Zeepkist v16 - The Sound Update

[h2]Introduction[/h2]


9 months ago to the day, I stopped work on v15 update patch releases, and opened a new branch in the Zeepkist Github repository: “Yannic-2021.3.10f-v16”

The first thing I did was work on the new reflections. They were already in place in some fashion, hidden in a secret menu and not really implemented all that well. So that was a low-hanging fruit.



From there I moved on to fixing S-Bends, and then I added the FMOD audio framework and ported all existing Unity sounds to that. Then Monorails, and from there, the development of v16 was well underway.



I added physics-based balls, icons to level editor block thumbnails, implemented a crude logic system (more on this later), a Netherlands-inspired set of train station blocks, then offroad wheels, a garage, flying, etc and etc and etc and etc. I’ll attempt to list everything in a changelog later on.





The issue with implementing all of these beautiful systems is that they needed to be supplemented with beautiful content.

The new Zeepkist mechanics needed new levels to showcase them, and the garage which allowed you to change them needed many many more cosmetics. It’s no wonder that the amount of cosmetics more than triples with v16.



The new cosmetics, to make matters worse, then needed a whole new way of being unlocked. So many many hours went into creating “gifts” you can find in levels, which unlock a cosmetic.

In the final few weeks of v16 development, most of that time was spent finding neat places in existing adventure levels to hide cool gifts!

But I’m not here to complain! I think the gifts mechanic will add a whole new dynamic to playing the adventure mode. And that’s not to mention you can even unlock the gifts in splitscreen and online.



So without much further ado, I have one more feature announcement to make & then it’s on to the changelog!




[h2]Logic Blocks[/h2]


These balls:



...were not added just because I wanted to put balls in the game.

They serve a vital purpose, actually!

Namely: Physics objects trigger logic blocks.





Logic blocks are very very simple.

There’s one or two triggers. When a physics object hits those triggers, they do some very simple math. And depending on the outcome, a block opens (disappears) or closes (appears).

The double-input logic gates have all the common logical operations: AND, OR, XOR, etc. And the single-input gates can function as simple buffers, inverted buffers, or latches.

Then there’s a final special logic block, which instantiates a new ball whenever its trigger gets hit. This can be used for creating new “signals”.

It’s then up to level creators to design pathways for physics objects to move from gate to gate, or for the player’s zeepkist to interact with them.

Fans and boosters can be used to move things along, and when you find there’s too much friction in your levels, you can simply use ice versions of all the different ball types!

There’s actually 4 logic-based “Zeepkist Golf” adventure levels which use logic!



You need to put a small football into the golf hole, before you can access the finish. If you don’t put the football in the hole, a gate will block your path.

I’m extremely confident that people will find many creative ways to use these, and many more different ways to completely break the game with it.

So go out and dive into the editor and check them out!! They’re probably my favorite feature of all of v16.

And I’ve kept them secret for at least a whole half a year ;)




[h2]Changelog[/h2]


Note: 9 months is a long time, and my record keeping is not extremely reliable! It’s very possible I’ll forget to mention one or two features/changes!

Fixed:
- Online shuffle now works nicely
- Particles are now more performant
- S-Bends didn’t fit together nicely
- Made D-07 author time easier
- Mouse sensitivity no longer tied to framerate
- Inspector Scrollbar is now twice as sensitive
- All paint particles now have correct color
- Editor movement gizmo now always faces camera
- Camera doesn’t move up/down anymore when going into grab mode in level editor
- Some Level Editor UI elements are slightly smaller now
- Level 01 (etc) are now called Level A-01 (etc)
- Various other things that were broken, probably
- Zeepkist is now v16 instead of v15


Added:
- FMOD Audio Framework
- A bunch of extra sounds
- A new garage
- Realtime Reflections (not raytracing, it’s old reflection-probe tech)
- New intro scene
- Monorail
- Train Station Blocks
- Offroad Wheels
- Paraglider
- Autosaves and Backups shortcuts in “Load Levels”
- Change Camera hotkeys
- A thing that pops up and says you have mods installed
- Letter blocks
- Icon Blocks
- “Count as Checkpoint” options on status-changer blocks
- Invert Steering block
- Invert ArmsUp/Braking block
- Free Play level select UI now accepts mouse input
- Level Editor loading panel can now sort by date modified
- Whole bunch of weird wallride/tube transitions
- More S-Bend blocks
- Logic Blocks
- Rounded Cube Primitives
- More Primitives in general
- More rock blocks
- Oversteer/Broken Wheels Indicator UI
- Speed is now shown alongside time at checkpoints
- Note Block
- Horns
- Level Editor now shows Block and Folder IDs
- Braking makes you stick to monorails
- Traffic bump blocks
- More block thumbnails now have icons
- Boosters now have options “Affect Objects/Soapbox”
- Removed the Zeeprooms
- More bricks paint
- Roof tiles paint
- You can now view commands online if you press F1
- Selection helpers when selecting boosters/fans
- Online name color setting
- More sub-headers in settings menu
- More rock paint
- Planks paint
- More soap paints
- Level Editor Music (Thank u Duncan
- FOV Settings
- Various tree gun settings
- Particle emitter blocks
- “Disable Collisions” option for splitscreen
- A frog to some Zeepkist System Messages
- Frikandel paint
- You can click on people’s names online to go to their steam page
- Faster downloading of workshop levels in online (experimental, might need to be reverted if it breaks stuff)
- Level Editor now has options for scaling blocks (this was a lot of work :D)
- Block property toggles now have small numbers next to them
- More construction crane blocks
- A flat booster start block
- Rondpoint logo
- Insivible Spectate mode
- “Debug View” GUI in online spectate
- Gifts
- Secret paints
- More achievements
- Signs in adventure mode that show how many medals you have
- Signs in adventure mode that show how many gifts you have
- “Custom Light” blocks, with RGB properties exposed
- Nebulade Can Blocks
- A Death Block
- Kofi Button in main menu (if u think Zeepkist doesn't cost enough)
- Kofi Button for Duncan in Extras Menu (give my sound guy some love)
- “Vertical Split” splitscreen setting
- The TV now has a function
- Signs that explain flying
- 36 new adventure levels
- 1180 new cosmetics
- 662 new blocks
- “Awesome Alpha” is now “Beautiful Beta”



Well.

I hope that covers everything!

That just leaves me to say...

HAPPY ZEEPKISTING!!!!!

And I will see you all in the next update!!!
I hope nothing breaks!!!

If something does break, please let me know on my Discord! https://steelpan.dev/zk-discord