Spell Karts News

Update 7 features a first pass implementation of the questing system as well as a number of general improvements to the game.

Major Features

• Quest system added
  
• New lobby UI - part 1
  
• Added support for Screen-Space Reflections (disabled by default - see graphics settings)
  

General improvements / bug fixes

• Tune cinemachine
  
• Tune kart physics
  
• Fix issue with achievement for winning in Crate Town
  
• Fix issue when kicking players with a controller
  
• Switching backgrounds & initial loading should be more pleasant now
  
• Added audio cue for final lap notification
  
• Added shortcut for kicking and changing AI difficulty with controller
  

Few features pulled in from Update 7:

• New loading screens (still a WIP)
  
• Shaders are now preloaded during scene load
  
• Clients can now see match settings in lobby
  

Fixed a few issues introduced with the release of Update 6:

• Fix issues with vegetation in Boogie Bogs not loading under certain circumstances
  
• Fix issue loading special maps
  
• Fixed issue causing networked players to "jump" around the map
  
• Mods button still visible post-merge
  
• Game settings and information are now properly synced to clients (for new features coming in Update 7)
  

Update 6 brings about a bunch of general improvements to all areas of the game.

[h2]Major features[/h2]

• Added new arena map - crate town
  
• Orbs of time game mode is now available in arena maps
  

[h2]General improvements & bug fixes[/h2]

• Added audio clip for missing mana
  
• Added audio clip for attempting to cast during global cooldown
  
• Added previous lap times to UI
  
• Added flag model to Orbs in "Orbs of Time" game mode to improve visibility in poor weather conditions
  
• Orbs of time difficulty will now slowly increase as time goes on
  
• Mods now appear alongside core maps in their respective categories
  
• Improved terrain texturing
  
• Improved initial logo screen
  
• Performance improvements in terrain shader
  
• Performance improvements related to audio systems
  
• Fixed issue where global cooldown could be ignored under certain conditions
  
• Fixed issue with map list scrolling when a player has more than 8 race maps
  

[h2]Map editor changes[/h2]

• Added over 200 new models to the map editor
  
• You can now select a soundtrack for your map
  
• Lamps and fires will now automatically light up at night
  
• Fixed bug where a player model could exist during edit mode
  

Update 5.3 brings support for creating arena maps in the Map Editor and, of course, sharing those on the workshop. Further updates to the map editing functionality will now trickle in with future updates as we get back to working on the core game.

[h2]General improvements & bug fixes[/h2]

• Christmas event ends
  
• Improvements to terrain shader
  
• Fixed issue with default background
  
• Performance and memory improvements
  
• Upgrade to Unity 2020.2
  

[h2]Map Editor[/h2]

• Can now create Arena maps
  
• Components are now alphabetically ordered
  
• Removed Vegetation toggle in MapEditor - setting density to 0 will now disable vegetation
  

Future updates will no longer be focussed on the Map Editor functionality but will be general improvements to the whole game.
Lastly, I wanted to add a note about recent store changes. We have removed the demo for now as maintaining it is taking up too much time. When the game has stabilised more we will bring it back. We also recently dropped the price slightly, this was done to reflect changes in the economy.

Spell Karts released a few months ago and has received many updates since the initial release. We've seen overhauls to the maps, new spells, new game modes, AI improvements, physics and graphics updates, a redesigned settings menu and the recent addition of modding support, amongst many other improvements and bug fixes.
I'd like to layout our rough release plan.

[h2]The road to 1.0[/h2]

The workshop update was the biggest update in terms of feedback and player interaction. So it seems natural that the majority of our time early on in the year be dedicated to this feature. However the rest of the game has a lot of work to be done as well, and we don't want to neglect that.
The first thing we will be working on upon return in the new year is the arena map editor, as well as adding enough new content that players can begin to craft new levels covering all aspects of the game.
After this, the "extras" such as terrain editing and more content will trickle in over following updates.

Alongside the workshop updates, we have a number of improvements to racing mode planned such as improved "final lap" notifications and previous lap times, lap records, ghosting after completion and camera improvements, as well as more opportunities to pick up speed, are planned to make this all-important game mode more interesting and fun.

Quarter 1 should also host a number of updates to maps - with more environment interaction such as the cowboys and pirates shooting at vehicles or the Vikings throwing spears.

We also have a few ideas for new game modes, both for racing and arena maps - more on this soon!

Now we turn our attention to additional content, by this point we should have a lot of the existing game content up to scratch and a lot of the core features implemented. If we don't have quests and talents in by now, work on that will take priority.
New racing maps, new arenas, new game modes, more karts, more players, all of these things are in focus pre-1.0.
Tutorials, game manual/help, and a better new-player experience then become the focus as we wrap up for 1.0.