Quark Robot dev blog

Weeks #37 & #38 update

Quark Robot -

Welcome to the update for weeks 37 and 38! I wasn't feeling very well at all last weekend and earlier this week so missed the usual weekly update. Thanks to those who emailed and asked if everything was okay.

While testing I've noticed a few more bugs with the Original Lode Runner Online: The Mad Monks' Revenge when playing under the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. You can read more in the blog post here.

A name in parenthesis and in bold is the finder of the bug/quirk. Thanks to all, I really do appreciate your time and support. Cheers!

Editor

  • when painting a tool over an already buried tool of a different type, the blastable block will no longer clear - this matches the Original
  • fixed bug that did not undo monks correctly
  • marginally improved editor load performance by not scanning the puzzles;
  • scanning puzzles is used to determine which version to save into the puzzle set (for backwards compatibility with the Original)
  • not needed on loading, only saving
  • Jane/Digmo/secret doors now detected
  • blocks no longer repaint when adjusting tile settings
  • updated bomb helper in editor to be more useful;
  • the area the blast will reach is highlighted a red/orange colour
  • made it easier to see items within the blast zone that is safe from destruction
  • explosions from small bombs being blocked by solid blocks now shown


'Paint block' tool no longer overlaps itself as shown


More user-friendly bomb helper

Game

  • overhauled code that loads puzzles
  • overhauled code that determines if a cut-scene should be played
  • overhauled code that handles post-back call when cut-scene has finished playing
  • runners no longer face right if facing left after using a pick-axe
  • fixed bug that could crash the game when a monk collected gold
  • fixed bug that paused a waiting monk that is eating a runner
  • you can no longer use a rope trap inside a phase block - this matches the Original
  • updated phase block code;
  • blocks no longer alter edge depending on what is around them - this matches the Original
  • fixed bug in the quirk "invisible hand-over-hand" (Artyom)

General

  • improved positioning system the game uses
  • improved performance when scanning for a specific object in the puzzle
  • any playing sound effects are now stopped when the video player plays a video
  • disabled unloading of world assets when going to another world (EG; Moss --> Industrial);
  • not all puzzle sets are linear and there is no performance gain from doing so (in fact, a small hit)
  • reduced code and improved speed of loading tileset assets
  • updated file dialog when filtering to show files that start with and contain the search query


Files in the red ring did not previously show

Bugs being worked on

  • runners not entering exit doors (Howie)
  • frequent crashing when playing LAN games (Steve, Gareth)
  • some Windows machines not be able to detect LAN games (Steve)
  • machines with a different Windows on host/client are affected
  • painting a "string" of monks does not undo correctly in the editor

What I'll probably do next week

  • work on refactoring editor
  • complete tasks on my TODO list
  • prepare for September build (and try not to break anything)