Quark Robot dev blog

Week #42/43 update

Quark Robot -

Welcome to the bumper update for weeks #42 and #43! I decided to bite the bullet and undertake a major update to the game plays - most of the changes where to the player and animation code. This was on my TODO list from quite some time to reduce quite a lot of bloat and complexity. Working on this update caused the entire game to become nearly unplayable - this is why week #42 blog post was delayed. With the exception of some more fine tuning, everything should be back to normal.

*Monk only teleports*

Monk only teleports is a new add-on to this project. What are monk teleports? You can read all about them on the monk only teleport post.

You might be surprised to learn that I don't actually play Lode Runner Online: The Mad Monks' Revenge very often. I do of course play portions of a puzzle countless hours per week, but rarely do I sit down and just play. I did so this week and I have to admit that I'm a little rusty. So far I'm up to puzzle 20 and have 10 lives left :(

The October build will be available this coming Thursday, the 29th.

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

  • using the middle mouse button when painting will eye-dropper the tile, then switch back to the painting tool - this saves quite a lot of time when editing puzzles
  • fixed bug that crashed the game when deleting puzzles from the set (Kyson)
  • fixed bug that caused some editor UI sounds to pause
  • fixed bug that crashed the game when loading corrupt or invalid puzzles

Game

  • major game update vastly improved gameplay and performance
  • if a gamepad is set as the input type and it is not connected; the game will fall back to keyboard
  • breaking changes to save game format;
  • added the checksum of the puzzle set being played to ensure correct set is restored
  • added a version number to allow future builds to lode your old saves
  • alterations made to blastable and phase states
  • fixed timing values for regenerating bombs to be more accurate to the original;
  • on occasion, a bomb can start to reappear one update (and very rarely, two) before they do in the original
  • I'm putting that down to some magic in the original I can't work out but this shouldn't have a negative affect on puzzles that rely on regenerating bombs
  • fixed runners coming out of a hidey-hole above a ladder
  • fixed bug that would crash the game when using YOG skip cheap
  • monkey-bar fixes;
  • added the monkey bar rapid decent bug as a quirk that can be toggled with "Quirks Mode" - (Kyson)
  • fixed bug that could occasionally crash the game when grabbing onto a bar from running
  • fixed bug that could allow a runner to dismount and stand on a blasted block adjacent to the bar (Kyson/Leandro)
  • fixed bug that allowed you to grab onto another bar that didn't exist when dropping
  • fixed bug that caused a runner to start auto-running off a monk in the wrong spot
  • you can no longer stand on a monk caught in a rope trap (Kyson/Leandro)
  • throwing a bucket of goop at monks no longer causes them to switch animations (Kyson)
  • monk fixes;
  • AI glitch fixed that caused some issues with monkey bars (Kyson)
  • monks no longer collect gold when falling (Kyson)
  • a monk after climbing out of hole will trip into another instead of falling vertically (Kyson)
  • fixed bug with two monks getting stuck when both crawl out of a hole at the same time in adjacent holes (Kyson)
  • fixed bug that prevented a monk on a monkey bar going down a ladder (Kyson)
  • fixed bug that could cause monks to slide to the side a little after idling at the top of a ladder
  • fixed bug that crashed the game when using media volume toggle keys (Leandro)
  • fixed bug that prevented a runner from escaping off a goo block when running left (Leandro)
  • fixed bug in the "Slippery" quirk that allowed you to drown when falling from a teleport (Leandro)
  • fixed bug that did not award points when runners collected runner specific gold (Leandro)
  • fixed quirk that caused a rock pile to fall from a phase block with a blasted block above (Leandro)
  • fixed quirk "Bound off walls" + runners landing on monks (Leandro)
  • added a monk only teleport;
  • this was suggested by Lavi quite a while ago
  • read more on the monk teleport blog post

LAN

  • rope traps now remove when a player is snared
  • monks drop gold when snared
  • reduced bandwidth by nearly 80%
  • reduced game lag

Please remember, LAN is still a work in progress.

General

  • fixed CSS bug on the blog that caused Microsoft Edge browser to shrink some blog images
  • removed partial CD audio support; you can read more on a separate post here

Bugs being worked on

  • possible monk freezing bug with OS X (Stace)
  • empty game window with Windows 10 (Alen)
  • rapid key movements can send a runner through a wall (Leandro)

Coming soon

  • gamepad feedback when being crushed
  • two additional players (after completion of LAN)
  • working scoreboard

What I'll probably do next week

  • continue playing the game
  • continue LAN
  • monks reentering the puzzle at random locations