Waves 2: Notorious
Live Dev: Creating a Black Hole
The New Look "Glitch"
Utility Items are (as their name implies) not about killing things but being generally useful. They use Energy instead of Adrenaline and the most popular Item to date has been the default "Stop" (aka slow-mo).
It's important that every item in the game have a use but so far Stun, Repel, Rage, Barrier, and Glitch have not lived up to their potential always being out-done by Stop.
I intend to change this.
Today as part of a Live Stream I converted the old Glitch (previously called Emergency Teleport) into a brand spanky new Dash move (also called Glitch).
It lets you do things like this...
or even this...
oh and let's not forget about this...
Your ability to Glitch through/over things is only limited by the Cooldown and having enough energy and the Overdrive will cause a shockwave at the location you were at stunning nearby enemies.
I've been enjoying this Item a lot and I can't wait until everybody else can get their hands on it!
I will be aiming to do a Live Stream of some Dev work every Saturday and I will try to announce them here, on Twitter and on Discord so make sure you're following at least one of those!
Cheers!
Rob
Join the Discord!
By joining the Squid In A Box Discord Server you can:
- Ask the Devs direct questions and get a direct answer.
- Promote your stream of Waves!
- Chat with the Devs and other fans about almost anything.
- Share pictures of your pets!
- Organise multiplayer games.
- Use Waves themed Emotes (clearly the best bit).
- Submit Bug Reports (It is still early access after all).
Join us over in the Squid In A Box Discord!
Happy New Year!
It's no secret that Squid In A Box Ltd is in fact just one person. It isn't a studio with a half dozen full-time employees it's just Li'l ol' me trying to get as much done as I can.
2020 was just awful for that. Between starting a new job so we could pay the bills, moving cities, and everything else it left me going from working full-time on Waves 2 to working at weekends. I've been averaging maybe 6-8 hours a week this year where before I would be working 40-50.
The Winter 2020 season in-game has lasted all year rather than the 3 months a season normally lasts and it will continue until the next major update sometime in Jan of this year.
So if there haven't been any major game updates in 2020 what have there been?
A Growing Community
There are plenty of loyal fans playing the game every single day, especially on the last day of each month for those last-minute leaderboard grabs! We've been at around 200 monthly active users all year which is actually an increase over 2019 so the community has been growing which is amazing!
Plenty of bugs have been reported both on the forums and in the discord and I am addressing all of them as best I can.
Console Ports
A Nintendo Switch version of the game is in the works! It's currently playable but needs lots of UI changes and optimizations and won't be released until after PC reaches 1.0 but it is definitely going to happen!
Achievements
Steam Achievements are coming soon! Most of my 2020 has been spent working on these and I have 36 achievements* implemented that are currently undergoing testing and balancing. Some of them require changes to Items in the game so it's taken longer than expected but they will be part of the next big update.
Boring Project Management Stuff!
Finalizing the design of the game and getting all of the work needed into a task tracker (Jira for those that are curious). Not all of it is required to ship but it's good to have a definitive list of everything left to do.
2021 will hopefully be different. I'm working on the next major update and while I originally planned for it to be released in December that didn't happen due to a small case of catching Covid and being put out of action for almost 3 weeks.
There are almost 800 hours of work left to do in my backlog for the game. Was I working full-time this would be around 6 months of work (including contingency) but at my current rate of around 8 hours a week that shakes out to over 2 years.
Unless I can secure funding to allow me to work full-time again then either big features have to be cut (such as all of Dive mode and Multiplayer) or everyone is going to have to keep on waiting.
It's not the news you all wanted to hear and it's not the news I want to deliver but it's the way things are.
THIS GAME IS NOT DEAD!
I will continue with development until my last breath if I have to. I love this game and I love our community and I want to do my very best for all of us!
I hope you have a good 2021 and with any luck maybe I can get back to full-time development again.
Please follow me on Twitter for more frequent updates and don't forget to tell your friends about this great little twin-stick shooter called Waves 2.
* I also need 36 achievement icons, so if you are an artist and interested in developing a visual style for them then get in touch at rob [at] squidinabox [dot] com
Update 0.10 - More Boss Fights!
As a solo developer sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and get a "real" job (aka one that pays a living wage) which is what I did.
Development continues but I'm not able to work full-time on the game anymore.
Bosses!
