Devlog Update — Engine Upgrade & Gameplay Improvements
I’ve recently upgraded MeloDancer to Unreal Engine 5.7, and the transition is finally complete.
Everything that broke during the upgrade has been fixed, and the game is now running smoother than before.
I temporarily disabled 3D text rendering, replaced it with a flat version instead.
UI Improvements
The UI material changed its blend mode after the engine upgrade — a simple checkbox flipped on its own. While investigating the issue, I also optimized parts of the UI system and fixed a bug where multiple UI layers could stack and remain on screen. This no longer happens, and the interface behaves consistently. In earlier versions, SlatePostBuffer seemed to operate with only a single channel — or I simply wasn’t able to configure it properly. In 5.7, the second channel activated, which immediately revealed some issues — while I was experimenting with the setup earlier, it wasn’t working, and I forgot to remove that test element from the menu. . Now the interface is more stable and visually consistent.
I also updated all in-game and menu fonts.
They now use proper offline (baked) versions, improving clarity and ensuring they render reliably.
Bug Fixes & Gameplay Reliability
A long-standing bug with the dungeon boss sticking to walls is finally resolved.
Players no longer need to break tiles around him to free the fight zone.
Another major fix concerns fast input tapping:
Previously, rapidly clicking movement could interrupt enemy movement animations, causing them to teleport back to their previous tile instead of completing their move.
This was caused by incorrect animation interruption logic — now it behaves exactly as intended, making combat flow much more consistent.
Houdini Niagara Plugin
I also tested the Houdini Niagara plugin.
Initially I worried about UE 5.7 compatibility since the plugin is built for 5.6.
It compiled and worked for a while, but then started causing shader recompilation loops.
So for now, I’ve disabled it to maintain stability.
Overall, the game now runs more reliably:
✔ smoother UI
✔ sharper fonts
✔ no stuck bosses
✔ consistent enemy movement