Post

ghost returns, misc updates

v0.10.32.75
Brought back the old ghosting behavior alongside one-way platforms.
Tested it at Midwest Gaming Classic 2025 – it went well!
People who played before: didn’t seem to notice (or mind?) the one-way platforms.
And new players were able to play the game without the frustration of forgetting to ghost and constantly hitting their heads on the underside of platforms. It was pleasant – even players who forgot about ghosting could enjoy the game.

I still think the no-ghost approach was interesting.
It did meet some design goals – the early game was more familiar to new players and it allowed a higher skill ceiling. But, I think I put too little weight on the joy of movement. With the no-ghost approach it was still possible to move quickly but… there were far fewer moments for it. Probably there’s some lesson I should learn about: “let the player do the fun thing”

updates/polish

  • a new mode: Blitz
    • a beginner-friendly/chaos mode with a strict time limit (probably 45 seconds)
    • when the round ends, each team gets points for the things they own at that moment. Whoever has the most stuff, wins
    • not currently enabled online
  • if using keyboard with alwaysVisual mouse aim: a button is surfaced to allow you to reset your cursor near your character (that is, it undos any wraps that it might have accumulated)
    • default is MMB
  • exploder/blitz mode: a ticking-timer sound fx plays when round is about to finish
  • tried to make mouse/gamepad aiming a bit more balanced
  • input-mapping plugin updated
    • potentially will clean up some problems with newer controllers(?)
  • keyboard’s tab key –> access char/mode settings
  • renamed “battle” mode –> “fight”
    • trying to position some of the modes as being tough ones and others as being more beginner friendly
  • blastZones: fewer memory allocations
  • pressing the ‘back’ button on the startScreen won’t cause the game to progress (depsite “press any button to start”)
  • menu screens: mode description boxes show the correct settings-button name depending on the controller type
  • added some diagnostic stuff on the server

fixes

  • online Takeover mode: assistBlastZones not counted properly
  • cleared up a bunch of edge cases where blastZones could fail in some way
  • a blastZone could hit a bomb in the wrong direction
  • fixed a case where the server could fail to send ownership info about a bomb
  • incorrect attach-position when an item encounters a thrownSword near the wrap point
  • when in a lobby, modeOptions now scrolls properly for non-hosts