Time for another There Will Be Ink update. The main new feature this time around is the reworked Quick Battle page and the brand new underlying Map Generator. The old Quick Battle page was pretty limited, offering options only for tree & cover density, which river to use, and which buildings/units to include, and the underlying map generator didn’t offer much in terms of map variety. The new Quick Battle page includes a mess of checkboxes and sliders to give the player much greater control over what kind of map will be generated, and the new map generator is capable of generating drastically more varied map types. Don’t worry about having to toggle every setting. You can click “Randomize!” to get some fresh settings and use the small randomize buttons on each section for further tweaks. I won’t go over all the settings, but check out the old/new screenshots below for a comparison, if you’re into that kind of thing. I’ve added a few safety checks to map generation, but there are bound to still be some wacky scenarios for some of the randomizations. The Campaign Generator (see below) will likely have tighter constraints on map balance.
Also new are procedurally generated rivers, which increases the variety of available rivers exponentially. The old prefabs are there as well. There is also a new weather type, “snow”, which is more than just the visual tweak you may have seen previously during December’s “Jolly Edition” seasonal content. Snow now accumulates on the ground and can be melted away with flamethrowers, explosions, burning buildings and trees, laser blasts, and even burning troops/corpses. Water is also frozen and can be walked over in snow maps. New to all weather types, trees and cacti will now sway in the wind.
In addition to being able to open Quick Battle maps in the Map Editor, players can now edit a copy of any campaign map using the “Edit in Map Editor” button on the pause menu. This includes boss levels and any other scripted maps. There are also a big bunch of enhancements, tweaks, and bug fixes that can be found in the lists below.
Next up, I’ll continue work on the Map Generator to make it more powerful and varied, and I’ll begin work on the Campaign Generator, which will generate a batch of maps and string them together into a campaign. With snow in place (*wink), I can also get working on Act III campaign missions. Cheerio!
Changelog
New Features & Content
Total revamp of “Quick Battle”. Includes options and sliders for terrain, weather, factions, difficulty, etc.
Brand new map generator making use of the toggles/sliders mentioned above
There is also a slight chance for “heat waves”/low stamina regen on calm, sunny maps, and a slight chance for sea invasions on non-snowy beach maps
Procedurally generated rivers (when “Rivers” selected in Map Generator, will choose between prefabs and procedural/tiled rivers
Snow is now a proper weather type
Snow accumulates and can be melted with explosions, fires, flamethrower, lasers, etc
Bodies of water are frozen and can be walked on in snowy weather
Added “Edit in Map Editor” to pause menu – opens a copy of any map in the Map Editor
Changes & Enhancements
Gamepad: Swapped shoulder buttons & triggers – Triggers are now for fire/grenade, buttons for zoom!
Trees/cacti now sway in the wind (reworked how explosions affect vegetation as well)
Bleeding out is now paused if a friendly unit waits next to the patient
Bleeding out units now gain a notable evasion bonus
Map Editor: Added “New Map” button to clear the current map
Map Editor: Added scrolling (mouse wheel) for loading maps, when maps don’t fit on screen
Added highlighting to load map/file names in map editor
New art for tiled rivers (Map Gen & Map Editor)
End-of-battle win/loss state now takes into account which teams have human players
Map Gen: Ammo crates won’t spawn quite as close to the edge of the map
“Medic!” and “Backup!” text now appears when calling for help (helpful in multiplayer)
Mouse cursor no longer disappears on Main Menu if there are no gamepads connected
T-Rex crate likeliness reduced by 50%
Scorch marks no longer behave like craters (now drawn to background, better performance)
Added minor screenshake when trees fall
Stamina bar now only drawn when below 95% stamina
Updated some out of date info on Controls page
Removed powertext when active unit takes explosion damage
Added colour gradient support for sliders (mostly for QB page)
Loading a map in Map Editor plays sound
Code cleanup and object merging
Bug Fixes
Fixed causes of “too many open files” crashes (should be all, will watch out for further instances)
Fixed crash bug when hitting “esc” immediately on battle start
Fixed some jankiness with select left/right unit – should no longer skip units
Fixed issue where trees/debris/etc would sometimes spawn on water (Quick Battle/Map Gen)
Fixed issue where snow/rain/clouds were drawn behind trees
Fixed issue where AI units would sometimes not recover from exhaustion
Fixed bug where player could sometimes get locked out of game when a medic revives a bleeding-out unit
Fixed bug where Alt RPG kills weren’t counted in EOB stats
Fixed issue where flags & flames (from flamethrower) kept animating when game was paused
Remote Play Together Stream - Part 2!
