Tower Unite News

Weekly Dev Log for June 3rd, 2024

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for June 3rd, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 28th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.

[h2]May/June 2024 Condo Contest[/h2]

Hey everyone, this time the contest is about custom Game World Maps!

Your entry can be for any of the Game Worlds that have Workshop Map SDK support (so Virus, SDNL, or Little Crusaders), and there's no time requirement for when the map was made!

Unlike previous contests, your entry must be uploaded to the Workshop and playable in TU! (We want maps to be judged on their gameplay and art!)

The submission period ends on June 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM.

Be sure to look at the prizes and follow the rules here!

[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

Johanna continued working on the Minigolf editor, and the optimization / art pass of the plaza transit station.

Joshua continued working on animations for the arcade machines in preparation for the new workshop rig.

Lifeless worked on some minigame and various other small quality of life changes.

macdguy worked on all the animation changes needed for the new workshop rig. He also worked on the Ball Race and Minigolf SDKs, getting the items on par with those used in our official maps (such as cannons and bumpers). Finished the music system so custom maps can have custom music, and worked on finishing up Sound Packs.

Nuclearxpotato continued working on a new Minigolf map.

Sketchman worked on fixing the workshop issues on Linux. He also worked on various optimizations and bug fixes.

Wheezwer worked on the boardwalk token machine art, and other assorted art tasks.

Will continued working on music.

[h3]Ball Race SDK: Bumper Settings[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Ball Race SDK: Pickup Settings[/h3]

[h3]Ball Race SDK: Repulser Settings[/h3]

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since May 28th, 2024 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time: https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

If you like our game and want to support development, please consider getting a Supporter Pack:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2792910/Tower_Unite__Supporter_Pack

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week! https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/announcements/weekly-dev-logs/65

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

Weekly Dev Log for May 28th, 2024

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 28th, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 21st, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.

[h2]May/June 2024 Condo Contest[/h2]

[h3]Accessibility: Different Icon Sizes (Very Large / Small)[/h3]

[h3]Condo I/O: Working AND/OR Logic[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Condo I/O: IO Volumes now have shapes[/h3]

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since May 21st, 2024 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time: https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

If you like our game and want to support development, please consider getting a Supporter Pack:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2792910/Tower_Unite__Supporter_Pack/?snr=1_2108_9__2107

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week! https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/announcements/weekly-dev-logs/65

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

Weekly Dev Log for May 21st, 2024

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 21st, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since May 6th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.

[h2]May/June 2024 Condo Contest[/h2]

Hey everyone, this time the contest is about custom Game World Maps!

Your entry can be for any of the Game Worlds that have Workshop Map SDK support (so Virus, SDNL, or Little Crusaders), and there's no time requirement for when the map was made!

Unlike previous contests, your entry must be uploaded to the Workshop and playable in TU! (We want maps to be judged on their gameplay and art!)

The submission period ends on June 6th, 2024 at 11:59 PM.

Be sure to look at the prizes and follow the rules here!

[h2]Minigolf SDK[/h2]

The Minigolf SDK tools are nearing completion. The tool icons are now setup, along with the tools themselves and their settings.

All the different variants and selectable models for the Minigolf Editor makes for around 5,243 models. These models are all under the hood, as you tell the editor what the tile should be and it'll select the correct one for you.

Also, we did a lot of work both behind the scenes and in the editor UI to make working with the Minigolf tiles much easier, such as bug fixes and improvements to the grid snapping tools.

[h3]Minigolf SDK: Current Progress[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Minigolf SDK: Piece Editing[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Minigolf SDK: Tool Icons[/h3]

[h2]New Accessibility Settings[/h2]

We've added a new settings section - Accessibility, which has various settings suggested by the community.

[h3]Accessibility Settings[/h3]

[h2]Canvas URL Replacer Tool[/h2]

Easily replace URLs with new URLs across all canvas items that use the same URL in one click. Very useful to replace old/broken links.

There is also a new "Find" feature that will visually show all canvas items that are using the same URL so you can find where the canvas is in your Condo.

