Updates from foon.uk
It's been ages since I did a Ludum Dare, but I joined for their 59th event at the weekend. The theme was "Signal" and I made this puzzle game where you go round a robot factory with a remote control. I think it turned out okay!
This is a writeup of a bugfix I did in Blackshift recently. I tried to write it like a murder mystery, showing you the bug first and then dropping clues until the reveal, so maybe if you're into graphics programming you'll go “aha!’ at some point and figure it out before you get to the end.
Alakajam recently hosted a game jam to make something for their 404 page, and I ended up making a little explorey puzzle game.
I participated in Alakajam, a 48-hour game jam, this past weekend. The theme was “Floating Islands” and I made a little puzzle platformer. It's got some ideas in it that I've been kicking around for a while, so I used this game jam as an excuse to try implementing some of them. The theme wasn't a terrible fit but is perhaps a little tacked-on. I think the game came out okay, though. Might make…
For all you puzzle fans, I've released a fairly meaty update for my Steam game Blackshift. There is now lore, if you're into that. You can find bits and pieces of info hidden around the game, and piece together what's going on. There are also a couple of extremely hard post-game quests, for those of you who've completed everything and want a new challenge. I hope you enjoy it!
This is an article about how I fixed an annoyance with the new MacOS QuickLook.
This old Flash game from way back in 2005 has been missing from the site for a while, because it was kind of buggy and unplayable and unfair and just not much fun. I've found time to fix a few of the bugs and some of the bullshit, and it's back up. Fixed as it is, it's still from way back when gamers enjoyed pain and I wasn't that great at game design, so... don't expect too much.
I've managed to restore some of the Super Serif Bros user levels from way back, and I've put them back online.
When Adobe killed Flash Player in 2020, I didn't want my Flash games to disappear forever. I've been making games on and off my whole life, but people seemed to like the Hapland ones in particular, so I thought it might be nice to fix them up for a Steam release. I could draw some better graphics, improve the frame rate and resolution, and maybe add some extra secrets and such. The problem is, the…
The Hapland series is now available on Steam.
I participated in Ludum Dare 49 last weekend and ended up making this Zelda-inspired game. Enjoy!
I didn't want to set a release date in advance and inevitably miss it; much better to just spring the news on you without warning on release day. Well, release day is today. Early Access customers — your copy of Blackshift should update itself to version 2.3.0, the first public version. itch.io customers — a Steam key is available on your itch.io purchase page, if you want to switch to Steam. If…
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New Changed the behaviour of nukes. Now, if you nuke a level: You don't get any of the silicon crystals you collected in that level. You don't get the hardball, if you found one. You don't unlock any editor items. You can now use save crystals on levels you've already won, if you want. It might…
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New The silicon detector now adds a sparkling effect to levels on the overworld which have silicon crystals in them. Fixed a bug where particle effects from the overworld could briefly persist on-screen after starting a level. Fixed a bug where the L-shaped orange "bullet door" would clip into…
Early Access has finished Thanks to all of you who have been playing Blackshift Early Access. Your suggestions, bug reports, Pit levels, and thorough playtesting have been invaluable! Blackshift Early Access is now no longer for sale, but if you already have it, your copy will continue to work. Get your Steam keys! I've given a Steam key to everyone who's already bought Blackshift Early Access on…
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New Fixed a bug where one enemy had the wrong graphic.
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New Fixed a bug where you were supposed to unlock an editor item for beating the secret levels, but it didn't work. Changed some of the hints the shops give you when they're sold out. There are now new hints that help you find some of the most sneakily hidden silicon crystals. Messed around…
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New Swapped the last two secret levels You can now delete your Level Pit levels Minor changes to levels Fixed bug where mystery items that never got unlocked would appear in your editor palette Added ability to use the purple-dot enemy in the editor, unlocked when you beat the secret levels.…
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New Fixed the last secret level.