Hey there! We're going live today shortly after 10AM PT with another Remote Play Together stream. We ran into troubles last time broadcasting to Steam while also doing RPT and ended up streaming to Twitch. We'll give it another try, but otherwise the stream can be watched here: https://www.twitch.tv/brodiefever/
Check out our Discord server if you'd like to join another session! https://discord.gg/6aRZNRS
There Will Be Ink - Remote Play Together Stream
Hey folks! We're live now (2PM PT) for some Remote Play Together action. Come check it out on the store page!
Also, There Will Be Ink is 20% for the duration of the Remote Play Together sale.
Hotfix
- Removed debug text
Beta 7.0.1 - Hotfix
Beta 7.0.1 Hotfix - Bug fix: Fixed crash bug on tutorial mission 3 when Barracks is activated - Disabled Campaign Editor from Main Menu (needs some reworking) - Unranked units should now be more effective at taking cover when attacking - Adjusted collision mask of trees (should eliminate invisible obstacle issue) - Slightly increased damage from falling trees (to make up for recent hp boost for ranking up)
Beta 7 – AI, Squads, Cover, Suppression, Boss, User Profiles
Hello there!
Where do the months go? This might be There Will Be Ink’s biggest update yet, it turns out, and it includes some new mechanics and the reworking of some old ones. Act II of the main campaign is finally wrapped up and throws a new boss fight at you. I have some big plans and some small plans next up on the road map, but first, on to the stuff!
AI Advancements
I’ve made a few adjustments to make enemy & ally units a little more interesting. In addition to some bigger changes like dynamic squads and new cover/exposure/suppression mechanics that are covered in more detail below, there are some smaller improvements. For instance, units that catch fire will seek out nearby water to extinguish themselves. Recruits will also keep an eye out for flags that have been partially lowered and raise them back up. Grenade evasion has been added, with higher ranked units being more likely to roll out of the way of an incoming grenade. Units will also prioritize their target that are in range. So for instance instead of focusing on the nearest Rifle unit, a Sniper will target an HMG that is a little further away. Similarly, your RPG will be sure to prioritize that tank that is wreaking havoc. Units with “Retaliate” behaviour will now attack units that get too close (no more walking right up to them!). RPG & Flamethrower units will now target buildings and also try to find a clear line of sight if a building is in the way, while all units will try to find a clear line of sight if a vehicle is in the way. There were also some AI-related bug fixes, like Medics not reviving units who are bleeding out and units targeting buildings that are under construction.
Squads
Recruits will now dynamically form squads. This is still a work in progress, but there are already some key features in place. First, if there is no nearby danger, new recruits will wait by the Barracks until a squad of three is formed before advancing. The highest ranked unit is set as the squad leader, and there are three new abilities on the Barracks page that can be unlocked and which allow the squad leader to grant passive buffs (in this case armour, move speed, and stamina regen) to their squad members. Squads will dynamically form and separate as units move around the map, and squads will work together to flank suppressed units (see below).
Exposure, Suppression, & Cover Adjustments
Cover is now much more effective when prone, with the caveat that when a prone unit fires over cover or throws a grenade they will go into a crouching position, which exposes them and makes them easier to hit. The intent here is to make cover use more effective and to add an extra tactical element to gameplay. The time a unit remains exposed goes down with rank, and as always the chance that a shot will penetrate/ignore cover goes up with unit rank (and varies with weapon type), but it is generally less likely than before if the target is prone. If a covered unit comes under heavy fire, it will become suppressed and refrain from attacking and therefore exposing itself.
New Mission and Boss Fight
I won’t say much about it, but there is a new mission and boss fight, and Act II of the main campaign is complete, huzzah! Expect things to ramp up some for the third act.
