Hello Alpha testers! After yet another 3 or so months, a new version has been uploaded! I wanted this release to come out sooner, but Life found its way to hurt me. However, I'm doing better and getting help, so A Frail Qubit continues on.
New Features
Second Roam Level
This update continues the trend of adding a Roam level. From the end of the last Roam level, the Quantum Fluctuations are increasing, and the Sage is still on the run from Omar and his colleagues at Bree Inc.
The level is connected to a Hub Area, with Teleporters (with a revised look!) connecting the Points and the End Block. The start of the level is reminicient of Alpha 11's Roam level start, which leads us to...
Roam Level 1 Opening Cutscene
I was not happy with the 'transition' to Roam Mode from the Learning Interface - I felt it was anti-climactic. To rectify that, I created a new cutscene for introducing the chaos of going Beyond the Learning Interface.
The Sage is out and about, messing with BreeOS, Omar, Winfried, Wright, April, John; Everyone and anything that gets in the way of the Qubit's potential in the chasms of the Infinite.
Powerup Cutscenes
In preperation to remove all non-cutscene tutorialization, I have replaced the Powerup tutorials with actual cutscenes with the Sage.
Launchpad Upgrade
The Launchpad has been upgraded to be much more reliable and fun to use. It now stops the Qubit before launching them in a much more reliable fashion than the previous Alpha.
Particle Optimization
It's quite obvious that A Frail Qubit both uses quite a lot of particles and has pretty bad performance. To attempt to recitify this, I have optimized a number of particles to use non-Transparent textures (to reduce Draw Calls) and added an FPS limit of 60.
Currently, the 'Particles' setting in the Options Menu only deals with Background particles - In Beta I will make this setting apply to Foreground particles.
Achievements
I have added three Steam achievements! More will come with further Alphas and Betas - This is just a start.
Changelog
- Added a second Roam level.
- Added a new Opening Cutscene to the first Roam level.
- Added Gates.
- Added 3 Steam Achievements.
- Added Powerup acquisition cutscenes.
- Added a new Transition.
- Added a Sage 'cloak' effect.
- Changed or touched-up the majority of the Dialogue.
- Changed Teleporter look.
- Changed Alpha ending scene.
- Changed Powerup UI, Visuals.
- Changed Dialogue Advance Image to a responsive icon.
- Changed Steam API to GodotSteam.
- Changed Launchpad launch behavior.
- Changed version to Alpha 12.
- Fixed AI Qubit death particle from playing on Trial 1.
- Fixed Player moving while typing in the Console.
- Fixed Camera not zooming into the EndBlock after the Bomb cutscene.
- Fixed 'Skipping...' display shown on Left Mouse click on Bomb cutscene trial.
- Fixed Player being allowed to move during the first Opening Sequence.
- Fixed 'RECIEVED' typo.
- Fixed Audio Slider behavior not being linear.
- Fixed Black Hole lighting error.
- Optimized Particles.
- Smoothed out some Camera transitions.
- Further work done on Gamepad support.
Roadmap & the Future
With this update, there are now two Roam levels implemented out of four planned. There will be 2 more Alphas after this one; Alpha 13 and Alpha 14, with the both of them adding one Roam level each. Below is my preliminary list of features and release dates of the both of them.
Alpha 13 - Release Date: Around February, March
Third Roam Level
The third Roam level will put the Qubit into a hostile, strange part of the Computer. Both the Sage and Omar are gunning to find and influence the Qubit to their own ends.
A new element, the 'Glitch' Area
The Quantum Fluctuations are tearing the Computer apart, with pockets of complete break down of logic. Avoid them or surf the Quantum realm at the Qubit's risk.
Arcade Mode Steam Leaderboards
The Arcade Mode will be given a little bit of an upgrade, with the addition of global Steam Leaderboards for the Levels.
Introductory Cutscenes
All new elements in the Early Game will be introduced by the Sage, which will replace the current 'text' zoom-in.
Alpha 14 - Release Date: Around March, April
Better, more Polished Early Game
The Early Game is quite boring. There are too many Trials where it's just Walls and Bombs - Trials will be cut, moved around, and spiced up. Bombs will also be given more Polish, with new Sounds, Particles, and beeping when the Qubit is close.
There will also be the Fourth Roam Mode Level and the Endings in this Alpha. I'll explain it when it releases...
With both of those Alphas complete, the game will be content complete, and Betas will continue afterwords throughout the Summer. The Betas will be focused on polish and game-feel, with adding fancy graphical, sound, and particle effects. I plan on releasing one or two Betas until a hopeful 1.0 release in June of 2024.
Happy New Year. 2024 will be A Frail Qubit's year!
- Broc