Amazing Frog? News

[h2]Become the Pump King in Swindon today.[/h2]

Why settle for 5 nights when you can get 6 nights in Amazing Frog? Pick up the pumpkin and unleash Hell in Swindon Today.







Happy Halloween.
Heres a spooky take on Coronation Mode for Halloween. A bit of spooky fun before part three of the Quest For the Magical Mystery Toilet is ready. On that note.. watch out for poltergeists and ghost objects. Literally you may be able to walk right through some things... ok ok we'll fix that.



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This update also includes some major improvements to the "frog life" systems.
No I am not saying you will never see a "T poser" again, but I have spent a bunch of time stabilizing that aspect of the game.



[h2]Some Game Dev stuff (If you like that kind of thing)[/h2]
Basically one of the big enhancements of QMMT since Legacy is our ability to have frogs everywhere. We have been working on this for a while with the goal of helping the gameplay scale across the whole world. When I talk about the frogs customization system or placement and organization of dynamic objects I have my system acronyms like W.R.A.P.S. and F.A.P.S. I don't really have an acronym for this system other than AAARRGH maybe.



I tentatively call it Scheduling and Priming. So Wildlife/population or as I call them in code 'Avatars' are "primed" everywhere thanks to Hals ingenious placement systems that he has been creating in Houdini on the landscape for trees, flowers grass (not just for Avatars) Then with a kind of bespoke LOD thing we built I bring them in and out. This is why there will be sharks at every beach ( although this can be tricked by having two or more players on different beaches ) Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of this system, aside from the mental torture it inflicted on my brain, was that if it doesn't clear up properly we get T posers which were frogs that were supposed to be deactivated but had refused to do so. Its an evolving system. You may notice it in Amazing Frog? 2 (V3) when that update drops soon.



[h2]Things that are not ready[/h2]
So... Jet Pac can be unlocked by killing giant moon worm. Although currently, its very difficult. The giant moon worm can be ridden straight into the green lazer beam, but it would take some kind of a genius to work out how to do that.



Balloon pac and Fly pac officially are not unlockable yet. Currently they are only accessible if they were unlocked during Legacy and then a version prior to Last year of Remastered was opened. (Sounds like a Monty Python Sketch)
I am genuinely sorry for those that expect to have the back pacs because they had them in Legacy. There are so many right and wrong ways to simultaneously remaster and recreate a game I only know this way and I am 99% sure I am doing it the right way.

Of course, I could just make the back pacs all available in the dispenser round the back of the hideout for every one, temporarily, but at this point it won't be long. Making them all available feels like a 'game breaking' thing to do. The Magic for the Toilet is coming, its mostly built. Unfortunately there is nothing I can 'bring' over from Legacy and to be honest I wouldn't want to. The magic for the toilet will give you access to all the toys you could drop in before, saddles for all creatures (although I think a saddle gun may be a good idea.), poop heads, mini pigs, pimped up vehicle and the shark blimp its all coming, but with more.

[h2]Wardrobe[/h2]
This is typical really, but let let me tell you a story.



Did you know a major bug of the last update ( QMMT part 2 "Beaches Be Crazy" ) was the wardrobe exit not working and thats this bug was actually caused by fixing a bug you may not have even noticed. The bug I fixed the night before I released QMMT part 2 was that if player one entered a spawnPoint toilet and then player two entered a spawnPoint toilet before player one has left then they fused into each other and it was game over...
It took a while to fix, you'd think it would be simple, these things never are and then I uploaded and I did not think to go and change my clothes in the wardrobe after fixing. So I missed it.

Its fixed now sorry, Game development has its ups and downs.



[h2]The balloon Jet pack, Fixed? [/h2]
This is tricky. I knew it wasnt quite right for some time, but for some reason I forgot that you used to be able to unlock the balloon pack via Legacy. I used to invisibly import your Legacy save file and convert it. In retrospect this was a silly thing to have done. Its difficult to keep track of progress when progress is coming from two different places and the reality is I really wanted the game to offer the unlock to the balloon jet pack and balloon gun differently than just throwing stuff in the toilet. To put it bluntly fixing an issue with the balloon jet pack wasnt a major priority for me since it wasnt officially 'unlockable' in QMMT yet. ironically, the fly pack (only unlockable from Legacy currently) works so much better in QMMT than it ever could have with Legacy Physics. Long story short - I fixed balloons but I still want to spend some more time with them over the coming weeks.



