This update addresses several balance, controls and difficulty issues.
New features
Steam Achievements!
New option for helping with build accuracy when using continuous building.
Several keyboard/gamepad improvements
Robot will slow down when continuous building is applied. This can help navigate more accurately. As well as there is no 'second block skip' lag anymore.
Before this change:
After this change:
Game settings allow to disable/enable this slowdown. It is 'ON' by default.
More controls improvements
Start menu now includes 'Controls' setting where key bindings are (previously this setting was under in-game menu only).
WASD work in the start menu, global map and in-game menu. These keys can be re-binded.
Gamepad will not require an additional tap on level/global map start to interact.
'Hold SPACE and move to build a line of blocks' hint added for Biomass and Tower Defense levels.
Global map remembers the level completed and won't scroll to the last one if some of the previous levels was replayed.
Builder unit now does move if key released really fast.
Balance changes
Acid Trip: Sleep time reduced to 75 (was 90). Green caterpillar now patrols the arena inside, so it doesn’t rush until player reaches the second corner.
Biomass: now includes special cocoons that will release all the waves on impact, this prevents 'spawning from the air' issue and makes speedrun more challenging and fair.
Explosions at the end of Biomass and Tower Defense will kill all the mobs.
TX* tower family now prefers enemy bullets, then magnetos, then other enemies.
TX3 charges amount buffed to 5 (was 3).
As a result TX* are now much more useful at handling magnetos and more reliable at the front. TX3 hopefully will be less of a disappointment.
Reworked TFLM2:
- Targets the point on the ground.
- Bullet collision is off until it reaches the destination.
- Always drops flame in a 'plus' pattern.
- Cooldown increased to 3.5 sec (was 2.0)
- Still affected by magneto shield
Magneto: Shield radius will now diminish when under fire. With the TX* buffs it should be easier to deal with these guys now.
Green caterpillar respawn time increased to 4 seconds (was 3).
Karst Layer: no changes so far, but the level feels better due to TFLM2/TX buffs.
Bugfixes
Fixed Game crash related to switching between builder units in some cases (Cannot read property 'stop' of null at Hero.toBackground)
P.S. Expect some more details on future plans next week.
Have fun!
Protolife 1.0.3 patch released
This version addresses several crashes happening at the start of the level and during the play.
Bug fixes
Fixed crash related to the game start right after the main menu (Cannot set property 'visible' of undefined at Object._adjustHints)
Fixed crash related to the level start and shaders configuration (Cannot initialize shader: program not linked)
Fixed crash observed on some levels after builder unit was damaged and healed
Other
Level loading optimized a bit (infection seeding caused some lags at the start of the level)
Thank you everyone for you patience and crash reports.
Next update is planned to deliver Steam achievements and control optimization.
We are also looking at the ways to provide mouse control for the users who cannot play with the keyboard, as well as some difficulty tweaks for certain levels.
Protolife is now released!
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!
We are super excited to announce that Protolife is going live!
So go grab a copy, annoy your strategy-loving friends, go build some blocks and do tell us what you think about the game.
What's next?
For some time after release we are going to monitor your feedback. There's also at least one mandatory update planned, which will include steam achievements and some other features that didn't made it to release. And then... well, it really depends on how good the game turned out to be. I'd personally would love to see some challenges and skirmishes!
See you soon.
Week #05 — LD41 and Release Date
Release is closing, but we could not possibly miss the chance to participate in our favorite game jam again — Ludum Dare 41. We had a lot of fun with this one.
This time we made a turn-based soccer game and it seems it's pretty fun to play.
We took 7th place in Overall category (out of ~2000 jam entries), which is our best result in Ludum Dare so far. Very inspiring!
Now when this very much needed break is over, we are ready to get back to Protolife.
Release Date
Temporarily shifting the perspective to another project really helps detecting problems and weak spots in the first one.
Our original goal was to release Protolife in the end of May, but it seems we will have to shift the release date for 1-2 weeks to improve things that got into our blind spot and do the chapter 3 the proper treatment. Not much longer though, as the game is almost ready and we are eager to share it! We will update the release date soon.
