Yep, I’m still hard at work optimizing every little detail of Streets of Rogue, and there’s still quite a bit more to do. I didn’t expect the process to take quite as long as it’s taking, but apparently there were a lot more spots in the game where I was doing things in a… less than satisfactory way. It’ll be worth the extra effort, since it means the game will be mounted on a much more solid base. Like I mentioned last update, most modern PC users won’t see a huge difference -- these changes will primarily benefit players on older hardware, and the upcoming console ports of the game.
Today’s update has some noticeable improvements for frame drops in the Industrial areas, and there’s still more to come. There are also a number of bug fixes, mostly for things that I broke during optimization. Please keep me posted on anything else that I may have broken!
Also, apologies for last update’s speculation about the release of the “Level 4 - Downtown” content, I’m going to keep my lips sealed about that until the time comes. New content will be my top priority following the current batch of performance improvements. You can still contribute suggestions for Downtown in this thread.
This week’s Fortnight Discussion: “ProTips”. I know you’ve got some. Let’s have ‘em.
Also, a reminder to check out the Wiki Editor of the Month competition!
Alpha 33
Performance
- Whole bunch of large and small improvements that hopefully did not break too much
Graphics
- Fix for split-screen camera sometimes showing weird artifacts on Medium lighting mode
- Fix for players appearing as purple worm man thing when switching to local multiplayer mode from Home Base
UI / Controls
- Fix for “Other players can revive you” messages not appearing in four-player local mode
- Fix for certain interface elements appearing in incorrect positions during camera zooms
- Fix for dialogue box appearing on top of main menu when the game is paused
Characters
- Fix for not being able to properly Bribe cops, which in turn made the Cop character impossible to unlock
Playfield Objects
- Switches and Laser Emitters cannot be set on fire
Items
- Fix for cases in multiplayer games where people would refuse to equip or shoot certain weapons on the server due to traits like Stubby Fingers, though they were equipped on the client
Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities
- Fix for game freezing if the player killed themselves while having the Bloodlust trait
- Fix for Bloodlust restoring someone’s health after their death
- Fix for Bloodlust triggering when the player punched dead bodies that were burnt from fire
- Fix for bodies not turning into zombies if they were afflicted with Zombiism and then knocked out and killed
Combat
- Fix for opponents sometimes immediately punching the player after the player had just initiated combat
- Fix for opponents being too aggressive toward the player prior to actually hitting the player for the first time
- Fix for opponents consistently being too aggressive toward multiplayer clients
- Fix for opponents phasing through walls often as multiplayer client
Sound
- Fix for Werewolf Transformation sound effects not playing
- Sound effects added to menus in a couple spots
Gameplay
- Fix for game going haywire when falling down holes and dying while Possessing another person
- Possibly a bunch of other fixes for possessing other people
- Fix for players being able to continue the game in coop mode if they were falling into a hole after the game had ended due to Suicide or finishing all the levels
Level Generation
- Fixed a couple of instances where pits were placed in such a way that people would have difficulty pathing around them
Artificial Intelligence
- Improved pathfinding, people less likely to get stuck walking into walls
- Fixed issue where people would not pay attention to noises after too many noises had been created during that level
- Fix for combat not occurring properly between NPCs when they were off-camera
- Fix for people not fleeing clients properly when they were out of range of the host
- People will not walk through red lasers in most situations