This week has been declared “KILL ALL BUGS” week for our latest build. This weekly update is brought to you by Geoff. Thomar is around somewhere, but he found himself busy with other things. Steel your nerves, gentlemen (and ladies.)
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
There’s so much hot in here right now, we’re sweating like an obese man in a sauna. Like all games, DETOUR has some bugs throughout it’s development. Little breaks, tiny hiccups, and the occasional burp. This week, we’ve found ourselves waist-deep in a pile of issues that need addressing, after implementing six million (probably) features. Occasionally the mountain of bugs is so ridiculous, you’d think you were looking at a scene from The Mummy. You know, the gross one where the guy gets eaten by lots of little beatles? Yeah, we don’t really remember that one either.
So! In a effort to keep the drool from cascading gently off the corner of your mouth and dancing down your chin, we’re going to tell you about some of the bugs we squished this week… Some of these are embarrassing, revealing, and very strange. It’s fairly humorous to load up the game and suddenly an option or menu item is simply missing. Funny how that works… Hah. (NOTE: Someone might bring this up, so we’ll just toss it out there… The bug numbers are very small due to us transferring to some new bug tracking software just recently.)
Now off we go!
bug-005
Severity: Moderate
Build: Yellow Light 2
Bug:
In Player.cs about line 4413, method DrawLaserShots.
The AirShotsList has the tiles that are fireing.
It needs to draw in the beam.
It gets called just after the rest of the scene is drawn.
Resolution: Laser beam now draws in the game!
bug-007
Severity: Critical
Build: Yellow Light 2
Bug:
Issue: Can’t select or change map in game lobby. Coupled with issue of loading TD [ed note: Yeah, this is a gametype... Can you guess it?] map by default, even in FFA and other gametypes.
Repro:
1. Launch DETOUR.
2. Go to Multiplayer Lobby.
3. Notice that “Change Map” option is missing.
What should happen:
We should be able to change the map via “Change Map” option, when we are the host.
Resolution: Fixed.
bug-008
Severity: Moderate
Build: Yellow Light 2
Bug:
Issue: Factories of a certain team color are trying to obtain roads in the editor, causing all sorts of road connection issues.
Repro:
1. Launch DETOUR
2. Open Map Editor
3. Place a Factory
4. Use [redacted button] to assign a team to the factory (or one should be given automatically)
5. Place a road in front of the factory.
6. Note that the road tries to obtain the factory’s color.
Expected: Roads should not try to obtain the team color of a factory, because team color DOES NOT equal player color etc. Roads should only be obtained once a game has begun. In the editor, roads should remain neutral or belonging to a player, but not belonging to a factory or team.
Follow-up with Geoff on this one if confusion arises — it is an odd issue, but ultimately causes roads to not connect properly in the editor.
Resolution: Fixed, also several other editor problems with team color etc.
bug-013
Severity: Moderate
Build: Yellow Light 2
Bug:
Bug: Turrets etc. do not connect to roads properly.
Repro: Run a default game, and build a turret next to your own road. Note that the road does not connect to the turret.
Intended: Turret should connect to the road.
Resolution: Fixed, along with donut shops connecting properly as well.
I overheard a hilarious remark from one of our playtesters when he ran into a terrible crash (you know, the kind where your test machine begins to smoke and you’re thrown violently out of the executable…)
“Code must be very delicate.”
“Yes, yes it is.”
“More delicate than peanut brittle?”
“… Yes. Yes it is.”
Sandswept fans, we love you. We’re working on DETOUR with all the time we have, and it’s actually coming to fruition in so many different ways. We’re hesitant to show things right now because we’re still jumping through some hoops regarding how to get it into your hands once it’s final. We will divulge lots more information, screenshots, and video before completion, that is for certain. We appreciate all the patience and interest every one has shown, and we’re hoping to get this delicious beast into your hands sometime before the end of this year.
Oh, and you might want to check out this thread. It has some new stuff in it, and will continue to have new stuff.
Post on our community forums, follow us on Twitter, love us on Facebook, and continue being an awesome group! Tell your friends DETOUR is gonna hit them in the face with awesome if they don’t grab a mitt to catch it.