User Profiles and Three Teams
Players can now set up user profiles in-game in order to track progress separately. I went to the trouble of adding support to copy over existing progress to a new “Default” user profile, only to find out that due to an error in the way the 6.1.2 hotfix was configured there’s no way to make it work. Oops! If you’d like to retain progress, you’ll need to copy the contents of %localappdata%\ThereWillBeInk_20201227_Beta611\ to %localappdata%\ThereWillBeInk\Users\Default\ after the update. There is also a new screen for selecting the active campaign. The campaign tags list playtime and have a progress bar, and I’ll likely add more info in the future.
I’ve also added support for three team battles. The third team can be cycled to just like the others with Tab in the map editor. Players can join team 3 in a battle by middle-clicking or pressing ‘Y’ on a gamepad. Each team considers the other two teams hostile, so for instance if you’re playing as team 1 vs. teams 2 and 3, teams 2 and 3 will fight among themselves as well as against you.
Crash Reports
In an effort to better stay on top of things, the game now sends out anonymous crash reports. If you’d like to prevent the game from sending these reports to “the man”, aka me, then just turn off “Analytics” from the options page.
Bugs and Bugs and More!
There are a whole lot of bug fixes and just as many enhancements and tweaks. It’s probably easiest just to read the change list below, the first two sections anyways, if you’d like to know more.
Next Up
I have some fun ideas for Act III, which should also feature some bigger battles than some of the more sparse sections of the desert in Act II. Also there will be some new terrain features. Perhaps more exciting than waiting for me to slowly push out custom maps, I’m going to be working in parallel on a way to generate unlimited content. Technically that already exists with the admittedly very limited “Quick Battle” map generator. My plan is to put considerable work into map/battle generation to make those battles more varied and interesting, and from there I’d like to create a “Campaign Generator” that will essentially allow the player to adjust some sliders, choose unit sets, and the game will string together a series of progressively more difficult maps. That is the plan, at least. There is much work to be done, and I’m not sure how it will turn out, but please feel free to stop by the Discord server if you’d like to discuss it. Oh, and I’ll also be adding some more sounds and music. Thanks, everyone!
Changelog
New Features & Content
Suppression – Units behind cover that take heavy fire will become suppressed and refrain from exposing themselves and firing
Squads – Units will form squads of up to ten recruits
If there is no danger nearby, new lower tier recruits will wait until they have a squad of three before advancing
A new page with three new squad-related abilities was added to the Barracks page
Squads will flank suppressed units
The highest ranked until will be the squad leader
New mission and boss fight (Act II is done!)
Added new enemy type (can be seen in TWBI mission 16 or map editor – not controllable)
Third Team – Players can now join “Team 3” with middle-click or ‘Y’ on a gamepad (so far Map Editor maps only)
A team will consider both other teams hostile
User Profiles – Players can now create separate user profiles in-game with playtime listed
Campaign Selection Screen – Campaigns can now be selected from a grid view, with playtime and a progress bar listed
New RPG ability: Premium Rocket Fuel – increases acceleration of RPG (making it less affected by wind)
Added custom error reports (also saved to log file) and automatic crash reporting (can be disabled in Options)
Changes & Enhancements
Units now crouch and become exposed when shooting over cover
Cover is generally more effective when not firing
Added Tank as a unit on the Barracks page (in TWBI campaign)
Added Tank ability, Turret Grease: increases turret rotation speed
Added Tank ability, Helper Monkey: increases reload speed
Firing weapons now costs a small amount of stamina (Sim & Hardcore mode)
Grenade range is now based on stamina (except in Arcade Mode)
Added 10% grenade range per rank (but reduced base range slightly)
Added target prioritization (eg snipers will target higher tier units; RPGs will target tanks, etc)
Added some more checks for AI units becoming exhausted (ie they should usually avoid doing so)
Units who are on fire will now seek out water if it’s nearby
Units with “Retaliate” behaviour now attack hostile units that come within 50% of their weapon range
Ranked units will now raise their own building flags if not at full height
Units will now try to avoid incoming grenades (ranked > 1 units will roll away)
Prone units gain a 15% aiming bonus
Tier 1/2 units (eg Rifle/Assault) now take 1 second longer to spawn for each unit on the map from that barracks
RPG & Flamethrower units will now attack buildings
Units now get a small health increase when ranking up (2hp per rank)
Reduced amour pierce of laser rifles from 25% to 15%
