Fixed rare game crashing bug where, if you finish a level and hit the credits, on restart, weird stuff happens making the game unplayable. This was unfortunately caused due to the boot time tweaks last time and got missed.
Night sky is back behind the intro logos
Puzzledorf Coming to Atari VCS
Puzzledorf will be coming out this August on the Atari VCS. This will be it’s first console release after Steam. I think the Atari VCS is a super cool little console with slick design features – I love the wood fronting. I’m very excited to be bring Puzzledorf to Atari audiences!
I have been doing a lot of updates to the game lately to be getting it ready for console release. New graphics and animation updates, new UI, and soon, new puzzles! A Nintendo Switch release will likely be happening later this year, as well as possibly other platforms.
New icons have been added to the UI that look a lot nicer, in preparation for Puzzledorf's first console release which will likely be happening next month. Below are imaged of the new UI. It's more readable and makes the game feel nicer.
Minor Fixes - v2.9.01
v2.9.01
Just some minor fixes.
Removed the "run" option from the UI because it no longer exists in the new movement system
Minor audio rebalancing
Game Improvements
A lot of small but significant quality of life changes have happened in this update, as well as significant changes to the beginner puzzles. You can see some of the changes in the new trailer above.
Bug fixes:
Fixed a bug where there was a big delay when quitting the game, and you could still move the menu selector
Fixed a bug on the menu where if you double tapped to go to a level really quickly, unexpected behaviour would occur
Other changes:
New smooth movement - you can change the movement speed in the options menu
New walk animations to suit the new movement style
The world name now appears in-level
Small changes to the UI layout in-level
The number of beginner puzzles has been reduced
Some achievements were affected, but rather than being removed, they have been modified, more info below
New Movement
You can see in the trailer above that there's a new movement system that's much smoother, rather than the old style that instantly teleported you to the next grid space. I liked that the old style was very snappy, but I always planned a smoother movement system - I could just never get it to feel right until now. I think it improves the feel of the game a lot, and is smoother while still being snappy. And if you want it a bit quicker or slower, you can adjust that in the options.
Currently there's no way to play with the old movement system, though if people really want me to include it as an option, I can add that in a minor update.
Also, as mentioned, there's a new walking animation. It's a lot more detailed now, animating both arms and feet and his little head bobs around, giving the little guy a lot more character and life.
Refining Beginner Puzzles
Before I had beginner puzzles, some players were getting stuck too early in the Classic puzzles. I felt Beginner Puzzles were needed to ease in new players. On reflection, however, I decided some puzzles were too similar and that too much hand holding was slowing down the pace of the game. After removing them, the game feels much better.
Examples
Below are 2 levels being removed, the old 0-6 and 1-1. You can see they are both very similar.
The old level 1-2 below, which will become 1-1, fulfils the same basic function of the above 2 levels. Keeping just this one level improves the pace of the game, making sure the puzzles keep introducing new ideas to stay interesting.
There are a number of other levels I removed from the beginner puzzles because they felt too similar or otherwise redundant. The result is that the beginner puzzles feel a lot more solid and fun now, with players able to move through them a lot quicker while still getting the teaching benefits.
Achievements Affected
As stated above, I tried to avoid affecting any achievements, but several were changed rather than removed. The changes, however, are minor, and if need be will be easy to get back. The total number of achievements remains the same. If you have already completed the conditions, then they will be retained without having to do anything. They are:
Total number of puzzles
Complete Level Number X in World 1
Highscore: beat 1-4 in 12 moves, Beginner
Highscore: beat 2-2 in 24 moves, Beginner
The total number of puzzles was 170 before, it's now 140. If anyone has already unlocked the achievement, it will still be there.
There were 4 completionist achievements for simply beating a Level in World 1 before. As there are on 2 levels left in World 1, this had to be modified. The new levels to beat to retain / regain those achievements are:
The new 1-1 (previously 1-2)
The new 2-2
The new 2-3
The new 3-2
Anyone who has already beaten the relevant levels will retain these achievements.
The old Level 1-4 and 2-2 are being removed, so their Highscore achievements will no longer be retained. The new achievements to replace them will be:
Highscore: beat 2-4 in 23 moves
Highscore: beat 2-5 in 22 moves
Ruins & Console
Thanks for your patience with these quality of life updates. The game now feels in a much better position ready for console release, with a much smoother intro for new players. I hope to release the Ruins update over the next few months in time for a console release coming soon.
Small Update - Level transitions, credits
A quick small update:
Fixed a bug where the starry sky was no longer appearing on the credits
Modified the level transitions again, more info below
New Level Transitions
I've made some small, but significant changes to the level transitions. Watching people on Youtube try to smash through the beginner puzzles, I became aware that the transitions between levels could be a bit snappier. I've made a few changes:
The amount of time the final score is shows is reduced, down to 1.2 seconds roughly.
Level and world numbers are no longer shown when starting a level, reducing transition duration
Added a quick fade to black between levels
Once a level is completed, there is a brief delay before the final score appears - recently there was no delay.
There was a reason I had the level numbers showing as an intro to levels. It was, essentially, a loading screen, inspired by the original Mario. I have, however, removed the need for the loading screen. A quick fade to black is all that's required now. I also think the fade to black has a much nicer feel to it, improving the overall game feel.
As stated, there's a new brief delay before the final score appears, once you beat a level. I feel this increases the satisfaction of completing a level, giving you a moment to watch the fireworks and enjoy the feeling of success before the score appears.
Future Updates
The Ruins are still coming along, as well as a few other minor quality of life improvements. I've also been planning future game projects. Feel free to come over and keep an eye on some of these and chat about them on the new Discord server.
Join The New Discord Community
Come and join the new Stuart’s Pixel Games Discord Server! There are channels to talk about all sorts of things like:
I’ve been wanting to create a community for Puzzledorf and Stuart’s Pixel Games for a while. Discord seemed an appropriate place. But then I thought, “Why not make it about Game Development too? It would fit well with the blog and be a new place for people to share and learn.” So that’s what I’m trying to create now. It will likely evolve with time.
It’s a place to talk about gaming, game development, hear about games I’m working on, and maybe learn stuff or ask questions. I want the Discord Server not just to be about my games but to also compliment my blog’s tutorials and articles.
I’ve got areas where I will be pinning various links for tutorials, tools and other resources I found helpful for game development. Hopefully others will chime in with their own links so everyone can grow.
And of course I will be sharing the latest developments on Puzzledorf, where I am currently working on console ports and some new puzzles in The Ruins update.
Ruins World 1 Concept Art
And there is that new RPG prototype that I’m working on (early prototype graphics below, focus is on mechanics at this moment – it will likely look more like Puzzledorf when it’s done). I will likely be sharing sneak peeks on Discord before anywhere else (and maybe Twitter).
So if you’d like a place to chill and chat about those things, learn something new or meet some like minds, come along and say hi. Bear in mind I’ve only just made it, it’s early days yet, but I’m sure we can get something great going.
Fixed a bug in Mirror Mode with the UI. At the end of a level, the parts of the UI that read "Success!" and displayed your score, at the end of a level, were mirrored. The UI is now back to normal.
v.2.7.5.2 - New Level End Transition
The level end transition has been streamlined. It makes the time lag of finishing one level and starting the next slightly shorter, while still conveying relevant information.
The success message, current score and best score all appear at the same time, immediately when you finish a level
If you get a new high score, the high score sound plays instead of the regular level finish sound, but not on the first play through
Transition times of showing end of level messages is slightly are shorter
v.2.7.51 - Fixed 'Success' bug
There was a bug where the message 'Success' would appear over the top of one of the levels and never disappear. Now fixed.
