Development Blog #2
The World Map and Controller Support
Howdy howdy, last time I introduced the main character and an idea of what the "game" was like. I feel like the minute-to-minute gameplay should make sense to anyone who's played a Survivors-type game. This time, I wanted to zero in on one of the first major things we are doing to make our unique mark on the genre.
The World Map
The World of Beeflandia is progressed in a very traditional old-school Mario Bros style format. As you can see above, the HUD stays minimal. A couple key stats, a character swap panel on the left, and digestible iconography on the map. You can freely walk along the dotted lines and cross as many stages as you want. The only thing actually blocking you on your journey are Blocker Boys.
These bullies work for Some Big Guy and require a certain level of prestige to "pass" by them. That's a generous way of saying they smash into a cavalcade of pixels when you've proven yourself. That Blocker Boy is showing you need five clears. It's slightly cut off but in the first image, Beef Cat has access to six stages. What six you conquer and in which order is up to you. As long as you clear five of six, you can proceed further into Funky Forest (That's the name of World 1).
You can always peep your clears in the stats.
2 Clears and 1098 Gems. The gems are an over-arching currency you collect and spend at shops on the World Map for permanent stat boosts. These are small boosts but they will add up and every coin you pick up in a stage gives you 1XP in the stage and 1 Gem in the currency pool. Replaying stages you enjoy is a perfect way to farm some gems if you just need a few more HP to beat your next stage.
Stages are neatly broken down into three lines to give clear instruction as fast as possible. The stage name. The Mode. And the objective. Gauntlet is one of the main modes, of which there are several (6 and counting). In Gauntlet, I'll do a post about this soon by itself, you collect keys and battle thru enemy spawners to get to an exit portal. A totally different vibe from your classic Survival. And again, we've got 6 unique modes packed in here now.
Anyways, there is a ton to tinker with and check out on the World Map, and the game will auto-save every time you return to or leave it. Now to segway into nice feature ~
Full Controller Support
Having the game completely playable with a keyboard or a controller was crucial, because it absolutely needs to be playable on Steam Deck. At the time of writing, the game is 100% ready to go for controllers and all in-game tutorials and control pop-ups dynamically reflect whether you plugged in a controller or not.
I tried to cover every possible base with controller support, so movement can be done with the analog stick or d-pad. And mapping otherwise is bog standard. It works, it works well, and I have played with a controller exclusively since getting it finished.
So yeah, there you go. Week 2. World Map and Controller Support. Beef Cat Ultra is easily the most fun I've had making a game, it embodies the mindset of "if I think of a weird idea for something, I add it in" and it has resulted in so many odd and wacky items I'll continue to show as the weeks go on. Please, follow wishlist or share. We are a super small team with barely anything as far an established audience and we want to have BCU in front of as many people as possible. If you like what you see but don't like sharing things, that's cool too - just pop in next week for the next devblog.
THANKS, kyle