Gentoo Rescue News

I've been streaming daily since the major patch and have had some time to play a few of the workshop levels. I've had a fun time with meta in The Dragon, and also had this wonderful moment from Levels that shouldn't exist: (Big spoilers) https://www.twitch.tv/jagriff/clip/ZealousSpookyOilCeilingCat-9SPm5hkd3gKEM9UK
Definitely check these out once you've completed the main game!

It's the last day of the 20% discount, so I wanted to squeeze in this small patch that fixes some bugs introduced in the major patch last week. These are mostly relevant for custom levelpacks, although the visual bug could be observed in the main game.

• Fixed a visual bug where loading a puzzle while animals are in motion could cause them to show up in the loaded puzzle.
  
• Fixed a bug where sometimes a puzzle under a grey animal could be mistakenly marked as visited after an export.
  
• Fixed a bug where the hub and sublevels under selectable animals would not initially be marked as visited.
  
• Fixed a bug where creating a puzzle that is solvable in 0 moves could softlock in the puzzle tester.
  

That's right, it's Gentoosday! This is a huge patch that contains over a month of small updates, as well as some exciting new features like Steam Workshop and MacOS Support. I am incredibly grateful for all of your support that has allowed me to continue work on the game post-release.

Steam workshop

• There are already several levelpacks on the workshop now, and I look forward for more to come!
  
• There is a new main menu button "Custom". The first time you select this, you'll directed to the Steam workshop page for Gentoo Rescue. There you can subscribe to custom levelpacks, which can can be played through the "Custom" menu.
  
• One can also bypass Steam workshop by manually installing a custom levelpack into the directory: `/GentooRescue/Custom/`. Note that custom levelpacks installed this way will use the name of their hub level as the name of the levelpack, and that this name should not clash with any other manually installed custom levelpacks. Steam workshop levelpacks have a unique ID independent of its title.
  
• Your time played and progress on each levelpack is stored by profile, and the levelpack saves are separate from the main save (and each other). They are also tracked by Steam Cloud, so your progress will stay when switching devices. You can find these saves in the Custom subdirectory of your player directory.
  
• Solutions are now saved in the same file as the rest of your progress instead of a separate file. This affects the main save (`progress.sav`), but it was mostly done for custom levelpack support.
  
• Added button in the puzzle editor to upload to Steam workshop. You can (and should) specify a title/description through this interface, not Steam's.
  
• Steam workshop uploads will automatically generate a preview image based on your currently loaded puzzle, but you can manually specify an image by placing it at:

  /GentooRescue/Images/.png

  I recommend a resolution of 800x800.
  
• Subscribed Steam workshop levels will be copied to `/GentooRescue/Workshop` upon entering the "Custom" menu. This allows for offline support.
  
• The guide should cover all of the essentials.
  

MacOS support

• I'm excited that more people can now play Gentoo Rescue!
  
• Any serious MacOS specific bugs will get the highest priority for the next small patch. Please report any to the discord!
  

Puzzle changes

• I've refined some hints in various levels. I've been doing this every patch without noting details, and will continue to do so. Keep the feedback coming!
  
• Removed unintended solution from Quasar in Pickpocket. Maybe the first cheese found? Not sure it qualifies a cheese because it was more difficult than the intended solution.
  
• Swapped the positions of Vantage and Jailbreak in Path of Plain.
  
• Changed Transpositions (in Exfiltration.Temporary) to make all swap imports clearly impossible, which allowed for the removal of the blue colored wall from Temporary.
  
• Removed the blue colored wall from Foreboding.Flutter because it wasn't important. Same for Liftoff.Balance.
  
• Added fog to a tile in Sustain to make an aspect of the meta puzzle of reaching the bottom left puzzle easier. More specifically, a bomb import is now clearly useless.
  
• Renamed Sustain to Herrings, Implant to Transplant, and swapped the names of Y and V. Bonus points to anyone that can figure out why these changes were done!
  

Puzzle editor

• Added a button to record journal entries to the puzzle editor. Click "Journal" in the editor, then confirm "Record". This will load the current puzzle in test mode. Upon exiting test mode, all journal entries that you performed during testing will be written to the current puzzle's list of 'Required for current level' journal entries. This replaces the old method of entering the IDs by hand.
  
• Added icon for normal/plain walls with the keyword PWALL. This can be used in your hints.
  
• Fixed puzzle test bug where exiting the puzzle under test in the puzzle editor could cause the puzzle to be modified.
  

