Tower Unite News

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for January 31st, 2022, detailing all the changes that have happened since January 25th, 2022. 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]Accessibility Suggestions[/h2]
We've created a forum post asking the community for suggestions on how we can improve gameplay for players with certain conditions such as colorblindness, dyslexia, or anything else that might affect a players ability to use the standard presentation and controls of the game.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, and possible solutions on how to solve a particular issue, please check out the forum post here.

[h2]Next Update[/h2]
We're working hard on the next update, which includes numerous fixes and changes to Accelerate, Sunrise Isles - Track 2 (renamed to Riptide Retreat), and a "connectivity surprise" that was mentioned in the last dev log.

You can follow along with the progress of this next update, including a list of everything planned to be in this next update here.

[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

Johanna continued working on the "connectivity surprise", and worked on finishing Riptide Retreat (Sunrise Isles - Track 2).

JJosh continued working on the Bowling NPCs and Guitar Animations.

Lifeless continued working on Minigolf: Dark and Zombie Massacre: Acrophobia.

macdguy worked on adding controller support to the Main Menu. He also fixed various issues and bugs with Virus, along with working a bit on SDNL weapons and concepts for Horror Hill. He continued working on the "connectivity surprise".

Madmijk continued working on the condo instruments, working on a system to switch sound types.

Sketchman continued working on backend improvements and optimizations. He continued working on fixing the desync issues in condos, such as clamping transform values. He also continued working on the "connectivity surprise".

Wheezwer worked with macdguy on Horror Hill concepts. She also helped work on the "connectivity surprise".

Will continued working on a Virus sound pass, going through each of the maps and adding ambient sounds and footsteps. He also started working on monster growling.

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since January 25th, 2022 at PixelTail Games.

---

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

We're also active on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

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

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

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for January 25th, 2022, detailing all the changes that have happened since January 18th, 2022. 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]Accessibility Suggestions[/h2]
We've created a forum post asking the community for suggestions on how we can improve gameplay for players with certain conditions such as colorblindness, dyslexia, or anything else that might affect a players ability to use the standard presentation and controls of the game.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, and possible solutions on how to solve a particular issue, please check out the forum post here.

[h2]Next Update[/h2]
We're working hard on the next update, which includes numerous fixes and changes to Accelerate, Sunrise Isles - Track 2, and a "connectivity surprise" that was mentioned in the last dev log.

You can follow along with the progress of this next update, including a list of everything planned to be in this next update here.

[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

Johanna worked on finishing up work for Sunrise Isles - Track 2. She also continued working on the "connectivity surprise" mentioned last week, while also starting work on a new Virus map level designed originally by Lifeless.

JJosh continued working on the Bowling NPCs and Guitar Animations.

Lifeless continued working on Minigolf: Dark and Zombie Massacre: Acrophobia. He also helped Johanna on the "connectivity surprise".

macdguy worked on splitting the Accelerate tracks into separate maps. He also improved the Votemap end screen, such as removing the roulette animations if there isn't a tie. In addition, he worked on the "connectivity surprise" along with design work for Horror Hill and controller support for Tower Unite's UI.

Madmijk continued working on the condo instruments.

Sketchman continued working on backend improvements and optimizations. He also worked on fixing the desync issues between what condo owners see in their condo, and what players who are visiting the condo see (in relation to item scale and position).

Wheezwer worked on Steam trading cards, and looked into making Steam profile backgrounds. She also worked with macdguy on Horror Hill concepts.

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since January 18th, 2022 at PixelTail Games.

---

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

We're also active on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

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

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

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for January 18th, 2022, detailing all the changes that have happened since January 10th, 2022. 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]Accessibility Suggestions[/h2]
We've created a forum post asking the community for suggestions on how we can improve gameplay for players with certain conditions such as colorblindness, dyslexia, or anything else that might affect a players ability to use the standard presentation and controls of the game.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, and possible solutions on how to solve a particular issue, please check out the forum post here.

[h2]2022 Tower Connectivity Survey RESULTS![/h2]
A few weeks ago, we asked you guys, the community, on your opinions about connectivity in Tower Unite to help us guide future decisions. A whopping 1,564 of you answered the survey, to which we are very grateful!

[h3]Tower Connectivity Survey Results[/h3]



[h2]Plaza[/h2]

Johanna worked on additions to the Theatre building.

[h3]Plaza: Theatre Building Additions[/h3]



[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

macdguy worked on the 2D map for Track 2 of Sunrise Isles.

There is no major dev updates this week, because we are currently working on a very special update that we're not ready to announce yet. This update will be related to connectivity. Rest assured, you all will be playing this update sooner than you might imagine, and we hope you will love it as much as we do.

[h3]Sunrise Isles - Track 2 Map[/h3]


[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since January 10th, 2022 at PixelTail Games.

---

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

We're also active on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

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

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

One of Tower’s original Early Access launch maps, Midori, has gotten a refreshed look! The fuTUre is here! Rush around a lush forest valley overseen by the robot in the sky. Don't tell us why. There have been some adjustments to gameplay, but it's still the same brutally difficult map you love to hate.





We’ve also improved parts of Ball Race, including bonus round improvements, HUD improvements, bug fixes, and new finish cameras.


This update focused on various optimizations to the Plaza, including many optimizations to the players in Plaza to help ensure improved FPS with populated servers.


