a few months ago I told you that I was working on a sequel to ReThink, and I think that it is time to share some news on the progress that I made.
It took me so long to write something new because I do strongly believe that Quality is more important than Quantity or Speed, and I am the only person working on the game.
I do not want to drop one game after another without dramatically improving it.
This even goes so far that I back-ported things I created for the next game to ReThink (you probably remember the Overhaul-patch, that took me 4 weeks, since I broke the whole game in the process of making it a bit better.)
New Menus and performance improvements:
As you can see, it has everything that you should need, including direct access to the games console, FOV, Keybindings etc.
There were also significant performance-enhancements in comparison to ReThink, especially on the lower-end. ("Overkill" still needs at least a 1060 6GB or an RX 580, but the game will run on hardware that is below the system requirements - allthough I will not change the system requirements in comparison to ReThink)
Some of these Changes will (probably) be added to ReThink too, but later this year.
The Gameplay:
As I said in earlier announcements about the 2nd game, the gameplay will allow players to interact with the objects they use, and sometimes even parts of the levels itself.
Many features have been changed/replaced and/or enhanced to make the game "feel" better when you play it.
How does this look ingame?
Let me show you!
You now have the freedom to solve any given puzzle in your own way, as long as it is possible (logically possible) - the game will not limit you to a given solution or pre-defined locations where you can place something.
I do not want to limit the players creative solution just because it is different from my planned solution. (Even ReThink allowed you to use multiple solutions if you found one, and for some Puzzles the players found 5 or more solutions)
Players should not be punished for thinking about a problem and being creative with the solution, not in a puzzle-game.
If you look closer at those Screenshots you might be able to find some new things that I added to the game.
Some of these features are an addition to what you know from ReThink, some are a replacement for something.
No feature has been changed/added to "just do it", every change and addition has gone through a lot of testing and consideration to make it work and feel right.
The Visuals:
I decided to stick with they style that I introduced with the big update for ReThink, but I changed the way how the levels are built and designed.
As you can see on the Screenshots above and below, the graphics are still on an acceptable level for a one-man-made indie game.
New features:
There will be a variety of new features and gameplay elements like this one:
I am not going to explain it, not now.
But I think that you will find out what it is anyway.
Size of the game:
The game will be bigger than ReThink, rougly ~50% bigger. (Based on current size and planned content)
That's it, for now
Feel free to share your thoughts, questions and opinions in the comments. (I will answer all the questions.)
Also feel free to follow me on Twitter for Updates and other things:
https://twitter.com/YaekoGames
Thank you!
We do now have Twitter!
I just created a Twitter-Account for my games.
If you want to follow the development progress or just want to talk, feel free to follow and share.
I think Twitter is a better way to post Work in Progress Pictures that are not directly related to this game, than the Announcement-section of this Steam Group.
As always:
Have a nice day and thanks for your support.
[Update 8] - Duplication Fix, Color Fix
Hello,
there was a Bug that let players duplicate cubes after switching between two different areas of the game (30 -> 31 -> 30 -> 31, for example)
I did not fix the other "glitches/bugs" that he used, because that would invalidate this and other speedruns (besides that, the glitches are harmless anyway, and do not affect people that play the game like it is intended to be played)
Then there was a change to the color-correction and Auto-Exposure since the last patch. (Because the engine decided to overwrite some settings...)
The game now (again) looks like it does on the screenshots from the store-page.
That's it, for now.
PS: There is still one rare bug that can happen in Room 32, if you have any information that could be useful to track it down, please post it here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/603800/discussions/0/1368380934263368349/
Thank you.
[Update 7] - Brightness Fix, Collision Fix, etc.
Hey guys (and girls),
it came to my attention that there was a problem with the games brightness if you had shadows on "low" and restarted the game.
This is fixed now.
I also fixed a missing collision in Room 10.
There were also some minor fixes that i don't remember.
Sorry to disturb your summersale with a Patch.
PS: Please report any Bugs so that i can fix them. (I found th brightness bug by accident.)
Summersale?, Summersale!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUo1PgKksgw
Have fun.
EDIT: If anyone is wondering why it (again) says 9,99... looks like Steam Servers are getting some heavy load right now.
Just wait until it shows the correct 4,99 again.
[Update 6] - Fixes for Update 5, Savegames
Patchnotes for Update 5:
http://steamcommunity.com/gid/103582791457539624/announcements/detail/1270425739384568402
Fixes:
- Added Colorblind-Settings - can be found under "Video Settings" (i forgot to re-add them, sorry)
- multiple smaller fixes.
Savegames:
If you need them:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_pcWB8nIO6DWl9RbVNTOC1ZcFk/view?usp=sharing
The go here:
C:\Users\YOURNAME\AppData\Local\RT_RW\Saved\SaveGames
just copy/paste the .sav file into there, and you will have all rooms unlocked, just start from where you want. (probably from the point were you have been before this update)
If you find any bugs, please report them, this was a huge update that changed almost everything in the game, so something might have slipped my attention.
Thank you!
[Update 5] - Overhaul is live, some fixes coming later
Patchnotes are here:
http://steamcommunity.com/gid/103582791457539624/announcements/detail/1270425739384568402
Known issues:
- Colorblind Settings are missing, will be re-added later today (CET) [Sorry, i messed up.]
