Bug Off News

[p][/p][p]With the previous update, a new PvP mode was silently added to the game. It was a mode where you and your friends could fight each other by stomping with a pair of slippers, without any rules or a final goal.[/p][p]Playtests have proven slippers alone were not enough for a truly fun experience. While stomping friends was nice, the endless nature of the mode gave no time to take a breath, and the lack of ranged abilities made it impossible to fight an enemy who decided to flee every battle.[/p][p]So a huge amount of work was done to address these issues, along with some more fixes and improvements.[/p][p][/p][h2]PvP Rounds[/h2][p]PvP play sessions are not endless anymore, they are limited to 3 rounds. Now you need to gain 5 points by defeating other players to win a round, and the match winner is the player who won the most rounds.[/p][p]There is also some time between rounds when you can't gain points. Players' health and abilities are reset at the start of each round, so you can have a little time to breathe between rounds.[/p][p][/p][h2]Fireballs in PvP[/h2][p][/p][p]During the active round phase, random fireball pickups will appear in the level. Collecting them will enable you to cast fireballs at other players. They deal high splash damage to anyone who is close enough, even yourself, so be careful when using them.[/p][p][/p][h2]Stomps in PvP[/h2][p][/p][p]While stomps in the singleplayer being just a faster version of basic steps is a good thing for precise bug squashing, this is not a good option for a multiplayer mode. So steps and stomps in PvP were completely reworked to deal more damage and reach further than in the singleplayer.[/p][p]Stomps in PvP are extra juicy now, they make the multiplayer feel way more fun and chaotic than they used to.[/p][p][/p][h2]Player colors[/h2][p]You can finally recognize your own feet in the heat of battle thanks to new slipper colors.[/p][p][/p][h2]PvP Settings: Level, Mode and Type[/h2][p]The update also brings a settings section to the PvP lobby, available for the lobby owner to select.[/p]

• [p]Level: Museum, Mansion, and Rural levels are available[/p]
• [p]Type: Public or Friends Only[/p]
• [p]Mode: FFA or 1v1[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Bug Fixes and Improvements[/h2]

• [p]No more lag on VFX first-time spawn[/p]
• [p]Clients can hear their own jumps and steps now[/p]
• [p]Aim is hidden if pointing nowhere[/p]
• [p]No more movement and sound lag for clients[/p]
• [p]Players can't score themselves[/p]
• [p]UI is scaled correctly on desktop and Steam Deck[/p]

[p][/p][h2]What's Next[/h2][p]Fireballs are the first step that added abilities to the game. It opens the door for new abilities as well, so you can expect some more in the next updates.[/p][p]Currently, there are no bugs in the PvP mode because synchronizing so many entities in multiplayer would be too heavy of a network load and would introduce multiplayer lag. But it does not mean it is not possible to make it work.[/p][p]I think I have a solution to the problem, but it requires a total remake of the bugs' movement logic. So my next goal is to try to do it, fingers crossed it will go well and we will see bugs in PvP as well.[/p][p]There is also a plan to add a wipeout-like mode to the game. It will probably replace the current singleplayer mode or gradually evolve from it, we'll see. Let me know if you like the current singleplayer, so I could make a decision to keep it as is and add the new one as a separate mode.[/p][p]That's it, share your opinion on the new PvP mode in the comments and tell me what you would like to see in the next update the most.[/p]

[p]Up until now, Bug Off had a single level to play, and its colors were mostly black and white, making the overall feel too strict for the bug-squashing theme.[/p][p][/p][p]With update v0.4.1, the existing Museum level lighting has been updated to make it more pleasing to the eye. Here you can see the new look of the Museum level.[/p][p][/p][p]To add more variety to the game, patch v0.4.1 introduces two new levels: Mansion and Rural.[/p][h2]Mansion[/h2][p][/p][p]This is a dark indoor level with mostly warm chandelier lighting and some blue moonlight passing through the windows. The bugs look especially nice here thanks to their glowing shells and outlines. I will talk more about this later in the post.[/p][p][/p][h2]Rural [/h2][p][/p][p]This level breaks the original idea of the game taking place entirely indoors. However, the game needed a cozy touch, so I decided to take the risk and make this level outdoors, with bright warm sunlight, green grass and trees, and a wooden cabin to make it feel even more cozy and alive.[/p][p][/p][p]The new levels introduced new challenges to the game's design.[/p][p][/p][p]With a single level and lighting setup, it was enough to mark right and wrong bugs by adding differently colored glowing backs. However, in the new levels, the old bugs no longer looked as intended.[/p][p]In the dark Mansion level, bugs became hard to see because they were dark as well. In the outdoor Rural level, the red and yellow glowing backs became too bright, making it difficult to distinguish which bugs were correct and which were not.[/p][p]As a result, the entire bug design was reworked. Instead of glowing backs, bugs are now fully different colors: bugs to squash are red, wrong bugs are white and bugs that reduce score are black.[/p][p]Since changing colors alone was not enough to make the bugs look good in every level, the new bugs now have a glowing outline. This makes them clearly visible in both dark and bright environments.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Achievements[/h2][p]There were achievements for squashing specific numbers of bugs, such as 10,000, 100,000, and 1,000,000. However, I realized these were extremely hard to reach. So hard that even I, who plays the game more than anyone else, could not achieve them.[/p][p]Because of this, I decided to reduce the requirements to 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000, respectively. These numbers feel about right, as I am close to reaching the last one myself.[/p][p][/p][h2]Async Level Loading Screen[/h2][p]The new levels have more objects, textures, and details than the original one, so they take longer to load. To make this feel smoother, I changed how levels load. The game no longer freezes during loading; instead, it now shows a progress bar so you can see that everything is working properly.[/p][p][/p][h2]Last Goal Time[/h2][p]The final goal about squashing 100 bugs, is the one I struggle with the most, so I decided to increase the time limit by about 10%. It is still hard to complete, though.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Rest[/h2][p]These were the most noticeable changes. There are also smaller changes and bug fixes included in this patch. If you find something I haven't fixed yet, please let me know in the comments so I can add it to my list.[/p]

