Happy 2025 everyone!
This is an update I've been working on for a while, and hopefully some people find the changes useful!
New features:
- Full keyboard support - no mouse needed, you can now play the entirety of the game using the keyboard; via arrow keys+enter, or WASD, or numeric keypad.
- Full controller support - you can now also play the entirety of the game using just a controller; navigate and select cards with the D-Pad, use 'A' button to select and 'B' to back/cancel.
- New button/interface - designed to be more easily legible on a TV or a Steam Deck.
- Improved 'Steam Big Picture' mode support - if the game is launched from Big Picture, it will open in fullscreen automatically.
- Improved support for small resolution screens (down to 1820x720 pixel resolution)
- Any Solitaire game in progress now autosaves on exit/autoloads on open.
I've spent a lot of time getting the control systems between mouse, keyboard and controller working as seamlessly as possible. The entire game is playable using any one method, or you can randomly change control methods whenever you want. In Solitaire for example, you can select a card stack with the controller, move it with the mouse, and place it with the keyboard (if you really want to!).
These changes also happen to mean the game is now really playable on Steam Deck! I just have to add some pop-up prompts saying what controller buttons do what, and I will update the store page to explicitly mention this support. But in my testing, everything works quite well - turns out it's quite fun playing Five Hundred on a Steam Deck on the bus!
If you have any feedback about any of the changes, you want other control types, or you encounter any issues, please let me know! You can email me at [email protected], or start a Discussion thread on the Community Hub for Five Hundred.
