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Baby Dino Adventures News

Update v144 - Major bug fixes and improvements

[p]And here's another update before the summer and the anniversary of the game's release (on 1 July - yes, already!). This is a very important update, as it contains the latest bug fixes for local cooperation.[/p][p][/p][p]I've spent the last two years re coding all the game's mechanics (only 10% of the code remains intact from the initial version) so that it can be played by up to 4 players in local co-op. No kidding, it's been tedious. But I'm very happy with the result, and I think, like some of you, that it was really necessary for Baby Dino Adventures to be playable with up to 4 players at the same time.[/p][p][/p][p]The game should now finally be stable for co-operative play, which means I can finally concentrate exclusively on adding the last two environments: snow and volcano.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Many thanks to Shadree on Itch.io for his invaluable help and the bug reporting that helped me find and fix the bugs listed below.[/p][p][/p][p]And a very big thank you to all of you who read these lines, who play, and who give meaning to Baby Dino Adventures.[/p][p][/p][h2][/h2][h2]Changelogs[/h2][p][/p][p]Here's a full list of changes for those who may or may not be interested (you never know, after all):[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]
  • [p]In local co-op, when a player dies and is bubbled, sometimes when this player goes out of the bubble to play again, this player is stuck in the idle animation leading to tons of bugs when colliding with different objects. This was due to the playerIsHurt variable not being reset properly when a player is bubbled. This bug fix also fixes following bugs:[/p]
    • [p]When a dino is sleeping and is hurt by an enemy, that dino get stuck in sleeping state and player of that dino can not move anymore;[/p]
    • [p]When dying in water in 4 players co-op sometimes players go out of their bubble, or infinitely fall, or players even can't move anymore;[/p]
  • [p]In first level with bees, if a player was bubbled and the other one trigger the end (!) crate, after the transparent crates popped out, camera and players were stuck;[/p]
  • [p]Sometimes when dinos get hit by an enemy, they'll become half-sized for a few seconds. Nothing mechanically changes, just the size. Same happened on End Level Screen, a player sprite size was sometimes @2x smaller or bigger after sleeping;[/p]
  • [p]When running the game for the first time, menu disappears when pressing any input which prevent players from starting the game or even doing anything. Reported by Psychomelic on Steam community game forums on Steam community game forums. Thanks a lot!;[/p]
  • [p]Sometimes when a player is sleeping and get hurt, this player is stuck forever. This was due to the playerLooseHeart function not resetting isSleeping variable properly;[/p]
  • [p]In level 19, the total box amount was 41 which was wrong. The total box amount in this level is 42;[/p]
  • [p]In level 21, if you die and restart from the checkpoint, sometimes mushrooms position was not correct blocking players progression. This was due to the NoSave behavior set on mushrooms. Removing it fixed the issue;[/p]
  • [p]In level 27, sometimes Rolleo was stuck when the mine cart was destroyed preventing players to complete the quest;[/p]
  • [p]Sometimes when re spawning on a checkpoint, some enemies or moving platforms were not moving anymore avoiding players to progress further in a level. This was mainly caused of such objects being part of NoSave families and having a NoSave behavior;[/p]
  • [p]Sometimes dialogs with npcs were closed before the end of their last sentence when using the keyboard and pressing Enter to stop typewriter animation;[/p]
[p][/p][h3]Improvements:[/h3]
  • [p]Added possibility to go to player select screen from pause menu:[/p]
[p][/p]
  • [p]In level 18, crates that appear when players hit the ! crate are now solid metal boxes so that players can succeed to reach the left side palm tree;[/p]
  • [p]Players will now bounce on TNT crates only once while they collide with them for the first time. Once triggered, TNT crates remain solid platforms until explosion (countdown is: 3, 2, 1, boom - so you have 4 seconds before TNT crates explode);[/p]
  • [p]Removed spawning fishes in second boss fight (with pterodactyl) because it was causing way too much bugs with boss fight events and these may be very frustrating for some players. Plus no real added values to have such enemies there;[/p]
[p][/p][p]See you soon,[/p][p]Antoine G.[/p]

Update v138 - End-of-level screen, colored checkpoints & bug fixes

Let's get the year off to a good start with this small update containing a number of improvements and bug fixes. ːsteamhappyː

There's no new content, just changes to improve the game's stability and enhance the experience for players in both single-player and co-op modes.

Here's the full list:

[h2]End-of-level screen[/h2]

I've been wanting to create an end-of-level screen for a while now.

Here it is at last. As soon as you leave a level through the exit door, you'll come to this screen, which summarises your performance in the previous level.