[p]I am happy to share some wonderful news: Bug Off is now global![/p][p]Patch 0.3.0 brings 12 more languages to the game, and the main menu has been completely redesigned.[/p][p][/p][h2]The languages[/h2][p][/p][p]You can select your preferred language from this list:[/p]

• [p]English[/p]
• [p]Russian[/p]
• [p]Polish[/p]
• [p]German[/p]
• [p]French[/p]
• [p]Italian[/p]
• [p]Spanish[/p]
• [p]Turkish[/p]
• [p]Brazilian Portuguese[/p]
• [p]Simplified Chinese[/p]
• [p]Traditional Chinese[/p]
• [p]Japanese[/p]
• [p]Korean[/p]

[p][/p][h2]The menu[/h2][p][/p][p]As you can see, the new main menu now has its own style. I hope you like it as much as I do.[/p][p][/p][h2]What is next[/h2][p]I am currently working on new levels for the game. The next update will introduce these new levels as launch options. Here is what you can expect from the update:[/p][p][/p][p]As you can see, these levels are drastically different in lighting and color compared to what the game has now. This brings new challenges to the game's design, as the bugs, the egg, and the slippers look very different from how they appear in the original level.[/p][p]It is possible that I will need to adjust how the bugs look so that you can more easily tell right from wrong no matter which level you choose.[/p][p][/p][p]That is all for now! I hope you like the update. Have a great day![/p]

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p]It's Steam Awards season, and we're aiming for Most Innovative Gameplay, because, let's be honest, controlling two slippers to squash bugs is pretty unusual.[/p][p]If you'd like to support the game, a nomination would mean a lot. Thanks for being here![/p]

[p]Yep, it finally happened - I’ve released the game!
Download it now and challenge me on the leaderboard… if you dare.[/p][p][/p][h2]Why Early Access?[/h2][p]The short answer: a small following.[/p][p]You see, there are certain criteria a game should meet to have a successful release, one that can actually cover its development costs.[/p][p]One such criterion is a high wishlist count.
If a game has no following at launch, it won’t be picked up by the algorithm, meaning almost no one will see it. To gain that much-needed visibility, the game itself has to be good and supported by some marketing efforts.[/p][p]Being a team of one, I just can’t do both development and marketing. So when the game was finished, it didn’t have a following large enough for a successful release.[/p][p]I had a choice: release now and start working on a new game, or postpone the release and focus on marketing this one. Putting all the effort into marketing doesn’t guarantee success, it only increases the chances. I decided to release the game now, and using the Early Access option, it has a chance for a stronger launch later.[/p][p]Early Access is also a great way to start collecting feedback from real players, not just friends and family. This allows me to see what people like, what they don’t, and better understand their expectations for the game. I’ll use this opportunity to guide the game in the right direction toward its final release.[/p][p][/p][h2]What’s Next?[/h2][p]Now I need to give the game some time to collect feedback. I’ll fix critical bugs, but I’ll hold off on other improvements until I have enough input to clearly understand what players want from the game.[/p][p]That doesn’t mean I’m going on vacation - no, I’ve already started development on my next game, Sole Duty. It reuses some mechanics from Bug Off, like independent slippers and bug squashing, but it’s a completely different genre: a cleaning simulator. Check it out, and don’t forget to wishlist it so I can release it when it’s ready![/p][p]Thanks to everyone who supports me, your feedback will shape the game’s final release![/p]