Recruits can now walk on downed trees to get across rivers
Added variation to unit approach path (eg so not all units from Barracks follow the same path)
Slightly reduced base turret rotation speed and main gun reload time of Tank
“Aggressive” behaviour renamed to “Attack”, “Defensive” renamed “Retaliate”, and “Hold Position” renamed “Defend”
Pressing H/left-sick with a unit who is already in Defend mode will now put them in Attack mode (instead of Retaliate)
‘Esc’ in Map Editor battle now pauses game as normal instead of auto-surrendering
The proper team will now surrender when surrendering from menu
Surrendered units will stop attacking and put hands behind back (and sit up if prone)
Surrendering will now put units into prisoner state instead of killing them
Similarly, all Barracks & HQs are disabled on surrender (instead of destroyed)
Increased blast radius for tank explosions hitting buildings
Made RPG slightly less likely to hit things along its path
Increased blast radius for airstrike explosions
Units who are bleeding out now emit a pool of blood/watercolour (instead of bits of spatter)
Units no longer check every step if there is a friendly unit in the way (optimization)
Adjusted deployment location/range for units spawning from Barracks
Granted “Advanced Training” (rank 2) on c2m13, “Hot Desert Heat”
Set wind on “Min(e)d the River” to max 20 (to avoid landing on mines at mission start)
Units that are not yet unlocked are listed as “?” on campaign description on main menu
Increased cover bypass distance
Added new sprite for “progress squiggle” and frame (eg campaign tag, unit skill point, EOB progress)
Added new sprite for checkboxes on Barracks page
Added sprite variation for muzzle flash and fixed alignment
Units stop keeping track of their attacker if they are not attacked for two seconds
Removed several checks for incapacitated units
Rifle unit is locked by default (again!) on the Barracks page
Optimized barracks unit spawning
Added stat tracking for global & universal stats (mostly not yet displayed)
Bug Fixes
Fixed bug where movement was quicker than it should be when moving diagonally with kbm
Fixed crash bug when exiting to the Barracks from a Map Editor or Quick battle
Fixed bug where collision point for bullets & cover wasn’t being properly calculated
Fixed bug where Medics wouldn’t revive units who are bleeding out
Fixed bug where progress was not saving when surrendering
Fixed bug where units would target buildings that are under construction
Fixed bug where buildings wouldn’t become “destroyed” when being destroyed by fire
Fixed bug where longest streak/kill streak was not tracking properly
Fixed EOB messages for new streak records not displaying
Fixed bug where Battle Efficiency on Barracks page was incorrect
Fixed bug where “Sharpshooter/Most Accurate” badge calculation was incorrect
Fixed bug where “Longest Streak” stat wasn’t saved when surrendering
Fixed bug where streak messages were duplicated in MP
Fixed bug where end-of-battle messages were not displayed when surrendering
Fixed bug where advancing on Intro/Disclaimer screen jumped to a page different than the main menu
Fixed bug where units would sometimes briefly walk in the wrong direction before approaching their target
Fixed bug where “Surrender” option would result in unintended “Deaths” stats
Fixed bug where left/right unit cycle sometimes didn’t work when there were few units available
Fixed bug where Flamethrower kill stats weren’t tracked
Fixed bug where player streak wasn’t tracked with Tank
Fixed bug where music didn’t stop (and end-of-battle jingle didn’t play) when surrendering
Fixed bug where cover was sometimes not accurately tracking who was using it
Fixed bug where body armour sometimes didn’t match up when a unit is bleeding out
Fixed bug where units were refreshing target at the wrong interval and often all at once
Fixed bug where putting unit in Defend mode set the next unit in Defend mode as well
Fixed bug where units weren’t refreshing their target often enough when approaching a target
Fixed bug where engineers would immediately check again if no valid mine locations were found
Fixed bug where Alt Write unit spawn reduction (ie spawning less frequently as more are on the map) wasn’t working
Fixed bug where units were pushed along water by more than one boat at a time
Fixed bug where crates weren’t staying in place on landing craft
Fixed bug where boats would sometimes move other boats
Fixed bug where units would sometimes fall off boat and not deploy
Fixed bug where wrong sprites were being used for prisoners
Fixed bug where middle-click unit select was not always selecting the correct unit
Fixed bug where single player badges were enabled by default (though options list off)
Fixed bug where weather (including lightning) continued during game pause
Beta 6.1.2 - There Will Be Smooches hotfix
Hey there! This is just a small hotfix to address a couple of nasty crash bugs. I have a significant update nearly finished, and don't forget to fire things up tomorrow on 2/14 for "There Will Be Smooches", one day only!
