Devlog #3 - The Feltfields Begins!

Challenge Roundup

The last challenge, ‘Dustbin’, felt like one that would be a lot more linear, but your solutions had surprising amounts of variety! The fact that the level was built around managing objects in a tight space resulted in some deeeep shape brain strategy from you folks.

The best solution was actually found by a newcomer to the Discord! anjos_taylon’s 20-move solution involves a lot more backsteps than you’d expect for supposedly the most optimal solution, but the combos it efficiently lines up with Dash and Gust are worth every backstep. We absolutely did not find this solution in our own testing.

What have we been up to?

It’s time for Feltfields! The Feltfields is a pool-inspired area ruled by rival factions Ringbands and Purehides. We’ve been putting together references, concepts, and initial asset lists for the area and starting up initial production on the grassy/felty visuals.

On the visual tech side, we’ve wrapped up work on our in-house voxel plugin, and initial reports from playtesters has been that load times have significantly improved! This is fantastic news, as that means we can go ahead and use this much more advanced tech with the confidence that it doesn’t negatively impact performance. This fortnight we’ll be digging in and seeing what we can make with it!

We’re also going to be resuming work on our improved 3D spell switcher that was started but put on the back burner last year. Our aims include improving the immediate readability of the interface, and improving the speed at which advanced players can manipulate their spells, such as through keyboard shortcuts. We’d love to hear from you if you have any suggestions :)

A new challenge awaits

Wish dash stacking finally fixed, this fortnight’s challenge makes full use of it! It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper dash challenge.

For detailed patch notes, see the patch notes post in the Spellsided Playtest library page, or on Discord.