This image by the wind farm is a classic representation of this issue of Legacy | QMMT confusion - balloon jet pack and shark hat unlocked in Legacy and a blood world Tshirt that is only available in the QMMT bloodworld, in the coffee shop (...To be completely honest, I don't know as I am writing this, if that T shirt award is currently working now the physics has been changed.)



Either way, QMMT does a few other types of things will balloons








[h2]Grapple hooks missing?[/h2]
On or off right ? how can we make such and unforgivable mistake?



This was an issue with the load process similar to the trophys not working (which i have also attempted to fix). I cannot guarentee its completely fixed as nothing in life is certain, but it should be more stable. The saving in QMMT is very robust, but the reading and implemetation of the saved data still needs work - this is one of the main reasons for the delay of the "Magic" in the Magical mystery Toilet. There will be a lot of 'unlocks' from MMToilet activity and a need to represent those unlocks.



Either way it was a lot fo fun double checking the balloon pack and grapple hook are still in good working order.
I am trying to get in the habbit of making a video each update since our intention is to make these upcoming regular updates more content based. Either way, it was fun to mess around with what had been fixed.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]T Posing Frogs[/h3]
Let me be clear - I have NOT fixed this yet... its is kind of freaky. However, it is a symptom of something good and something evolving. Before we made the changes to prepare for the Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet, having lots of Frogs and physics objects in the world was not possible in Amazing Frog? On the one hand, we could have drawn influence from great games like Human Fall Flat and made lots of smaller seperate environments with less physics objects in each, but we don't really roll like that. I think in our heads we are still trying to make our own Zelda/GTA/Tony Hawks Hybrid. (Skateboards coming soon)
So to explain the T posing ( or frozen, non simulating , non animating) frogs are actually continuing to work, but in their lowest LOD level. A LOD level they should not be in when so close to the player.


(Community Screen shot click to see)

Another symptom of this problem is shown by taking a sniper rifile and shooting something very far away, where currently the bullet might phase through the targeted object (I need to address this by activating objects via the scope). To enable more frogs and objects and vehicles etc, etc... Amazing Frog? now adds and removes objects from simulation, this was the only way we could bring content to the new world. (also it happens to be the bedrock of our evolving Online systems) So when I see them I know how far we have come ... but I guess without knowing what we have been building in the background it looks like we are just moving backwards... We are not.
So if you see T posing frogs and Objects not in simulation - walk away quite far then come back and they will be working like the Tyre was.



Also happy to hear of any non simulating objects - like the Fan by the Magical Mystery toilet... which I just noticed i did not manage to fix in this update.

[h2]Legacy[/h2]
It took me a while but Legacy is now available on a beta Branch called Legacy Branch.
I know you guys never really read these posts ...( I mean. if I am being honest I wouldn't if I was playing a game I would just get on with it too...) but despite what people were saying in the forums last week, Hal and I never intended to take Legacy away from any one. I simply needed it on a new branch and these things take time.
There are so many reasons to put it on a new branch. Its the kind of thing I could waffle about while making a you tube video comparing the two version, but here are two simple reasons

• I intend to be updating QMMT like crazy until we have UFO, aliens, sandwiches, money, an inventory, a big f*ckin' blob monster and a whole host of othert crazy sh*t we have been developing and uploading an non-updatable version of Legacy with it each time is a pain.
  
• Lets say I do decide to suddenly open up my old single core PC and get an urge to update Legacy because I love punishing myself... It would not really be possible to do so if I had to upload it with QMMT - the main Version of Amazing Frog?
  

[h2]A Note about Amazing Frog? QMMT , Amazing Frog? 2 and Amazing Frog? Legacy.[/h2]
We have been working on Amazing Frog? since 2012, Launched on OUYA 2013, on Steam the end of 2014 (where most of dev has taken place) iOS 2019 and Android 2022 (Android could not support Legacy tech). Origionally, what we now refer to as Legacy was built for single core machines, this is why Legacy does not run great on more modern multi-core machines (its embarrasing) , but it may appear to perform well on older single/dual core machines. Also it is near impossible to edit or develop Legacy on newer multicore machines. We didnt start QMMT (formally known as remastered) until just over two years ago and we did so alongside Amazing Frog?2.
QMMT is built with the evolving system that we have built from the ground up since 2020 to drive Amazing Frog? 2 . Visually it uses remastered assets from Legacy and new assets that we have been integrating and building. Since we started QMMT we even had to completely rebuild the landscape and change to a new rendering system. I believe whole heartedly that this process is worth it. So that Amazing Frog? can Leave Early Access on Steam with a more well rounded and complete game - Amazing Frog? Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet, can go to Console. All while we continue to evolve Amazing Frog? 2 to have more sandbox style, online gameplay much of which we can bring back to extensions to Amazing Frog? QMMT here on Steam in the future.
Feel free to dissagree with the way we develop, that bigger companies "do it better" -I know we do it different, but it makes sense to us.
So... It may seem that we have been away for a while, but we have been busy as f*ck. Hopefully over the next few weeks this will become apparant.
Also still no decision on the second part of the name for Amazing Frog?2 - but also a gentle reminder - Amazing Frog? 2 while it is currently included in a purchase of Amazing Frog? soon it will be sold seperately to new players, this will not change the for those that own it already.

