Wrestling Empire News

My games were arguably the first to ever use thumbtacks as a weapon (in both 2D & 3D), so now they're back and badder than ever before! An improved higher-resolution effect finally separates each puddle of tacks from the bag itself, allowing you to create your own trails wherever it's dropped. Even broken furniture can now shed a few nails too! Improved collision detection then punishes each individual limb that touches them - including holds.



This update also makes the game playable at 60fps via a new "Smooth" camera setting beyond 200% speed. I have mixed feelings about it, as I accomplished a lot at lower frame rates and would hate for this to became the "new normal". It also has a floaty quality that exposes some of the animation instead of making it "better" in my opinion. It never hurts to have options, though, so it's there for you to make your own mind up.

v1.5.2 also includes a fistful of niggling bug fixes that you can study here in further detail:
http://mdickie.com/guides/wempire.pdf

You won't believe your eyes when you see the spooky v1.5.1 update through the new "First Person" camera! Although it's obviously a novelty, it's surprisingly playable and makes roaming even more immersive than it was already. Fighting is every bit as disorientating as it would be in real life, however - and even more likely to leave you with a headache!



This creepy Halloween update also introduces a shovel as a weapon with a unique ability to deface the scenery - and the rare possibility of intruders bursting through the floor! On the other hand, the broom can now be used to literally clean up any mess, and fully interactive reading material now lets you in on the secret:
http://mdickie.com/guides/wempire.pdf

Lots of niggling glitches have also been fixed to offer the most stable experience yet.

Keeping things topical after recent events, press conferences are now part of YOUR life as a wrestler too! It's a whole new location branching off the backstage area, where you can go during the hour before any high profile 1-on-1 match to put things into context. It's also accessible in exhibitions & booking if your prefer, via a whole other "Broadcasting" promo category.



v1.5.0 also includes a healthy dose of bug fixes. Turning heads no longer get stuck in the wrong direction, and I'm doing my best to reduce clipping and other unsatisfactory interactions with scenery. As my first update as a Steam Deck owner, this is also the one that fine-tunes everything for the handheld - ensuring early adopters have everything running smoothly from now on...

I've been blindly developing for the Steam Deck all year, so I'm relieved to see it working so well out of the box with my own eyes! Anything that needs fine-tuning can now happen under my watch, ensuring that PC gaming remains part of my portable revolution. As with the Switch, I set aside a lot of time - and endured a lot of abuse - to keep my games light enough to ride this wave. By the time this tech becomes commonplace, I hope to have a whole series of games that are getting the best out of it.



So far I've only encountered 2 issues:

1) It's a good job the speed option went live in v1.4.9 because it turns out the Steam Deck NEEDS to run at a speed between 101-200%! The animation chokes at 100%, but changing it to so much as 101% knocks it into shape. Now that I know, this will be easy to fix in the next update.

2) Synching with your desktop via the cloud currently inherits some non-existent controller preferences instead of prioritizing the Deck itself. Again this is easy to fix now I've seen it, but in the meantime simply head to the Options > Cast > Controllers option to confirm you're playing on a handheld.

In a feature currently unique to PC users, the speed can now be set precisely between 100% and 200%. Depending on how agreeable your spec is, you may experience some choppier animation or tearing at speeds other than the default - but you at least have the opportunity to see for yourselves. If you get on with it, this preference is also now automatically restored for every other playable scene - allowing you to breeze through the roaming segments as you please!



This update also makes working for Hollywood slightly more relevant, as you'll find most of those fights now happen at "Backstage" locations like a movie shoot! You can also now choose to start at Hollywood without being moved to a competitive roster.

As ever, all manner of other bug fixes & balancing also help to stabilize your experience:
http://mdickie.com/guides/wempire.pdf