[h3]Canvas URL Replacer Tool[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Sound Volumes[/h2]

Sound Volumes are new IO volumes that handle playback of sound emitters (clientside) based on if you are inside the volume or not.

Also comes with settings for fading sounds and muting outside sounds.

To use Sound Volumes you will have to click on "Collect" to collect all the sound emitters in the volume after placing the sound emitters inside the volume.

[h3]Sound Volume Demo[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Sound Volume Settings[/h3]

[h2]Workshop Soundpacks and Custom Game World SDK music[/h2]

With Workshop Soundpacks wrapping up for release, we are now working on defining how you'll be able to set custom music for your game world levels. There will be a new IO module called Game World Music Manager. You can set custom music for each type of stage of the game world, if you don't set any sound it'll use the default game world music.

[h3]Workshop Game World Music Manager[/h3]

[h2]Sound Playlists[/h2]

We also added playlist support to sound emitters. While enabled, you can add multiple sounds that will play one after another and can be used for Workshop Sound Emitters

[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

Joshua worked on getting the new workshop rig ready for release.

Lifeless worked on new accessibility options.

macdguy worked on the sound emitter playlists, important libretro fixes, and various SDK things.

Nuclearxpotato continue working on a new Minigolf map.

Sketchman worked on fixing some outstanding issues and bug fixes.

Will continued working on music.

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since May 6th, 2024 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time: https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

If you like our game and want to support development, please consider getting a Supporter Pack: Tower Unite - Supporter Pack

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week! https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

Weekly Dev Log for May 6th, 2024

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for May 6th, 2024, detailing all the changes that have happened since April 29th, 2024. Note: Devs that don't appear in the weekly log are not necessarily away or not doing work, but may be working on things currently not announced or backend work that doesn't need to be detailed.

[h2]May/June 2024 Condo Contest[/h2]

Last week, we released our May 2024 dev update, which detailed everything we worked on in April, and what we plan on working on in May.

You can check that out here.

[h2]Minigolf SDK[/h2]

Work continues on getting the Minigolf SDK ready for release.

Johanna continued working on the Minigolf SDK.

macdguy worked on getting the Minigolf SDK editor completed.

[h3]Minigolf SDK: Editor WIP[/h3]

[h3]Minigolf SDK: Visible Grid for Grid Snap WIP[/h3]

Note: This will also work for Condo Editing.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

Johanna started working on a major optimization and small art pass to the Subway area of the Plaza.

Joshua worked on getting the new workshop rig ready for release.

Lifeless worked on some accessibility features. He made a basic color blind mode for Minigolf.

macdguy continued working on Workshop Sound Packs.

Nuclearxpotato remade the keypad model, made a second keypad model, and started working on a new Minigolf map.

Sketchman worked on fixing some outstanding issues and bug fixes.

[h3]New Keypad Item and Updated Keypad[/h3]

[h3]Workshop Sound Packs WIP[/h3]

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since April 29th, 2024 at PixelTail Games.

---

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time: https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

If you like our game and want to support development, please consider getting a Supporter Pack: Tower Unite - Supporter Pack

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week! https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7

May 2024 Dev Update

Hey everyone, we’re back to talk about what we’ve been up to in April, what we’re going to get up to in May, and other topics!

May Events

We’ve got more fun events lined up for you all in May! Once again, be sure to let us know what events you want to see in the game. We really appreciate any input you all have on these. We’ve also made a thread to keep track of any suggestions you have here.

Makeship Campaign Over!

The Cornelius and Birb Makeship plush campaign was a success! You guys rock! We sold 726 plushes, and we are so grateful for everyone’s support with the campaign. They’re now being made, so if you bought a plush, keep an eye out for more info on shipping from Makeship in the coming months!

Keep an eye out for future merch collaborations with Makeship as well!

Bumper Cars Update

During April we were hard at work on the Bumper Cars update!

As Bumper Cars is a Plaza attraction, it was a tricky process to work on and test as we have to work on the large main Plaza level. Working on that level can often bring about issues with lighting and other parts of the game that are inter-connected, but Bumper Cars is finally released!