So I guess it would make sense to launch a Halloween update right now, but these beaches... well they needed their buggies.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

They are a pretty robust all terrain vehicle. They climb hills better that the other vehicles.



Helping you see the sights.



But more importantly as we develop more of the Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet additions like these beach buggys help you reach other places with ease



But also they are a lot of fun to drive and we made some crazy ramps on the beach.



You may notice a few extra capes too. We are happy to finally find ourselves in a position where we can update the games easily. Now we can push forward and complete the Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet.

[h3]Welcome to Amazing Frog? Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet ( part one )[/h3]
Part One is major mile stone for Amazing Frog? Introducing the Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet means that the "remastering" process, that began just over a couple of years ago is now over and we are focused on bringing new content to Amazing Frog? again.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Mostly a whole new world ... mostly[/h3]
Since the coronation update in May, which saw a whole new swindonshire, we have been refining the world closer to its definitive form (minus a few more architechtural features still yet to come) and also fine turning and beautifying.







In this more developed world you should be able to discover flowers among the grass and items to forage for. Collecting things is currently a W.I.P that we have been wanting to introduce for some time. So if you collect 100s of berries or mushrooms , poop or whatever the numbers will carry to future updates so feel free to stock up. (some items will be more useful than others depending on your aspirations)





One of our main issues in previous updates and versions (including Amazing Frog ? 2) has been physics limitations over the large scale environment. For example, sharks would not appear everywhere in the sea once they had first appeared and we were limited with roaming NPC frogs. So this is one of the main features of this update allowing more life, vehicles, objects, interactions ...more physics everywhere basically. Its comes at a cost in that the system is new, and baby systems can bring more bugs. Nonetheless, having more frogs has also given us the opportunity to enhance their motivations.



[h3]Beaches be crazy[/h3]
More Frogs have taken trips to the beach! The new landscape encourages it with all the new beach spots.



With plenty of places to sit on a towel and soak up the sun.



Since we have been lookling at how the frogs of Swindonshire behave there are more frogs out and about... more astronauts ( or worm food ) on the moon and SSP (Swindon space program ) frogs in the lab. Watch out! not all frogs that you will meet will be friendly.





We conside this update to be the tip of the iceberg and we are going to aim to get you Part Two before the end of October.



Considering the content of part two, its important that we get it out before the end of October.



[h3]Where's Legacy?[/h3]
In short I removed it... We felt like it was time to move on. But give us some time and I will set it up on a beta branch called 'Legacy'. I appeciate that some players like to look back and play the older versions we have just been very busy moving forward recently.

It has been a while since we published a Frog Blog. Generally in favour of posting updates rather than Frog Blogs. We are reaching a pretty crucial milestone so now seems like a good time to start the Frog blogs again. If you were worried that we may have abandoned Amazing Frog? We have not. Amazing Frog? has always been in ongoing development. Thanks so much for your patience.
More recently, a lot has changed even since The Coronation Update and in all our time developing Amazing Frog? these past few months have been the most groundbreaking and definitive, not just for V2 but also V3. On that subject, I would like to start by saying -


[h3]We really need to change the terms “V2” and “V3”[/h3]

When I talk about the two versions of Amazing Frog? as “V2” and “V3” it feels awkward as these terms have become outdated. Technically “V1” is the OUYA version, but thought the process of bringing AF? to Steam it became V2 .“V2” is Legacy and since Remastered, but soon it will become the first “complete” version of Amazing Frog? Logically this would mean “V3” would become the second complete version of Amazing Frog? - “Amazing Frog? 2”
Both versions are set in the world of Swindon, Swindonshire which is mostly inhabited by the same wildlife ...mostly. However, V2 is now is reaching its 1.0 status and V3 is only just getting started. On the surface, the idea of a small indie team working on two evolving versions of a game may seem ludicrous. Often, when I am discussing Amazing Frog? and talking about these 2 versions I feel like I am projecting and air of insanity.

