Hey everyone, we’re here again for our Monthly Dev Update! This is a big one!
Update Progress
In the last dev update, we were wrapping up the Bumper Cars update, and we gave an overview of what we were working on, such as Minigolf & Ball Race SDK and other projects. Since then, our plans were to release an update with the new Workshop rig, Workshop sound packs, some Arcade optimizations, and accessibility changes.
However, this update’s been having some technical challenges that are both complicated to resolve and to complete. And, as you all probably know, we’re a small team, so it’s taken a lot of work to resolve these issues.
Basically, we’ve been having a very busy month, and this update is jam-packed with stuff, so let’s just get into what we have going on!
Reconstructing Core Code
So, sometimes when you fix something, something else breaks, or you find another issue or a flaw in the system. With many interconnected parts and a long development history, it’s easy for this to happen with Tower development. This has been happening a lot with this update. We’ve had to reorganize and refactor a lot this month. The issues have not been ones we can just let slide, either.
So, as you read through all of the following tasks we’ve been working on, know that it was probably juggled with fixing a frustrating regression. But we’ve been getting it done and working on ways to not cause these issues in the future.
Workshop Sound Packs
Workshop sound packs are a highlight of this update, adding the ability for players to upload custom sounds! We’ve also introduced new options for playlists, sound volumes, Game World Music override Manager, and “SetSound”, “Fade”, and general improvements to the sound emitter. You’ll be able to upload sound packs to Workshop, and we’ve made an easy to use editor in the Workshop editor for these. These tie into other I/O changes that will be explained more later on.
Workshop Fixes
A major issue we’ve been trying to resolve is a bug with Workshop models not appearing on Linux machines. This is notable as it affects Steam Deck users as well as any PC Linux users. Since work is being done on various areas of the Workshop, and this is a big issue, we have been tackling this and have resolved this issue after weeks of work. The change needed required us to rework how Workshop models are installed, and, with the added sound packs, the pipeline had to be gutted and refitted. We’re very happy that Workshop will be working again for Linux.
Workshop Rig 3.0 & Animations
Implementing the new Workshop rig has been an arduous task, but it’s been having great payoff. This new rig has allowed for more fluid animation of player models, IKs, and easier options for modifying proportions of a model, and massive improvements to the process of rigging player models. We’ve retargeted the old rig to work with the new rig (and existing player models) without any changes needed. That means that legacy Workshop player models will be compatible immediately. The animations have all be overhauled and improved and many ways.
We’ll have more information on the new SDK 3.0 very soon. But first, we’ll be releasing the updated animations and new rig support next update.
Accessibility Options
We’ve been hard at work implementing accessibility suggestions requested by players.
These include various changes to improve general visual and audio experience, changes to reduce eye strain and nausea, changes to controls for easier interactions, and improvements to existing accessibility settings, among other changes.
Plaza Minigames, Arcade, Minigolf, Drunk Effects, Condos, Stores, Controls, and other parts of the game all had accessibility changes, and you’ll get a full overview of the changes in the update change log (or on Trello).
Arcade Optimizations
Arcade physics server optimizations have been in progress for a few months now, and we’ve been working hard at getting the Arcade into a better state. These optimizations involve arcade physics which are a very finicky thing to work with due to the amount of machines that have unique physics to each game.
We had to refactor our code so the physics simulations would run as a system instead of independently on each machine. This required us to take the existing code and port the majority of it to C++. Server-side optimizations were made and a massive cleanup of the code was done. We improved the networking and reduced the amount of work the simulation has to do so it’ll execute it faster.
Item and Inventory Changes
We’ve made some updates to how items are categorized in the inventory. This has allowed for some previously hidden items to come out of the woodwork, as well as improving the search experience.
Speaking of searching, you can now see quick results as you type in the inventory search bar. This will allow you to get to your intended items quicker and to have a better view of your inventory as a whole.
Some items have been moved around to the appropriate stores or categories, and some items have had their names adjusted to better reflect their purpose.
Internally, we also optimized how items are queried in the system to make improvements to the inventory UI and you’ll see an FPS boost for large inventories.
Lastly, our item editor was bogging down development time and making it harder for us to continue to add new items. So, we improved our own item creation tools, which has already immensely helped us create items faster than before.
Condos / SDK
Big features in this update have had a connection to Condos, so other work has been done on our building tools as well. There are some accessibility additions such as a 3D grid visual and more editor options such as Noclip Speed Adjustment.
