The Ruins Update isn't quite finished, and it won't be for maybe another month or two, so here are some goingons with v0.8.3.0.
The one major addition in this update is the new high level biome in the overworld called the Ruins. It is a biome that is completely black & white, devoid of all color (except for the treasure and merchants). We won't say much more about it, but the boss will be interesting for those who get this far into the game or happen to stumble upon a red boss gate in a Ruins biome before tackling the blue gate. The Ruins biome generates alongside the Snow biome, just like how the Forest and Desert biomes generate alongside each other.
Another major change is the widescreen (16:9) resolution. The resolution has been changed from 960x640 (3:2) to 854x480. We made this change because we want to port the game to several platforms and this new resolution will allow the game to be more compatible. For those who own a NVIDIA Shield, the game runs perfectly on this device. We recommend good eye sight for playing the game on this device, though, as even with the game's smaller resolution it can be a little eye straining to play the game on a 5 inch screen without good vision. Hopefully we can get the game running on other Android devices, too. We are not sure how well touch screen support will work out for Earth Overclocked, but why not try it? The OUYA port works, but it needs more refining. Ubuntu (Linux) is now a planned platform. Now Mac users, listen up. We have mainly been waiting on a new Mac compiler so that our game can run better on that platform, but it is taking longer than we thought it would take so... I guess we can just port it to Mac when we get the chance. Just know that it won't be as well optimized as the Windows and Android versions. Make sure that you have a decent Mac computer for playing games on. Now regarding iOS devices, we aren't too sure about. We are definitely interested in porting our game to iOS, though. We are also interested in the PS4, but we aren't sure about this one, either.
Regarding the mentioned ports, if we do port to Android and iOS devices, we are only going to port it to tablets. The game isn't designed for tiny screens provided by smartphones.
To make up for the smaller resolution, all movement in the game is generally slower. The timer has been changed to automatically adjust to the "global movement speed scale." It is a little over 17 minutes at the moment.
Other changes being made are improvements to the overworld. We already have more prop varieties, and we are looking into adding water and weather. Blue and red dungeons now have appropriately tinted tiles. There are balance tweaks for the dungeon bosses, particularly Skeleking and Dark Knight. In fact, Dark Knight is getting an almost complete overhaul. We also made a change that makes it easier to shake off monsters.
To summarize the Ruins Update: new biome, added atmosphere, some more tweaks, and optimizations for porting to other platforms.
After the Ruins update is released, we are going to launch beta development. We are NOT going to be handing this version out for free! Only those that we select will get copies of the beta version. I know, this means no more major updates to the publicly released free alpha version, but we really need to change gears. The alpha stage was meant to improve the basic game engine, and the tweaking is almost done. It is nearing the time for us to start focusing more on adding content and fleshing the game out, the objective of the beta stage. The content will be more than doubled!
We are appreciating the support that we have been getting from those who are following the game's development. Thank you! During the beta stage we will be sure to update our progress!
The one major addition in this update is the new high level biome in the overworld called the Ruins. It is a biome that is completely black & white, devoid of all color (except for the treasure and merchants). We won't say much more about it, but the boss will be interesting for those who get this far into the game or happen to stumble upon a red boss gate in a Ruins biome before tackling the blue gate. The Ruins biome generates alongside the Snow biome, just like how the Forest and Desert biomes generate alongside each other.
Another major change is the widescreen (16:9) resolution. The resolution has been changed from 960x640 (3:2) to 854x480. We made this change because we want to port the game to several platforms and this new resolution will allow the game to be more compatible. For those who own a NVIDIA Shield, the game runs perfectly on this device. We recommend good eye sight for playing the game on this device, though, as even with the game's smaller resolution it can be a little eye straining to play the game on a 5 inch screen without good vision. Hopefully we can get the game running on other Android devices, too. We are not sure how well touch screen support will work out for Earth Overclocked, but why not try it? The OUYA port works, but it needs more refining. Ubuntu (Linux) is now a planned platform. Now Mac users, listen up. We have mainly been waiting on a new Mac compiler so that our game can run better on that platform, but it is taking longer than we thought it would take so... I guess we can just port it to Mac when we get the chance. Just know that it won't be as well optimized as the Windows and Android versions. Make sure that you have a decent Mac computer for playing games on. Now regarding iOS devices, we aren't too sure about. We are definitely interested in porting our game to iOS, though. We are also interested in the PS4, but we aren't sure about this one, either.
Regarding the mentioned ports, if we do port to Android and iOS devices, we are only going to port it to tablets. The game isn't designed for tiny screens provided by smartphones.
To make up for the smaller resolution, all movement in the game is generally slower. The timer has been changed to automatically adjust to the "global movement speed scale." It is a little over 17 minutes at the moment.
Other changes being made are improvements to the overworld. We already have more prop varieties, and we are looking into adding water and weather. Blue and red dungeons now have appropriately tinted tiles. There are balance tweaks for the dungeon bosses, particularly Skeleking and Dark Knight. In fact, Dark Knight is getting an almost complete overhaul. We also made a change that makes it easier to shake off monsters.
To summarize the Ruins Update: new biome, added atmosphere, some more tweaks, and optimizations for porting to other platforms.
After the Ruins update is released, we are going to launch beta development. We are NOT going to be handing this version out for free! Only those that we select will get copies of the beta version. I know, this means no more major updates to the publicly released free alpha version, but we really need to change gears. The alpha stage was meant to improve the basic game engine, and the tweaking is almost done. It is nearing the time for us to start focusing more on adding content and fleshing the game out, the objective of the beta stage. The content will be more than doubled!
We are appreciating the support that we have been getting from those who are following the game's development. Thank you! During the beta stage we will be sure to update our progress!
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