Kabonk! News

[p]Our initial 'release' on Steam was the demo we launched a few weeks ago. Perfectly timed for Steam Next Fest, but with enough leeway to keep the stress at bay.[/p][p]But let's be honest, it was a bit nerve-wracking. All those new experiences and firsts can make us a bit on edige. For what it's worth: it has given us even more respect for our fellow game developers. It is a lot of work.[/p][p]Since talking about Steam Next Fest: We've added a few games on the bottom that caught our attention.[/p][p]But first things first... Here's an update.[/p][h2]Leaderboards[/h2][p]We've added Leaderboards for each level (currently, 50 in total!). It's pretty awesome to see your name set in stone for others to see.[/p][p][/p][h2]Sticky effect[/h2][p]What's a brick-breaker without the 'sticky' upgrade? Exactly, not a brick-breaker! Here's an early concept.[/p][p][/p][p]Pushing some limits.[/p][h2]Shield[/h2][p]Another small but essential upgrade is increasing the paddle size (or decreasing it). Instead of just making it larger or smaller, we decided to give it a more interesting look.[/p][p][/p][h2]And more...[/h2][p]For those paying attention: We've added more bumpers and portals! But more on that later.[/p][p]In summary:[/p]

• [p]Added a sticky-effect;[/p]
• [p]Added shield;[/p]
• [p]Added bumpers & portals;[/p]
• [p]Improved map-size for standard levels;[/p]
• [p]Improved ping-pong effect;[/p]
• [p]Decreased minimum velocity among axis;[/p]
• [p]Added a 3-hit brick;[/p]
• [p]Added invisible brick;[/p]
• [p]Initialized 50 levels;[/p]

[h2]Shout out[/h2][p]A little shout-out to those games in the Steam Next Fest.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]As always, until next time![/p]

Hello! Just a small update with some visible changes!

First of all, thanks for playing the demo! It is soo cool to see and know people actually playing a game you have been working on so long. Even if it is 'just' a demo.

Luckely we have no big issues as of yet but there are some small chances:

• Leaderboards are now visible in game (top 3)
  
• Improved Ping Pong effect on higher-end systems
  
• Removed jittering on larger resolutions
  

If we missed anything.... let us know!

Until next time.

The Devil is in the details, but we only have chaos :).

And the Devil can be tamed, sort of. Or we are just chaotically aligned.

Whatever the case. We have some amazing news to share. And let's start with a big one...

[h2]Demo is.... ready!?[/h2]
We have been working towards Steam's Next Fest and one of our targets was a Demo. A playable chunk of our game, or at least the vision of it. And it is... sort of... there. I'm afraid. We are afraid... What if... if only... what should we... Arrr. A game is never finished, is it? Are we enjoying it? Hell yes. So. Good. It is available! Enjoy the demo!

[h2]Playtest?![/h2]
And if you enjoy, or preferably, not enjoying the demo: Please join the playtest and throw everything you've got at us. We want to make the best game possible that we all can enjoy.

[h2]Achievements[/h2]
Not officially promoted on the store but we have already one hidden achievement for the demo. A small test for us, but a bigger beast is waiting to be unleashed! The final version will probably, **probably**, have a lot of them. Because they are pretty lit!

[h2]Bonjour, Ciao, Hallo, Hola, Здравей, Ahoj, Hej, Hallo, Hei, Γειά σου, Helló, Halo, こんにちは, 안녕하세요, Hei, Cześć, Olá, Olá, Bună, Привет, 你好, Hola, Hej, สวัสดี, 你好, Merhaba, Привіт, Xin chào[/h2]
We have translated the store to each supported language using a combination of Google/Bing translate, And using our own interpretations. Hopefully, there are not too many "stone bricks"-mistake-like translation errors. If you find any (that annoys you enough), please let us know and we get them fixed!

[h2]One Leaderboard to rule them all (demo)[/h2]
For the demo, we have added a Leaderboard. One. The total time of completion. For the final version, more extended boards will be available. We've also added the highscore and current score for each level!


[h2]Any Mac gamers out there?[/h2]
Even though we use the Unreal Engine, porting to all Operating Systems is not just a push of a button (it can be, just not for us at the moment). But smashing a few buttons at random and a working Mac version was cooked! Now we are figuring out what specs are needed and how to get this working in our pipeline. Hopes are high!

