UPDATES

Hello, everyone! Taylor here. Now that our Game Design course is over, I am taking control of this project and continuing to update the game and expand upon the original prototype we submitted in mid-December. Below you'll find a brief changelog for each update, along with known bugs/goals for the next update.

If at any time while playing you discover a bug I have not listed, feel free to email me at MagnetiteGames@gmail.com!

Notes: Two days ago I once again had an opportunity to demo Magnetite at an indie game meetup. I received some of the most helpful feedback yet! The good news is that, thanks to the wonderful Michael Carriere of ZapDot, I now have a lead on how to fix some of the bugs present in the game. The bad news is that it will require quite a bit of rebuilding. Due to the rushed nature of the original Magnetite prototype, the foundation of the game has quite a few cracks. It may be a while until my next update here while I deconstruct the game and rebuild it better, but I am comforted by the fact that the game will have a much more solid base moving forward.

Changelog:
- There is now a smoother transition between Level 1 and Level 2, but it is not perfect. The player's position is changed easily, but the rotation is locked due to the design of the first-person Unity asset I am using. This may be something I need to rebuild from scratch.
- Player height adjusted.
- Fixed the lighting of the second level.
- Changed Room 3 of Level 2 to be a bit more difficult to solve.
- Adjusted some internal Unity settings to make the game run smoother, but use a more CPU.
- Various level fixes (i.e. misaligned walls, crooked lasers).
Goals for Next Update:
- Rewrite the code behind magnetism entirely. Currently the magnets work by applying force against each other and letting Unity handle the calculations. In order to get rid of the "strafing moving blocks" issue I've been having, the magnetism will need to make these calculations separate from Unity's physics engine and move the blocks accordingly.
- As suggested by a gentleman who demoed the game this week, add an outline or glow to magnetic objects that can be changed by the player.

Notes: About two weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to demo my game at an indie games meetup in Boston. I got a ton of wonderful feedback, which caused me to rethink my goals for the game and re-prioritize what to work on for this update.
Changelog:
- Due to some (now-corrected) issues with Maya, the glove that is the player's "gun" was not appearing in the game.
- One of the most prevalent critiques of the game was that there was no way to tell that the player was "shooting." To fix this I have added a visual aspect to shooting! A small pellet is now emitted from the end of the player's glove when they attempt to change an object's polarity.
- The design of the first room of the first level has changed slightly. This is to prevent an annoying level-breaking bug, and also to experiment with allowing cube rotation.
Goals for Next Update:
- If the player applies forward pressure against a cube then strafes left or right or jumps, the cube is pushed in that direction. This should not happen.
- Adjust player height ("I feel like I'm a bug on the floor!").
- Add smooth level transitions.
- Fix the lighting in the second level (should be identical to the first level).
- Rework the final room of the third level -- it is possible to solve in its current state, but has a number of magnetic field bugs and timing issues that make it much too difficult.
- Add a level between the second and third. The mechanic it will focus on is a secret for now...

Changelog:
- Added sounds to buttons and doors.
- Added missing walls in the third level.
- Fixed faulty magnetic fields in the third level.
- Edited the layout of a puzzle in the third level to maintain the same mechanics while being a bit more straightforward in its solution.
Goals for Next Update:
- Add smooth level transitions.
- Fix the lighting in the second level (should be identical to the first level).
- Rework the final room of the third level -- it is possible to solve in its current state, but has a number of magnetic field bugs and timing issues that make it much too difficult.
- Add a level between the second and third. The mechanic it will focus on is a secret for now...