Release Candidate If no major bugs are found, this will likely become the final released version. What's New Fix bug where pressing Q in menus didn't always do the same thing as clicking Quit. Some changes to music Replaced the last secret level with something more fun Changed layout of World 10
What's New Added a new item to buy: a Rocket Booster that makes you fly faster. Removed a save crystal to make room for it. Added info about your progress to the overworld pause screen. It now shows you: Where you are (as before) What items you've bought How many levels you've done How many secrets you've found Improved the end credits sequence Added some sound effects. I don't think there are any…
What's New Added a world map to the overworld pause screen Added music to the title screen Small graphical improvements Couldn't resist changing some levels around
What's New Gameplay Changes Fixed a bug where you could pick up and drop items while sliding on ice by executing a frame-perfect key press. This has been on the to-fix list for a long time! There are some levels in the Pit where you have to execute this bug to win. They'll continue to exhibit the old behaviour as usual, but if you can edit your levels to no longer require this bug, I encourage you…
This ended up being another fairly big update! It's mostly polish, bug fixes, graphics, and new Level Pit features. One thing I've tried to do with this update is improve the wall and floor graphics, and make them a bit more distinguished from each other (they're both grey, and they used to visually blend together a bit). I also added some more detail to both. What do you think? What's New Bugs…
Level Pit fans, this update's for you! What's New Level Pit Added back the ability to "star" your favourite levels. Changes to user pages Added a tab to user pages showing that user's favourite levels. Added a tab to user pages showing stats about that user. Added user's country flag to their user page. Editor changes When you create a level, you now go straight into the editor. When drawing in…
What's New Bugs Fixed Fixed bug causing levels to fail to load (black screen) after you'd been in certain caves. Fixed lasers appearing to pass underneath damaged floor tiles. Levels Added a few more hardballs, and fixed some impossible ones. Removed the last few of the old "Warp Exit" tiles that were hidden on some levels. They didn't do anything interesting anymore. A few other minor changes to…
What's New Levels Fixed a couple of levels that were either broken or made too difficult by the recent bullet speed change. Overworld Made docks a bit better, though they still aren't finished. Optimized geometry. The world models for the overworld now take up only 2.5MB (down from 10MB), and have been made more detailed. Many other small cosmetic and layout tweaks to the overworld. I like the…
The end is in sight, everyone. I'm actually going to finish this game. What's New More music, and the overworld has music too now. The only things that are missing music now are the title screen and end credits. Fixed some levels that got broken by the bullet speed change. Overworld improvements. In particular, remodelled World 9 and added a thruster fire effect when you're flying. Removed the…
What's New Lots of graphical improvements. There are very few placeholder graphics left now. New items Added some white arrow floor tiles. Added green bombs. These aren't proximity-sensitive, and explode after a delay when shot or a nearby bomb explodes. Gameplay changes Made bullets faster. Colour door locks can now be triggered by explosions. Overworld and level changes Lots of changes to levels…
If you like Let's Plays, YouTuber Peace of the Puzzle is playing through Blackshift 1.24 (that's the old one, not this remake) here . In other news, I've finally finished shops, which will be in the next update. In a shop, you can spend those little blue crystals you find everywhere to buy useful items. All the items are optional; they're just things that make life easier. Things you can buy at…
A fairly boring update today, but bug-fixes are always good. What's New 2.2.6 Fixed a bug where entering a level from the overworld after saving on another level would take you to the wrong level. Added back a missing sound effect when objects get teleported. Minor UI fixes to the pause screen and get ready screen, which looked bad on big monitors. Improved GPU vertex representation, which may…
Important! The new updater is having some teething problems. If you aren't successfully getting updated to 2.2.5, please update manually using these links: Windows : Download and run the 2.2.5 installer Mac : Delete Blackshift from your Applications, then download and extract the 2.2.5 app bundle Edit : Does anyone want to help me test the Steam version? E-mail me or comment below with your…
Here's what I'm working on at the moment. As previously mentioned, I'm dropping the CEF library for UI and moving to NanoVG, so this is also a good time to redesign the UI for the Pit. Goals for the new UI: Show pictures of the levels! The level files are pretty small, so these are all rendered locally. It just downloads each file and renders out a screenshot. Pictures for users. I'm using GeoIP…
https://store.steampowered.com/app/741110/Blackshift/ Yes yes, I'm still alive and I'm still making Blackshift. The next update is shaping up to be an absolute monster. It's got some very large changes, including a secret feature that it wouldn't make sense to release in an unfinished state, hence the lack of updates. OK, the secret feature isn't that exciting. But I quite like it. It changes the…
I have ported Super Serif Bros to the ZX Spectrum. Low-level programming has always held a lot of appeal for me; there's something very satisfying about making full use of each byte, not wasting anything — and writing the code that the computer (to a first approximation) actually runs. As a way of scratching that itch, I've taken my least graphically-intensive game and ported it to the computer of…
I still get the occasional email about Super Serif Bros, and I don't really have a good reason for not having it online at the moment. So, it's back! This is just the core game; I'm afraid the user levels are lost to time. But, watch this space.
Just a small update this week. Changes Bugs fixed The fix for copiers in the last update mistakenly applied to copiers in all old levels, not just new levels. If you got the secret on level 41, the game wouldn't recognize it. Minor changes to some levels
Lots of bugfixes this time, but a couple of new goodies too. Windows users, you might have to download it manually. The updater is still a bit temperamental. The Steam release draws ever closer — I've decided that I want the game to come out of beta before it goes onto Steam. Leaving beta doesn't mean I'll stop updating; it just means there can't be anything left that feels unfinished. It also…
New Early Access release. * Unlockables * Some levels now have rewards other than just getting to the next level. * New Items * Quite a few new items in this release. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil the fun. See what you can find! * More levels * This brings the level count up to 70. * Also, many existing levels altered and rearranged. * Bugs Fixed * Fixed being able to shoot…