It just works. - Devlog#2

Hey guys, Haru here!

It's only been one week since I posted my first devlog, yet it seems like I posted it a whole month ago!

And here we are, with the 0.0.2 release of Searching Balloon!
(Told you I was going to change the name).

No fancy update for the moment (the game still uses its royalty-free assets), but there are some optimizations here and there to help you enjoy the game.

So, here is the update log:

On the Balloon's physics

• I tinkered with the balloon gravity and jump speed to make it float instead of fall;
• I also maintained the jump duration so the balloon can glide in the air (but a bug on the mobile version "skips" this feature due to a minor bug);
• I rethought the clouds so they can slow / cancel your floating balloon instead of being a mere hard obstacle (the physics still has some issues, but I'm working on it).

On the Radar and Lost Signal

• I added a "time delta" check so it refreshes independently of your framerate;
• Also, I added an inverse condition to encapsulate the distance between the balloon and the (invisible) victory goal object, so it's between such and such pixel distance (instead of below such pixel distane);
• Speaking of distance: I redefined them, since they were kind of arbitrary. They now begin at 1920 (which is the width of the game window) and decrease in a x0,75 lower number (I originally planned to decrease them by dividing them /2, but it made the game too easy);
• I then replaced the smaller distance (455px) by an even smaller distance of 100px (but I'm going to revert it to the 455px distance for the 0.0.3 release);
• Finally, I "hard-coded" the pitch and speed of the signal radar IN the radar sound instead of coding them in the game engine. It helped me to avoid the "echoes" of the 0.0.1 release.

On the Touchscreen Controls

• I replaced the wacky position-based touch controls by virtual inputs, which are simpler to use;
• You can now click / tap anywhere on the title / victory screen to continue;

On Miscellaneous things

• The Signal icon is now on the top-right of the screen, to not be hidden by the touchscreen inputs at the bottom screen;
• I left more margin around the HUD for aesthetics purpose;
• I added hard collisions right outside the limits of the camera / screen;
• The game is officially named Searching Balloon (which is a slightly better name than "Balloon Search").

And now, what's planned for the 0.0.3?

Well...

The following tasks:

• An optimization of the clouds mechanic;
• Procedurally-generated levels (I gotta admit: playing the same level again and again is kind of dull, even with randomly-placed objectives) (I can't promise it though, since it will be tricky to implement it right);
• Reverting the smaller distance from 100px to 455px (it will make more sense afterward);
• An automatic screen-fit camera (instead of the fixed 16:9 1080p window). In-game camera will still stay at 1920*1080 though (or will be expanded to extend the levels size);
• An actual scoring system;
• A~nd, a decreasing timer (which were planned for the jam version but not implemented due to to time limit).

No custom assets planned for the moment. I'm focusing on the gameplay for the moment.

But...!

As soon as the 0.0.3 will be out...

I'll work on the 0.1.0 release which will star actual assets made for the game!

(Actually, my friends are all busy for the moment so we'll focus on it when they'll be ready to take some time for the game).

And that's all for the moment.

So: while I move on the first tasks for the 0.0.3, I wish you a nice game on the 0.0.2 release of Searching Balloon!

See you next time!

PS : Despite the tongue-in-cheeks reference of this devlog title, I'd appreciate if the comment section don't turn into a toddposting marathon. I know Itch is kind of a safe place, not keen to cyber-bullying... yet, we're better safe than sorry. Thank you for understanding!