Fixes
Fixed Main Menu crash with "There Will Be Smooches" seasonal content
Fixed crash upon ending multiplayer battle
Beta 6.1.1
Hello! Here is a smaller update with some bug fixes and a bit of tank balancing and enhancing. Tanks were previously pretty OP vs. infantry. I’ve balanced things out by reducing the blast radius of tank shell explosions. This change has the added bonus of making tank combat more interesting by requiring a more tactical approach. It’s now harder to get a direct hit, making the aim penalty while moving more significant. AI will now also treat destroyed tanks and tank turrets like other cover objects. Full change log below. Tally ho!
Changelog
Changes & Enhancements
Reduced tank shell blast radius by 40% (less OP against infantry and requires better accuracy against tanks)
Tanks and tank turrets now turn into proper cover objects when destroyed
Tank turret pops off when tank is properly destroyed (ie if incapacitated first)
Made trees much more effective as cover (without needing to be next to them) when not toppled
Craters no longer appear on destroyed tanks (or other larger cover objects)
Engineer now sets sandbag facing based on their own position when no barrack present
Bug Fixes
Fixed crash bug that occurred when Dino drop is unlocked
Fixed crash bug that occurred when Engineer tried to figure out where to place sandbag when no Barracks is present
Fixed bug where T-Rex sometimes shot self in head(!)
Fixed bug where AI aim was slightly off (especially an issue with T-Rex)
Fixed bug where Alt Flamethrower (ie “Flametosser”) flame tank was drawn incorrectly when prone
Beta 6.1 – Jolly Edition 2020
Hello there! I hope everyone is well. I didn’t realize how much had changed since beta 6.0 until I put it all together in the list below. It turns out there are a good many things! Two of the biggest changes, pathfinding and a new dynamic stat system, are not very exciting from a gameplay perspective, but hopefully the many other changes make up for that. One of those smaller changes, the Engineer’s new ability to place sandbags, can have a pretty big effect on the direction of a battle. Similarly, the change to have units face their target/destination when prone makes it a lot easier to hide behind cover when battling vertically, while also making flanking more effective. There are many other additions and enhancements, including a new campaign mission, river segments for the map editor, falling tree damage, new stats, improved AI, and of course, new “Jolly Edition” art assets. See the full list in the changelog below. I’ll also talk briefly about some of the bigger ones.
Jolly Edition
Xmas trees (and cacti), falling snow, snowballs, glitter, and of course that pesky Yeti! Jolly Edition content is enabled automatically for the rest of December, or you can say “humbug” and turn off seasonal content from the Options menu. Here is the game in action:
[previewyoutube="DmWv4bbgmgc;full"]
Discord
That’s right, There Will Be Ink has a Discord server! Come say hi and join in the conversation or just keep up with all the latest. Steam users can even get access to experimental builds to test out the latest features. I’m hoping to get some community submissions for maps and campaigns to include in the game, either built-in or as separate downloads, but more on that later.
Pathfinding
I scrapped the old, cobbled together “freestyle” pathfinding system for a more traditional grid-based system. Tanks aren’t always brilliant, but they’re a lot smarter than before. I’ve also hopefully fixed many of the bugs around the old system. In addition to getting where they need to be, tanks also now make a point of finding clear lines of sight and finding alternate paths (or waiting) when another vehicle is in their way. In other tanks news, turrets are now sometimes blasted off, damaging units where they land. Engineers can also now repair incapacitated tanks, if the damage isn’t too bad.
Prone Units & Sandbag Placement
For a long time it was awkward when battling vertically, as prone units were more exposed than standing units in such situations. No more! Prone units now face their target, so they’re able to hide behind trees and the like regardless of the angle between them and their target. Of course, going prone does still provide more surface area when approaching a unit form the side, and AI has been improved to take advantage of this by spreading out and flanking a lot better than they used to. Further tactical depth has been added with the Engineer’s new ability to place sandbags. As the player you can take control of an Engineer and place cover for your troops where it’s needed, or you can let the AI take care of things and focus on combat. This new ability should help out with those massacre zones that new recruits tend to bravely but foolishly charge forth to.