There’s also a new Replace Canvas URL tool and Find Canvas tool that will help out with quickly fixing dead image links in a Condo, as well as updating URLs quickly.
Changes have been made to the inventory system, grid snapping, organization, I/O options, and much more.
And that’s not all! We also massively improved the time it takes to reset your Condo and load Condo snapshots. For builders, you’ll see immediate improvements to these systems.
Condo I/O
There’ve been quite a few updates to Condo I/O, but some of the highlights are that we’ve added Cylinder and Sphere shape types for Volumes!
We also moved some items to be I/O items; Sound Emitter, Floating Text, Floating Dialogue, Hidden Seat, Aquarium Volume, and Sound Emitter are now I/O items (no unit cost).
Co-Op Condos
We’ve also implemented some fixes for bugs with co-op Condo building. These include fixes for Copycat, Connection Tool, and editing Notebooks. We also fixed drag-copy for I/O and grouped items.
Libretro
We’ve made some improvements to Libretro support, too. These improvements include automatically positioning the camera for Arcade cabinets (allowing for easier play with controllers) and Fullscreen support. Fullscreen also comes with lightgun and touchscreen support!
You can also disable automatic save states and we’ve added hot keys for save states (F3, F4 keys).
God, this update is inconceivable! When’s it coming out?!
We are in the late stages of testing the update! We are resolving more issues with the Arcade physics rewrite but the majority of the other features mentioned are ready to go! So, as soon as possible. We’re really working as hard as we can to get this out to you all.
Future Update Progress
In any downtime we’ve had while working on the next update, we’ve been making progress on various features that will be implemented in future updates.
These include:
Minigolf SDK Progress
A lot of exciting progress has been made on the Minigolf Map editor. We’ve set up the settings menu and customization options for course pieces. We’ve finished up work on the loop size setting, base settings, wall variation and height settings, corner shape and magnitude settings, fill settings, the corner tool, path-curve tool, ramp settings, the half-pipe tool, and intersection tool.
Additionally, there have been some updates to I/O for Minigolf. These include the course pieces being considered I/O items, an Out of Bounds Volume, In Bounds Volume, a Friction Override Volume, Boost Volume, and a Putt Zone Override Volume.
We also have made progress on Pipes, Cannons, Launchers, and Camera Volumes.
The testing tools have also been completed and you can quickly test Minigolf courses by interacting with the start pad and it’ll automatically put you into a golfball.
Ball Race SDK Progress
For Ball Race SDK, progress has been made on Finish Goals, Finish Volume, Attractors/Repulsors, Bumpers, Boost Volume, and of course Melon pickups.
The testing tools have also been completed and the editor now can run custom Ball Race maps.
We plan to roll out both the Minigolf SDK and Ball Race SDK out at the same time after the 0.17.12.0 update.
Transit Station Optimization and Art Pass
Along with Arcade Server Side Optimization, we’ve been working on optimizing the Plaza Train Station area as we found through profiling that it was impacting performance across the entire Plaza. Doing this required aggressive modeling work, which led to… a complete overhaul of the artwork of the transit station! Fans of Lobby 2 will be happy to know that the overhaul takes notes of the best parts of the transit station and the escalators actually work this time!
If you want to follow along with the update, check out the “Next Releases” section on our Trello.
June Calendar
Here is the Tower Unite calendar for June! If you’d like to give feedback on bonus events, please do so here! That’s gonna do it for this Dev Update! Thanks for reading. <3 PixelTail Games
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Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for June 3rd, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 28th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
May/June 2024 Condo Contest
Hey everyone, this time the contest is about custom Game World Maps!
Your entry can be for any of the Game Worlds that have Workshop Map SDK support (so Virus, SDNL, or Little Crusaders), and there's no time requirement for when the map was made!
Unlike previous contests, your entry must be uploaded to the Workshop and playable in TU! (We want maps to be judged on their gameplay and art!)
The submission period ends on June 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM.
Be sure to look at the prizes and follow the rules here!
Miscellany
Johanna continued working on the Minigolf editor, and the optimization / art pass of the plaza transit station.
Joshua continued working on animations for the arcade machines in preparation for the new workshop rig.
Lifeless worked on some minigame and various other small quality of life changes.
macdguy worked on all the animation changes needed for the new workshop rig. He also worked on the Ball Race and Minigolf SDKs, getting the items on par with those used in our official maps (such as cannons and bumpers). Finished the music system so custom maps can have custom music, and worked on finishing up Sound Packs.
