Next up: The big Square Trail update!

So summer has pretty much started and the Lone and Prologue mini-updates have hit, here are some of my goals for this summer.

1. Get the next Square Trail update, version 2, pushed out in the coming weeks.
2. Get some levels done for Prologue, revise gifting system.
3. I doubt I'll be able to get Outskirts part 2 for Lone this summer, SO I'M MAKING IT A 4 PART UPDATE WOOO. parts 2 and 3 will probably come out next month. Finishing the forest area and adding more to the Pier. Actual ferry would be in part 4.

Pretty much: Big updates for all 3 games. But Square Trail will be my main focus. I had to revise my goals for it a bit, but here's what I want as of now:

• Complete UI overhaul, big enough to fit...
• New customization tools!
• Credit system, points are aggregated with bonuses to create Coins each round.
• Coins are spent on items and skins for your Square.
• Items give small "mini-abilities" such as a bomb. They are not limited to your ability choice. You can use Ghost as your ability and carry a few Bomb items. Items are ALWAYS weaker than Abilities.
• Abilities will most likely not be locked out. You won't have to buy them with Coins.
• Skins are different, completely cosmetic designs for your Square. They always have the same size and speed.

A while back I talked about a Ranking system, where you can level up and such. While this seems like a good idea and all, I fear it's a bit overused. Leveling puts interesting RPG aspects into non-RPG games nowadays. Look at Call of Duty (4 and up) and Battlefield 3. Square Trail is not supposed to be an RPG, and I will leave this out until I can come up with an idea better than simple Levels. For now, it'll play similar to Prologue's "MyPro". Collect credits -> buy items for new gameplay -> earn more credits.

1.4 is a pain. (ToT 2/29/12)

Well, Square Trail 1.4 is huge if I want to fulfill as many of my expectations as possible. So I plan on breaking it up into two updates, 1.4 and 1.5 so I can divide the work up a bit. There's a lot of new graphics and programming work going into this, but it'll be worth it!

Today I put in a death screen, Coin collection system... 

score+(kills*2)

And a frame of the new main menu. A lot has to be done, ohhhh boy. In the coming days I'll be working on UI stuff. A lot of UI stuff.

Q&A: Better graphics in Prologue, Points.ini editing, Bugfixes

Editing the Prologue Points.ini file.
Eventually I'll release a mini app (probably bundled with Prologue) that'll let you create your own Points.ini's. It'll be simple and user friendly, letting you give yourself weapons, gear, propoints, etc. I'm considering it as part of an app called "tae.OPEN" I want in the future, it'll allow editing of this, and all games running tae (Reminder: Trevor's Advanced Engine) that support it. Which will hopefully be all.


Is there any chance of better graphics in Prologue?
Probably not. I'm talking about taeHD's High Res Display feature, it won't be in Prologue any time soon, if ever.

I just tried it out, upgrading would require me to change pretty much everything. All objects look to small with HRD on, All UI elements are intended for the current screen size... which means I'd have to redo all of that. It's just too much at this point, so don't expect High Res Display in Prologue.

Any PR2 bugfixes coming soon?
There are a few bugs I found fixed. Probably will be in the next nightly, and then the next Prerelease. This includes:

• Super Shield doesn't show up as equipped in the home screen.
• Super Shield is too weak (too much drain)
• Recieving gift codes multiple times (expect Gift changes in PR3)
• Survival STILL doesn't reward enough points for the effort.
• Some badges aren't giving notifications.

Let's go into tae.OPEN details!

For Prologue it'll be a Points.ini editor. Hopefully for lone it'll be a user content creator (SHHHHH, more on that after Outskirts is done...) and in the upcoming Square Trail v1.3 (I'm trying to upgrade it to tae for better playability) some sort of game editor.

CSI Prologue: Prerelease 2!

HERE IT IS: [LINK] Please uninstall your old Prologue Prerelease!

You can transfer your Save File by going to C:\Users\yourname\AppData\Roaming\MMFApplications then copy the contents of the Points.ini. Install Prerelease 2, run it once, and paste the copied text into the newer Points.ini

Known Bug:

Super Shield isn't shown as currently equipped gear, even though it is (fixed in next nightly)

IN THIS VERSION

• New, consistent interface across all menus.
• SAVE THE GAME BY PRESSING "IN-GAME MENU" THEN SAVE GAME.
• Introducing MyPro
• Use the ProPoints you earn from playing any mode to buy new weapons, gear, gadgets, items, and badges in the ProShop
• Manage and equip all your new items in the new Inventory screen.
• Send Points to friends with the Gift Codes system.
• Customize your game.
• Two new badges earned by using ProShop or getting a Gift Code.
• Super Shield gadget (replaces Turret if you want)
• Rifle must be bought.
• Turret must be bought.
• Various bugfixes from PR1 (Maximize still not fixed)
• Introducing CSI NIGHTLY - more on it below.
• Two more levels of Survival Mode.
• Survival mode gives more points.
• Changes to ProPoint income - you earn slightly less than before.
• You can now press Escape or F2 to return the main menu.
• Tweaks to the points.ini (manages save files)
• Both Legacy badges now work.
• Story Mode scene 2 is 1/4ths the way done.

