TIny Tanks Update - New Maps and lots of Improvements
Hello everyone, we finally have a new update for you. We have been working on this update for the last weeks and have made many small improvements to the game. We have integrated 6 new maps into Tiny Tanks, 3 of them created by ourselves and 3 by our community. In the last two months we had a lot of personal stuff that had to be dealt with, so we couldn't work on the game all the time. We are still developing the game completely in our spare time. We hope you understand that! We will now put our full energy back into it! We've also been working on many features that we want to implement into the game in the future.
Another very important thing: Tiny Tanks will have a 25% discount during this year's Halloween Sales
Without further ado, here are the main things that changed for this update:
Added 3 new maps
Added 3 Community maps to the Official maps
Hold the Flag: decreased time to 60 seconds
King/Hold the Flag: decreased time to 60 seconds
Hold the Flag: decreased flag respawn time
FlipIt/ LiftOff: increased time to 60 seconds
Apocalypse Now: no modifier “Invincible”
Added Back-Button to gamemode selection screen
Removed the first part of the tutorial
Decreased the spray angle of the shotgun
Added more Screen Resolutions
Reworked some Maps
Fixed some buttons not being selectable with controller
Fixed some buttons not being selected in the right order
Fixed ingame menu continue button not working
Fixed RoundUp/Vanisher round crashes when there are no more blocks to vanish
Fixed video options: Detect current screen mode (Often in Fullscreen the game sets this value to windowed)
As always, if you find any bugs, feel free to report them to us either via the form you can find in the game by pressing the “Report a Bug” button or by joining our discord at https://discord.gg/tinytanks
Kind regards, Jannik, Lukas and Lars
The Bots are Here - Update is live!
Hello everyone,
it is finally time. We have been working on this new patch for quite a while now and we are happy to release it to the public today. This update contains some exciting new features that we will talk about a bit more in detail. So, let us get right into it (a TL;DR version is at the bottom).
Bots are finally available!
We have put a lot of effort into our bots and they are now ready for their first public appearance! We have tried to cover every possible case. This means that we have built the bots in a way so that they support every game mode. We tested quite a few game mode and modifier combinations, but we surely have missed some. Although we are confident the bots will hold up to our expectations, if you encounter any issues, let us know in the discussions or on our Discord: https://discord.gg/tinytanks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Lt43fVy8w
The bots are available for local and online matches. Simply use the buttons provided in the lobby to add or remove bots as you please. Still, the bots are not perfect. There are some things they might not be able to do yet, but we will address those things in a future patch.
Improved Matchmaking!
We have improved our matchmaking system a bit. This means you should now be able to find matches more often. The lobby browser will receive these improvements in the next update as well. Please try it out and let us know what you think of it.
Edit Your Tank in a Local Match!
We finally added the possibility to edit your tank in the local lobby. Simply use the DPAD on your controller. Up and down changes the part you want to change and left and right selects the part itself.
Improved Tank Shadows!
We have listened to your feedback and gone over one of the more frequently requested improvements. The shadows for the tanks are now larger in size and darker overall. This means that you can easily discern the position of your tank once you go airborne. Other objects will receive this type of shadow in an upcoming patch too as it also seems to be more performant too.
Other Improvements and Fixes!
There is another number of smaller improvements we bring to the game in this update. Let us go over them shortly. First, we have fixed an issue where explosives in the game mode Apocalypse Now would not cover the whole map. No more edge-camping. Second, we have fixed a nasty visual bug that would cause the tracks on the floor to flicker in and out of existence. Also, we have improved score calculation to be more robust and also caught a rare issue where the laser would fling away from the map.
Also, we added a nice blinking effect to the crown to indicate the cooldown after losing the crown. Also, we increased the podium size and got some performance improvements in some areas by doing some additional multithreading.
In the end, we decided that it would be best to give the game mode golf a little time-out. We feel that it is simply not fun enough and can even be downright frustrating at times. That’s why we will bring golf back in a future update with improved gameplay.
We want to thank you for your continued support. We appreciate all your feedback and we take it seriously. Even if it might take some time here and there, we are happy to get your ideas into the game. A big thank you to everyone who helped us getting the bots ready and sharing their feedback on our discord.
