Bug Off v0.6.0
With the previous update, a new PvP mode was silently added to the game. It was a mode where you and your friends could fight each other by stomping with a pair of slippers, without any rules or a final goal.
Playtests have proven slippers alone were not enough for a truly fun experience. While stomping friends was nice, the endless nature of the mode gave no time to take a breath, and the lack of ranged abilities made it impossible to fight an enemy who decided to flee every battle.
So a huge amount of work was done to address these issues, along with some more fixes and improvements.
PvP Rounds
PvP play sessions are not endless anymore, they are limited to 3 rounds. Now you need to gain 5 points by defeating other players to win a round, and the match winner is the player who won the most rounds.
There is also some time between rounds when you can't gain points. Players' health and abilities are reset at the start of each round, so you can have a little time to breathe between rounds.
Fireballs in PvP
During the active round phase, random fireball pickups will appear in the level. Collecting them will enable you to cast fireballs at other players. They deal high splash damage to anyone who is close enough, even yourself, so be careful when using them.
Stomps in PvP
While stomps in the singleplayer being just a faster version of basic steps is a good thing for precise bug squashing, this is not a good option for a multiplayer mode. So steps and stomps in PvP were completely reworked to deal more damage and reach further than in the singleplayer.
Stomps in PvP are extra juicy now, they make the multiplayer feel way more fun and chaotic than they used to.
Player colors
You can finally recognize your own feet in the heat of battle thanks to new slipper colors.
PvP Settings: Level, Mode and Type
The update also brings a settings section to the PvP lobby, available for the lobby owner to select.
Level: Museum, Mansion, and Rural levels are available
Type: Public or Friends Only
Mode: FFA or 1v1
Bug Fixes and Improvements
No more lag on VFX first-time spawn
Clients can hear their own jumps and steps now
Aim is hidden if pointing nowhere
No more movement and sound lag for clients
Players can't score themselves
UI is scaled correctly on desktop and Steam Deck
What's Next
Fireballs are the first step that added abilities to the game. It opens the door for new abilities as well, so you can expect some more in the next updates.
Currently, there are no bugs in the PvP mode because synchronizing so many entities in multiplayer would be too heavy of a network load and would introduce multiplayer lag. But it does not mean it is not possible to make it work.
I think I have a solution to the problem, but it requires a total remake of the bugs' movement logic. So my next goal is to try to do it, fingers crossed it will go well and we will see bugs in PvP as well.
There is also a plan to add a wipeout-like mode to the game. It will probably replace the current singleplayer mode or gradually evolve from it, we'll see. Let me know if you like the current singleplayer, so I could make a decision to keep it as is and add the new one as a separate mode.
That's it, share your opinion on the new PvP mode in the comments and tell me what you would like to see in the next update the most.