We’re so glad it’s finally out to you all, and its been awesome to see you all having fun with it. We also got a hot fix out to resolve any issues that popped up along the way.

What’s Next?

These are the big features on our minds post-Bumper Cars:

Minigolf SDK
Ball Race SDK
Workshop Sound Packs
New Workshop Rig
Transit Station Optimizations/Art Pass
Arcade, SDNL, & Game World Maps

Minigolf SDK

We’re shifting our focus to completing the Minigolf SDK, which will allow players to create custom Minigolf maps! It’s an ambitious feature, but it’s going to be fun for you all and also help give us streamlined tools when making Minigolf maps in the future!

During April, progress has been made on various features of the Minigolf: SDK, such as:

curved ramp tool
side shifter tool
improvements and additional features for existing tools
half pipe tool
s-bend tool

We’re in the final stretch of creating all of the assets for the Minigolf editor, and just need to finish up some additional tools as well as setting it all up.

Like we’ve said before, these Minigolf tools require a lot more work than other Game World Map tools, and we have to balance what we’re working on between the different projects going on. But, we’re making a lot of progress with it!

Ball Race SDK

We are also working on getting the Ball Race SDK out, which comes with its own tools, such as a spline platform tool (Canvas Spline Mesh), custom music support (with ogg), and leaderboards for Workshop maps.

For leaderboards, we are planning a way to create staff-approved leaderboards for SDK maps which will work the same as our normal leaderboards but tied to the Workshop map. This process will be similar to the staff-approved unit payouts that both Minigolf and Ball Race will require. The staff-approved process will be done by us tagging a Workshop map as “Unit Approved” and then the unit payouts & leaderboards will be enabled for that map. This is planned so we can ensure maps are made fairly and not just for unit boosting.

Workshop Sound Packs

We’re really excited to share we’ve been working on Workshop Sound Packs. These will allow players to upload custom sound packs to the Workshop to use in their Condos and SDK Maps! This feature should be available in the next update.

Workshop Rig

We’re also very close to finishing a guide for the new Workshop rig and putting some finishing touches on implementing it in the game, and that will be coming out very soon as well.

Transit Station Optimization/Art Pass

We also wanted to share that we’ve been doing optimization work as well as an art pass on the Transit station, which will improve performance and visuals.

Arcade, SDNL, and Game World Maps

We’ve gotten started on implementing voice lines for SDNL, but, since working on the Boardwalk, we’ve also been talking about shifting gears and getting some work done on the Arcade as we discussed at the beginning of the year. These discussions have been about finishing games that have artwork, adding new games, and doing optimization work.

There has already been progress on that optimization work, mainly reducing server-side CPU calculations to help with server performance.

Game World Maps are still always in development and waiting for an opportunity for testing and release, and we’re experimenting with some fun ideas for upcoming ones that we’re excited to see come to fruition.

Backend Work / Organization

There’s a couple of things we wanted to touch base on in regard to backend work.

In previous Dev Updates, we brought up the Patron rewards as well as Dedicated Condos work. Patron rewards have had some delays as we were prioritizing a new ban appeal system that will better streamline our moderation process, and dedicated Condos have had delays due to Plaza Optimization work mentioned above. You should see progress on both soon.

We’ve also been working on more thoroughly going through and organizing our forum backlog of bug reports, crashes and other game issues, as well as suggestions. We may ask for some feedback from you all to help us out with narrowing down existing issues in a survey some time, so keep an eye out for that.

That’s gonna do it for this Dev Update, thanks for reading!

Join our Discord for development updates and community fun! https://discord.gg/pixeltail
We love awesome people like you!

Follow our developments on our Trello in near real-time: https://trello.com/b/6BwRMiPw/tower-unite-roadmap

If you like our game and want to support development, please consider getting a Supporter Pack:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2792910/Tower_Unite__Supporter_Pack

Take a peek at what's being worked on every week in our weekly dev logs! There's bound to be something interesting every week! https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/devupdates/weekly-dev-logs

Please report bugs & submit suggestions on our forums. We're active everyday & here to help.
For bug reports: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/bug-report/18
For suggestions: https://forums.pixeltailgames.com/c/suggestions/7