The TL;DR of what is included in this patch:
Added Bots to play with for online and local matches. Supports every game mode
Added glow to the crown, flag, and target so that they are visible during lights out
You can now customize your tank in a local match
Added better visible tank shadows
Fixed Apocalypse Now bombs not covering the whole map
Fixed Skidmarks disappearing randomly
Fixed broken score calculation in rare cases
Fixed a rare issue where the laser would leave the map
Overall improved performance in some cases
Game mode King: crown now has a nice blinking effect to indicate cooldown
Increased podium size
Temporarily removed golf until we find a way to make it more fun
As always, if you find any bugs, feel free to report them to us either via the form you can find in the game by pressing the “Report a Bug” button or by joining our discord at https://discord.gg/tinytanks
Kind regards,
Jannik & Lukas
Game Modes and Languages Update is live!
Hello everyone,
we finally have a new patch ready for you. It includes a few cool quality of life improvements and contains many new things too. We have also been investing a lot of time into AI enemies for the game, but at this time they are not ready for release. They will come in a future update. Please check out the patch notes below.
https://youtu.be/RvqxyH2puAE
Changes, Fixes, and Improvements
NEW Game Mode: King. Pick up the crown and hold it as long as you can! The catch: You get shot, you lose the crown
NEW Game Mode: Capture the Flag. Pick up the flag and carry it to the goal. Don't let the others hit you, or they will steal your flag
NEW languages: Korean and Greek are finally available!
Added Laser Game Mode with improved performance
Added behavior if a player leaves an online match so that he will disappear
Added behavior if the host is the only one in the game, it will end automatically
Added an early indicator for domes in Apocalypse Now Game Mode
Fixed the lowest resolution not being 16:9 leading to UI problems
Fixed the screen mode setting being inverted
Improved Game Mode Golf goal spawning. We now try to make sure that all players can always reach the goal
Improved all other languages. All the translation issues should be gone now
What’s next
We will continue to work on bots. We have already invested quite some time and the bots will be available in a future update.
We want to add the ability to join a running match
Thanks for your continuous support! We really appreciate it and hope you continue to have fun with Tiny Tanks. If you find any bugs, feel free to report them to us either via the form you can find in the game by pressing the “Report a Bug” button or by joining our discord at https://discord.gg/tinytanks
Kind regards,
Jannik & Lukas
Matchmaking and Community Maps Update
Hello everyone,
we have been very busy with collecting all your feedback and fixing issues in the game. Today we are releasing another big patch with many additions and fixes. Please read the detailed report below. There were a number of patches before this, but we thought it would be a good idea to include all the changes that happened since the last official announcement on April 14th, 2019. Here is the full list of things that have changed since then:
Changes, Fixes, and Improvements
Added matchmaking so you can automatically find other players
Added lobby ping display
Added a work-in-progress in-game display which game mode and modifier are currently being played
Added new map: Tropical Island
Added the ability to select community maps for online matches
Added an error notification when the player tries to upload a map without a name or description
Added a sound for the game mode: Bomb Belt, so that players can hear when the bomb will go off
Fixed a number of in-game crashes. These were caused by the skidmark system and our system that helps us to improve network traffic
Fixed the tutorial instruction cards
Fixed Dutch translation
Fixed Russian translation
Fixed Invite spamming
Fixed the (probably) last endless loading screen
Fixed screen mode settings
Fixed the tank spawns if no spawn points were set with the editor
Fixed not being able to set spawn flags in the editor when they were touching the ground
Fixed the nameplates translation in local multiplayer and editor play-mode
Fixed the translation of the first message in the tutorial for English and German
Fixed a bug that would start the editor play-mode as soon as the player created a new map
Fixed a bug where you could not change the language from the editor menu
Fixed a bug where the plateau icon in the editor was tinted red
Fixed a bug where the grid-snapping in the editor would not work correctly with keyboard/mouse controls
Fixed a bug where the community map browser would offer the option to limit the time-frame when sorting by newest maps
Fixed a bug where pressing escape would not leave the editor menu correctly
Fixed a bug in the editor where you could only spawn new blocks after switching the block type when creating a new map
Fixed the splash-screen message for languages with special fonts
Fixed a bug where players could not toggle the controls panel with the keyboard
Fixed a bug where parts of the controller recommendation screen were not translated
Improved menu navigation
Improved the showing time of the driving mode message in the tutorial from 20 to 15 seconds
Improved the showing time of the toggle message in the tutorial from 7 to 15 seconds
Improved the keyboard/mouse icon for using the fill-tool
What's next
We want to start researching bots soon, as it is one of the most requested features at the moment. This will take time though and we can not give any ETA on this right now
We want to improve game modes based on your feedback and get a few game modes we currently are still working on in the game
We want to improve performance a lot. There are many potential optimizations we can do
We hope that you are enjoying the game so far and want to thank you for all your support and feedback. Please keep it coming! :)
Kind regards,
Jannik & Lukas
Hotfix #1 is live!
