Bits & Bops News

[p]Welcome back for more patch notes![/p][p][/p][p]This release brings some new languages, a collection of bug fixes, and some groundwork for a new feature! If you want to be involved as we continue to develop Bits & Bops, please consider joining our Discord server.[/p][p][/p][p]Our major news for this release: the game is now available in both French and Italian! We'll be working on more translations over time, so if your language is not yet available, we want to hear from you so we know which languages to prioritise. We also have many dedicated language channels in our Discord server where you can chat with your fellow community members![/p][p][/p][p]As always, we're continuing to take on feedback and prioritise features and fixes, so please keep reporting bugs and making suggestions, and we'll keep doing our best to address them. We're most active in our Discord server, but we also keep up with our Steam discussion board and our [email protected] inbox. Thanks for playing![/p][p][/p][p]Game updates [/p]

• [p]Bits & Bops is now fully playable in French![/p]
• [p]Bits & Bops is now fully playable in Italian![/p]
• [p]Some title font character accents have been updated in Portuguese [/p]

[p][/p][p]Bug fixes[/p]

• [p]The tutorial circle for secondary buttons now moves at the correct speed[/p]
• [p]The tutorial circle now additionally indicates release timing for held inputs[/p]
• [p]The game is now supports more ASIO-compatible drivers[/p]
• [p]The game no longer crashes with particular poorly-behaved ASIO drivers[/p]
• [p]The game will no longer save your audio device selection if it causes a crash[/p]
• [p]The perfect tracker no longer appears in the calibration scene[/p]
• [p]Disco's arm no longer becomes detached when tossing her coin[/p]
• [p]One of Rory's dialogue lines is no longer missing an apostrophe in German[/p]
• [p]Debug shortcuts are now harder to unintentionally trigger [/p]

[p][/p][p]Editor changes[/p]

• [p]More audio formats are now supported in custom mixtapes[/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes can now specify their playback offset[/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes can now specify their difficulty[/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes can now specify endpoints for preview music[/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes can now specify their display BPM range[/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes can now contain internal notes[/p]
• [p]Many resizable events now correctly handle a length of zero[/p]
• [p]Stopping playback now stops narration (if enabled)[/p]
• [p]Properties now revert to their default values when cleared[/p]
• [p]The end gag in Flow Worms is no longer unintentionally triggered on a particular beat[/p]
• [p]The CRT screen in the convenience store in President Bird now layers behind fades[/p]

[p]Welcome back for more patch notes![/p][p][/p][p]This release brings a highly-requested feature. For those of you chasing high scores, we've added a setting on the community computer that will show whether you're on track to get a Perfect! To unlock it, you'll need to score Amazing on every level, and Perfect on at least one level, then it should arrive in your mail. The setting is off by default to retain the suspense of the results screen when you don't quite know whether you hit everything, but you can freely turn it on and off once you've unlocked it.[/p][p][/p][p]Also, the game is now available in Spanish (Spain)! This is in addition to our existing Spanish (Latin America) translation. We'll continue to work on more translations over time, so please be patient if your language is not yet available. We also have many dedicated language channels in our Discord server where you can chat with your fellow community members![/p][p][/p][p]As always, we're continuing to take on feedback and prioritise features and fixes, so please keep reporting bugs and making suggestions, and we'll keep doing our best to address them. We're most active in our Discord server, but we also keep up with our Steam discussion board and our [email protected] inbox. Thanks for playing![/p][p][/p][p]Game updates[/p]

• [p]You can now unlock an icon to show whether you're on track to get a Perfect[/p]
• [p]Bits & Bops is now fully playable in Spanish (Spain)![/p]

[p][/p][p]Bug fixes[/p]

• [p]The timing circle now consistently appears in all tutorials[/p]
• [p]Selecting the clock no longer reverts record player speed changes[/p]
• [p]Window titles on the community computer no longer overflow the title bar in some languages[/p]

[p][/p][p]Editor changes[/p]

• [p]Editor input is now blocked when the game preview is full screen[/p]
• [p]The moles in Molecano now animate correctly after a freeze event[/p]
• [p]The moles can no longer bop before landing in a freeze[/p]
• [p]The camera panning event in Firework Festival is now resizable[/p]
• [p]Several unsupported zero-length events now have dedicated error messages[/p]
• [p]All errors related to events are now displayed consistently[/p]
• [p]The metronome now plays to the end of the timeline when enabled[/p]
• [p]Scrolling is now more consistent across operating systems[/p]
• [p]Mixtapes can now specify endpoints for preview music[/p]

