing a game and attempting to play again would cause the game to break.
<*>Fixed chests so that they don't fall apart. They also are more likely to spawn items.
<*>Fixed the plant-bucket object so that it does not appear to be floating.
<*>Fixed vine-climb obstacle room so that waterfall sounds play when water is present in the room.
<*>Added a room permutation. 'Cause why not?
<*>Increased likelihood of certain scares to appear as they seemed far too rare.
<*>Fixed door jitter.
So I guess this make this Version 0.9.3.2 now? I went through a previous build before releasing this patch. Some glitches and bugs only show themselves after the game is built and running standalone.
I hope this smooths a few things out for you players out there.
Good luck, stay sane!
Ouroboros: Prelude - Alpha Release - Version 0.9.3 Released
Finally, the next update is ready for release. I had to contend with some spontaneous malfunctioning hardware, a persistent crashing problem, and due to compiling time it takes a very long time to test each iteration of the game to see if it is functioning as it should be.
Update List:
Room permutations added: 9
New rooms: 3
New scares: 2
New hazards: 1
New sanity effects: 1
New puzzles added: 1
Fixed starting area obstacle so that breakable floor is obvious.
Added starting area randomized "start package" of resources in each starting area.
Increased dark-light intensity.
Decreased sanity effects intensity.
Increased fall damage.
Made swimming easier. Q/E to swim Down/Up.
Fixed lantern crank object.
Fixed player spawned candle so that it does not go through objects.
Added dialogue to some scares.
Increased trap damage.
Fixed a non-functioning sanity effect.
Increased Elixir healing.
Increased Tincture healing.
Changed how levels are loaded.
Changed how data is unloaded.
Changed UI buttons.
I started to add a little voice over work to the game. I did some for the trailer but making it for the game was a bit more of a challenge. Having my better quality microphone break did not help in this respect. It is not much, only a few lines to add to the foreboding, creepiness of the labyrinth.
I think I may have to increase the creature spawn rate. In an effort to make the game more survivable I might have decreased the spawn rate too much.
And now to look over it all for any more problems, balancing issues, glitches and cosmetic quirks that need fixing. After these things are covered I am going to start the port over to Mac and Linux. And after that... VR! Hopefully my computer can keep up with me this time around. :)
Good luck, stay sane!
Ouroboros: Prelude - Alpha Release - Version 0.9.2 Released
So... what started as a minor update ended up becoming a major one with an overhaul in the code and physics departments.
Update List:
Created a physics manager to handle the multiple thousands of physics-enabled objects. This has greatly increased the frame rate of the game.
Water has been updated. Before the water was too dark or utterly black and would change at different angles. I completely switched out the water so now it looks like... well, water. This has also had a major impact on the frame rate and the game is running faster on lower-end computers.
Fixed climbing speed. Before was much too slow.
Fixed climbing physics. Before there was a small chance you would slide around while on a ladder.
Fixed flickering textures on breakable floors.
Altered creature spawn rates. As you progress through each level there is a higher chance of more nasties for you to deal with.
Music/Fear interaction fixed. Before music would cut out randomly, now it will cutout properly.
Levels expanded: 3
Rooms expanded: 2
New creature: the Shadow. These creatures may not hit as hard as their corporeal brothers and sisters but they are harder to see as they are utterly invisible except for their shadows. Oh, they can also phase through doors. Have fun with that.
I was going to set this game up for full release this update however there are some cosmetic bugs I want to iron out before I do that. The perfectionist in me will not allow a release until these things are set right.
Good luck, stay sane!
P.S. I had a number of people ask me about VR, Mac, and Linux support. I covered VR support details in the previous post. Mac and Linux will be supported as soon as I have access to those systems for development. Seeming as I do not, I would have no way of debugging problems for them should bugs arise on those systems.
Mini-Update No.6 Incoming and Final Release News
It has been a while since releasing this game for alpha and even longer since it first went up on Greenlight. Health, life, time and limits on my access to technology make it so that I cannot stay on this project for much longer. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback. After this update (pending no other spontaneous bugs or problems) I will be setting up this game for full release. I do not think I will be increasing the price (despite all the extra work I put into it). I am not looking to make a fortune off this nor do I expect to, so no price increase.
VR as stated in the previous post is still in development. It is very likely that I will have to release it as it own game entirely due to the amount of mechanics that need to be changed to reflect and adapt to VR. If I can manage it into a DLC I will but if not then it will have to be a standalone separate game. I will try to make it so that anyone who purchases this game now will get the VR edition at a discounted price. Whether I release it as a DLC or a discounted standalone (for those who purchase this game) I expect that it will cost around $4 for the DLC or $12 for the bundled standalones (non-VR and VR). If I somehow complete development sooner that price will go down but at the moment that does not appear to be the case.