There already were two ninja-patches earlier, to fix stuff that i broke:
Fixed:
- Keybindings for "1,2,3"-Keys
- Shadows for "Medium"
New Savegames will be provided later, the old ones do not work anymore!
I am sorry for any trouble this update causes, i am working as fast as i can.
I am only a single person, and i already poured 400+ hours of work into this update, just give me some additional hours.
If you want to help me, please report all Bugs in the discussions - thank you!
Special thanks to: "Nazemec" for testing some AZERTY-related things (French keyboards)
Friday is Patchday! - [Patchnotes]
I will let the Video do the talking: (if it lags in steam, open in browser)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scVf9lcNd0
If you are done feasting your eyes on the new visuals, you may read the full patchnotes below (including comparison screenshots).
Visuals:
- Improved visual fidelity on all quality levels
- added "Overkill" setting (for high end graphics cards like a 1080)
- replaced the "relays" with the cubes from "ReThink | Evolved"
- New laser visuals
- new floor-tile visuals
- new visuals for the "colored shields"
- new decoration elements (Trees, lamps, catwalks, etc.)
- more colorful levels
- removed most of the fences
Comparison: (Open in your browser to for a full size image)
User Interface:
- removed the old UI
- added the UI from "ReThink | Evolved"
- merged manual and automatic savegames into one window
- replaced the tutorial information
Gameplay:
- removed the boxes that contained the "relays"
- added spawn-areas for the cubes
- Room 008 and 037 changed a bit, but not too much.
Story:
- reworked one ending
- added personal notes that have been left behind by other inmates
Savegames:
- broke savegames (the old savegames do not work anymore)
- fixed savegames
I will provide Savegames for all rooms when the patch goes live!
Performance:
- reduced game size to ~800 MBs (from ~1 GB)
- Performance for "Low -> Epic" is either the same or better as before
- "Overkill" requires a 1080 for 1080p (worst case, especially Room 009)
*There currently is no AMD Graphics card able to handle "Overkill" (as of 05.31.2017), Wait for Vega!
*Overkill is meant for High End PCs and the future, not for current mid-range graphics cards!
The cake is a lie:
- it's not
That is all for now, feel free to tell me your thoughts, ideas in the comments or discussions. (also your questions, if there are any)
Massive Overhaul coming!
I decided that the game is in need of an overhaul.
The main Goal behind this Update is: To make the Game visually future-proof and easy to maintain for the upcoming years.
Key Features will be:
- Enhanced Visuals
- New User Interface
- Story additions/changes
But, you probably have read something like this before... so let me show you:
[Please keep in mind that these Screenshots are WORK IN PROGRESS and Stuff is subject to changes!]
Current:
Upcoming:
Current:
Upcoming:
Current:
Upcoming:
What about System Requirements?
Short: If you can play the game now, you can still play it after this update.
Long: There will not be any changes on the lowest end, but changes on the upper end.
The highest visual quality will need at least a GTX 1070 or a R9 Fury X for smooth gameplay.
But the game also looks better on "Medium" and "High" than it did look before on "High/Epic" - so it is a win-win-situation for everyone.
What's next? (2)
EDIT: To make it clear: This is NOT part of "ReThink", this will be a seperate game, since they are not compatible on a technical level with each other. (I first wanted to add this to ReThink, but this would result in one buggy mess, due to missing plugins and completely different game-logic.)
ReThink would only suffer if i tried to add this to it, and i do not want that - better have a game with some flaws, but overall happy players instead of a mess that makes no sense at all.
A few weeks have passed since my last post:
http://steamcommunity.com/gid/103582791457539624/announcements/detail/616272184686397411
And I did "stuff" in that time, a lot of stuff. [All Screenshots show WORK IN PROGRESS Stuff!]
I looked at "ReThink" and decided to make it less "clunky" to play.
I decided to remove the "placable cubes" from the game, and replace them with something that achieves the same, but with way less clicks.
Many of you will immediately recognize it, because Portal did it before - but I have not done this to "copy", i did this because i want to deliver a better gameplay experience. (and to be honest, this is probably the best solution to a problem like this - yes, i did search for alternatives, but none of them were as good.)
Comparison:
OLD: (ReThink)
NEW:
As you can see i already combined it with the previously reworked Stuff.
You can place two of these "bridges", and there is more to them than just different colors. (Some of you may already have an Idea, since the same feature was in ReThink)
I also extended the Laser-Gameplay with something that would have made no sense in ReThink:
Yes, Portal did it first, but i do not care. (it is not that portal invented lasers and behavior of light...)
I am not using it all the time, it is just something that i use to create different types of puzzles.
Since some Players seem to like the Floor-Tile-Puzzles, they will also have a comeback:
Last but not least:
I added higher graphic-settings for High-End PCs.
They can be activated by choosing "Overkill" in the settings.
I also added a Potato-Mode for Low-End PCs.
The Game will also come with all the stuff that i forgot when i first released ReThink. (Keybindings for example...)
I also lowered the initial difficulty-curve, so that there is more "time" for the player to understand what is going on, and how stuff works.
To compensate for the longer Tutorial, the game will be bigger, and feature multiple paths (sometimes).
Players will be able to choose between Orange/Blue paths, and each of them will have its own puzzles. (This should also add some replay-value)
That's it for now. (There is more stuff to reveal, but not now - its going to be an interesting journey.)
