Tate Marske - Weeks 13-15

It has been some time since my last major update.  This is namely due to the fact that I have been working like a mad person getting absolutely EVERYTHING within my power added, redone, and/or polished!  As easy as I think it would be to compose a list of things I DIDN'T do, I'll take the time and let you all know what has been going on in my line of work on this project.

NEW STUFF:
 - For our third world (Egypt) and up, the ROLL ability has been added, fully tested, and implemented.
 - For our fourth world (Hawaii) and up, the STEALTH ability has been added and implemented.
 - Testing has been done on tons of devices on my end, which led to me being able to fix and polish a TON of stuff.  More on that in a bit.
 - Menu scene has been completely scrapped and redone.  Some buttons weren't going to be used, others needed to be added in.  I redrew and re-programmed everything so that it matches the rest of the UI.
 - A "Sushi Bar" has been added.  Some call it the hunger bar.  Something needed to be added in to cause the player to feel a NEED to collect the sushi.  BOOM.
 - Unlock screens have been added for when you unlock new weapons and abilities.
 - Finish flags!  Finally, a handy way to see where the end of the level actually is.
 - How to Play.  This screen replaces the silly little dialogue boxes we originally had in a "tutorial" in level one.  It's much better on the eyes, and easier to read.
 - Can you sayyy, GAME ICON?!
 - I am positive there is more, but things are progressing at ninety miles per hour, so don't yell if I forgot something!


BUGFIXES / POLISHED / REDONE: (From the biggest to the smallest)
 - A HUGE fix is crashing.  I've re-programmed the entire level resetting state, so that all assets are more than properly dealt with and the game should no longer crash upon multiple resets.  Phew.
 - Sound should no longer cut out on any devices after multiple resets or otherwise.  It just plain shouldn't happen.
 - After level resets, some phones were having a problem re-loading textures.  This one was a toughie to nail down, because it only happened SOMETIMES on SOME phones.  However, I've solved it, and it's much more streamlined now.
 - Slashing has been completely redone.  Thanks to a suggestion from my professor, I was able to narrow down the phone-slowing culprit and redo swiping as a whole.
 - UI has been redone.  In addition to the new sushi bar, I wanted to keep things looking consistent and acting that way, as well.
 - General code streamlining has been done to make everything run just that much more smoothly.  We want to actually sell some copies of this bad boy!
 - Stray sushi has been removed and/or fixed.  Now you should actually be able to collect all of it.
 - Sushi counts on certain levels have been redone and fixed.



DETAILS AND ACTION SHOTS:

Rolling and Sushi Bar:

 Here, you can see chin rolling underneath of a bunch of large enemies.  This is the only real way to avoid these guys, so you're going to have to put this ability to good use!

At the top right, you can also see the first example of the sushi bar in action.  It slowly goes down, and climbs again as you get sushi.

Stealthing:

 Here is the first peek at the Stealth ability.  Chin goes to 30% opacity and the little meter next to the stealth button begins to tick downwards.  You only get a certain amount of stealth per level, so use it wisely!

Menu:

Here is the new menu in action.  The buttons slowly bounce back and forth, and it feels good to press them.  If you are an avid game-player, you know what I am talking about.  If you aren't, you think I sound like a crazy person.








Unlock screens:

This is the type of screen you will see when you unlock a new item or ability! pretty nifty, huh?











Finish Flags:

 Here you can see me rushing past the finish marker at the end of the first level.  Mike has had these flags for a long time, I just never really thought to stick them at the end of the level.  I think it's a nice touch.

How to Play:

 This is one of the example pages from the "How to Play" section.  It's much more basic than our initial way of running the tutorial, and players will appreciate it more.

Game Icon:

A nice little piece of sushi for your app drawer!