Solaroids News

*Asteroids vector theme shown

Welcome new and veteran players! Thank you for playing and competing in the :solaroidsS::solaroidsO:ːsolaroidsLːːsolaroidsAː:solaroidsR::solaroidsO::solaroidsI:ːsolaroidsDː:solaroidsS: monthly high score challenge.

Congratulations to all!

[h3]1st - Piegos / 109,757,510[/h3]
Taking 1st for the 2nd month in a row with their new top all-time score of 109,757,510, Piegos continues holds their position as top player this month. Also, a congratulations on just making it into the top-ten all-time list (10th) place, just pushing uber-longtime player gonzalocasado out of their slot. Does someone want to give them the news? ːsteamsaltyː

[h3]2nd - Harnulfson / 92,236,490[/h3]
2nd place goes again to Harnulfson with a score of 92,236,490. Not that far off from 1st, when you consider the scores we are talking about, but definitely widening the gap from last month.

[h3]3rd - BLURR / 50,333,210[/h3]
BLURR is back in the monthly ranks, taking 3rd place with 50,333,210. BLURR currently holds 5th in the all-time charts!

Note: Only the First Credit leaderboards are used for the monthly challenge.

All three top players this month are competing in with the Classic control style, which though much more difficult, due to no automatic pilot (dual-stick) controls, does grant the player additional benefits with a somewhat stronger ship hull, and a more aggressive multiplier. Also, it's safe to say that they are also competing in the Normal difficulty mode based both on the score, and (since the last patch), do not have an E superscript next to their score which would indicate it was in Easy mode.

[h2]Extra Challenge - COMPLETED ːsteamhappyː[/h2]

We made it again -- is this the 2nd, or third month in a row? The monthly boards are full. I'm a developer of his word, so as promised, I have Solaroids OST digital cards/keys for those in the winner’s circle. Use it yourself, give it away, or sell it if you can. The soundtrack is no longer tied to the game, it's been freed from DLC prison.

I've figured out an easier way to communicate to individual players is through the Steam Group Chat feature in the Community Hub ːsteamhappyː. Join the group chat and let me know, and I can transfer the card/code to you via a direct message. If you already have one and don't want another, also ping me in the Group Chat in the Steam Community HUB, or like I said, pass it on to someone that might enjoy it ːsolaroidshaloː.



I'll be keeping this extra challenge open for a while, so we'll see if there are enough competing players next month!

Cheers!

Chad (kiates)

[h3]Have a Feature Request or Discover a Lingering Issue?[/h3]
Do you have a feature request or find a lingering bug/issue? If so, then post it to the Steam Solaroids Community. Many of the tweaks, features, other additions, or future plans for Solaroids have originated with the community.

[h3]Sign-up[/h3]
Sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms, not just Steam.

[h3]Track me down on Discord![/h3]
Come join the (Solaroids Discord Server), exercise some much needed bragging rights, say high to other players, share some tips, and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet.

Minor feature updates and/or bug fixes.

[h2]New Features / Tweaks[/h2]

• Improved background stars.
  
• Vectorize splash screen.
  
• Remove the VECTOR MODE IS EXPERIMENTAL warning now that everything has been "vectorized".
  
• Updates to SDL/FNA frameworks under the hood.
  

[h2]Issues Addressed[/h2]

• Fix initial resolution selection.
  

Minor feature updates and/or bug fixes, but one requested visual enhancement worth calling out...

[h2]Vector Explosions[/h2]

Vector mode now adds vector styled explosions in addition to the point "particles" it previously used. Thank you community for the great idea.


Solaroids Palette


Asteroids Palette

[h2]New Features / Tweaks[/h2]

• Refresh icon.
  
• Vector mode now has "vector" explosion effects in addition to single point explosion "particles".
  