Dynamic Stats
I spent a lot of time on this, but it’s not really something you see in game. The good thing though is that it makes the stat system much more dynamic, manageable, and scalable, so I can add new units with little trouble and don’t have to worry about the old hardcoded stat info. End-of-battle stats are a little different in this way in that they’ll only reflect units that participated in the battle (which now includes tanks).
Changelog
New Features & Content
Implemented new pathfinding system for tanks
New Engineer tool/ability: Sandbags
Player can place sandbags as engineer; AI will place based on where comrades are dying if there is not already cover
New Engineer ability: Mechanics
Allows Engineer to repair tanks
New campaign mission, “All In A Row” (tank-focused, can be difficult)
Tank turrets now have a chance of being blown off of tank upon destruction, damaging units & settings fires
If turret not blown off, tanks now become incapacitated (but not destroyed) and can be repaired
Implemented new dynamic stat system (no real in-game effect, but will make adding new units and stats much easier)
When prone, units now face their target/destination (instead of only left/right)
Added 6 river segments that can be tiled together for more river varieties
Added new leg sprites/animation for normal unit movement (ie jogging)
Old sprites used for sprinting
Trees now damage units when falling
Added sounds for trees falling and landing
New stat: Tree Deaths (the number of times a player was killed by falling trees)
New stats for vehicles incapacitated & vehicles destroyed
Plugged Tanks into unit stats (eg. shots fired/hit, killed/killed as, unit progress, etc)
Reworked weapon system to allow for more than 2 weapons
Added new “Jolly Edition” versions of all trees and cacti
Changes & Enhancements
AI is now better at spreading out and flanking
Units look for more than just 2 cover options
Going to Barracks from pause menu now saves current unit XP (reworded pause menu items)
Separated water/rivers into their own group in the Map Editor
RPG is now much more effective against tanks
Added more frames to torso animation
Various adjustments to cover bonus amounts
Units don’t need to be as close as before to get cover bonus (makes cover more effective for AI)
Reduced roll speed/distance by 20%
Reduced cost of Engineer’s Mine Deployment ability to 1 point
Infantry now flee out of the way of tanks (not just friendly tanks)
Tanks can no longer run over friendly units
Friendly fire sound now plays when hitting a friendly unit instead of upon their death
Tank turrets now tilt at a random angle when destroyed
Increased Stick Man boss health by 50%
Performance tweaks for how often units refresh target, updating cover capacity, etc
Smoke is now emitted from the tank barrel when firing
Updated bullet collision detection with cover objects to be more precise
Increased tank bullet friendly fire “safe zone”
Main menu options no longer respond to click unless the cursor is over them
Units no longer continue moving to cover if their target is killed or incapacitated
Added hand-drawn sprite for tank turret
Added Discord icon & link to main menu
Boss damage and boss kills now tracked over campaign
Bug Fixes
Overlapping tanks at mission start now push away from each other instead of hanging things up
Fixed sandbags to use precise collision detection
Fixed bug where mission wouldn’t end in countdown missions when all friendly units are lost
Fixed crash bug when bringing up Steam overlay when battle is over
Fixed crash bug relating to tanks and vengeance
Certain stats no longer require that a unit be player controlled at the time of calculation (effectively, stats are more accurate)
Parachuting/jetpacking units no longer leave footprints
Fixed bug where animation speeds were sometimes incorrect when prone
“Time in Battle” stat on Barracks page now shows proper time format
Game no longer pauses if battle is over and game window is no longer in focus (eg during alt+tab)
Fixed bug where units sometimes run in the wrong direction when first setting out to approach target
Fixed bug where cover capacity wasn’t properly being calculated
Fixed bug where ranked Alt Rifle & Assault infantry would not switch to secondary weapon
Fixed bug where secondary weapon was not being destroyed on unit death
Mouse in Map Editor once again shows x/y coords when dragging (GMS2 port issue)
Fixed bug where Engineers wouldn’t rebuild buildings that are on fire/destroyed (may have been introduced after Beta 6.0)
Beta 6 - Tanks!