What is CSI NIGHTLY? 

• An up to date build of Prologue that is updated almost every night, it is very experimental but can contain critical bug fixes the moment they are implemented, new content or badges, and entirely new features. Test the next Prerelease before it's even released!

The first Nightly will be released later tonight. You'll be able to download it at anytime using the sidebar on the right.

Today on Trevdev 2/3/12

Welcome to the first Today on Trevdev! It'll be a wrapup of stuff I did in game development today - a summary post pretty much. On to the content!

• Square Trail 1.2 update due today on DeviantArt
• Larger play area.
• New "Wave" ability.
• New graphics.
• New Previous score and Session's Best score display.
• More information on how to play.
• Polished interface.
• Abilities guide.
• Prologue - has some new stuff ready for PR2...
• Gifting system - buy ProPoints codes to give to people - and send your PP to your friends!
• New Super Shield gadget (equipment), fast health regen, but with ammo drain.
• Shopper and Gifter badges for buying something, and buying a Gift.

Updating...

Introducing Square Trail.

Play it here: http://magecandy.deviantart.com/#/d4obuob

It's small, and I made it only in two half-class periods. But it's pretty enjoyable. Imagine a mix of Centipede and Tron/Lightbikes. Codenamed, Square Trail, it's going to be a flash exported game and probably playable on my DeviantArt tonight. You're a square that can't stop moving, and constantly gains speed, but little deadly squares always appear behind you. You can drop bombs to destroy the little squares to clear space, but you'll run out eventually - how long can you survive?

Happy Tuesday! Lone Outskirts p1 is RELEASED!

The first part of the lone Outskirts expansion will be released today! Most stuff is finished, but some more stuff needs to be added to the map, ePhone, and some of the new buildings.

It's been a long time since a lone update was released, so it's about time this came out.  Check this post later on today for the installer link! Be sure to uninstall your old Nightlife version. Expect patch notes, too.


UPDATE: Download via my Dropbox HERE!

PATCH NOTES

THE OUTSKIRTS EXPANSION: PART 1 UPDATE NOTES:

• INTRODUCING TWO NEW AREAS: East Bay and Bay Street!
• The Outskirts (East Bay) is a massive extension across the beautiful new Bay Bridge, currently it has 1 subway station, a forest with a dirt track, a beach with water you can swim in, a gas station, and a boardwalk.
• Bay Street introduces a waterside pier into the City. In Part 2 this will have a ferry you can take across to East Bay, as well as a new hub for citizens in the city to hang out. In Part 1 the outside is mostly done, but not completely populated or put into peoples schedules.
• The ePhone, with a press of the Tab key your character takes out the ePhone which displays the current time. It also has apps for Current Events in the city Day or Night, and a Speedometer so you can check your current speed while moving in a car/on foot.
• New buildings in the city! Featuring the CineCorp workplace, and a new appartment (meant for the not publicy released, Co-op mode.)
• Tons of new sound effects.

 BUG FIXES / CHANGES

• A few movement fixes and tweaks, slower walking speed, improved collisions.
• New characters and sprite changes.
• Headlights have been removed for now, due to glitches in the East Bay area.
• Changes to subway stations to make them bigger, in Part 2 they will have small businesses/stalls.
• Day and Night now exists in the cinematic intro.

Overhauling Revelations: Part 1

So While lone is undergoing a massive update with some 3D graphics, and a ton of new content, CSI: 2 Revelations is undergoinG a huge under the hood upgrade before any more new levels are added. Here's what's happening so far:

- Hugely improved interface.
- Title has been changed to emphasize "REVELATIONS" more than "CSI 2"
- Story cinematics have been removed, to be replaced with a simple "Here's what's going down" on starting Story Mode.
- AWESOME new Main Menu interface based around being connected. Game page content will be integrated directly into the menu, also with a new thing I'm calling the "LiveTab", a neat scrolling ticker at the bottom of the menu showing update news, high scores, and 'hot' Badges.
- First tae game with Badge integration.
- A good amount of connectivity with the "taeConnect" app. This update will release bundled with a taeConnect installation for maximum awesome. For instance, you'll be able to go to taeConnect from Revelations without leaving, post something on Facebook, check Badges for the game, then get back into Revelations.
- A lot of performance improvements and bug fixes.

And yes, Live Tab and Badges should be coming to Lone eventually, but thatll be after The Outskirts if anything.

EDIT: Scratch this. Revelations is dead, long live Prologue.

An update on the changes.

GamePages, while implemented already will have their pages complete later on, this week, most likely.
"lone." is going rather slow in production, so give it a while yet! Meanwhile, play some CSI 2 Rev? :D