It's been far too long since my last update! Let's start with a quick rundown of the newly released update, v0.17 aka "Moonsault".
Version v0.17: Patch Notes
A quick rundown of this update:
- Removal of online mode (more on that below)
- Better PS4 controller support
- Audio settings menu controllable by gamepads
- Fix missing gamepad button images
- Fix high-DPI scaling issues on macOS
Two years in Early Access
Double Turn launched on Early Access two years ago, and it was honestly more than I could handle at the time. I took some time to develop Double Turn full time and bring it to Early Access. After some bug fix patches and one minor update, I had to go back to freelancing full time, and later to getting a new full time job. I thought I'd be able to put our more regular updates working on it part time, but ultimately I failed to actually do Early Access the right way.
While disappointing in terms of falling short of my promises to myself and those who were interested in the game, I've had a lot of time to re-evaluate the scope and why I made Double Turn to begin with. Part of why I wasn't able to keep up with updates was because I bit off more than I could chew with the features of the game. Going forward, I plan on honing the focus on what I really want this game to be and actually finishing it. A fun, fast-paced local multiplayer wrestling game. That means cutting features and narrowing scope to what really matters.
Shutting down online
Originally I never planned to include online. A few months before launching the Early Access, I spent a week or so hacking on getting it to work. Miraculously it did... mostly. While it wasn't perfect, it was further than I thought I could take it, and I decided to take the risk and invest on improving that online prototype. By the time I got to Early Access, I also tried implementing Steam P2P, and that failed so poorly I had to rollback to my slower but reliable original online code a few days after launching Early Access.
Trying to support online without previous online networking experience - but more specifically, in a game that wasn't built to support online from the ground up - was a stressful effort. Every time I wanted to work on the game, I ended up not doing it because I needed to fix online bugs or had to think about how combat changes would effect online. Working on local multiplayer meant also working on online multiplayer.
Embracing Remote Play Together
Even though I have shut down online as a core experience in Double Turn, I believe that Remote Play Together is a superior alternative. Since Remote Play Together came out, it's become clear to me that the best way to provide some sort of online experience in Double Turn is to focus on the local experience and let Steam take care of being the online "couch".
While "native" online has the potential to be better, Remote Play Together is honestly faster and more reliable than my original online implementation. Not only that, but it means you can play Double Turn gimmick matches that I couldn't originally support in online, as well as 3-4 player matches. It also means only one player needs to own the game to host, meaning you can share the game with friends without them needing to buy it. To me, this is the best case scenario for Double Turn. I can focus on making a good local experience, and Remote Play Together handles the rest for those who want to play online.
The future
I have a list of feedback I've gone through from the lovely people who played Double Turn since it came out as well as my own list of improvements. I want to focus on exploring those improvements and making the game as good as I can. And hopefully, to a followup update that's weeks away not months!