Hello, friends! There is a new build out today for There Will Be Ink. Beta 6, let's call it. It is a big one! There are tanks, new missions, reworked controls, a new game engine, AI and UI improvements, many enhancements and fixes, and much more. Before I jump into the details of the update, a small note about a big change since the last update back in July.
As was the case for many, my day jobs were affected by the pandemic. Once June came around, my usual summer work was not there, and I had to look for something else to pay the bills. Luck was on my side, and I managed to get a full time position with Mohawk Games, my first job job in the game industry, doing QA work on their fantastic historical 4x game, Old World. They are a great bunch of people, and the game is incredibly good. I highly recommend checking it out! Anyhow, some of my other work picked back up after I started with Mohawk, which made for a very busy summer indeed. As a result, work on TWBI was very slow for a while there. Needless to say, my springtime goal to finish 1.0 for September 2020 was not met. But! Now that I've settled in to my new routine, I'm finding ways to make more time for TWBI, and I did indeed get a lot done over the past few months. On to that!
Tanks
That's right, There Will Be Are Tanks! They are showcased in the (current) last mission of the main, "There Will Be Ink" campaign, but they can also be placed in the map editor. There will be more missions to come that feature tanks. Although quite functional, tanks are still a work in progress. For instance, some of the art and effects are not finalized, and I'm still sorting out their pathfinding methods. I've been freestyling it with different heuristic methods, which works well a lot of the time (and hilariously bad some of the time), but I might just end up with something more methodical and established for pathfinding, like trusty ol' A*. All that being said, I find the tanks pretty fun and I'll be curious to hear any feedback on them (see note below on the new Discord server!). I know I had a lot of fun banging on a cast iron frying pan to make those bullet-hitting-metal sound effects.
New Missions
I won't say too much about the new missions, so to leave something to discover for the player, but most of the new levels feature unique mechanics, terrain, and environmental effects of some form or another. They are quite a lot more varied than the Act I missions, and some are pretty difficult. Also, more is learned about your Alt Write foes starting right away with mission 9. I can taste that Pulitzer prize already!
Gamepad Controls
At last, I think I've got gamepad controls optimized pretty well. I've eliminated "precise mode" that was previously activated by holding down the right analog stick. Instead, it's a lot easier to make precise adjustments with standard aiming, and aiming vertically is much more smooth. In addition to that, I've added a "free aim" mode, which is toggled by pressing down (not holding) the right analog stick. In "free aim" mode, the cursor stays put and is moved using the right analog stick in a similar way to how the mouse moves the cursor. This method is much easier to use for aiming with RPG infantry (as well as tanks) and can also be effective for strafing and the like.
GameMaker Studio 2 (and a very pesky Windows 10 2004 update issue)
Although I've used GMS 2 for other small projects, I stuck to trusty ol' GMS 1.4 with TWBI, mostly because I was used to (and still prefer) the old workspace layout. But, aside from getting with the times, I recently discovered a pretty big issue that encouraged me to make the move. As (hopefully) many others did, I held off on updating to the 2004 build of Windows 10, released earlier this year. Upon finally doing so, I found that it effectively broke TWBI, in that the game runs at about 10fps below the default 60fps the game is designed for, regardless of what's happening in the game. I tested things out on a couple systems with the same results. I was able to find a fix in GMS 1.4 to get the issue mostly resolved, but it was still running at 1 or 2 fps below 60, which is unacceptable. The only way I could fully resolve the issue was to port TWBI to GMS 2, which actually was a pretty smooth process. There were a few quirks I had to work out, and there are sure to be a more remaining, but I think things will be good going forward. I may have even gained a few fps in my TWBI stress tests in GMS 2 vs. GMS 1.4. My main worry is that a lot of players are experiencing this performance lag, especially since the game was released as part of itch.io's Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality a few months back, during which the player base of TWBI greatly expanded. I originally hoped to include the Act II boss level as part of beta 6.0, but it will just have to wait for 6.1 as I hurry to get this performance fix out.
Discord
There Will Be Ink now has its very own Discord server. Come on by for a chat, the latest updates, test build access for Steam users, and so on!
