This one is more of a bug fix / maintenance update; no noticeable content changes besides for some UI tweaks. I'm not active on social media (anxiety) these days so I tend to use these update notes as a chance to touch base with you guys. If you want to skip my tedtalk, feel free to jump to the bottom for patch notes.
I saw a comment the other day that made me laugh. It was something like "did the devs take the money and run?" I can see where they were coming from and, honestly, I agree - the devs are flaky af. I drop the ball a lot and I don't have an excuse. Sorry the game sometimes breaks, sorry we sometimes just ghost, and sorry we sometimes drop an update unannounced. Not an excuse but maybe I can share some of the behind-the-scenes that'll explain part of our shortcomings.
The OG bus gang knows this but for the newer bus drivers: the Stovetop team is 2 devs that aren't even full time (yet). I have a corporate 9 to 5 which means my game dev time is limited to after work. The other dev is doing something similar, balancing heavy grad school course work & game dev. IRL pulls us away a lot but we keep coming back because this is obviously where our passion is. In fact, recently we've been prototyping game 2 but took a break to revisit the bus game. Just wanted to say that yes, we're still invested and cooking. It was never about the money so the tradeoff is that we get to keep promises like this:
Grateful for you guys and thanks for checking us out :)
- Frank
Patch Notes
Apologize in advance - we performed a big internal update that will affect the update size but the save size remains the same. This patch was largely to clean up things internally to allow for future updates, boring things like: updating game engine, refactoring code, doing prep work for localization, etc.
Here are some minor changes:
update keybind view
update settings view
fix broken leaderboards
leaderboards are now automatically submitted (min score 100)
camera fix for museum map
fix active bus stops missing passengers
adjust school bus first person camera
update multiplayer lobby view
small HUD changes
I know this update wasn't that exciting so I'll leave you with a teaser for the next map:
PS - I'm writing this at 3 am and might ragret this later
v1.21 Patch Notes
Notes
Hi all, long time no chat. Thanks for being patient with this one. In this next update, the team continued to experiment with multiplayer gameplay.
Most Snakeybus maps are flat and allow players to B-line from drop-off to drop-off. The flat map style works in single player where the driving experience is more lax but quickly becomes problematic in multiplayer. Coupled with the fact that there is only one drop-off active at a time, players are quickly exhausted from cross-map sprints. Our next map, Tower City, focuses on verticality which moves drop-offs to different height levels preventing a straight shot from each drop-off.
[previewyoutube="NVq487C9Me4;full"]
The team also noticed that players can experience bus-constipation where player 1 is hitting all the drop-offs so player 2 is stuck with a bus full of passengers. To address this, we've turned on concurrent drop-offs in multiplayer. In the voice of DJ Khaled: another one.
Because of the added verticality, Tower City is less about "keep moving / don't run into yourself" and more about map knowledge and finding opportune times to use power ups. We tried play testing in single player but found that with the additional verticality, it was impossible to "die." For this reason, Tower city will be multiplayer exclusive - apologize in advance to the single players.
There is also an effort to balance power ups, mainly the shovel-ramp and missile. The shovel has been adjusted to cut up to 50 segments. So if your opponent has 50 segments, and you cut them at the middle, they would lose only 25 segments. Track down the head bus and cut subsequent segments for maximum effectiveness.
The missile impact has changed from OP nuke to a blast radius effect. Aim towards clustered areas of segments for max effectiveness.
Good luck.
Updates
New
New Map: Tower City
New Game Modes - First To (first to X segments) - Pacifist (longest bus when game clock ends, no weapons)
Shovel power up - Now on a timer. After using the power up, players have 10 seconds to ram into another bus. before the shovel retracts automatically. - Before: sever all remaining segments. Now: sever up to 50 segments
Missile Launcher - Before: sever all remaining segments. Now: sever segments within the explosive radius.
Concurrent Drop Offs - Prevent bus constipation and lopsided snow balling. - Bus Arrow and Drop Off UI indicates nearest drop off
Fixes
Before: able to to shoot missile before it was out. After: must wait for missile launcher's animation to shoot.
Discord for community feedback / bugs / play testing Twitter to say hi or watch me post gifs
v1.20
Small update to address the following:
drop off column wasn't showing for certain maps
graphic resolution was empty for certain users
segment 2 and segment 3 (tail of bus) collision issues
bus drive speed bugged after playing endless
A more content focused update coming soon.
Thanks
Hotfix: Paris Boundary
Fixes Paris boundary in multiplayer.
v1.19.8 Pause Bug Fix
A fix for those who were unable to pause during gameplay and/or stuck in fly cam mode (sorry).
v1.19.6
- (Fix) Single player menu had a scaling issue with ultra-wide aspect ratios. - (Fix) a certain evening map was impossible to access.
Update v1.19.5
Paris + Suburbs playable in multiplayer
New menu ui
Honk
Reintroduced minimap
New freecam
Next Update Preview
Hi all,
Here is a list of things to expect in the next update:
Paris + Suburbs playable in multiplayer
New menu ui
Honk
Reintroduced minimap
New freecam
The update is currently available on the beta branch while we play test some things. We encourage you to check it out and report any bugs you might find. Thanks
Multiplayer Update IS HERE!
Hi all,
This has been probably our biggest feature request since Day 1. I'm excited to announce that our multiplayer is live today!
Battle and race other bus drivers, longest bus wins. The multiplayer game mode introduces 3 power ups: infinite boosting, plow, and rockets. Utilize each to destroy and sever the opponent's segments!
Our hope is that this update will give everyone a better idea as to what Snakeybus Multiplayer could be. The devs will continue to brainstorm and see what interesting dynamics can be added to the game. And of course we look forward to your suggestions.
See you guys online!
Thanks
MULTIPLAYER, SALE SOON!
Hello current and future bus drivers,
We wanted to let you know that an online multiplayer update is coming something this week!
There will be another announcement soon to talk about features and the experience.
For those that have not bought the game yet, DO NOT BUY THE GAME YET. There will be a significant sale shortly.
