0.2.8 Devlog: General thoughts

Hello

Didn't feel like lumping this in with the recent changelog, but let me type here.

Tallowmere 2 version 0.2.8 took about two months.

The bulk of 0.2.8 was been spent doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, namely getting the mobile version ready. Like, 30 days spent ensuring things work on phone and tablet, iOS and Google Play achievements, leaderboards, cloud sync, and an In-App Purchase system.

Mobile, for the Western market, will be free-to-install with one IAP as a "Core Supporter Pack". Without the Supporter Pack, the dungeon becomes gimped past Room 10; namely less healing available, can only rescue two kittens, no Demon Statue Mystery Rewards, no buying potions, no couch co-op, no online co-op, no Weapon Rack access, and Magic Mirror restrictions. No dates to announce yet.

Steam version remains premium.

But yes, 30 days just to get the mobile version prepared. The joys of software development.

Some work has also been done to prepare for the Nintendo Switch version, and the upcoming Kitten Collect-a-thon mode. I hope you like hats.

Some other bugs were fixed in 0.2.8.

Now that 0.2.8 is done, I think back to fixing bugs as a priority is high. Pressing things are wanting to implement Steam Input for maximum controller compatibility.

The Options.t2 binary file also needs a refactor; will likely change this to a plaintext .ini format, much like LocalSettings.ini, for better accessibility.

Also in the short-term, UI tweaks still need to happen, and a small final push to get the mobile version ready for Apple and Google QA.

Notes

Play-testing still gets me excited. There is so much I want to change, adjust, and enhance. But made tricky (read: delayed) when there are still bugs to fix, and platforms to deploy to.

Leading up to the v0.2.8 patch just released, I did a solid one-hour test of single-player, and two hours of online co-op.

Pasting a note dump here... better here than some random txt file on my computer.

Some of the below are already issues on the issue tracker; other notes are fresh.

1. I think Zaeries should not be "synced" as much. They can just bounce around locally.
2. Enemies, and players, being affected by knockback, are probably better off not being synced while in mid-air. Does not look fluid.
3. Bottom interaction text can potentially overlap if the third HUD is over the middle of the screen, depending on screen resolution.
4. Off-screen portrait indicators are incorrect if player changes character via Magic Mirror.
5. Enemy health needs to be reduced, though this is more in line with refactor for 0.3.
6. Porcupine Quills potion buff – projectiles emit on client, but are not networked.
7. Grenade explosions are way too bouncy.
8. Off-screen player indicators show during Pedestal cutscenes.
9. When being granted "Poison Immunity" or "Arcane Immunity", feels like it should have a permanent "status label" for the player since it's such a huge thing. Especially as a Demon Statue reward.
10. Zaeries need to be knocked back when being blocked by a shield. They really are annoying when you have a melee weapon.
11. Leaf Blessing should not generate leaves if player is fallen.
12. Deathstrike is emitting proc chances on non-host client after the first initial hit. No death is occurring; proc particles should not be happening at all if it's not the first hit and not being a Deathstrike. Might be an issue with the Leaf Shield + Deathstrike trying to be added to each leaf?
13. Need to add a system chat message when a kitten dies.
14. When looting a chest that has a health upgrade, the player's health is not synced correctly. Player's currentHealth becomes greater than maximumHealth, and the healthbar UI goes a bit weird. Becomes corrected / health gets synced once player takes damage. Needs to sync when changing equipment.

Forward

There are so many things I still want to add. Bosses. Game modes. Online PvP. Dungeon Room Editor. Steam Workshop support. Russian and Japanese are still in the works. Ice. Stealth. Weapon tweaks. Persistent characters. So much to come...

Onwards, as always.

– Chris