[h2]Small but notable[/h2]
- Initial ball is now relative to the paddle's shoot direction
- Improved visuals for the switch
- Ping pong now has an impact when shot perfectly
- Animation added when teleporting to worlds
- Worlds will not reset when finished
- Fixed issue where abilities could be activated when paused
- Improved open/closed visuals for portals
- Added special effects for some unique power-up combinations
- Improved guide direction when the first level is completed
- Spawned balls will shoot automatically after 5 seconds (except first)
- Improved balance for powerups
- Slightly decreased limitations for vertical movement
- Added settings for mouse sensitivity and sound
This is not a contester for /r/badUIbattles.
- Increased shoot interval for shot-powerup, removed shoot limit
- Ping pong tip added on level 6
- Added some fun for in the end :)


Most of those changes are the results of letting people playtest the game. They may look and sound small, but they are an enormous help and improvement for the overall experience. We thank all for that. Especially you, D, C, F, J, F, M, Z, P and those others :-). We love you.

Until next time!

Ow. Btw. Did we told you about the demo? Go check it on our store page! It is out!

To be in control, is something we may try very hard every day. Unfortunately, it is not always in our grip. But here, in Kabonk!, you have all the tools. This one is for you, M.

And speaking of control(s). We've added much more ways to play the game. Beside the (Xbox) controller, you can now play using just the mouse, just the keyboard, and.... with the Steam Deck!

[h2]Steam Deck[/h2]
The Steam Deck is working and running on the (full) 60fps! We only had to install some c++ runtime module, which is included in the build. We want to get rit of that, but for now it at least works! Thanks for letting borrow your Deck, F.

On the topic of 60fps, we've made numerous improvements and doubled the average FPS! Which is great to get this game on as many devices as possible!

[h2]Compatibility mode (one-handed)[/h2]
Kabonk! is designed to be playable with one hand, whether you're using just the mouse, just the keyboard, or even the Steam Deck and controllers, though they can be a bit heavy for one-handed use.

By the way, If you're a one-handed gamer, please reach out. I'll get you a key and love some feedback.

No one was intentionally harmed for the making of this game.

[h2]Hello, 你好, こんにちは[/h2]
While Kabonk! aims to have minimal written and spoken text, we would like to translate it to Traditional Chinese and Japanese. The store page and trailer have been translated, using AI and Google Translate but are open for improvements! The game itself contains two lines of text from the Unreal Engine license, which have been translated, but I've not yet find a way to test it.

Unfortunately, I don't understand this.

[h2]Leaderboards[/h2]
We've leaderboards working! This was way more work than needed (just a 'bug' that we couldn't find on internet) but way more satisfying than hoped for. Now it is a matter of how to implement it. For the demo, we're considering a single leaderboard for all 10 levels (based on completion time) and individual leaderboards for each level in the final game. We hope to bring back the nostalgic feel of high scores from retro arcade machines.
(Bringing back memories from the '90s when after a night of pool we find ourselves beating high-scores in those classic arcade machines).

[h2]Achievements[/h2]
Though not yet promoted, we're considering adding achievements to the game. We have some fun and feasible ideas in mind, so stay tuned!

[h2]General improvements and fixes[/h2]
- fixed issue where the game couldn't continue after a game over
- fixed issue where music stopped playing after starting a level
- improved camera lock when level starts
- improved performance (doubling FPS!)
- improved visuals for lives & current level

- added more sound effects
- finished the first 10 (demo) levels
- added Japanese and Chinese (traditional) translations
- added a new powerup: time-control
- we released our announcement trailer! Check it on our Steam Page.

Until next time!

80 % of the 80 % .. of the 80 % of what we think we need. And then there is still a lot more, because making things known you don't know can be a subject of its own.

But today, we have only good things to share! Let's start with the fact that the game works—at least the basics. The build is solid, and the flow from start to the end of the demo is smooth.

Normally, you don't think about what happens if you lose a life or what occurs when you lose all your lives. The game guides you as a player, and you follow along. As a developer, though, managing lives, tracking save games, determining when a level is finished, handling what happens when you lose all lives, pausing, or continuing a game—this entire flow can be a tedious job, especially if you're trying to avoid using a UI.

Here are some seemingly small details that took us quite a while to build. Hopefully, they'll stay.

Pause Game
The only options are to leave or continue. For now, the game overflow is similar, but without the continue option.


Menu
Options include music control, exiting the game, and selecting worlds/levels.


Losing Lives
An effect visually shows the loss in-game.


Completing a Level
All important level items are removed.


Power! ups.
Last but not least. We have been finalizing the look and feel of the power ups (pickups). Currently we have 4 worked out but of course more will follow.


All images are work in progress and subject to change. But hopefully, you enjoyed seeing our progress!

Until next time!