There has been a "Prototype" boss fight in the Campaign mode for a while now and the feedback has been good! So good that I've spent some time polishing it up, making 2 more and adding all 3 of them to the Dive game mode.
Every 5th level in Dive will be a Boss Fight and they get tougher the deeper you go. Each Boss is designed to test a specific set of skills core to the game and I have another 3 I'm working on right now.
Dive Mode
In addition to getting Boss Fights Dive Mode has undergone some other changes (actually almost all of this Patch is about Dive mode).
- Timers no longer restart when entering a new level. You take whatever time you had left with you to the next level.
- XP from kills has been nerfed but completing Objectives and Downloading Files now rewards XP and the amount increases as you get deeper.
- There are more Files to download in all Dive Levels.
- Dive now only has 1 Arena Type but the Maze levels have been added to the standard map rotation.
- Entering a Level gives you some extra time depending on the type of level.
- Completing a Level no longer stops enemies from spawning or the timer from counting down.
- Completing a Level no longer despawns any Subsystems you haven't destroyed yet so you can go back for those Files you missed.
- When the Exit spawns it no longer kills everything in the level.
Tutorial
The Tutorial has been completely re-designed! It still needs some extra work but it should now be much better at walking new players through the game without bombarding them with walls of text.
The Tutorial will also go straight into a game of Dive on Easy when it completes.
Bug Fixes & Changes
There are several bug fixes and quality of life changes in this patch too most of which were requested by members of the community!
- Enemies killed by spawning under the player no longer stay visible.
- Using the Glitch Item doesn't crash the game anymore.
- Fixed a crash in the Loadout editor.
- Fixed Rotation of the Quakes effects.
- Beam weapons no longer lose damage output at low framerates.
- Added Floating Text when the player gains Experience.
- Added Option to disable Floating Text.
- Added Option to disable the Status Ring.
The Future
Things are looking bright! While I may have gotten a full-time job to pay the bills this at least means I'm no longer stressed about paying the bills and can focus entirely on making the game better rather than worrying about sales.
I now have everything I can think of in my own Jira backlog and am doing month-long Sprints with a specific goal that should result in a new patch every month (the next one is focussing on Steam Achievements).
Based on my current backlog and the rate I'm completing work It looks like I'll be finished in about another year at the earliest however unlike previous attempts to finish the game this time I have a solid goal to work towards and it's just a case of ticking things off the list until I'm done.
Thank you for being patient! I have the best community I could ask for and I'm really grateful for all your support!
Rob
Campaign Crash Hotfix
The fix for this requires using the 64bit version of the game and as such the 32bit version is no longer supported.
Also fixed in this patch is the Tutorial not progressing past the first stage.
February 2020 Patch Notes
Due to changes in how Objective Data is stored your existing Campaign saves may not work correctly. It is advised that you start a new game. This does not affect Arcade mode at all.
Boss Fights
Replacing the old confusing and fairly dull "Shoot the Core" boss fight in the Campaign is a new breed of Bullet-Hell style Boss.
This current version is just a prototype with only a few attacks in order to create the framework for better Bosses in the future.
Instead of bullets Bosses spawn enemies which can be destroyed and count towards your combo allowing you to earn adrenaline during a Boss encounter however some of their attacks will just have to be avoided.
As part of the development and testing process a new game mode will be added to Arcade in March that features Endless Boss Fights.
Bosses will eventually be added to the Arcade Dive mode (Which will be renamed to "Rogue" in a future patch) and will appear at set milestones throughout the game.
Unreal 4.24.1
The game is now using Unreal 4.24.1. This marks the end of support for Shader Model 4. Please let me know any issues you may be having as a result of this patch with regard to crashes on startup or graphical or sound glitches. Most people should be unaffected by this change but you never know!
UI Changes
The rest of this patch is predominantly UI changes/fixes.
- Pause Menu now has useful information on it including your current game mode, Objectives, Stats and more.
- Objectives Display on the HUD and Campaign Menus has been updated to include more useful information.
- Longpresses are now only required for gamepad users when interacting with the Campaign Maps. Mouse users can now Double Click on things.
- Network Map no longer lets you replay a level you have completed.
- Network Map shows which levels you have completed with a Checkmark.
- Network Map no longer lets you select Locked Levels.
- Network Map highlights available levels more clearly.
