Hello all!
I'm back with a big update that fixes some major game-breaking bugs! There were a few issues with the final boss battle (seemingly mostly from hitting multiple inputs at the same time), so I rebuilt it from scratch using a different scene type that has 8-directional movement. It feels really different from the other battles in the story, but it also fixed the "launch you through the wall" bug (and feels weird, but like, in a good way). There's an additional patch added in as well, just in case that bug still occurs, where pressing the Select button will reset your position to the center of the stage.
On that note, I want to talk about updates. Since Gas Station Story is primarily a Game Boy Color game under the hood, there's not really a way for me to make save files compatible across updates as I have to generate a new ROM file every time I write new code. Part of the reason I waited so long to release this game is that I wanted to make sure I polished every corner possible so I wouldn't have to cause anybody to lose their save files. That said, it seems like I missed a few, and since the bugs patched in V 1.1.1 are so major, I couldn't hold off on making this update live (especially since it's been a pretty quiet launch due to the Steam Summer Sale I need to make sure these issues are fixed if/when sales pick up). After this update, I'm going to push any other ROM-changing patches to the Beta branch first, with a devlog post to announce when it will go live on the release branch - so that people can be aware before their saves are overwritten. My genuine apologies to anybody that was affected by this issue! Next project I won't be using such archaic architecture and will be making sure saves can transfer between versions. If there aren’t any other major bugs that need patching, I’ll likely save all public branch updates for a 2.0 version, and if there’s enough interest I’d be open to making a public beta branch for those that want the latest updates.
Beyond these fixes, I've also bundled a "Streamer Mode"/"Edgeless Mode"/"Family Friendly Mode" into the game that can be activated at the title screen by pressing the Select Button (image below): this mode removes the game's edginess (swear words and cigarettes), as well as adding in two new ending variations for this mode only (that override every other potential ending). This is primarily for streamers or content creators that are worried about branding or demonetization, which hasn't been an issue yet but I thought it would be a good idea to build in before I start sending keys to streamers for promotional purposes. I, personally, also find it hilarious that "removing cigarettes" mechanically translates to disabling the smoke animation and changing "cigarettes" to "sugarsticks" in the script.
That's it for this dev log. Thanks for reading this far! Patch Notes are down below. Next we're going to be working on getting those full achievements integrated in. More coming soon :)
Love,
Enzi
Patch Notes - V 1.1.1
Bugs:
- Buying an item from Vendo no longer causes a time travel loop
- Clerk no longer goes invisible after pre-boss fight conversation with Sam
- Rebuilt final boss fight from scratch, patched out wall collision bug (if for some reason this bug still happens, press Select to reset your position to the center of the screen)
- Wizard conversation no longer hardlocks dialogue
Updates (All):
- Point-of-Sale pointer location is now persistent across scenes
- Sam relationship balanced (slightly easier to get “Best Ending”)
- Added option to “Remove Edginess” (removes swears, drug references, cigarettes, and includes two new ending variations exclusive to this mode, the “Fake Out Family Friendly” endings)
- Minor performance improvements
Updates (Steam):
- Swapped A/B button inputs on MacOS and Linux
- Added X/Y buttons as inputs for pause menu