To Be Implemented:
Fixing climb speed
Fixing texture flickering on breakable floors
Edit to journals
Added 2 more quality settings: Good and Simple
Tweaked graphics settings that should make the game run smoother
After final release I will still revisit this game and add more content. As stated in a previous post I will most likely feel that this game will never be finished and thus I will continuously update this game with as much scary, tricky, nifty things I can think of; expanding levels, adding scares, crafting more horrors for you - the unsuspecting dungeon delver.
Crafting this experience has certainly been a test of my sanity. I can only hope it brings you to the edge of yours... in a nice and fun way. ;)
Stay healthy! Stay sane!
EDIT:
So I've been testing a new bit of code and I think I may have found a way to double the smoothness/FPS/speed of the game. By playing around with the physics I was able to make the level with the heaviest load run significantly smoother.
What this means for high end users? Not much. Perhaps no more micro-lag spikes. For low end users this means that there should be no more lag issues at all.
Ouroboros: Prelude - Alpha Release - Version 0.9.1 Released
Major Update No.1 Implemented
Update List:
Added climbing to the game.
Breakable obstacles now easier to see.
Breakable obstacles now easier to break.
Puzzles and their results now have visual confirmation effects.
Help Menu updated.
Tips System updated
Tweaked sound levels.
Changed waterfall effects.
Fixed Death and End Menu lighting bug.
Fixed Note/Menu bug.
Fixed crouching bug.
Fixed cracked texture bug.
Tweaked scare sound effects with sanity and music.
Increased default brightness.
Increased max brightness in Options Menu.
Increased journal spawn rate.
Balanced item drop rate.
Tweaked creature spawn rate.
Added rare resource rooms.
Levels Expanded: 27
New Levels: 1
Rooms Expanded: 5
Rooms Added: 9
New Scares: 2
New Traps: 1
New Area Type: 1
My apologizes for the delay for this update. I have been having some pretty bad computer issues that has slowed production terribly.
I noticed that on different types of computer monitors the game is slightly too dark so to fix this I bumped up the starting bright by a tiny bit and increased the maximum brightness in the Options Menu by much more.
After several attempts and multiple playthroughs I can safely say that items drops although random are very balanced. the the end of the first level (unless you are exceptionally unlucky) you should have at least 1 of each major item and the ability to cast your own light source.
I found that the puzzle-results were too hard to find so now every time you solve a puzzle not only does the switch/lever/object that solved the puzzle glow (or something) the result glows as well.
I found that there was a major lighting bug in the Death and End Menu that made navigation impossible. I found that the game cameras were doing some funky business after dying so I fixed that.
I found that creatures spawned too frequently so I made it so that each consecutive level increases the likelihood of more creatures spawning.
Sometimes players might find themselves crouching and unable to stand. This was due to an issue in the code that was recognizing the player itself sometimes being labeled as an obstacle. This has been fixed.
The Help Menu and Tips System has been updated to reflect the new climbing feature.
Waterfall fall effects have gotten an overhaul of higher quality. This will probably be updated again in the future but it is satisfactory for now.
New traps and scares have been added and are ready for you, the unsuspecting dungeon crawlers.
Every. Single. Level. Has been expanded with new random paths and new random challenges.
A new, nice and creepy level has been added.
Known bugs still in play:
Cracked texture flickers on floors.
Climb speed is really slow.
It is very likely that after the last two bugs stated above are fixed that the game will be full released (which might be within a week or two). It has been three months since alpha release and I have ironed out seemingly all bugs and added as much as I can to this game at the present time.
I have been tinkering with VR and depending on how much of the game has to be changed to adapt for VR it will either be released as a DLC or another game entirely. If it is released as another game entirely then all those who purchase this version of the game will be able to get the VR edition at a discount.
Stay sane! :)
Minor Delay with Incoming Update
Ouroboros: Prelude 0.9.1 will be delayed for a few more days. Debugging code took longer than expected. I also ended up adding and expanding on more than I had originally intended. I also went through each line of code and did a lot of cleaning that will hopefully make the game run even more smooth.
Major Update No.1 Incoming
In the works:
Making breakable walls slightly easier to break
Making breakable walls more noticeable
Making puzzles and their reactions glow when solved
Adding climbing to the game
Adding rare resource rooms
Increasing rate at which journals spawn
Adding at least 1 new level
Adding at least 3 new rooms
Adding at least 1 new area type
Adding 1 new trap/environmental hazard
This may take a week to implement. I am still ironing out kinks in the climbing code and the new trap/hazard.
