Kabonk! News

[p]We’ve packed Kabonk! with a ton of fun and exciting improvements! And did some profiling. Thanks Ari![/p][p]Originally, we planned to release the game in September/October, and technically, that could’ve worked. But as we’ve said time and time again: a game is never truly finished. Sure, there are plenty of "finished" games out there, and Kabonk! is, in a sense, complete. But like any development project, there’s always room to make it better: tweaking gameplay, refining code, boosting FPS, adjusting particles, enhancing VFX, and so much more.[/p][p]Over the past few months, with the extra time we’ve had, we’ve polished not only the visuals and game flow but also the fun* factor. Oh, and we’ve significantly boosted performance: we’ve even doubled the FPS on some machines! Why? Because why not? Why wouldn’t we aim to make this gameplay-heavy game run as smoothly as possible?[/p][h3]Dusting Off[/h3][p]We pulled some older laptops out of storage and tested Kabonk!... Crash. Wait, what?![/p][p][/p][p]We’ve all seen, read, and heard players talk about Unreal Engine games crashing. How is it that games from 10+ years ago often look better, run smoother, and crash less than some of today’s biggest titles? Unacceptable, right? Well?:
*It’s complicated.[/p][h3]Develop Like a Gamer[/h3][p]We’re gamers ourselves. We’ve spent hours optimizing factories in games like Factorio, refusing to blame the game when FPS dipped... instead, we improved the factory until it ran smoothly. So why not apply that same mindset to Kabonk!? And that’s exactly what we did.[/p][p]We’ve been:[/p][p]Improving... building... zipping... uploading to Steam... deploying... updating Steam... playtesting... and repeating that cycle for days and days**.[/p][p]We won’t bore you with every detail (yet), but we even added an automatic safe mode. If the game may crash (and for all our sake, lets hope not), it dynamically adjusts performance (at the cost of some visuals) to ensure the game will start.[/p][h3]But Wait, There’s More![/h3][p]Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve added and improved:[/p]

• [p]Added 4 unique new achievements[/p]
• [p]Fixed physics for the splitting sphere bricks[/p]
• [p]Enhanced visuals and materials for splitting sphere bricks[/p]
• [p]Added sound effects for the ping pong effect[/p]
• [p]Introduced a brand-new song[/p]
• [p]Improved tiling for the dungeon and jungle themes[/p]
• [p]Added extra wow factor when finishing the main game[/p]
• [p]Reduced difficulty scaling in endless mode[/p]
• [p]Removed unused code, actors, and other clutter[/p]
• [p]Lowered memory usage in the lobby[/p]
• [p]Translated a bunch of words.[/p][p]Remember when we said no UI? Nah, me neither.[/p]

[h3]We Learn, We Improve[/h3][p]**It is like a core game loop huh, but than way to much overhead.[/p][p]As always, thank you and we’ll catch you in the next update![/p]

[p]A little than a month away for the release. We are nervous and excited! But that doesn't mean we are sitting still. Quite the opposite.[/p][p]Hall of Fame:[/p]

• [p]We've added the Debut-, and our initial demo launch leaderboards in the hall of fame. These top scores are now forever.[/p]
• [p]Added a new achievement![/p]

[p]Level optimalizations:[/p]

• [p]Fixed issue where exploded bricks were not correctly aligned.[/p]
• [p]Removed slow powerups in level 23[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue where not all bricks had to be destroyed on level 24[/p]
• [p]Endless mode is now correctly unlocked on level 15[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue where you could move your paddle into the walls[/p]
• [p]Improved overall performance (light & memory improvements)[/p]
• [p]We finished all levels![/p]

[p]Visuals & Effects:[/p]

• [p]'Boss brick' now has a dead animation and sound[/p]
• [p]Tuned all sounds to normal volumes[/p]
• [p]Added more visual clues for the jungle theme portals[/p]
• [p]We have added more sound tracks to different parts of the game[/p]
• [p]Did a little rework on the welcome/splash screen (removed light artifacts, removed italic font)[/p]
• [p]Added more particles & sounds for level complete and highscores![/p]
• [p]Ice bricks & Walls now have sound when ball collides.[/p]
• [p]Gave the teleport some love.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Game improvements[/p]

• [p]Added a new powerup: Fast ball[/p]
• [p]Removed collision on some pickups[/p]
• [p]Spawned balls now always shoot automaticly[/p]

[p]As always, thank you and until next time![/p]

[p]We've continued to improved the game, make it more accessible, more enjoyable* and more polished. And the biggest addition is probably the Endless mode! But more on that later.[/p][h2]The finally final art of the Steam assets[/h2][p]Aka, the famous Steam capsule. I know that most developers would yell at us for being waaaay to late for this and I can do nothing but agree. But. Better late than never**. So, if you are looking for Kabonk! here is how it should look now! Thanks to our amazing friend Djanilla for making such a beautiful artstyle. Check her out.[/p][p]**Just don't tell Chris.[/p][h2]The release trailer![/h2][p]No words, just enjoy the 6,842,880,000 pixels.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]Demo reset[/h2][p]Now that the Debut Festival is over we have reset the demo leaderboards. We have been adding all updates (except for the full game content) in the latest demo. I hope you will enjoy all the life improvements![/p][p]Thanks and congratulations to the winners![/p][p]Another chance on the Live board![/p][h2]But that is all nice and well but you want the details![/h2][p]We originally planned to release Kabonk! this week. And it is shippable. But a game is never finished, so each updates makes it better. Hopefully we found the right balance between the endless cycles of updates and the release. And talking about endless...[/p]