• Removed "Exclusive" FullScreen mode (FullScreen=On, Borderless=Off). This mode is not necessary these days and has become an uncommon mode that made it difficult to switch back and forth between screens and other windows. In addition it made it more difficult to work with some screen recording software. Now the only full-screen mode is "Borderless" FullScreen, so as such, the Borderless option has been removed. Alt-Enter also still toggles between full screen and windowed as common among games.
  
• OSX Version now uses Vulkan for graphics which improves/restores lost performance for low-powered Macs (tested with 2016 era Mac Mini).
  
• Updates to FNA used on Linux/OSX versions.
  

[h2]Issues Addressed[/h2]

• Fix issue with invalid unicode characters in Steam leaderboard names.
  
• Fix an issue with mouse behavior in the game and menus when running at non 1920x1080 resolutions in full screen modes.
  

Welcome new players and thank you for playing and competing in the :solaroidsS::solaroidsO:ːsolaroidsLːːsolaroidsAː:solaroidsR::solaroidsO::solaroidsI:ːsolaroidsDː:solaroidsS: monthly high score challenge.

Congratulations to all!

[h3]1st - Piegos / 76,025,430[/h3]
1st place this month goes to Piegos with their top all-time score of 76,025,430 (11th). I've been seeing Piegos regularly on the periodic leaderboards, climbing higher each time and even taking 2nd place last month. They have obviously mastered the game, now playing in the most uber-difficult Classic control style that is true to the roots that Solaroids springs from. Piegos has definitely earned their place in the top position this month! Congrats!! Looking forward to seeing you in the top 10 all-time ranks real soon!

[h3]2nd - Harnulfson / 68,439,670[/h3]
2nd place goes to a regular in the top scores, Harnulfson with a score of 68,439,670. You've been beaten down a notch this month, but it was a pretty close run considering your scores are within 10% of each other and this wasn't your all-time best.

[h3]3rd - Starcrunch / 16,152,385[/h3]
Finally, 3rd place goes Starcrunch with 16,152,385. While trailing the others in raw points, Starcrunch is competing using the Modern (dual-stick) control style, which though easier to control with its automatic thrusters, takes more stamina to rack up really high scores, and agility to keep a multiplier going under full attack. Pros and cons.

Note: Only the First Credit leaderboards are used for the monthly challenge.

[h2]Extra Challenge - COMPLETED ːsteamhappyː[/h2]

We made it again, the monthly boards are full this month. I'm a developer of his word, so as promised, I have Solaroids OST digital cards/keys for those in the winner’s circle. Use it yourself, give it away, or sell it if you can. The soundtrack is no longer tied to the game, it's been freed from DLC prison.

I think the easiest way to verify and transfer the digital card/key is probably via Steam’s friend/chat system. If you are in the top 3 this month, send me a friend request via Steam to claim your prize, and I'll send you a digital card/key via chat. You can de-friend me afterwards! ːsteamsaltyː



I'll be keeping this extra challenge open for a while, so we'll see if there are enough competing players next month!

Cheers!

Chad (kiates)

[h3]Have a Feature Request or Discover a Lingering Issue?[/h3]
Do you have a feature request or find a lingering bug/issue? If so, then post it to the Steam Solaroids Community. Many of the tweaks, features, other additions, or future plans for Solaroids have originated with the community.

[h3]Sign-up[/h3]
Sign up on my Early Access Page to be notified at full launch across all platforms, not just Steam.

[h3]Track me down on Discord![/h3]
Come join the (Solaroids Discord Server), exercise some much needed bragging rights, say high to other players, share some tips, and give me your thoughts about what would make the Best Asteroids Style Space Shooter on the planet.

Hello Solaroids players around the world. I've got a potpourri of improvements ready to ship out to you this spring. There are a bunch so I'll get right to them!

[h3]RETICLE IMPROVEMENTS[/h3]

Several months ago, I received some great suggestions from the community to improve the experience. They've been hanging out on the BETA branch but it's time for them to hit the main build. The first one was to improve the visibility of things in the reticle, so I've made several tweaks that are hopefully in the right direction. Enemy ships are now colored based on their color, and bright red is reserved exclusively for missiles (yes, they are back in the reticle!). Missile indicators are also larger and blink rapidly. That coupled with the recently released ability to change the size of the reticle should help to keep threats and goal targets in mind just a little bit better.