Nuclearxpotato continued working on a new Minigolf map.
Sketchman worked on fixing the workshop issues on Linux. He also worked on various optimizations and bug fixes.
Wheezwer worked on the boardwalk token machine art, and other assorted art tasks.
Will continued working on music.
Ball Race SDK: Bumper Settings
Ball Race SDK: Pickup Settings
Ball Race SDK: Repulser Settings
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since May 28th, 2024 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 28th, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 21st, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
May/June 2024 Condo Contest
Hey everyone, this time the contest is about custom Game World Maps!
Your entry can be for any of the Game Worlds that have Workshop Map SDK support (so Virus, SDNL, or Little Crusaders), and there's no time requirement for when the map was made!
Unlike previous contests, your entry must be uploaded to the Workshop and playable in TU! (We want maps to be judged on their gameplay and art!)
The submission period ends on June 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM.
Be sure to look at the prizes and follow the rules here!
Miscellany
Johanna worked on finishing up the minigolf editor, making sure all the tools are consistent.
Joshua worked on getting the new workshop rig ready for release.
Lifeless worked on new accessibility options.
macdguy worked on the Minigolf and Ball Race SDKs.
Sketchman worked on fixing some outstanding issues and bug fixes.
Wheezwer worked on art for the boardwalk.
Will continued working on music.
Accessibility: New Store UI
Convenience buttons for adding multiple of an item to cart. Also, a delete all button.
Accessibility: Different Icon Sizes (Very Large / Small)
Condo I/O: Working AND/OR Logic
Condo I/O: IO Volumes now have shapes
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since May 21st, 2024 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 21st, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 6th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
May/June 2024 Condo Contest
Hey everyone, this time the contest is about custom Game World Maps!
Your entry can be for any of the Game Worlds that have Workshop Map SDK support (so Virus, SDNL, or Little Crusaders), and there's no time requirement for when the map was made!
Unlike previous contests, your entry must be uploaded to the Workshop and playable in TU! (We want maps to be judged on their gameplay and art!)
The submission period ends on June 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM.
Be sure to look at the prizes and follow the rules here!
Minigolf SDK
The Minigolf SDK tools are nearing completion. The tool icons are now setup, along with the tools themselves and their settings.
All the different variants and selectable models for the Minigolf Editor makes for around 5,243 models. These models are all under the hood, as you tell the editor what the tile should be and it'll select the correct one for you.
Also, we did a lot of work both behind the scenes and in the editor UI to make working with the Minigolf tiles much easier, such as bug fixes and improvements to the grid snapping tools.
Minigolf SDK: Current Progress
Minigolf SDK: Piece Editing
Minigolf SDK: Tool Icons
New Accessibility Settings
We've added a new settings section - Accessibility, which has various settings suggested by the community.
Accessibility Settings
Canvas URL Replacer Tool
Easily replace URLs with new URLs across all canvas items that use the same URL in one click. Very useful to replace old/broken links.
There is also a new "Find" feature that will visually show all canvas items that are using the same URL so you can find where the canvas is in your Condo.
Canvas URL Replacer Tool
Sound Volumes
Sound Volumes are new IO volumes that handle playback of sound emitters (clientside) based on if you are inside the volume or not.
Also comes with settings for fading sounds and muting outside sounds.
To use Sound Volumes you will have to click on "Collect" to collect all the sound emitters in the volume after placing the sound emitters inside the volume.
Sound Volume Demo
Sound Volume Settings
Workshop Soundpacks and Custom Game World SDK music
With Workshop Soundpacks wrapping up for release, we are now working on defining how you'll be able to set custom music for your game world levels. There will be a new IO module called Game World Music Manager. You can set custom music for each type of stage of the game world, if you don't set any sound it'll use the default game world music.
Workshop Game World Music Manager
Sound Playlists
We also added playlist support to sound emitters. While enabled, you can add multiple sounds that will play one after another and can be used for Workshop Sound Emitters
Miscellany
Joshua worked on getting the new workshop rig ready for release.
Lifeless worked on new accessibility options.
macdguy worked on the sound emitter playlists, important libretro fixes, and various SDK things.
Nuclearxpotato continue working on a new Minigolf map.
Sketchman worked on fixing some outstanding issues and bug fixes.