Hello everyone,
for the past days, we have been hard at work to get the first big issues fixed and your feedback implemented. First of all, we want to say sorry for all the issues that you encountered, but this is our first game and we are extremely grateful for every piece of feedback! Thank you so much for that.
Without further ado, here are the main things that changed for this update:
Added 6 new bigger maps
Added disconnect messages for online multiplayer
Added support for using a single controller and keyboard/mouse in a local match
Added a new section in the tutorial for the two driving modes
Added additional support for controllers, including the Steam controller (This limits the game to four players; however, you can still play with up to eight players by switching to the 8-player-local branch under the game settings in your library.)
Removed the two smallest maps from official and uploaded them to the workshop
Removed the game mode „Super Laser“ due to performance issues temporarily
Reworked the Lobby. Now there should be way fewer issues with setting up a game and the rework should get rid of the endless loading screen issues. Additionally, the loading times should have improved. This means that a few functions are disabled right now, including playing custom maps and selecting game modes, but these will be added back in very soon! This rework also enables us to later implement proper matchmaking which can be expected to be added soon.
Fixed the Czech translation
Fixed the cancel button on the lobby password dialog
Thank you to everyone who has bought the game and given us feedback. We really rely on your help to make this game better and are extremely thankful that you are helping us so much. The next update is already in the works and we hope to get it to you soon!
Thank you,
Jannik & Lukas
Tiny Tanks - New Weapon System + Development Update
Hello everybody,
as you might know, we are rapidly nearing the release on April 11, 2019.
We are only 3 weeks away now and we are as excited as you are.
So let us talk about all the stuff we have been doing right away!
Weapon System
Almost two months ago we started to develop a weapon system for Tiny Tanks based on your feedback. We now have several weapons spawned by an Airdrop during each round. For a long time, we had the problem that the gun was much too weak compared to the mine, with the new system everything has changed. Furthermore, the tactical approach has improved a lot throughout the game, as you have to adapt a little to your weapon. For example, you have to get very close to your opponent with a shotgun and position yourself strategically with a sniper.
Currently, we have the following weapons in the game:
UI and Menu In the last weeks, Lukas has invested a lot of time in our menu and the UI of the game. We had to create windows for the workshop integration, the level editor and the online/offline lobby. Last but not least we decided to implement a Health Bar and an Ammo Display (for the new weapon system) to get a better overview in the game.
Online Improvements We have been able to improve the collision between tanks and bullets, which has greatly improved the feeling of the online multiplayer. Furthermore, we could reduce network traffic through a system that measures how blocks travel. We're currently in the final stages of testing the online multiplayer and we're confident that it will perform well when released.
Gameplay and Sound In the last two months, we could improve several points regarding gameplay. We've added a variety of particle effects to give better feel to the shooting, as well as a hitstop to increase the impact of the shot.
We also added a variety of sounds in collaboration with the audio team Syndrone. We are working very closely with them to create an awesome atmosphere for Tiny Tanks. They are super passionate and skilled and we love working with them. If you want to know what they have done so far check out their website.
Level Editor
As mentioned in the last newsletter, we have developed a level editor for Tiny Tanks, so you can build your own awesome maps. In the last weeks, we were able to add many exciting new features to the editor.
The most important feature is the Steam Workshop Integration. You can now share your maps with everyone via the Steam Workshop and download plenty of maps instantly.
Our Official Discord: Come and develop the game together with us!
Hello there, fellow tank drivers!
Did you know that there is a verified Discord for Tiny Tanks?
No? Then come and visit us HERE!
The official invite link is https://discord.gg/tinytanks
What is going on there:
We have a channel for official announcements. Just today we launched a hat creation contest. Want to take part? Come join us!
We have various discussion channels where we talk about the game and regularly post development updates and discuss aspects of the development and features with you!
We also do development live streams. Don’t want to miss those? Come join us and get notified!
Earn XP, gain ranks, get rewards!
We would love to greet you on our Discord and to discuss the games development with you!
