0.00.100.3058 - Intro Reel, Offline Stage Directory, Offline Names, and More!

Hello all,

The format for how we've delivered updates to the forum has changed. Now, each version will have its own thread, and discussion on bugs and whatnot can be done so within them. It'll also allow us to have a track of outstanding bugs to carry over from one thread to the next, and make it easier to find a specific version's notes from the search engines and AI search tools.

This update is a little more than a minor one, with things all over the place that have been improved. So, let's get started.

Main Menu Makeover

The main menu has had a few changes over the last few updates. The bug where the sun showed in the background rotation has been fixed, and it shines brightly during the daytime. The background rotation is gift to those who put in the grind to get their XP above 3000. As of the time of posting, that also lands a spot on the global leaderboards on the main server.

Upon connecting, the main server tells the user their tag, which shows on the top left next to their player icon. Also in the background during the daytime are these creatures:


Like in BBLegacy, Pinballs fly across the sky, finally animating the main menu just that much more.

Along with the animation are the buttons, which now like in BBDeluxe, the button you click centers itself and pushes the others away.

Added Custom Stage Features

The Level Editor has a few new tiles added, because gray is still a very valuable color and was previously not added for the Stars crystal blocks and Basic's "goo" walls.



Along with that, a new effects object has been added and a new background in preparation for BBLegacy's Basic Stage recreation, which is an official stage. The background number 13 is a light gray background and is subject to change, but it works in conjunction with object number 98, which is the Basic Background Changer object. The object takes the camera position and colors the background based on where we are in the stage. So, one can make a "green" section where the tiles are green and the background blends into green. There are 12 colors.

You can now fast scroll by double tapping the camera movement keys on the keyboard. As a reminder, if the levels are extremely large, the custom functions "left", "top", "bottom", "right" can snap the camera towards an edge of the level, and "center" centers it in the level.

Also dealing with the level editor...

Official stages are no longer outside of the game itself and are now integrated within it. So, those files that were installed that were for the official stages are no longer needed and aren't referenced unless you specifically call for them from the stage selection screen.

The stage selection screen now looks at and loads the custom stages in your filesystem, just like loading the stage list online. Now when you save a stage, you no longer have to remember its filename and can just search for it and click the button.

The Battle Screen

We've added a new thing. You can now see the players you're battling with in the battle intro screen. The panels show each of the players, their characters, clans, tags, XP, and team color if applicable. Unlike BBDeluxe's 4 main players, we have an uncapped number (soft-cap at 32) and so had to think about how best to show them all off at once. Turns out, we read horizontally, and so a vertical list seems to do the job.



In a future update, this panel will be toggle-able. It's only for desktop.

Another thing that you can see from the screenshot is that the naming of the Mob Members has been changed to usernames. Turns out, the idea of the M.O.B. (Many Other Battlers) was a relic of Ballland Battles: Classic (part of Ballland: The Quest to Rescue Pinky) because when they were originally the mob, they were all the same gray color. Then once the player got the colored mob upgrade in BBDeluxe, there was no way we were going to be able to name all the colors as characters. (Sure, Scarlet would work, but "Turquiosey"? How about hex:#50a3e4?)

They have simulated names now so that you can personify them if you wish. The low XP members remain default.

Other Changes

• The throwing sound effect doesn't happen from 25 blocks away or more now.
  
• The fake item ball crash on the 10% chance they were lethal was fixed.
  
• Zombie trails are now also green.
  
• The winning music happens now whenever you're within the top ~12.5% of players in a match. So if there are 9 players, players 1 and 2 get to jam.
  
• The 1st place shades are now worn for if your score is over 10% more than second place's.
  
• Strong AI now have shades again, as if they're the new Mob Members. You can have them too once you get 40,000 XP.
  
• Black bombs no longer whistle if they're not moving.
  
• Voices can now get interrupted.
  
• The default IP address has now changed to the current Main Server.
  

Outstanding Bugs

• Joining an online match, leaving mid-battle, and then re-joining spectates an empty City A. This is a server issue and shouldn’t need a game update. The way to fix it is to wait a few minutes for the match to end and the room to reset its state.
  
• Purples teleporting more than usual online. This is due to a syncing error that combats the Purple's natural teleporting.
  
• Long trails during item position syncing. This is a cosmetic issue.
  
• Movers directed into a wall slide you into it.
  
• For Level Builders: For the level editor "shiftx" "shifty" functions, sometimes tiles appear to not translate over and get deleted instead. They're not actually gone though, as saving the stage and loading it later pops up all the tiles that failed to appear.
  
• Pressing the Exit Application button slides out the other selectable buttons, even if you don't choose to exit. You can press Ctrl then Enter then type "exit" then Enter again to reboot the main menu.