Lion Quest News

A new decade is here, as is a new update for Lion Quest! This includes a few tweaks designed to ensure better hardware compatibility and future-proof the game so you can enjoy it long into the next decade.

There's also a subtle new feature that I hope improves the quality of the game. This is a curbed jump, which means that the character doesn't jump as high if you release the jump button quickly after pressing it. Oh, and I've ever-so-slightly reduced the speed of the player walking animation. It seemed a little *too* fast.

The rest of the changes are as follows:

• Support for Metal graphics API on Mac
  
• Notarised build for OSX to comply with newer Mac security requirements
  
• Resolution fixes for Retina Mac devices (yes, there's a lot of Mac-specific fixes here. Everything still seems to work okay on Windows!)
  
• Cloud data save/ load is now completely bypassed if the game runs independently of Steam
  
• Removed URL from Splash Screen
  
• Engine update
  

One more thing. A new decade means a new price. Lion Quest is three and a half years old, and as it ages gracefully into *ahem* a silver fox, I believe a permanent price cut is in order.

Thanks for playing and here's to the next ten years of Lion Quest!

The next release from Dracula's Cave is here. Whilst I've got some big plans for the future of Lion Quest, today is all about a new piece of software I've been working on called AudioTheory Guitars.

It's an interactive reference tool for guitar notes and chords; the ultimate toolbox for anyone transcribing between guitar and piano, or working on a new song. By presenting the necessary information in an interactive and customisable format, it provides direct feedback on your input – with a smart colour coding system that helps demystify guitar music theory.

From today it is available to download on Steam. If you'd like to learn more about the product there's loads of information on the Steam store page, as well as the AudioTheory website:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1176110/AudioTheory_Guitars/

https://www.audiotheory.co/

Are you in the mood for more Lion Quest? If so you’re in luck – LQVE: Lion Quest Versus Expanded launches on Steam today. Rebuilt from the ground up, this next game in the series reimagines the multiplayer component of the original Lion Quest. You can check it out on the Steam store here.

And below are answers to some questions you may have about LQVE: Lion Quest Versus Expanded.

Is there a single player?
Yes! Although my original intention was to create a refined take on the Lion Quest multiplayer, I couldn’t resist adding in a whole bunch of single player features. This includes the 1p Cup mode where you play through tournaments against the AI, and Lion Quest Delta – an experimental take on the classic Lion Quest platforming mechanics.

Is LQVE a sequel to the original Lion Quest?
Sort of! Mechanically yes, and a sequel to the VS component of Lion Quest, also yes. It doesn’t contain a follow up to the original’s story mode, however the classic platforming mechanics do return in Lion Quest Delta.

Is there AI or ‘bots’?
Yes, you can configure your LQVS game to include any combination of human and CPU players. You can train against the computer or make up the numbers by adding in AI characters, it’s entirely up to you.

What about online play?
Unfortunately not. The good news is that LQVE has been designed for local multiplayer and simply doesn’t have the framework for a competitive online game. The emphasis is on experimenting with characters and game modes, with various handicap options to allow people of different skill levels to play together.

Will LQVE receive updates/new features in the future?
Yes! The original Lion Quest is still being supported a year and a half later and I hope to do the same with this title.

What Steam features does LQVE support?
At launch there are 25 achievements to be unlocked and support for Steam Cloud, allowing for cross-platform cloud save. The game has to meet some minimum metrics with Steam before Trading Cards can be enabled, but hopefully this is something I’ll be able to add in the future.

…

In other news, Lion Quest version 1.21 is on its way. Nothing too major to report other than some minor optimisations and bug fixes to the co-op ‘2 player adventure’ game camera. You can expect this update in the next couple of days.

Are you in the mood for more Lion Quest? If so you’re in luck – LQVE: Lion Quest Versus Expanded launches on Steam today. Rebuilt from the ground up, this next game in the series reimagines the multiplayer component of the original Lion Quest. You can check it out on the Steam store here.

And below are answers to some questions you may have about LQVE: Lion Quest Versus Expanded.

Is there a single player?
Yes! Although my original intention was to create a refined take on the Lion Quest multiplayer, I couldn’t resist adding in a whole bunch of single player features. This includes the 1p Cup mode where you play through tournaments against the AI, and Lion Quest Delta – an experimental take on the classic Lion Quest platforming mechanics.

Is LQVE a sequel to the original Lion Quest?
Sort of! Mechanically yes, and a sequel to the VS component of Lion Quest, also yes. It doesn’t contain a follow up to the original’s story mode, however the classic platforming mechanics do return in Lion Quest Delta.

Is there AI or ‘bots’?
Yes, you can configure your LQVS game to include any combination of human and CPU players. You can train against the computer or make up the numbers by adding in AI characters, it’s entirely up to you.

What about online play?
Unfortunately not. The good news is that LQVE has been designed for local multiplayer and simply doesn’t have the framework for a competitive online game. The emphasis is on experimenting with characters and game modes, with various handicap options to allow people of different skill levels to play together.

Will LQVE receive updates/new features in the future?
Yes! The original Lion Quest is still being supported a year and a half later and I hope to do the same with this title.

What Steam features does LQVE support?
At launch there are 25 achievements to be unlocked and support for Steam Cloud, allowing for cross-platform cloud save. The game has to meet some minimum metrics with Steam before Trading Cards can be enabled, but hopefully this is something I’ll be able to add in the future.

…

In other news, Lion Quest version 1.21 is on its way. Nothing too major to report other than some minor optimisations and bug fixes to the co-op ‘2 player adventure’ game camera. You can expect this update in the next couple of days.

The next Lion Quest update is now here. Version 1.20 includes a new dynamic camera system designed to better track the player – giving less movement where it's not needed and more where it is. This feature was originally developed for Lion Quest Versus Expanded – the upcoming follow-up to Lion Quest I've been working on. I ended up liking it so much that I couldn’t resist configuring it for the first game also.

Anyway, the full list of changes for Lion Quest 1.20 is as follows:

• Fullscreen settings adjusted to give additional reliability when swapping to and from fullscreen
  
  
• Auto Graphics API for windows – a couple of rendering issues have been fixed meaning DirectX can now be used instead of OpenGL on Windows. This also means that the game now runs on certain low spec machines that previously didn’t meet the minimum graphics requirements.
  
  
• Dynamic camera tracking for the main Lion Quest single player game and Lion Quest Arcade
  
  
• Steam settings updated to allow Lion Quest to run independently from the Steam Client if you choose to do so
  
  
• Minor animation improvements
  
  
• Checkpoint fix on Tutorial #3
  
  
• Waterfall effect fixed on Skull Island
  
  
  

Phew. That's all for today, and thanks for reading.