I'm thrilled to announce the release of the February Update for Oil Sheik!
This update focuses on laying a solid foundation for the future,
with improvements to core gameplay, player experience, and a
peek at what's coming next.
Key Additions & Improvements:
- New Player Tutorial: I've implemented a basic tutorial to guide new players through the core mechanics of Oil Sheik. This will ensure a smoother learning curve and allow players to quickly grasp the playstyle.
- Revamped AI Opponents:
The AI has received a significant overhaul.
AI opponents now utilize multiple, dynamic investment strategies, adapting their tactics
based on the evolving game state.
- The "Very Easy" AI difficulty has been tuned to provide a more accessible experience for players practicing mergers or aiming for high scores.
- "Medium" and "Advanced" AI difficulties now offer a significantly more challenging and strategic experience. I plan further AI improvements for future updates.
- Player Customization:
Express yourself with new customization options! Players can now personalize their
experience with selectable card backs and profile pictures.
A selection of initial options is available, and I have implemented
a test of the in-game shop, with low placeholder prices in exchange for in-game currency,
awarded with every game played. - Expanded Input Support:
Oil Sheik now features full support for keyboard and controller inputs, in addition
to the existing mouse/touchpad controls. I've personally spent over 50 hours testing
to ensure a smooth and responsive experience across all supported input methods.
I encourage players to report any encountered issues. This is a key step towards my goal
of full Steam Input integration and Steam Deck support in the near future.
Tariff Wars (Game Mode) Adjustments:
- Ronald Dump Tweet Frequency: The frequency of random tweet events from Ronald Dump has been reduced to approximately 8% per turn, resulting in a less disruptive flow of gameplay. The probabilities for positive (10% per turn) and negative (20% per turn) dividend effects remain unchanged.
Other Notable Changes:
- Visual Updates: Company icons and various UI elements have been refreshed for improved visual clarity and appeal.
- Steam Cloud Synchronization: Game progress and player statistics are now seamlessly synced with Steam Cloud, ensuring data persistence across devices.
- Steam P2P Networking Preparation: Significant progress has been made on the underlying code to support Steam P2P networking. While originally slated for this update, additional testing is required to ensure a stable and reliable experience. P2P networking remains my top development priority and will be available in the next update. (End of March 2025)
- Improved Card Distribution: The algorithm for card distribution has been refined to ensure a more randomized and balanced tile pool for players.
- Extensive Bug Fixes and Improvements: Over 100 individual tasks, including hotfixes, bug fixes, and animation improvements, have been addressed to enhance overall game stability and performance.
Looking Ahead:
My top priority continues to be the implementation of P2P networking.
Beyond that, I am committed to expanding Oil Sheik
with exciting new features and gameplay mechanics.
I'm excited to begin introducing these additions now that the core game
systems are robust and (hopefully) reliable.
I appreciate your continued support and
feedback as I continue to develop Oil Sheik!
Cheers
ːsteamhappyːːsteamhappyːːsteamhappyːːsteamhappyːːsteamhappyː