Hal and I know there are deeper reasons as to why we are working simultaniously on two unfinished, evolving versions.

Its our “process”. One to complete and one to evolve our game technology.

[h3]The renaming of V2 and V3.[/h3]

Amazing Frog? : The Quest for the Magical Mystery Toilet
(QMMT for short)
This will be the new title for what is currently ‘Amazing Frog? V2 Remastered’ and this title will go across all platforms

As V3 now enters into a more experimental phase of its existence as it is no longer tethered to the V2 Remastering process it will likely bear a temporary Working Title of "Next Gen"

Amazing Frog? Next Gen ( working title … formerly V3 )

We are completely undecided on the title at this stage, more development need to take place. To give you some idea here are a fraction of the titles we are toying with.

• Amazing Frog? Second Wind
  
• Amazing Frog? Follow Through
  
• Amazing Frog? Fallen Heroes
  
• Amazing Frog? World of Farts
  
• Amazing Frog? Kingdom of Farts
  
• Amazing Frog? After Flush
  
• Amazing Frog? Second Flush
  
• Amazing Frog? Hell come To Frog Town
  
• Amazing Frog? Toadal Recall
  
• Amazing Frog? Aftermath
  
• Amazing Frog? Chronic Wind
  
• Amazing Frog? Froggy Mc Frogface
  
• Amazing Frog? Farter Starter
  
• Amazing Frog? Twisted Farter Starter
  
• Amazing Frog? The isles of Guff
  
• Amazing Frog? Spawn
  
• Amazing Frog? Quest for a Hero
  
• Amazing Frog? Invasion of the Penis Snatchers
  

To be honest there are only a couple in there we would actually consider. I let you decide which ones are real contenders. If we do a poll in the future, we will announce on the Amazing Frog? Next Gen Community Page. I won’t talk about the development of Amazing Frog? Next Gen on this community page again as QMMT will take centre stage.
Also just a. reminder that both versions will be sold separately as we approach the completion of the “Quest for The Magical Mystery Toilet”.

[h3]So… Development.[/h3]



What has been taking so Long, Gaz?
Nothing has stopped us developing, we work on Amazing Frog? continuously and still love it.







[h3]A Finished Version[/h3]
Our main goal has been to create a finished version of Amazing Frog? in which we can realize some of the core narrative elements we have been working towards. When I say narrative I don’t mean presenting a literal story mode, moreso presenting a structured and continuous sense of purpose thoughout Swindonshire, but without compromising the free roaming aspect of the Amazing Frog? gameplay.










[h3]Technical Challenges[/h3]
To give us the freedom to expand on the gameplay and make way for more content (especially physics content ) we needed to push through some major technical barriers. Barriers that had existed since Legacy. While we have made good progress breaking these barriers over the years, it is only recently we have managed to smash through them.





For example, one of these barriers has been a limitation on the number of physics objects in Swindonshire. We came up with a solution allowing us to introduce more physics based content like frogs, creatures, vehicles, things to pick up sit on etc.. into what was a sporadically empty Swindonshire. This solution also ensures Amazing Frog? can run on lower spec devices without loosing all the physics fun. In fact even with all this new content it will run even better on lower spec devices than the last update across all platforms. These improvements will be for all existing platform versions of QMMT, the upcoming console releases and they will also benefit Next Gen.





[h3]Beware The Chaos[/h3]
Rewards do not come without cost. The development time to implement these changes puts a lot of pressure on us while we are trying to also move content forward. In the short terms I expect to suffer from some serious “bug anxiety” …Whilst these series of optimisations do yield huge physics performance increases, these new optimizations may lead to some unexpected wierdness. (Yay new bugs and edge cases ). With this in mind we are taking an “embrace the chaos” approach to the devolopment and we bring QMMT to its final form. So despite the chaos, Its exciting that these enhancements have given us more creative and development freedom to populate Swindonshire with a more reckless abandon and allow us to evolve many of the features as we had originally intended.

Frogs as Far as the eye can see.





Updates Are coming...



And things are going to get weird.



Also as we ramp up to 1.0 and leave Easy Access there will be a series of Updates and eventually including the "The Hero's Journey" to unlock the power of Amazing Frog? in The Quest For the Magical Mystery Toilet