Wonder Ball News

[p]Is this game dead? That’s the one question you never want to ask yourself as a developer. Unfortunately, it’s the exact question I’ve been asking myself every day since launch.[/p][p]Yeah, the start wasn't great. Then, six months ago, Wonder Ball went from paid to free-to-play, and it certainly picked up a few new players here and there. Still, the numbers lag far behind what I was expecting. In comparison, my first game, Office Run, has been played by ten times more people. That game was just a small project I whipped up in two months while still learning the basics of UE4; looking at its code now, I’m honestly surprised it holds together at all.[/p][p]On the other hand, I put two years into Wonder Ball. I grew immensely as a developer in that time, and I think it's more than obvious in the game and its mechanics. Yet, here we are. It’s a strange feeling when your "quick test" project outshines your "passion" project, but I've realized I can't dwell on the statistics.[/p][p]Because at the end of the day, none of that matters. What matters is that I finally received feedback from more players—even if it was much less than I’d hoped for and most of that feedback was bizarre, at best. However, I must give a huge thanks to everyone who decided to share more than just a thumbs up or down.[/p][p]Now, back to the question: Is this game dead? Well, no. Definitely not. At least not for me. I’ve been cooking up so much new content you wouldn't believe it. DLCs will be coming out left and right soon. Okay, maybe not that fast, but you get the point. On top of that, I’m still working on an entirely new game, writing books, and working my day job. How do I do it all? As one famous man once said: "Sometimes my genius is... it's almost frightening."[/p][p]But why? After everything I just admitted, why would anyone continue developing DLCs for a game that barely anyone cares about? Well, that’s the beauty of being an indie solo dev: I can do whatever the **** I want. :)[/p][p]Finally, I want to share a few "revelations" I’ve gathered from reviews and streams so far:[/p]

• [p]This game was actually made by a real developer. Who knew, right?[/p]
• [p]One player mentioned "the developers" (plural). To this day, I am still trying to find out who "they" are. If you see them in my house, let me know.[/p]
• [p]Apparently, this is NOT the worst game on Steam. Now that is some fantastic news! Thank you for the ego boost.[/p]
• [p]I have "never played a fun game." I'm not quite sure what a "fun game" is supposed to be in this context.[/p]
• [p]This isn't a physics-based ball game. I thought that was obvious? Maybe not.[/p]
• [p]From what I've seen, I'm worried nobody actually understood how to play the game—or at least how it was intended to be played. But that one is definitely on me.[/p]

[p]That’s all, folks! See you in the next update.[/p][p]— Adrian Siska, Indie Solo Developer[/p]

[p]Hello everyone,[/p][p]I want to share some big news: starting September 2nd, Wonder Ball will become free to play on Steam![/p][p]Sales for the game have been much lower than expected, and I’ve noticed that more people have been downloading it through torrents than actually buying it. Rather than keeping it behind a price barrier that only a few are willing to cross, I’d much prefer to make Wonder Ball free so that everyone who’s interested can enjoy the full game legitimately here on Steam.[/p][p]If you already purchased Wonder Ball before this change, I want to thank you sincerely — your support means a lot and has helped me keep going.[/p][p]I hope this change will give more people a chance to experience Wonder Ball, and I’m excited to welcome new players starting September 2nd![/p][p]Finally, if you’d like to support me and my future projects, you can still do so by purchasing one of my books on my website. Independent development is challenging, and without support it’s difficult to keep going — every bit of help makes a big difference.[/p][p]– Adrian Siska, Indie solo developer[/p]

New content is here as promised!

• Now you have the option to change Wonder Ball's appearance. You can choose from 25 skins!
  
• All world hubs have been populated by various destroyable drones—destroying them rewards the player with coins or gems.
  
• Fast travel to all main objectives is now possible at friendly drones after the player fixes them.
  

This update brings a variety of fixes, new features, and adjustments aimed at improving overall gameplay experience.

Changelog 1.05

• Added visual damage to player.
  
• Phasing platforms give visual warning before phasing out.
  
• Phasing crates give visual warning before phasing in.
  
• Slam recovers 3 dash charges and 50% attack energy now.
  
• Falling platforms no longer start to destroy themselves immediately after contact. They now only trigger destruction after the player spends certain time on them in full size (platform recovers when the player is shrunk if destruction threshold isn’t met yet).
  
• Fixed bug with shield effect on bots never disappearing.
  
• Added extra checkpoint in final level 4.
  
• Added cutscene in final level 5 after the first part to guide the player on the next step.
  
• Further level design adjustments to make the game easier, especially in the final worlds.
  
• Added additional magnet platforms in all levels (more in easy difficulty).
  

This update brings a variety of fixes, new features, and adjustments aimed at improving overall gameplay experience.

Changelog 1.04

• Fixed issue with the slam where players could clip through objects or get stuck at platform edges.
  
• Players can now destroy up to 4 crates with a single attack.
  
• Tweaked movement controls for more precision, reducing the risk of sliding off platforms.
  
• Fixed respawn points where players were targeted by turrets immediately upon respawn.
  
• Players now always respawn with full health.
  
• Cover walls in the final level 1 now respawn on player death.
  
• Updated ball animation to include rotation while in the air.
  
• Added new camera limit options in settings, allowing players to look directly above the character (set as default).
  
• Increased pickup radius for collectibles.
  
• Made small level design changes to make gameplay easier and more enjoyable (more updates to come).
  
• Standardized turret fire rates (previously, some turrets fired faster).
  
• Turrets now deal less damage to players.
  
• Added a reward for completing the tutorial combat arena.
  
• Players can no longer be killed in the tutorial combat arena.
  
• Turbo now accumulates from using dash anywhere (previously available only in arenas).
  
• Fixed issue with multiplier damage text after destroying many bots.
  
• Added new tutorial texts to clarify some updated mechanics.
  
• Bouncing on trampolines now spawns coins and gems.
  
• Added rewards for activating gongs and braziers (only once when counted toward achievement progress).
  
• Lasers no longer cause instant death; players can dash through them with full health or shield.
  

This is just the beginning! A lot more changes are on the way, with new content coming as well. Stay tuned!