Changes

• Ball Race: Midori Remastered
  
• Optimized Plaza characters (reducing CPU usage overall)
  
• Optimized Monorail
  
• Optimized Plaza draw calls
  
• Optimized Minigolf: Treasure Cove
  
• Optimized button sounds overall
  
• Ball Race: Added a crown to the HUD that stays lit until you pop, so you can more easily track your King achievement status
  
• Ball Race: Improved finished camera
  
• Ball Race: Improved finish goal effects
  
• Ball Race: Bonus round now shows how many melons are left to pickup
  
• Ball Race: Bonus round now ends when you have picked up all the melons
  
• Ball Race: Updated bonus round graphics
  
• Ball Race: Improved HUD look/fonts
  
• Ball Race: Improved pickup effects
  
• Ball Race: Optimized various network events
  
• Ball Race: Optimized finish goals
  
• Reduced loudness of the slot machine button press sounds
  
• Improved RC plane/minigame plane camera

Bug Fixes

• Fixed tool weapons not being able to interact with Floating Text item
  
• Fixed several reported exploits
  
• Ball Race: Fixed finished graphic overlapping with the ball
  
• Ball Race - GLXY: Fixed level 4 boost having an angle to it
  
• Ball Race - Nimbus: Fixed several level starts being angled when you spawn
  
• Ball Race: Fixed bonus round displaying after the round is over
  
• Ball Race: Fixed "failed" showing up after a bonus round is over
  
• Ball Race: Fixed bonus music just abruptly cutting off if you finish bonus sooner than the timer
  
• Ball Race: Fixed pickup effects not playing if the host picked up a melon
  
• Ball Race: Fixed picking up a mega melon (5 melon points) not counting correctly towards the melon pickup achievements properly (it would only count as 1 melon before)
  
• Ball Race: Improved player respawning to prevent having to reload the player models each respawn
  
• Minigolf - Cove: Fixed out of bounds issue on hole 16
  
• Optimized Candlestick items
  
• Fixed Miniature Ferris Wheel having massive lights
  
• Fixed Grill light intensity being way too much
  
• Fixed jump crouching causing the camera to clip through ceilings
  
• Fixed jump crouching causing the camera to snap down instead of ease back to crouch when landing from a jump crouch
  
• Fixed snowball drawing a shadow in the snowball minigame
  
• Fixed snowball launcher awarding way too many points in snowball minigame
  
• Fixed plane not turning hard when holding down sprint key in plane minigame
  
• Fixed fridge doors not working when you scale the fridge (also improved the lights on the fridge as well)

Post Update Hot Fix

• Ball Race: Fixed finish camera tilting on some levels
  
• Ball Race: Fixed bonus round in Memories not having the correct amount of melons being counted
  
• Ball Race: Fixed the goal position for Event Horizon on the last level
  
• Ball Race: Fixed golden melons being picked up by only one player
  
• Ball Race: Fixed players rolling on their own before the timer starts

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

We're also active on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

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

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! http://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

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Weekly Dev Log for January 10th, 2022, detailing all the changes that have happened since December 13th, 2021. 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]December 2021 Condo Contest Ended![/h2]
The contest has ended, and the winners are @FrasierFan666, @Niz, @cayla, @jamlee11, and @Lady!

The first prize winner @FrasierFan666 won 2,000,000 units!

You can view the condos which won and all of the other wonderful entries here.

[h2]Accessibility Suggestions[/h2]
We've created a forum post asking the community for suggestions on how we can improve gameplay for players with certain conditions such as colorblindness, dyslexia, or anything else that might affect a players ability to use the standard presentation and controls of the game.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, and possible solutions on how to solve a particular issue, please check out the forum post here.

[h2]Plaza[/h2]

Johanna worked on an overhaul of the furniture store.

Wheezwer continued working on the new Plaza signage.

Will continued working on music and sound fixes for the Plaza (fixing holes in the map where there weren't footstep sounds).

[h3]Plaza: Updated Furniture Store Interior WIP[/h3]



[h2]Condo[/h2]

Johanna started converting props from the Minigolf map, Sweet Tooth into Condo items.

Madmijk continued working on improving the instruments and adding MIDI support. He improved the listening experience for other players with instrument items, as demonstrated in the video below. The notes are now played more neatly in the rhythm that the playing user played them.

[h3]Condo: "Circus Galop" demo on the Grand Piano (MIDI input is not yet available and will be released in a future update)[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Condo: Sweet Tooth prop items[/h3]



[h2]Ball Race[/h2]

Johanna started a Ball Race, Paradise art pass, updating the course art, rock work, and color palette.

macdguy fixed a bunch of long standing bugs. He added a little crown on the top left HUD to indicate if the player has died or not (useful for No Death Achievements). The HUD was upgraded and optimized. The pickup system was recoded to fix issues with replication. The bonus stage now indicates how many melons are left to be collected and will end when all of the melons have been collected.

[h3]Ball Race: Paradise Art Pass WIP[/h3]



[h2]Miscellany[/h2]

Caboose700 worked with Sketchman on stabilizing the backend systems.

Lifeless continued working on the Zombie Massacre map, Acrophobia.

macdguy worked on various bug fixes and UI tweaks.

Sketchman worked on stabilizing the backend systems.

[h2]Wrap It Up[/h2]
That about covers everything that happened since December 13th, 2021 at PixelTail Games.

---

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

We're also active on Twitter! https://twitter.com/PixelTailGames

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

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