Will continued working on music.
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since May 6th, 2024 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 6th, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 29th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
May/June 2024 Condo Contest
Hey everyone, this time the contest is about custom Game World Maps!
Your entry can be for any of the Game Worlds that have Workshop Map SDK support (so Virus, SDNL, or Little Crusaders), and there’s no time requirement for when the map was made!
Unlike previous contests, your entry must be uploaded to the Workshop and playable in TU! (We want maps to be judged on their gameplay and art!)
The submission period ends on June 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM.
Be sure to look at the prizes and follow the rules here!
May 2024 Dev Update
Last week, we released our May 2024 dev update, which detailed everything we worked on in April, and what we plan on working on in May.
Hey everyone, we’re back to talk about what we’ve been up to in April, what we’re going to get up to in May, and other topics!
May Events
We’ve got more fun events lined up for you all in May! Once again, be sure to let us know what events you want to see in the game. We really appreciate any input you all have on these. We’ve also made a thread to keep track of any suggestions you have here.
Makeship Campaign Over!
The Cornelius and Birb Makeship plush campaign was a success! You guys rock! We sold 726 plushes, and we are so grateful for everyone’s support with the campaign. They’re now being made, so if you bought a plush, keep an eye out for more info on shipping from Makeship in the coming months!
Keep an eye out for future merch collaborations with Makeship as well!
Bumper Cars Update
During April we were hard at work on the Bumper Cars update!
As Bumper Cars is a Plaza attraction, it was a tricky process to work on and test as we have to work on the large main Plaza level. Working on that level can often bring about issues with lighting and other parts of the game that are inter-connected, but Bumper Cars is finally released!
We’re so glad it’s finally out to you all, and its been awesome to see you all having fun with it. We also got a hot fix out to resolve any issues that popped up along the way.
What’s Next?
These are the big features on our minds post-Bumper Cars:
Minigolf SDK
Ball Race SDK
Workshop Sound Packs
New Workshop Rig
Transit Station Optimizations/Art Pass
Arcade, SDNL, & Game World Maps
Minigolf SDK
We’re shifting our focus to completing the Minigolf SDK, which will allow players to create custom Minigolf maps! It’s an ambitious feature, but it’s going to be fun for you all and also help give us streamlined tools when making Minigolf maps in the future!
During April, progress has been made on various features of the Minigolf: SDK, such as:
curved ramp tool
side shifter tool
improvements and additional features for existing tools
half pipe tool
s-bend tool
We’re in the final stretch of creating all of the assets for the Minigolf editor, and just need to finish up some additional tools as well as setting it all up.
Like we’ve said before, these Minigolf tools require a lot more work than other Game World Map tools, and we have to balance what we’re working on between the different projects going on. But, we’re making a lot of progress with it!
Ball Race SDK
We are also working on getting the Ball Race SDK out, which comes with its own tools, such as a spline platform tool (Canvas Spline Mesh), custom music support (with ogg), and leaderboards for Workshop maps.
For leaderboards, we are planning a way to create staff-approved leaderboards for SDK maps which will work the same as our normal leaderboards but tied to the Workshop map. This process will be similar to the staff-approved unit payouts that both Minigolf and Ball Race will require. The staff-approved process will be done by us tagging a Workshop map as “Unit Approved” and then the unit payouts & leaderboards will be enabled for that map. This is planned so we can ensure maps are made fairly and not just for unit boosting.
Workshop Sound Packs
We’re really excited to share we’ve been working on Workshop Sound Packs. These will allow players to upload custom sound packs to the Workshop to use in their Condos and SDK Maps! This feature should be available in the next update.
Workshop Rig
We’re also very close to finishing a guide for the new Workshop rig and putting some finishing touches on implementing it in the game, and that will be coming out very soon as well.
Transit Station Optimization/Art Pass
We also wanted to share that we’ve been doing optimization work as well as an art pass on the Transit station, which will improve performance and visuals.
Arcade, SDNL, and Game World Maps
We’ve gotten started on implementing voice lines for SDNL, but, since working on the Boardwalk, we’ve also been talking about shifting gears and getting some work done on the Arcade as we discussed at the beginning of the year. These discussions have been about finishing games that have artwork, adding new games, and doing optimization work.
There has already been progress on that optimization work, mainly reducing server-side CPU calculations to help with server performance.