Here's an example with level 25, which my son and I recently completed:



Once the totals are displayed, you can choose one of the following 3 actions:
  • Return to the map;
  • Repeat the level;
  • Move on to the next level;


Your progress is automatically saved.

This is an early version of the end-of-level screen. So it's possible that I'll make more changes in the future. If you have any ideas, don't hesitate to share them with me in comments here or via our socials.

[h2]Colored checkpoints[/h2]

Unfortunately, the checkpoints did not change colour according to the colour of the dinosaur that reached them first. These minor bugs have now been corrected.

You'll now be able to run at full speed to be the first baby dino to reach the checkpoint and see the flag in your dino's colours.



What's the point? For fun, and even to show off.
It's up to you, but above all, have fun!

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

  • Bubbled players will now bound to left or right of viewport when they are too far from alive players. They won’t disappear off screen. They will always at least stick to the extreme left or right of the screen so that they are always visible;
  • A heart will now remain if the player collecting it already has 3 lives, allowing other players with less than 3 lives to collect it;
  • Removed Twitter (R.I.P) and Newsletter social links from start screen. Mostly unused from players. Plus I no longer want to use X. You can find me on Bluesky instead. I often share news and my progress about the development of the game;
  • Reworked stun and sleep animations to fix a couple of bugs related. No more additional objects creation every tick. This should fix lots of issues and enhance performance in bigger levels with up to 4 players;
  • Fixed some steaks not falling down after crates being destroyed at end of level 11 (1st beach level with crabs);
  • Changed old studio logo to new one on Loading page. Thank you, Solluco for the art;


[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

  • As reported by nebelpelz, it was possible to fall down from a bridge in level 27 and get stuck. I couldn’t reproduce the bug yet, but in the mean time I removed the invisible solid ground as a quick fix so that if dino falls down here, he will die and the level will restart;
  • Sometimes moving the analog stick while overlapping a door unintentionally makes the player quit a level. I removed the ability to do so. Players can use Y button or up arrow from directional axis on gamepad to enter a door and finish/exit a level;
  • When a npc level was already completed, dialogs were auto skipped and npc already started its actions. This leaded to some bad experiences such as in levels with npcs and boss fights. There was no real added value here so this feature has been removed as of now;
  • Removed deprecated Construct features from project to keep project compatible with future releases of the engine;


Now it's time for me to start working on the next content update:
- The boss of the cave;
- World 4: Snow;

Thanks for reading so far.

Talk to you later,
Antoine G.

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Contact me here:


Other places you can find me:

Update v137 - Checkpoints, level 28 + minor changes & bug fixes

Here's a regular update just before the summer holidays. ːsteamhappyː

In a nutshell, this update is important because following a request from a player and his niece, I've decided to add a checkpoint mechanic to some of the more difficult and/or longer levels.

I've also taken the opportunity to fix 2-3 annoying bugs here and there, add a new level (level 28) and a few improvements.

Blah blah blah...
I'm not so good at introductions so let's get straight to the details:

[h2]Level 28[/h2]

Yes, a new level.
I'm taking advantage of this update to add the latest level I worked on past weeks: Cave, level 28.



This level will force you to use the red and blue blocks to make your way through, but watch out for the snakes... You've been warned. I won't say any more. Enjoy.

[h2]Checkpoints[/h2]

Checkpoints.
This is a feature I've been wanting to implement for a long time.

And then suddenly a steam player asked me to add this feature for his niece. If you read me, a big thank you!

So... I thought it was time to tackle it. After a few weeks coding it and testing it, here it is!



The idea is that the colour of the flag is the one of the player who reaches it first.

it doesn't change the story or the objectives of the level. It is just a little extra challenge for players who want to compete with each other in co-op mode.

Just bear in mind that this feature is brand new and that I haven't yet had a chance to try it out with up to 3 or 4 players.

So it's possible that you'll still come across bugs. Please, don't hesitate to share them with me so that I can fix them.

Your help is really precious, and I'd like to thank you a thousand times over.

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

  • Enhanced pterodactyl boss’s animation when players defeat him;
  • If the food falls into the water, it falls more slowly and can no longer be collected;
  • Cleaned a lot of old code no longer needed (approx. 152 event lines that were here for legacy);


[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

  • If a player dies and the level is restarted, sometimes the black overlay did not disappear;
  • As reported by this Steam review, the ant npc dialog sometimes was not showing up on the overworld map;


I'm going back on what's next. Cave level 29, cave boss, a dino merchant (you can already spot some sprites of him/her/they, don't know yet, on the overworld map) and much more.

