1 July 2016

July Update

So first off I'd like to say that I'm glad all of the talk about Brexit is calming down (though a recent trending hashtag on Twitter has created a minor resurgence) and now everyone's realising that we're not completely doomed - but that's not what this post is about. I'm done with the whole Brexit topic now and with all the ruckus it's caused over the past week I really don't want to perpetuate it.

The first thing I'd like to announce is that I recently got hold of Jide's Remix Mini PC. It's pretty underpowered but it's good enough for most things as long as you don't try to play diep.io (lags so hard its literally unplayable) or type tweets from your browser (noticeable lag.) Luckily its all Android based so I can simply download the app for that and use it more or less. Now you're probably wondering why I'm saying this - well one way I can make use of this mini-PC is that I can use as a tool to test Android games on and possibly appeal to a very niche market, the Android mini-PC market. Expect to see an Android port for Iron specifically for mini-PCs like the Remix Mini (it won't work with smartphones or tablets unless a keyboard and mouse is attached.)
Here's a fun fact - I'm using the mini-PC to type out this blog post. I'm honestly amazed at how quiet the room is without a computer fan making the place sound like Leeds Bradford Airport. (My main computer has a slight overheating issue which causes the fan to be at full spin constantly when on performance mode.)

While we're on the topic of Iron, I aim to make a fresh start on it over summer and completely overhaul the game. I made a blog post back in January about how Iron was flawed from the ground up and required a complete overhaul, well that overhaul is finally happening! Iron will bid adieu the shitty bi-directional combat system platformer mechanic and will become a top-down shooter game with omni-directional combat (original plans were to make Iron an RPG but I kicked this idea to the curb.) I now however have a new challenge of making it so it works well on mini-PCs and low-spec machines (the Remix Mini isn't exactly a top-performing gaming beast and uses an SoC which literally costs $5, its performance is roughly similar to the Raspberry Pi 3.)

As for when Project Plasma v1.1 will be out, it will now be after the release of Project Plasma 2 and as for when development will begin on that... well... I have no idea but I hope to make a start on it and have Iron completely released before September. Project Plasma 2 will likely be a Windows-exclusive (for now) and if what I have planned for it goes ahead I doubt it'll be friendly to low-spec machines like PP1 is. I won't set an exact target date for Iron yet, but I hope to release it by the beginning of September.

I hope to have previews of the newly revamped Iron by the next UK Indie Dev Hour (takes place 7PM to 8PM UK time every Wednesday) when I will then post screenshots of how everything is going at that point. The game's technical specs will remain very much the same (GameMaker: Studio, 1920x1080 resolution.etc) but the rest of the game including many of its core mechanics will be completely redone.

Project Plasma: https://archangelatom.itch.io/project-plasma
Iron: https://archangelatom.itch.io/iron

2nd July 2016 Update: *sigh*

No comments:

Post a Comment