Just another patch, because I don't have anything better to do on Sundays.
Game:
You can now literally roll the credits.
Streamlined Hub layout (chapter 4 now directly accessible from chapter 3). Believe it or not, some people got stuck in chapter 3.
Rush trials are no longer unlocked with Time Stars - now, you'll only have to beat the last trial on a world to unlock its Rush Mode.
Non-trial hub holes (like "Do Not Enter") now have blue particle effects to distinguish them from actual playable trials.
Updated access area to the Scavenger Hunt with another info text.
Some smaller changes to some trials, especially text hints.
Reballanced some secret areas. No, you shouldn't just trial & error the one in 2-2.
Some other hidden additions I'm obviously not going to tell you about.
Editor:
Uploaded trials are now automatically set to be "public". Previously, you had to manually set them to "public" on your Workshop content page.
Happy cracking, warez groups!
Update v160825 is live!
Game:
Readjusted speedpad acceleration to fix some shortcuts in 1-5 and a section in "Roll One" that were broken due to a recent bugfix.
Added floor traps inside of wall blocks (e.g. used in the Hiccup Curse), because why not?
Editor:
Floor Text trigger offset now editable in 0.1 unit steps to allow more precision (1.0 before).
Workshop Integration is now available! (BETA)
With today's update you can finally create and share your own trials, as well as play those of others! The tools are now available for public beta testing.
To check out the Workshop trials, go to https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse/?appid=425410 and subscribe to those that you want to play. Then, in the game, simply select "Workshop" from the main menu, open up the list of your subscribed trials, select one of them and get rolling.
If you want to create your own trials, select "Launch Game Editor" when running the game from Steam. You can then build your trial and test it in the game by hitting F5. After reaching the finish hole, you can upload your trial to the Workshop. Don't worry, you can still make changes afterwards and update your trial in the Workshop.
Keep in mind that the level editor is still in beta. If you encounter any bugs or have any questions or feedback on how to make it even better, let us know in the forums: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/discussions/?appid=425410
Happy rolling!
Update v160814 is live!
This is Road to Ballhalla's first major patch. It includes significant updates to the hub level as well as lots of smaller gameplay improvements and bug fixes.
General:
Improved several trials to eliminate some minor difficulty spikes (based on watching dozens of hours of you guys fail on Twitch and YouTube). Also added some new floor texts with actually helpful hints.
Red glowing flying orbs no longer deal damage while falling to the floor after hitting a wall or obstacle.
Miss Marble now has a larger collision sphere to make sure that she blocks laser beams more reliably.
Menus & Hub:
Main menu now shows campaign, rush and secrets completion, instead of only "x% towards Ballhalla", as players confused this percentage with "x% of the game completed".
Improved layout of Rollin IV - the Ball Hacks hole now requires true ball hack skillz.
Adjusted amounts of Tokens and Time Stars to access various areas in the hub (e.g. less Time Stars required to unlock the bonus rush trials).
Added information screen after reaching Ballhalla that lets players know about several bonus challenges. FYI, the amount of side content in the game is almost as big as the campaign itself.
The "B-Roll" section is no longer locked by Time Stars.
The start of the Scavenger Hunt is no longer a secret and was moved to B-Roll, as most players didn't find it and therefore missed out on several hours of bonus content. Which is bad, yes.
Bugfixes:
Fixed a bug where rolling over a button that controls multiple laser beams could result in all laser beams being deactivated simultaneously.
Fixed a bug where the hiccup jump was sometimes not triggered. That was not intentional. Really.
Fixed a bug where the ball sometimes didn't accelerate correctly.
Music volume is now also used for the credits music.
Stay tuned for news on Workshop integration + level editor really soon. :)
Happy rolling!
Twitch Plays Ballhalla is live now
To celebrate the launch of Road To Ballhalla, we've made a very special "Twitch Plays" build of the game. We honestly don't think Twitch will beat it, but we'll see. As a way to reward participants, the game will drop steam keys for a range of tinyBuild titles - join us to win!
http://twitch.tv/tinybuild - Twitch Plays Ballhalla is live now
Day -1 Patch
Just rolled out another patch.
Improved Token calculation. Now, you're rewarded with 1 more Token when you collect 100% yellow orbs. On the other hand, just rushing through the trials will get you less Tokens than before.
Updated Twitch Integration to include users from the chat into the mocking text messages more often.
Small improvements to several trials, mostly in world 2&3.
Fixed a bug where you could actually lose time stars when rolling a time that is worse than your highscore. Really, nobody has noticed this?
Waaaahhh, only about 21 hours until release!
Day -5 Patch
Heya, I just pushed an update to Steam containing some small improvements.
Changelog:
- In the level hub, unlocked barriers now turn green (from red) instead of disappearing, so you can see better where you've already unlocked stuff.
- Decreased difficulty at the end of 2-2 (laser beams above invisible floor).
- Improved "hurdles" section in 4-5.
- Added more detailed explanation to the Twitch login menu, so you know what to expect from the Twitch integration.
- Additional minor bugfixes/improvements you'll probably never find out.
Have fun!
New trailer! Launching Aug 5th! Pre-orders!
The marbelous journey starts next week on August 5th. We've had a ton of fun coming up with all the puns and an upcoming launch event. Pre-orders are now live and will save you 20% off the $15 MSRP.
If you're not yet convinced, this trailer shows you what you're getting into...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDKCqD14_NU
Beta test has started
Welcome to the beat test! (typo intended)
I've had some time to work in your feedback from the alpha test and polish the other levels. This beta build contains the full campaign from start to finish, plus lots of secrets, rush challenges and unlockable ball customization options.
Please leave your feedback in the beta forum.
I'd love to know which levels you liked best, which ones you hated, which sections were too hard, the bugs you encountered etc.
As with the alpha, sharing videos and streaming the game is allowed and encouraged!
If you were on the Alpha Rush leaderboard but didn't get a key this time, let me know ( @torchedhill or kai [at] torchedhill.com ) and I'll send you one as a (late) reward.
Have fun and get rolling!
Alpha Demo has ended!
Thanks for the incredibly helpful feedback! I'm happy that the alpha went really smooth, except for a few exploits. No, you shouldn't be able to just jump over the gap and into the finish at the start of trial 3. That gap was me trying to troll you, but instead you just trolled me back (I haven't yet succeeded in jumping over that gap).
Statistics
I've also collected some interesting data to use for bal(l)ancing. For example, here are the average amounts of respawns used:
Trial 1: 2x
Trial 2: 8x
Trial 3: 25x
Trial 4: 20x
So, it looks like the warballs of #3 wrecked you even more often than the crazy camera angles of #4.
Leaderboards
Congrats to Acido, Argick and Sandsact for taking the first three ranks (and beating my time)! The leaderboard can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/stats/425410/leaderboards/1191301/
Next Beta
There'll be another build to test before release. Stay tuned for more information about when it will take place and how to get in. You can also follow me (@torchedhill) and @tinybuild on Twitter to get the latest news.