Thanks for reading so far.

Talk to you later,
Antoine G.

---

Contact me here:


Other places you can find me:

Update v136 - Accessibility options, additional achievements & major bug fixes

Since the last update in April, I've spent a lot of time replaying old levels. On my own, but also with my son to check that everything seems to be working properly in co-op.

Unfortunately, we've found two glitches. One that prevents you from progressing through the level with the spider queen (level 23) and another that can sometimes ruin the experience in co-op mode. If one player dies (and is put in a bubble) and the other is alive, the level still restarts.

That's why this update. And I'm taking the opportunity to add a new level with a new non-player character, 3 new achievements to unlock, and 2 accessibility options as requested by some of you.

Here are some more details about what this update includes:

[h2]Level 27[/h2]

Cave level 27 introduces a new non-playable character called "Rolleo", a rolling rock, that will ask you to push him all the way through the end of the level. Good luck!



[h2]Accessibility options[/h2]

Via the options menu on the start screen or on the pause screen, you can now toggle on/off screen shake effects.

There is also a second option that allows you to toggle on/off the usage of a pixel font for texts. If you set this option to off, a high resolution font will be used instead for all texts in the game.



[h2]Quality of life improvements[/h2]

I added a few more quality improvements such as:
  • Added some fireworks visual effects to make the end of level 23 look more like a spider party;
  • Enhanced automatic restart level animation when a npc dies or is blocked;
  • Added particles to pea plants projectiles so that it is easier to identify them while moving/jumping around;


[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

This update brings important bug fixes that could prevent players from progressing or even ruin co-op.
I highly recommend you to update the game, especially if you play with more than one player.

List of bug fixes included:
  • In level 23, sometimes Queen Charlene (the spider Queen) was stuck at the end of the level preventing players from completing it;
  • Sometimes npc’s pin sprite was shown opposite direction;
  • Fixed an issue that could ruin co-op as if a player dies, the level restarts even if the others are alive;
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes when hitting enter or using arrow keys at start of a level it showed part of the pause menu;


Regarding these 3 new achievements, I won't spoil them. I will let you discover & enjoy them yourselves.

I'm going back on what's next. More cave levels, cave boss, and much more.
Thanks for reading so far.

Talk to you later,
Antoine G.

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Update v135 - Food types, quality of life improvements & bug fixes

5 months have already passed since the last update and here I am again with a new one. ːsteamhappyː

The content in this update is already paving the way for the next one, but after weeks of fixing bugs and improving some features I thought it was time to release them so that I can focus on what's next: latest cave levels.

Here are some more details about what this update includes:

[h2]Additional food types[/h2]

I've been asking around on socials what kind of food you'd like to see in the game and from your responses I've added the following:



Name

Sprite



Apple




Banana




Fromage




Pizza slice




Strawberry




On the character select screen, you can press the F keyboard key (or Y button on an Xbox controller) to swap between food types. Your food type preference will be saved automatically.



If you want to see a specific food type in the game, let me know in the comments below. I will review it and do my best to add it to the roadmap.

[h2]Quality of life improvements[/h2]

I regularly read reviews you leave on the game store page, and based on your feedbacks I added a bunch of quality improvements such as:
  • On overworld map, you can now see the total number of eggs collected;
  • If an egg has been collected already in a level, this egg will have a fade effect of 50% opacity in that level so that it is easier to understand it has been collected already. You can recollect it, but it won't be added to the total eggs you own;
  • Added some screen transition animations between the overworld map and levels;
  • Simplified layout on character select screen by removing a couple of not so useful texts and replacing them with icons and input sprites related to input method (gamepad or keyboard);
  • New input buttons and less texts on following screens: character selection screen, overworld map screen, dialogs in levels;
  • Back action on overworld map screen now redirects players to character selection screen instead of start screen;

I'd like to thank you again for giving me your feedbacks as it helps me ship a better game for you and others.

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]
And as usual in any updates, some bug fixes such as:
  • Start screen: fixed a bug where sometimes the “Zzz” animation was shown when baby dino was walking to the right of the screen;
  • Savegame file: fixed a bug where egg collected was added twice to total eggs collected;
  • Character select screen: fixed a bug where dinos for player 2, 3 or 4 were not shown sometimes;
  • Level 17 (Beach): fixed a bug where it was impossible to break the egg crate preventing players to collect the egg in this level;
  • Level 22 (Cave): mushroom was not falling down after tnt explodes resulting in players being stuck and can not go back up to finish level;

Thanks for reading so far.

Talk to you later,
Antoine G.

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