[p]Welcome back for more patch notes![/p][p][/p][p]This release brings yet more improvements and bug fixes. We're continuing taking on feedback and prioritising features and fixes, so please keep reporting bugs and making suggestions, and we'll keep doing our best to address them. We're most active in our Discord server, but we also keep up with our Steam discussion board and our [email protected] inbox.[/p][p][/p][p]On the gameplay front, we've made an update to the tutorial input display overlay to better indicate the intended timing for minigames that don't already have strong visual cues. Our intention is to help beginner players who are having a hard time interpreting some of the audio cues. If this proves to be useful, we'll also look at working this into an interactive tutorial phase to ensure players have understood the timing before letting them attempt it unassisted. Please share your feedback on this change in our Discord server or Steam discussion board if you find it useful, or if you're still struggling to understand something.[/p][p][/p][p]This release also brings two big updates for Polish players:[/p][p][/p][p]Firstly, you can now play Bits & Bops in Polish! The game should automatically match the language of your Steam client, or you can change the setting via Steam or in-game. We also have a Polish channel in our Discord server where you can give feedback and interact with fellow Polish players.[/p][p][/p][p]Secondly, we're adjusting the price of the game (and soundtrack) in Polish złoty. When setting the price for Bits & Bops, as most developers do, we set the price in USD and relied on Valve's recommended regional pricing. In general, as we're not experts in this area, we're inclined to trust Valve's judgement. However, due to the change in exchange rate since regional prices were last updated in 2022, we're adjusting the price as a one-off fix in line with many other independent developers. If and when Valve update their regional pricing again in future, we anticipate this change in exchange rate will be reflected, and we'll likely take their updated recommendation.[/p][p][/p][p]One final update on pricing: we're trialing a change to our Bits & Bops + Soundtrack bundle which will allow you to access the 10% discount on one of the items even if you've already purchased the other (whereas you were previously required to purchase both together). We'll be keeping an eye on this over the next little while, so if you enjoyed the game and were thinking of picking up the soundtrack to support us, now is a great time![/p][p][/p][p]Game updates[/p]

• [p]The tutorial input display now additionally shows a timing circle[/p]
• [p]Bits & Bops is now fully playable in Polish![/p]

[p][/p][p]Bug fixes[/p]

• [p]The credits sequence triggers properly after completing Final Mixtape (broken in 1.6.0, hotfixed in 1.6.1)[/p]
• [p]The "Almost" animation when braking in Molecano no longer has an unintenionally doubled frame[/p]
• [p]The video player buttons on the computer no longer show through the screensaver[/p]
• [p]The file select text no longer disappears in some circumstances when changing the language[/p]
• [p]The screen reader is now consistently re-checked when settings are reset to default[/p]

[p][/p][p]Accessibility improvements[/p]

• [p]There are now options to control screen shake and rotation (in addition to flashing)[/p]
• [p]There is now an option for macOS speech rate in preferences.json[/p]

[p][/p][p]Editor changes[/p]

• [p]Molecano now has an expanded ruleset to consistently handle non-aligned cues[/p]
• [p]Molecano now has an expanded selection of events to control visual effects[/p]
• [p]The Molecano moles have new sprites for braking with a hot background[/p]
• [p]Mouse clicks on the gameplay preview are no longer passed to the menus underneath[/p]
• [p]The editor no longer rejects music files with certain filename patterns[/p]
• [p]The editor now caps playback rate to a more reasonable range[/p]
• [p]The editor no longer crashes in some circumstances when changing playback rate[/p]
• [p]The hitbox for the timeline now registers clicks more accurately[/p]