P.S.: This new game is called Infernoculus, you can try it here: https://graal.itch.io/infernoculus It's free.
Week #04 — End of closed beta-testing
The last week was amazing. We've got many participants and a lot of useful data!
Big thanks to everyone who participated and gave us the most valuable feedback.
Based on this feedback, we have a plenty of things to improve and think on, but the good news is that the original flow of the game will not change that much. Which means we are on the right way.
There were some critical bugs found in the beta test. They are now fixed and build is online. See the full patch notes here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/809440/announcements/detail/1670148741716114963
Once again, thanks to all beta participants, your informative feedback and all the kind words!
See you soon.
Protolife Beta Update: 1.0.0b2 (Windows)
Date: 2018-04-05
Platforms: Windows only
Version: 1.0.0b2
In-game settings:
Windowed mode support. Has a set of fixed window sizes and ability to toggle fullscreen mode.
Global Map:
Levels 'Adrenaline' and 'Cactus Field' now have a default intro instead of just empty dialog.
Level pins adjusted to show the actual level size.
Crash Report #2: 'disconnect' on 'AudioNode' on level start or restart.
Crash Report #3: End of Chapter 2 and empty Global Map.
WPRINT (wall printer) now works correctly on level edges.
Misc:
Removed some redundant messages in game logs ("WARN Cannot set frameName ...")
Week #03 — Let's go beta-testing!
Hello everyone. We're hitting the end of another development cycle and at this stage we really need some help and feedback from you, people who are interested in the game.
I won't lie, it might not be pleasant. Some tables might fly, some chairs might be burnt. But in the end your help will make this game much better.
If you wish to participate, write me (icxon) or a333 in Steam directly, or drop us a mail at giraffe.volcanic@gmail.com, we will send you the key and instructions.
P.S. every hour my cat will eat one of the beta keys, so hurry up.
P.P.S. We live at +03 GMT, so if we are not answering we are asleep. Don't worry, the cat is sleeping too.
Week #02 — Building Blocks
I'd like to shed some light on one of the main game mechanics — building towers from blocks.
There are two types of buildable items in Protolife right now: blue blocks and yellow crystals. All structures in the game are made of these. And because there are many structures but only two blocks — layout matters! Tower type, direction of fire, upgrades, retrofits, repairs — everything is controlled by the blocks placement.
Blue blocks serve as a structural basis for your towers. Structures like low-tier towers and armored walls can be built using blue blocks only. For something more complex you’ll need the yellow crystals. They are used as a power source for upgrades and special functions.
Here is a small example of upgrading Tower 1 (T1) to T2 and T3 just with the correct placement of blocks!
All tower patterns (like T1, T2) are hardcoded, but the game allows you to combine these structures quite freely, which gives you a lot of space for improvisation.
Combined with the solid amount of basic patterns, this gives you an opportunity to design your own defenses in the harsh conditions of limited space, time and resources. We are working hard on balancing the towers so that every single building remains useful in the later stages of the game.
You’ll need to know all of these patterns and how to mix them to overcome the enemy.
Week #01 — Hello Steam!
Volcanic Giraffe team here. And we are making Protolife.
Originally made for Ludum Dare 38 game jam, themed 'A Small World', we've took inspiration in the Petri dish, which is used to grow cultures of cells (such as bacteria) or small mosses. We also tried to mix in a bit of good old Conway's Game of Life and some other cellular automata principles as gameplay mechanics, and a distinct feature: buildings made of singular blocks.
Here's that original entry: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/protolife
After 1 year of development we are almost ready to present you the game that has grown out of that prototype. Petri dish has become a planet, and the infection turned out even more deadly, but we kept and improved all of the features people loved most. I hope all of you, from folks who've supported us at Ludum Dare to people who just discovered this game, will like this 'slight graphics update', as we initially called the Steam release.
Glad to see you here and stay tuned for more updates!
