v0.1.2 - An Actual Version

It's more than the 'day' I wanted to get this up by but I couldn't help but actually work on making the game better.

The myth, the legend, the supposedly stable version of the Deadbeat Simulator demo is finished and available for download. It contains all the fixes the previous devlog boasted, which I'll rehash here:

• speeding through dialogue doesn't make it weird anymore
• cursor and confirmation sounds don't play simultaneously in the menu
• positioning of cards got shifted a bit thanks to the sprite edit
• the Order minigame is less random to make it actually random (rather than strange)
• footsteps aren't heard from an entire city over
• confirmation/win sound only plays once after you complete a Main task
• the interactor sprite is finally fixed thank god
• sub-goals are now notified upon completion
• the Motivation level counter should actually be visible in-game now
• the Options menu shouldn't crash the game anymore
• neither should the supermarket!

Some bonus changes in regards to feedback were also made:

• The wording for explaining the Order minigame was changed because it was outright wrong and led to confusion and frustration.
• After certain events, you begin Main tasks with more than 0 Support Points.
  • In the demo, you start at 1 after leaving Lewis' apartment and 2 after obtaining the third Tool
• Order and Main tasks now have a sprite that indicates which card you're selecting in addition to scaling.
• Card 'decks' for the player and opponents have been reworked slightly.

And, amazingly, instead of focussing on getting this version out, I also spent time on these ADDITIONAL changes in order to capitalise on the chance to do so!

• Tasks actually explain what they are!
• Cards placement is reworked to look decent!
• Dialogue positioning is redone!
• Fields now dynamically resize!
• Tasks now animate into frame!
• Reveal and Redraw can now be used on either yours OR your opponent's cards!
• 0's and 1's are ~special~ now - more details in the How-To section and under the page's 'Gameplay' heading!
• A card on either field is flipped at the start of each Main Task to get the ball rolling!
• ... and many more bugs and Unwanted Incidences I hadn't even noticed before!

And finally, a main mechanic of the Main Tasks has been removed - when an opponent's card is played, it does not return face-down, but stays face-up like the player's. I turned this off a while ago and forgot to edit the game page to reflect it, but it felt fairer and more like a give-and-take exchange than a one-sided onslaught. This may not be in accordance with the theme of the game, but it can easily be re-implemented or even utilised as flavour for certain fights - a Rule mechanic that's on the future features list.

Overall, the game generally plays and feels a bit better, but it's essentially the same. I'm still very eager to recieve more feedback - ESPECIALLY criticism - as the last couple of days of sprinting have been relatively fun and I'd like a reason to get back to it. If that reason is "the game will be better if I do", I reckon it'd be a decent motivator.

One of the things I have on the list for the next update is a near-complete graphical overhaul. Right now I'm using a lot of public-domain images and sprites as well as some tilesheets I'm not so sure I'd like to continue using for this particular project. I've bought some assets that I want to make the switch to and plan on getting that done at some point, but I wouldn't bet my life on it being done in the next Demo update. Maybe for a 'major' update.

Thank you, keep in touch.

EDIT: Turns out the supermarket crash is still in effect and I am LIVID about it.