[p]Welcome back for more patch notes![/p][p][/p][p]This release brings some more improvements and bug fixes. We're continuing taking on feedback and prioritising features and fixes, so please keep reporting bugs and making suggestions, and we'll keep doing our best to address them. We're most active in our Discord server, but we also keep up with our Steam discussion board and our [email protected] inbox.[/p][p][/p][p]Since many players were missing the new feature with the record player, we've given Bit some extra dialogue in her post-game speech to hint that the record player speeds have some relation to the minigames. We've also changed the record player to revert to normal speed when an incompatible level is selected as an extra hint that something didn't work. We want this feature to stay somewhat hidden, but we'll continue to tweak it to make it more intuitive for the people who go looking for it.[/p][p][/p][p]On the gameplay side, we heard from players that they had difficulty placing the start of a charge cue in President Bird. We've added a subtle layer to the beginning to give it a little more impact, without drastically altering the feel of the level. We'll be keeping an eye on this change to see if something else is necessary. You can also expect some other sound tweaks in future updates.[/p][p][/p][p]As a bit of technical housekeeping, we have also increased the system requirements on the Steam store page from 2GB to 4GB. While the game itself typically does not use more than 2GB of memory, this did not account for the memory consumed by the operating system, which was causing issues for some players with lower-end systems. If you are experiencing issues and your computer is close to the minimum requirements, try closing other applications before launching Bits & Bops. Applications like web browsers can consume significant amounts of memory, which can cause out-of-memory errors on lower-end systems.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, the game is now available in Spanish (Latin America)! We also have a separate Spanish (Spain) translation underway, which we expect will be available later this month. We'll continue to work on more translations over time, so please be patient if your language is not yet available. We also have many dedicated language channels in our Discord server where you can chat with your fellow community members![/p][p][/p][p]Game updates[/p]

• [p]Bit now remarks on the record player at the end of her post-game speech[/p]
• [p]There is now a subtle additional sound at the start of a held note in President Bird[/p]
• [p]The white arrows are now shown every time a new game is available in the game corner[/p]
• [p]The hand in the tutorial overlay now moves more smoothly in Steady Bears[/p]
• [p]The record player speed now reverts to normal when selecting a game that does not accept the speed change[/p]
• [p]The flashes in Molecano now scale with BPM[/p]
• [p]Bits & Bops is now fully playable in Spanish (Latin America)![/p]

[p][/p][p]Bug fixes[/p]

• [p]Progression can no longer be broken by forcibly quitting the game before returning to the store[/p]
• [p]The clock no longer occasionally gets stuck (which happened particularly often at low frame rates)[/p]
• [p]The spilled tea effect in Octeaparty now stays attached to the cup at high speeds[/p]
• [p]Inputs are no longer able to be processed while a mixtape is still loading[/p]
• [p]The first lava geyser in Molecano now makes a sound[/p]
• [p]The fan translations are again no longer loaded by default[/p]

[p]
Accessibility improvements[/p]

• [p]The record labels have been localised for all supported languages [/p]

[p]
Editor changes[/p]

• [p]The marchers in Globe Trotters no longer continue flipping indefinitely[/p]
• [p]More granular events have been added for Molecano[/p]
• [p]Marching games are now playable without an end event[/p]
• [p]Marching games now function correctly when restarted after stopping[/p]
• [p]Marching games started early in the mixtape no longer cause input to stay locked[/p]
• [p]The charge sound in President Bird no longer loops indefinitely in certain circumstances[/p]
• [p]The editor now automatically reopens your last loaded mixtape[/p]
• [p]The minigame event templates are now displayed in game order[/p]
• [p]Mixtapes are now marked as dirty when an event is deleted[/p]
• [p]Animations now play correctly when the start beat is changed during playback[/p]
• [p]Mixtapes missing certain metadata no longer cause issues when opened[/p]
• [p]The editor's maximum beat has been increased from 1024 to 4096[/p]

[p][/p][p]Internal changes[/p]

• [p]Exported .bop files now include the version of the game they were created with[/p]
• [p]Further logging has been added to track down the freezing issue[/p]

