After a bit of a set back, I have been back at work on the online mode for the past half month ever since its development began in August. And while online won't be here anytime soon, the progress made on it considering that I'm making the game online has been going well. I can't say for sure when the online version, and in turn version 1.100, will be released but I am confident that the online beta will be coming soon, perhaps very soon. So I'll give you guys a summary of what's been going on with the development of getting the game online. Please note that the images shown are of a work still in progress.
Lobby creation
As any good game with online, you can create and join a lobby. When you decide to host a game, you can customize the rules of the game and decide to be on either the left or right side of the screen. Guest can then join any of the rooms available.
Gameplay rules
In the game proper, the rules of the game have had online play implemented. While online, the host will take on the duties of making sure that all aspects of the game are in sync with each other. such as synchronizing the timer, the wall health, and the points.
Characters
Now we come to my current task, syncing all of the characters available in the game. I have to make all 14 playable characters capable of having their abilities sync up online, and this is proving to be quite a task that it may require reworking for some characters. Some are just fine, their projectiles and abilities were simple enough to sync up online, but others have such a complicated design to their abilities they may need a reworking on how they work. That means rebalancing the character, which is fine since I was going to rebalance these characters anyway. I might as well take the opportunity and do it now.
A demonstration of Reimu and how she behaves online.
So far, four characters have been worked on to get them online, which are the first four characters on the roster: Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, and Remilia. They have just gotten their updates this week and I still want to do further testing, but they are now functional online and I feel like it is best if I release a simple beta with these four just to see how the game works with other players. So there is going to be a test beta that will be available on the beta branch of the game. More instructions on that soon when the time comes.