• [p]We have added the Endless mode, a level with increasingly more bricks and chaos. How long can you hold?[/p]
• [p]Added more (visual) feedback when completing levels and achieving high scores[/p]
• [p]We fixed a issue on lower quality for transparent ball pickup[/p]
• [p]Decreased memory usage[/p]
• [p]Improved clue for game over reset or exit[/p]
• [p]Improved mood in menu[/p]
• [p]Added more songs![/p]

[p]As always, there is much more to do. So until next time![/p][p]*Maybe, it's complicated :)[/p]

[p]Tuuuut, tuut tuut, tuuuut. Our game is... Playable from start to finish. Achievements in place, leaderboards ready for entries. The bricks ready to be Kabonk!'t. Ball polished to be smashed... That means we are confident to announce our release date: October 10th, 2025![/p][p][/p][p]Until that time we will test, improve, polish, and play(test) the shizzle out of it, to hopefully give you the best experience we can offer for our first game release. Whoah. What a trip this is... What a trip it is... Maybe I'll write about it some day.[/p][h3]
Demo will reset 31 August[/h3][p]Next up, the demo. While the Steam Debut Festival was over two weeks ago we extended the in game festival until end of this month. That will mean the following:
1. The top 10 in the Debut Leaderboard will get a permanent spot in the final game.
2. We will reset the current demo for everyone on 31th of august.
3. We will update the demo with all improvements we have added since the demo release.

Hurry up, less than a week left.

What does this mean:
- Players might need to complete all levels again;
- The world resets will no longer occur (see previous update here);
- there will be a new permanent demo leaderboard;
- You will not lose progress towards achievements;

Thanks for reading and until the next one.[/p]

[p]Tuut, tut tut tuuut, tut tut tuuuuut! You get the vibe. Here is one of the many final countdowns updates. Because as mentioned before, we are never done, but we are (super) close to playable. And the release date is getting real close. Exciting![/p][p]We have updated and improved a lot, so let's get started.[/p][h2]Player Experience Enhancements[/h2]

• [p]Added clearer visual cues for unlocked levels and worlds.[/p]
• [p]Portals at the end of each world now seamlessly lead to the next.[/p]
• [p]Reduced maximum lives from 5 to 3 for a tighter challenge.[/p]
• [p]Removed world reset after losing a level.[/p]
• [p]Added a reset level option after losing all lives.[/p]
• [p]Displayed current level and its leaderboard at each level's entrance.[/p]
• [p]Updated the game over screen to feature the paddle instead of the ball.[/p]

[p][/p][p]So much reds and greens.[/p][h2]Demo Feedback Improvements[/h2][p]Thanks to insights from the Debut Festival demo, we’ve polished the game further:[/p]

• [p]Enhanced levels 7 and 13 for better flow.[/p]
• [p]Improved ball control when hitting the paddle's sides.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a critical bug in the portal mechanic.[/p]

[h2]More Content, More Fun[/h2][p]We’ve expanded the game to keep the excitement rolling:[/p]

• [p]More than doubled the number of playable levels.[/p]
• [p]Introduced a "duplicated ball" upgrade for dynamic gameplay.[/p]
• [p]Added a bonus level world with unique, tribute-inspired playable levels.[/p]
• [p]Enabled more, much more, stats... Aka achievements![/p]

[p][/p][p]Look at all those leaderboards, ready to be filled![/p][h2]Visual and Technical Polish[/h2][p]We’ve spruced up the visuals and fixed some quirks:[/p]

• [p]Fixed a slight blink at the end of the explosion brick animation.[/p]
• [p]Styled leaderboards to match each world’s theme.[/p]
• [p]Corrected shadow issues in the first three worlds.[/p]
• [p]Improved the Ping Pong Effect by fixing a particle system reset issue.[/p]
• [p]Restored the game over screen to a classic black-and-white look.[/p]
• [p]Removed confusing level indicators.[/p]
• [p]Changed time display from seconds to a cleaner mm:ss format.[/p]
• [p]Restored cracks in the physical brick material.[/p]
• [p]Applied the correct texture to the Sphere Brick.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Other fixes[/h2][p]These are important, too.[/p]

• [p]Timer now correctly stops when pause;[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue where slow paddle kept after level. That must be annoying in the menus...[/p]
• [p]Improved 3 somewhat boring levels. We all know those, and sorry for that! (There is a lot of 'slightly improvements'-messages in our internal changelog :));[/p]
• [p]More improvements and performances for lightning;[/p]

[p]We did so much more, and still have so much more left... So until the next one![/p]