All of The Other Things
There are a lot of other things! The full list can be found in the changelog below, but a few highlights include beaches and landing craft, unit footprints, new stats and badges around mines, more effective mine laying for the Engineer, more friendly friendly-fire, grayed out aiming cone when reloading, Grabby Mode improvements, player colour updates, StickMan Boss rebalance, AI improvements, many small QoL improvements, performance optimizations, and many bug fixes. Also starting very soon (Oct. 1st), Spooky Edition is unlocked! I've updated the artwork, so everything should kick in automatically come October first. Seasonal content can be disabled from the Options menu if you prefer the standard visuals.
Changelog
New Features & Content
Tanks!
6 new missions added to "There Will Be Ink" campaign, most with unique features
Reworked gamepad controls
Easier to make precise adjustments; smooth aiming for full 360 degree range
Replaced "precise aim" mode with "free aim" mode - Right analog button toggles aim to behave like mouse
Added slight gamepad rumble when player-controlled unit dies
Landing craft (for specific campaign missions)
Unit footprints (and treads for tanks. Footprints are player-only by default; can be changed in options)
New Stats: Mines Detected, Mines Defused, Mines Recaptured
New Badges: Field Studies, Recycler Award
Changes & Enhancements
Ported TWBI to GMS:2 - resolves performance issue with Win10 2004 update, may be some quirks remaining
Updated Spooky Edition art
Engineer now has mine detector by default
Replaced "Mine Detector" skill with "Mine Laying"
Friendly fire now has a 'safe' distance where it won't hit friendly units (similar to how it doesn't hit nearby cover)
Sightline/aiming cone are now gray when a unit is reloading
Grabby Mode icon is now tinted to player colour, fades when no valid option, and draws line to target unit
Reduced Grabby Mode selection range
Player colour is now based on gamepad index (and not order joined)
Revised player colours (removed some grays, added cyan and yellow)
StickMan boss now spits grenades instead of having flamethrower
StickMan now gets one additional hp per enemy destroyed in campaign (to max 1000)
The mouse cursor is now hidden when placing or dragging items in the Map Editor
Team 2 units now face left by default at battle start
Bullets, Grenades, RPGs now have an armour pierce attribute
Added fire resistance attribute to units (applies mostly to tanks)
Toggling fullscreen on the Options page now changes the mode immediately
Cycling resolutions on the Options page while in windowed mode now changes the window size
AI: Units no longer throw grenades at very close distances
AI: Units will no longer attack buildings whose flags are being lowered
AI: Engineers now space mines out a little further
AI: Engineers will now avoid laying mines on buildings and other objects
AI: RPG infantry now target the center of their target instead of the nearest edge
Units now always leave the HQ standing up
The game now pauses when Alt+Tabbing out
Pressing Esc during Quick Battle now defaults to pause menu (instead of going to Map Editor)
Chance to bleed out is now inversely proportional to a unit's overKill (HP below 0) at time of death
Unit stamina, health, vengeance, etc is now hidden when in building
Tooltips on Main Menu now come up more quickly and use a larger font (helps with lower res displays)
Shells are now slightly smaller
Player name colours on "click/button to Join" UI are now all gray
"Deploying Weapon" text no longer displays when HMG is being fired while undeployed
Optimized method for detecting nearest hostile projectile
Optimized target check for units with "Hold Position" behaviour
Optimized checks for weapon deployment
Optimized building draw code
Optimized unit draw code
Some simplification around sandbag generation
Bug Fixes
Fixed performance issue with Windows 10 2004 update (ported TWBI to GMS:2)
Fixed bug where bullets could hit a unit more than once in same step (eg head, body, legs)
Fixed bug where the last unit who dies can still be controlled after defeat if they are bleeding out
Fixed bug where incapacitated units could be controlled by cycling left/right to them
Fixed bug where game would hang when joining Blue team on "Stick Man" boss level
Fixed bug where countdown mission would not end after surrendering
Fixed map corruption bug when Medical Crate was placed in Map Editor
Units no longer continue rolling when entering a building while rolling
Grabby Mode is no longer activated when Alt+Tabbing out of game
Puddles no longer generate in cloudy weather
StickMan boss' arms no longer animate when game is paused
AI: HQ will no longer target incapacitated units for airstrike
AI: Units will no longer consider their own cover as in the way when finding a clear shot
AI: Recruits will now resupply when running out of grenades while attacking a building
AI: Fixed bug where Engineers weren't consistent when determining coords for mines
Various text fixes and updates to TWBI campaign text