Performance improvements

• The goal was just to reduce loading times for custom levelpacks. However these optimizations will also benefit the main game, particularly for those on lower-end machines.
  
• Optimized walls and tile objects.
  
• Animals and items are now pooled instead of being allocated/destroyed on the fly.
  
• Moved some important work from scripting to C++: tile generation/arrangement, animal organization, and loading static puzzle state.
  

Settings

• Gridlines are enabled by default at the smallest nonzero thickness.
  
• Added more ticks to the low end of the "Base speed" Gameplay slider.
  

Misc

• Reworded some journal entries to remove slight spoilers. This comes at the cost of making a few entries less descriptive, but I think the tradeoff is worth it.
  
• End popup on the hub puzzle now includes the total time played.
  
• Mouse autohide is now disabled while in the Create submenu.
  
• Increased size of some small text in various places. This was mainly done to help visibility on Steam Deck.
  
• The music track will not be restarted upon changing biomes if the old and new biome use the same track.
  
• Increased teleport animation speed to better match internal logic. This may be relevant for some cursed custom levels.
  

What's next?

• General bugfixes.
  
• Continued minor improvements to hints/puzzles, as needed. Watching your gameplay videos/streams really helps me spot tweaks that I can make, so keep sending those my way!
  
• Puzzle editor improvements and polish.
  
• I'll be streaming playthroughs of workshop levelpacks soon at https://www.twitch.tv/jagriff/.
  
• I may also start making YouTube videos with some puzzle design examples / challenges, or other general dev commentary. Please let me know if there's any interest for this.
  

Dream goals. Ordered by insanity (ascending). Don't count on these happening unless Gentoo Rescue becomes so popular that I can afford to quit my real job.

• Localization support. This would have limited use on its own. Maybe community language packs?
  
• Official support for Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and maybe other languages?
  
• A DLC secret area with new or expanded mechanics? I intentionally left a place for this in the hub.
  
• Mobile port? Switch port?
  
• Challenge mode. Maybe this would have to be a separate game? I originally planned to ship with a score-based "roguelike" mode with leaderboards, but it was over-scoped and there were some design challenges that I couldn't address in time for launch.
  
• Multiplayer. This would certainly have to be an entirely separate game. If you've played Ricochet Robots, then you might have an idea for how this would work.
  

[p]It's been over a month since the last patch, so I wanted to make a quick post to keep everyone updated on what's happened and what's coming.[/p][p][/p][h3]Very Positive on Steam[/h3][p]The game received its 50th review a few weeks ago, and currently sits at 55 reviews with 100% positive ratings. I'm very excited about this milestone because reviews are really the best way for the game to grow and reach more people. Thank you for the support!

The next milestone is "Overwhelmingly Positive " at 500 reviews, so there's quite a bit of work to do...[/p][p][/p][h3]Playable for Steam Deck[/h3][p]Several players have reported a smooth experience on Steam Deck, so I've been eagerly waiting for Valve's compatibility review. It finally happened, and now Gentoo Rescue sits at Playable. Valve highlighted that some text might be too small, so that's something I will be addressing in the next patch.[/p][p][/p][h3]Thinky Games Article[/h3][p]Thinky Games published an article by well-known Steam puzzle curator Anokturnus. There are some spoilers, but overall I think it is a glowing recommendation that I'm proud to receive.[/p][p][/p][h3]Gentoosday, or is it Gentuesday?[/h3][p]If you've been following me on BlueSky, then you would have noticed me posting about Gentoosday for the past several weeks. It just so happens that every Tuesday there have been simultaneous Twitch streams of Gentoo Rescue by sigma144 and fydaTECH. They're both very entertaining streamers and it has been a joy to watch content for Gentoo Rescue so regularly. Don't miss Gentoosday next week![/p][p]Are there any other streamers or content creators playing Gentoo Rescue? If so, please let me know because I'd love to watch![/p][h3][/h3][h3]Steam Workshop update is coming[/h3][p]There is a major update on the way, and it is very close! This update is mainly targeted at adding better custom level support, including integration of Steam Workshop. This has involved a lot of moving pieces, such as:[/p]

• [p]Reworking the save/loading system to work for any levelpack instead of just the one for the main game.[/p]
• [p]Integrating Steam APIs to upload and download from Steam Workshop.[/p]
• [p]Many performance improvements, particularly for loading. This was motivated by custom level support due to the structure of the new Custom menu, but it should improve the experience for the main game for those on low end devices.[/p]

