AVWW Beta 0.564 "Gravity Kicks In" Released!

[x4000]

Original: http://arcengames.blogspot.com/2012/01/avww-beta-0564-gravity-kicks-in.html

This one isn't really that large in what it changes, all told, but the thing that it changes is pretty fundamental: wooden platforms and player-placed crates no longer float in the sky.  They wood platforms will still hang against any sort of background wall, but in the surface areas they are now useless.

This changes... quite a bit.  Especially really early in the game, when you don't have ride the lightning yet.  It also really makes the exterior areas feel more distinct from the undergrounds and interiors, which is something we always strive for.

Along with this, crates and wooden platforms now float when underwater.  So you can deploy a crate and then stand on it to escape from a deep watery grave.  But you can no longer effectively put a wooden platform under water at all, because you can't stand on it while it rises, and when it reaches the top it's probably too high to help you if you needed it in the first place.  So beware!

There were also fixes for a couple of big bugs with the new population code in the prior version.  One was apparently tanking performance on some machines/savegames, and another was causing bosses to not spawn sometimes, or things like icicle leapers in the desert even when it wasn't time to migrate yet, etc.

We're also getting closer on the guardian powers and the various lightweight citybuilding components that go along with that.  The last of the images for that mode (for 1.0, anyway) are now in place, and that's why this version takes a bit longer to download.  The guardian powers aren't accessible in the game yet, but hopefully by Tuesday we'll have the first of them in there for you to play with.

More to come soon.  Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have 0.500 or later. When you launch the game, you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.  If you don't have 0.500 or later, you can download that here.

[Mánagarmr]

I hope changed the tutorials for this ^_^

[Teal_Blue]

I can't remember if i loaded AVWW after the last update or not, but just downloaded and ran this new one, and noticed the load screen and the tutorial screen and let me tell you they are FABULOUS!! 

I don't know if you re-sized them, or added different backgrounds, which i think you did, but it is BEAUTIFUL!!



Just wanted to let you know! 

If the rest of the game is like this, I will be LOVING THIS!!



-Teal

[KDR_11k]

I tried reproducing the copper ore problem, turns out the ore DOES drop (at least if I see that correctly) but I cannot pick it up. I've attached my world file with me standing next to the ore chunk but you may need to enable some invincibility cheat to check that because there's a bunch of T4 vengeful shadows in that chunk that I produced while attempting to determine what exactly happened.

[KDR_11k]

Also what battlefields need is MUSIC!

[Dizzard]

I should be excited by this....but the first thing that came into my mind when I heard about the platforms no longer floating in the air was:

The amoebas can't float at the top of the screen anymore can they? Otherwise It'll be impossible to get at them.

[keith.lamothe]

I should be excited by this....but the first thing that came into my mind when I heard about the platforms no longer floating in the air was:

The amoebas can't float at the top of the screen anymore can they? Otherwise It'll be impossible to get at them.

Oh goodness, I hope they aren't still doing that.  Otherwise, time to seek A Valley Without Amoebas (as an early alpha tester once said).

[x4000]

Just very briefly, because it's Saturday and I've pushed my wife's patience far enough for one day:

1. New version: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,9728.0.html

2. Moonshine Fox: yes, the tutorials were updated.

3. Teal_Blue:  Thanks a ton!  We did put a ton of polish work into that in a whole bunch of different ways, all across the board.

4. KDR_11k: Thanks for the save, I have that on my list for monday to look at.  And I agree on the need for battlefield music.

5. Dizzard: Mostly they should not be doing that, but we may need some more AI adjustments in the coming week or two, we'll see.  You CAN always stack crates if you have to, though.

[Hearteater]

Man, you guys seem like you are working 25 hours a day each.  If it helps with the wife, tell her some guy on the internet said you were awesome.  I've tried that with my wife and it hasn't helped, but maybe you'll have better luck.

[keith.lamothe]

The amoebas can't float at the top of the screen anymore can they? Otherwise It'll be impossible to get at them.

5. Dizzard: Mostly they should not be doing that, but we may need some more AI adjustments in the coming week or two, we'll see.  You CAN always stack crates if you have to, though.

And one archaeologist said to the other, "Did they build this enormous wall for defense?".

"No, they were just chasing an amoeba."

And I see them float up in the sky basically every single time I fight one, maybe I'm not killing them fast enough

[Coppermantis]

I notice that crates placed before the update do not get changed into falling crates. My crate fortress is still standing, happily.

[x4000]

I tried reproducing the copper ore problem, turns out the ore DOES drop (at least if I see that correctly) but I cannot pick it up. I've attached my world file with me standing next to the ore chunk but you may need to enable some invincibility cheat to check that because there's a bunch of T4 vengeful shadows in that chunk that I produced while attempting to determine what exactly happened.

I took a look at this in the latest version, but the ore had disappeared from the chunk, which was odd.  I'll have to see if there's another way to duplicate this.

[x4000]

Okay, coming up in the next version:

* Fixed a bug with the last few versions (since the changeover to the tiers and such) where regular commodities would drop only if they had no unlock tier, or their unlock tier was exactly the forces of evil tier.  Meaning that you couldn't get copper at tier 4, as one example.  Or clay at tier 3, etc, etc.

Thanks!