Demo Update - 0.4.0

It's been a while since our last update, but we've been hard at work. While most of our work has been focused on Act 2 and Act 3, we've also made improvements to the demo. This update doesn't include new content, but it does make the overall experience smoother and more polished for future players.

Keep an eye on the upcoming post where we’ll share more regarding Act 2 and Act 3.

Game engine upgrade

We updated our game engine by two major versions - from Godot 4.3 to 4.5.

While we were hesitant to do so late into development, we wanted to update it because of:

• Multiple developer experience (DX) improvements to speed up our workflow..

• Better performance and reliability for the web version.

• Improved compatibility with modern platforms.

Since we plan to release on multiple platforms (including mobile in the future), this upgrade ensures we won't run into compatibility roadblocks at launch.

Performance improvements

While our game doesn’t use a lot of resources, our scene preloading system had an issue which often resulted in a “stutter” when switching between scenes. This was most often visible on the web version, even on high-end hardware.

With our new preloading system, this stutter should be a thing of the past.

Mac OS support

We ran the macOS build when showcasing the game at AdventureX all the way back in November, but we were hesitant to release it to everyone before properly testing it. Now, it's finally ready - running smoothly on Apple silicon!

Cutscene dialogue changes

Previously during a “cutscene” (we also refer to it as “blocking dialogue”) you would need to click on the dialogue box in order to progress to the next dialogue.

We did some additional research and playtesting and shifted to a more familiar approach to players: the mouse cursor is now invisible during cutscenes and clicking (anywhere) progresses to the next dialogue.

Save file compatibility fix

While our save system was designed from the beginning with backwards compatibility in mind, there was an issue in the previous version that would prevent older save files from working correctly when loading a newer version of the game.

This fix ensures the demo save will be fully compatible with the full version of the game, so players will be able to continue the journey right where the demo ends.

Sneak peak

If you made it this far in the changelog, here’s a sneak peek at the “Altar” scene from Act 2:

Other

• FIXED: An issue where the game could crash (most noticeably in the web version) when removing the room sign screws.

• IMPROVED: Intro scene car sounds.