[p]Happy new year, and welcome back for more patch notes![/p][p][/p][p]It's been just under a month since we launched! Thank you so much to everyone who has bought the game and supported us so far. As we've said in previous updates, we're still taking on feedback and prioritising features and fixes. Please keep reporting bugs and making suggestions, and we'll keep doing our best to address them. We're most active in our Discord server, but we also keep up with our Steam discussion board and our [email protected] inbox.[/p][p][/p][p]While many bugs have been fixed, there a couple of rare but important ones we're still trying to track down. If you're not being awarded Perfect stickers when you think you should be, or if your game is hanging or the display is freezing for long periods of time, we want to hear from you. Every log file we get from an affected user gets us one step closer to fixing these bugs for good, so when you encounter one of these issues, please tell us in the #bug-reports channel of our Discord server, or email us at [email protected].[/p][p][/p][p]We're continuing to make minor adjustments to Pantry Parade and Steady Bears to try to gradually make them easier for new players without drastically changing the character of the minigames. This patch we've increased the Almost windows by the same factor that we increased the Hit windows a few patches ago, with the intention of making it less likely players will both bonk the character in front of them and be bonked by the character behind them. While the scoring system does not punish for this twice, this should make it less likely you'll have your rhythm thrown off by it.[/p][p][/p][p]We've also adjusted the tutorials again to cut earlier if you have hit no sets in the first loop. While the intention was to give players more time to settle in, we heard from some players who simply weren't getting the inputs and required the demonstration again. As a compromise, the tutorial will only interrupt you if you haven't hit a single set in the first loop of the music. Otherwise, the tutorials are unchanged for now.[/p][p][/p][p]For Steady Bears in particular, we've added a subtle bop animation to the bears in the bird's-eye view shots of the ice rink. While this shot was intended to function as a visual distraction, we've seen that it is unnecessarily punishing in a minigame that many players are already struggling with, so we've added this animation to help you keep time if you were relying on that visual tell to know where the beat lands. And besides, we think it looks a little nicer, too![/p][p][/p][p]Finally, the game is now available in German! We'll continue to work on more translations over time, so please be patient if your language is not yet available. We also have many dedicated language channels in our Discord server where you can chat with your fellow community members![/p][p][/p][p]Game updates[/p]

• [p]The bears now bop in the bird's-eye view of Steady Bears [/p]
• [p]Pantry Parade and Steady Bears now have increased Almost windows to reduce yo-yoing [/p]
• [p]Pantry Parade and Steady Bears now cut their tutorials earlier if no sets have been hit [/p]
• [p]An extra interaction with the heaped sugar cubes gag has been added to Octeaparty [/p]
• [p]Bits & Bops is now fully playable in German![/p]

[p]
Bug fixes[/p]

• [p]Failing a stage is recorded correctly again, re-enabling skipping minigames (broken in 1.4.0, hotfixed in 1.4.1) [/p]
• [p]The keyboard and mouse are actually separated in endless games (broken in 1.4.0, hotfixed in 1.4.1) [/p]
• [p]Extra brake inputs without animations are no longer scored as misses in Moleacano [/p]
• [p]Deleted save files no longer sometimes return after relaunching the game [/p]
• [p]The fan translations are no longer loaded by default (broken in 1.4.0) [/p]
• [p]The background in the Steady Bears tutorial no longer skips backwards in certain places [/p]
• [p]The tutorial input display no longer snaps to neutral at the end of the Steady Bears tutorial demonstrations [/p]
• [p]Unpausing no longer counts as an input in "One button" mode [/p]
• [p]BPM changes in Blacksmith are no longer processed while paused [/p]
• [p]Endless games no longer exhibit strange behaviour on restart in some cases [/p]
• [p]Localisation and camera fading bugs have been fixed in several uncommon error screens [/p]
• [p]The guest book now generates pages slightly quicker (but still causes frame drops for now)[/p]

[p]
Accessibility improvements[/p]

• [p]The endless games now have TTS descriptions (including optionally during gameplay) [/p]
• [p]The game now uses the language of your Steam client by default [/p]
• [p]Speech is now interrupted when a file is selected from the file select menu [/p]
• [p]The version number on the main menu is now localised and read by the screen reader[/p]

[p]
Editor changes[/p]

• [p]The object limit for many minigames has been increased [/p]
• [p]The editor now has a playback rate option for more precise testing [/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes now support more metadata fields [/p]
• [p]Empty values are now displayed more intuitively [/p]
• [p]Long property values no longer break the alignment of other fields [/p]
• [p]Rich tags and control characters are now handled correctly in more cases [/p]
• [p]Custom mixtapes without music are now playable outside the editor again[/p]

[p]
Demo changes[/p]

• [p]All relevant changes since release have also been applied to the demo [/p]
• [p]The promotional cards and opening screen now say that the game is available for purchase [/p]
• [p]There is now a dedicated error message for mixtapes containing minigames outside the four available in the demo[/p]

[p]
Internal changes[/p]

• [p]Log messages have been added for all misses (to help us understand why some Perfect stickers aren't being awarded) [/p]
• [p]Log messages have been added for large frame drops (to help us track down the cause of the freezing)[/p]