Game World Maps are still always in development and waiting for an opportunity for testing and release, and we’re experimenting with some fun ideas for upcoming ones that we’re excited to see come to fruition.
Backend Work / Organization
There’s a couple of things we wanted to touch base on in regard to backend work.
In previous Dev Updates, we brought up the Patron rewards as well as Dedicated Condos work. Patron rewards have had some delays as we were prioritizing a new ban appeal system that will better streamline our moderation process, and dedicated Condos have had delays due to Plaza Optimization work mentioned above. You should see progress on both soon.
We’ve also been working on more thoroughly going through and organizing our forum backlog of bug reports, crashes and other game issues, as well as suggestions. We may ask for some feedback from you all to help us out with narrowing down existing issues in a survey some time, so keep an eye out for that.
That’s gonna do it for this Dev Update, thanks for reading! <3
Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for April 29th, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 15th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.
Bumper Cars Update! (0.17.11.0)
Last week, we released the Bumper Cars update, bringing a new plaza activity for you to bump and bash your friends in.
The update also includes a bunch of new food, party, and anniversary items.
You can check out everything about that update here.
Miscellany
Johanna worked on getting the models completed for bumper cars, as well as working on the Mingolf SDK.
Joshua worked on food items for the snack stand, as well as new weapon animations for custom hands. He also worked on getting the new workshop rig ready for release.
Lifeless continued working on a new map, Zombie Massacre: Escape.
macdguy worked on releasing the bumper cars update.
Nuclearxpotato worked on bumper car upgrades, and new items.
Sketchman worked on fixing some outstanding issues and bug fixes.
New Weapon Animations
Wrap It Up
That about covers everything that happened since April 15th, 2024 at PixelTail Games.
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Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail We love awesome people like you!
Bumper Cars are here at last! Bump and bash into friends and strangers in this fun new Plaza minigame! Hop into a bumper car or join any ongoing matches to get in on the action!
Bumper Car upgrades and customizations are available right next to the Bumper Cars arena. Chat with Firey Guy - he's got horns, paint jobs, lights, and antenna accessories for your ride.
BOARDWALK ADDITIONS
More candy & food have arrived at the Boardwalk! There’s a new Snack Bar that just opened up by a totally friendly and not unit-grubbing pup, Franky Jr.! You can get some delicious-looking junk there, so be sure to check it out! He's got cotton candy, corn dogs, and churros.
We also adjusted the Boardwalk attractions, making Roll & Race and Splash Blasterz playable solo, and added leaderboards and achievements to the boardwalk games.
NEW ANNIVERSARY ITEMS
Kalleira has more anniversary items at the Anniversary store, including new guitars, and more party items such as a Kazoo!
MORE PARTY ITEMS
Tower Threads and Celebrations have new party items such as a Clown Afro and Neck Ruffle, and Paper Streamers.
Songbirds also has a new Retro Guitar available, with 8-bit MIDI support!
UPCOMING
We're really proud of this update and Bumper Cars, and happy to finally get it out for you all to enjoy. We'll be working on more Boardwalk games, along with new Arcade games in upcoming updates. We are also busy working on the Minigolf and Ball Race SDK tools, along with a new Ball Race map - Eruption!
Changes
NEW PLAZA MINIGAME: Bumper Cars!
Plaza - Boardwalk: Added new Snack Bar store with a new character and items
Plaza - Boardwalk: Milk Jug Toss's lights are now animated
Plaza - Boardwalk: Added leaderboards for Best Time of the Week - Roll & Race, Best Time of the Week - Splash Blasterz, Most Points of the Week - Bumper Cars, Best Time of the Week - Balloon Pop
Plaza - Boardwalk: Roll & Race and Splash Blasterz can now be played alone
Plaza - Bumper Cars: Added Bumper Car Upgrade store with upgrades for Paint Jobs, Horns, Lights, and Antenna Toppers
Added Cardboard Catsack, Party Crown (Red), Pretty Catsack, Party Crown (Green), Party Crown (Blue), Logo Bass Guitar, Catsack Guitar, and Kazoo to Anniversary store
Added Neck Ruffle, Clown Afro, Colorful Afro to Tower Threads clothing store
Added Paper Streamers to Celebrations store
Added Holdable Cotton Candy, Holdable Corn Dog, Corn Dog, Cotton Candy, Churro, Holdable Churro to new Franky Jr.'s store
Added Hot Dog (placeable), Bagged Lunch, Franky Fries to Franky's store