[h3]COLORED SCORE TOKENS[/h3]

Another great suggestion from a player was to improve the ability to tell the value of the score tokens. Now they are colored based on their relative value in bronze, silver, gold style, along with sparkles at the upper end. Note the really REALLY large score tokens are not (yet) available in the game. However, the colors and sparkle effects are based on the highest valued token available for a given level, so you won't just see a bunch of bronze at the higher levels!

[h3]MORE VECTORS IN-GAME[/h3]

The "level indicator" is finally completely vectorized, so it no longer sticks out like a sore thumb. In addition, there is a "wave" indicator while in Free Play mode to keep track of how many waves you've decimated. The wave is also displayed under the Free Play text at the beginning of each advancing wave.


Another thing that is finally "vectorized" (is that a word?) completely is the reticle itself. Ammo heath bars and all! Enjoy, and don't forget for those that want an uncluttered reticle you can tweak what it displayed in it through the option menus (in the Player and Gameplay menus), so feel free to fly naked if you’re feeling dangerous!


And finally all elements in the Player HUDs are now completely vectorized with the exception of your Steam profile icon. Feel free to enjoy a big SOLAROIDS :SolaroidsS: in it's place.

[h3]VECTOR CONTROLLERS AND BUTTONS[/h3]

Finally, the time has come to round out vector mode with vectorized controller graphics for the four controller types I support directly. They include not only the controller binding screen but the in-game representations of the controller buttons. I hunkered down in Inkscape and created these matching vector representations to ensure a perfectly accurate match with the controller images. I'm quite happy with them and think they complete the vector experience, so I hope you'll like them too!

[h3]VECTOR LOCALIZED TEXT[/h3]

Last but not least, I did a ton of research on techniques I could use to bring the vector look to all the languages I'm fleshing out in the game. After trying several techniques, I honed in on one that I think works the best, so if you play in non-English mode and have been frustrated with no text while in that mode, this update is for you. All but one of the languages in the game are supported for now. I will still be refining things (mostly adjusting things for consistency), but Japanese, Korean, and Chinese never looked better! This is a good time to plug my LOCALIZOR page if you can help review translations!

• Change the color of "points" tokens based on their value. They will now display as bronze, silver, gold, or gold with "sparkles" based on their value.
  
• Point tokens are now worth exactly their face value, previously they were worth at least their face value.
  
• Make missile indicators in the reticle narrow triangles instead of fat triangles to help differentiate them from enemy indicators (squares).
  
• Change the color of enemy indicators in the reticle to a similar color as the actual enemy instead of making them all red. This will help to distinguish between missile threats and regular enemies.
  
• Strobe missile indicators in the reticle to help to ensure they are noticed as imminent danger.
  
• Show current wave in Free Play mode.
  
• Initial tips are not dropped until the first player joins the game.
  
• If no controllers are connected, will automatically connect the keyboard for use with Player 1.
  
• Vector controller layout/binding screen and controller button graphics for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4 controller types.
  
• Reticle is now fully converted to vector mode.
  
• Level indicator is now fully converted to vector mode.
  
• Will now display a warning if the game is unable to access local storage for save game data, local high scores and stats.
  
• Multi-thread some aspects of the game. It will use additional processors if available.
  
• Improved performance of vector rendering.
  
• Improvements to vector graphics for enemies.
  
• Improved text handling/management.
  
• Improvement to handling of full-screen/borderless/maximized mode handling. The game will try and maintain the current select resolution in these cases.
  
• MacOS now uses Metal graphics API for improved performance on OSX.
  
• Updates to FNA/SDL libraries under the hood.
  

• Fix a potential crash when updating leaderboards.