MORSE Update #1: Modifiers, refined tutorial and vertical letters!

[p]Hey folks! [/p][p]So this patch ended up being a lot bigger than expected, got some fun stuff implemented. Lets dig in: [/p][p][/p][p]+ Tutorial update: I've had a number of people express frustration with missing information in the in-game tutorial, so now, all the text of the tutorial has now been implemented into the manual. Additionally, at any point during the tutorial you can press the ? key (PC) or the back/select button (Steamdeck) to view what was just shared and scroll through the surrounding tutorials. In time I want to add a little ? button that flashes in the corner when something new appears which shows the appropriate page in the manual, but this should do for now! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]+ Game modifiers: This additional page that can be found on the new "Modifiers" menu, accessed via the bottom left of the screen (pictured above). Modifiers offer variants to the conventional game, be that additional challenges such as "No Peeking" (Helpsheet locked) and accessibility options such as "Drop Anchor" (ships 50% speed) or "Lights On" (All ships visible). [/p][p]These modifiers disable achievements when active, the primary reason for this is they're new features and experiments that need time for testing with players before fully integrating in the final game. Further, the speed and visibility modifiers function as accessibility options, which is an area that I am actively looking to expand.[/p][p][/p][p]I would like your input on how you find the current modifiers and what other ones you'd be interested in or accessible features to help make the game suit your needs, please let me know in the Steam discussions.[/p][p][/p][p]Of the new modifiers added, there is one in particular that I'm very excited to share with you...[/p][p][/p][p]+ S.O.S Mode: Words on both axes was something I explored previously, but this proved troublesome, as the possibility of clashing letters was very high (without a massive pool of isograms, which is harder to vet). Instead, I've used a scramble of unused letters (letters not used the x axis isogram) to fill the Y grid and it honestly feels really satisfying to operate, possibly more-so than the original number based solution. [/p][p]Navigation feels quicker as vertical movement doesn't require 5 inputs to change row (which helps a lot speed-wise with the later missions) and the variance of input length adds tactical depth to mine placement. I'll be doing a proper writeup about how it changes play once I've had some rest.[/p][p][/p][p]For a demonstration of the speeds you can now reach with letter mode, here's a video of me managing to hold off an 8 row naval assault with the S.O.S modifier active! [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]+ Your Telegraph type, difficulty and mode have been added to the end state, means folks who are wanting to do speed runs/accuracy runs can have the receipts of what run they're doing.[/p][p]+ Telegraph carrying on beeping on the end screen/menu fixed. Thanks to those who waited a bit longer for this, I was intending to push this out quickly but got drawn into the vertical letters update! [/p][p][/p][p]As a disclaimer, upon updating the game, it appears that ongoing, saved playthroughs may break (the Y axis may be empty on load). Sadly, I don't currently have an immediate fix for this other than restarting your run, I hope the offer of these additional features will take the edge off any loss of progress and provide assurance that I am doing the best I can to support the game through my first Steam launch. Please let me know if you come across any more bugs via this form and in the forums. [/p][p][/p][p]With the above in mind, my priority next for MORSE is getting cloud save working and then digging through the rest of that list mentioned in the previous post. thank you for your patience and let me know what you think of the new modifiers! [/p][p][/p][p]73, Alex[/p]