[p]Of course, the update will include lots of small changes as well. As for Steam Workshop support, I've been grateful to have many community members eager to test. There are actually several levelpacks already uploaded:[/p]

• [p]The Dragon by TNTDragon. A long and very meta levelpack.[/p]
• [p]Levels that shouldn't exit by Mountebank. A smaller pack containing some very cursed things, some of which are actually impossible to create with the in-game level editor alone![/p]
• [p]Some standalone levels by Hakushō.[/p]
• [p]A cursed impossible level by me, which showcases an edge-case that I couldn't explore in the main game.[/p]
• [p]The levelpack from the demo.[/p]

[p]So far I've merely taken a peek at the levels and tried to remain mostly unspoiled. Along with the release of this major update, I will schedule some Twitch streams on my channel, where I'll play through community levelpacks, starting with these above. If that sounds like fun, give it a follow!

If you just cannot wait for this update, please join the Discord and reach out. Testing is the biggest piece of the puzzle remaining before I can push this out to everyone, so anyone willing to test is free to get it early.[/p][p][/p][h3]Demo Retirement[/h3][p]The demo is already many patches behind the main game, and it's only going to get worse with the next update. I cannot afford the time to maintain it alongside the full game, and I fear that the current state of the demo could be giving a poor impression of the full game. The demo is also overly generous in how much it showcases, which could spoil some of the many big reveals in the game. I would like to go back and do a demo update sometime in the future, but until then, I'll be taking it offline alongside this major update. The demo will remain public on Itch, and I'll have the Steam Workshop upload for the demo levelpack for anyone wanting to revisit.[/p]

[p]One more round of bugfixes before I transition to new features. Unless something higher priority comes up, the next patch will focus on improving the custom levelpack experience with a dedicated menu and custom level progress saving.

On a separate note, Gentoo Rescue is currently part of the Steam Summer Sale for 10% off. If you are enjoying the game, please recommend it to others while it's a bit cheaper.

Input
[/p]

• [p] Repeated undo/redo that occur from holding the bind will no longer perform the undo/redo of a reset. This makes it easier to undo/redo back to the start/end of a solution without accidentally going past a reset. Non-repeated undos/redos can still undo/redo a reset, of course. [/p]
• [p] Changed default keyboard bind of advanced bind "Slow" from Shift to Alt. Shift clashes with WASD, which means you could not move with WASD while slowing unless you specifically added binds "Shift+W" for move up, "Shift+A" for move left, and so on. This won't change anything for current players.
  [/p]

[p]Bugfixes
[/p]

• [p] Beam effect for special thing in Replication was broken.
  [/p]
• [p] It was possible to activate the special thing in Replication multiple times.
  [/p]
• [p] There was a rare situation that would cause the rocket particle and sound effect to play even though the item wasn't used.
  [/p]
• [p] Double-clicking "Return to game" in the pause menu will no longer cause the pause menu to reopen.
  [/p]

Patch 6 is here! I'm hoping I can finally get time to start improving the custom levelpack experience and add Steam Workshop support. No promises on any timeline because I am still prioritizing QoL suggestions, and addressing any points of unintended friction. Hearing your feedback and watching gameplay videos/streams has been very helpful for further improving the game, so keep sending those my way!

Speaking of custom levels, we already have a few community members creating them. Until Steam Workshop is ready, join the Discord to play and share custom levels. As we start to get more, I would like to do some regular streams, say 1-2 times per month, where I play some community levels.

Also I want to give a shout-out to Discord user StarlitEternity who has routed and completed a low% run of the game's "true ending". They managed to reach this ending while only completing 55 levels for a progress of 16.9%. Wow!

Puzzle changes

• Made Moonwalk much easier to solve by moving the red goal. Players were too easily reaching the optional hard levels before realizing that they could just complete and leave the world, so having an easy solution to this early world puzzle will better teach how the meta structure of the game works.
  
• Moonwalk.Reciprocity now has the walrus start with the spring. Also added an extra tile in the bottom left to make the main deduction a bit easier to spot.
  
• Added 2 fog columns to Liftoff.Countdown to make one of the early deductions easier.
  

Misc

• Mouse users can now perform moves using LMB click-drag-release. This is not tutorialized anywhere, but there is feedback in the form of a stretching arrow in the direction of the drag. Some people will like this much more than LMB to select and RMB to move.
  
• Gameplay setting 'Selection ring' will now also control whether the two different mouse arrows (one for RMB movement and one for LMB drag movement) are displayed.