- Campaign progress is saved when returning to the Network Map instead of only on Logout.
- Secondary Objective Progress is now saved and restored correctly in Campaigns.
- Reputation for completing Objectives is now being awarded correctly after completing a Server.
Upcoming Campaign Changes
This isn't the end of the Campaign changes. There is some low-hanging fruit I intend to get done possibly in smaller patches over the next couple of weeks so keep an eye on the patch notes.
Most of these will be the replacement of the overly complicated elements with much easier to use versions (such as rewarding Reputation when a file finishes downloading rather than needing it to be sold).
Update 0.9
- ARCADE
● New Arcade Season 2020_WINTER has begun!
- EXPLOSIONS
● Explosions from structures no longer auto-kill Cubes doing damage instead.
● Explosions now briefly deform the arena floor (graphical effect only).
● Explosions now cause mild camera shake when nearby.
- DIVE
● Countdown no longer ends when unlocking the Exit instead adding 10 seconds to the timer.
- SPAWNING
● Administrator AI now takes into consideration which enemies the player is killing when choosing what to spawn.
● Spawning in Maze type arenas improved.
● Enemies can be "respawned" in Maze type arenas nearer the player if they get too far away.
● Triggers spawn closer to the player in Maze type arenas.
- ENEMIES
● CPU Performance of all enemies improved.
● The Cube now has a "Shooting" attack.
● Cube now knocks away nearby enemies when stepping.
● Cube Stepping animation improved.
- HUD
● CPU Performance of HUD improved significantly.
● Added a Compass that shows direction of Triggers and Bosses as well as their remaining health.
Thank you to my Patrons for their ongoing support. If you are interested in becoming a Patron and getting a behind the scenes look at the games development then go to Patreon.com/SquidInABox
Hotfix: 0.8.1
Bugfixes:
- Fixed crash when an enemy dies from a Status Effect.
- Re-enabled Datavaults in Dive mode.
Fall 2019 Season Begins! Patch 0.8 goes live!
The Fall Season will last for 2 months until December 1st when we will transition into the Winter Season.
Rankings for the Summer 2019 season will be archived and available to view in-game as will all of your past scores. Rankings for the Fall 2019 Season will be reset and start from scratch as the latest patch includes several new enemies and gameplay tweaks that would make it unfair to compare scores between updates.
New Enemies
All the Arcade game modes have 3 completely new enemies added as well as some changes to existing ones.
Blobombs
The Blobomb (aka the Red Slime or Exploding Blob) now explodes on proximity to the player.
You have a short window in which to escape the blast zone before taking damage so think fast.
Lime Jelly
The Blobs have also added a new flavour to their arsenal in the form of the "Lime Jelly".
Like the Blobomb it too explodes on proximity and death but rather than just doing damage it leaves behind a slime patch that slows down anything that touches it. Flying enemies are immune to the goo but you are not so watch out.
Epidemic
There are some new Viruses in town that are exhibiting some strange behaviours. The First of them is known as "Epidemic" and it replicates incredibly quickly.
Epidemic like all Viruses can mutate into a Boomer but due to its tendency to die off when surrounded the opportunities for mutation are much rarer.
Epidemic also has lower health but is worth only half the points of the regular Bloom Virus.
Worm
If you walk without rhythm then won't attract the Worm they say. That's not true when you're a ball inside a computer and the Worm is a virus.
The Worm makes a point of replicating towards intruders (IE You) with the older cells dying off to make room for new growth.
Be careful of Boomers that mutated from the Worm as they will continue to replicate spawning new Worm cells that will continue to track you.
New Map for Dive
Dive mode has gotten it's first update in the form of a new Arena Type called "Maze". These new arenas are much larger and take the form of Rooms connected via Corridors.
In future updates the Maze map type will be integrated with the existing arenas and will increase the variety in Dive (and eventually the Campaign). For now they still need more testing and feedback on their size and the amount of time they take to complete.
When playing on the Maze arena type you will get slightly more time to complete a level than normal to account for the increased size of the maps.
Bugfixes
The game sometimes gets stuck in an infinite loop when trying to spawn enemies/triggers etc. I have added additional failsafes to try and reduce the chances of this happening.
If this was happening to you then please let me know if it is still happening after this patch. I've not been able to reproduce it myself so I'm mostly just guessing at what might be causing it.