0.00.100.4005 - UI Upgrade, Verified Clans, Launcher and More!

Update x.4005 brings substantial changes to menu functionality, changes to the battlefield in multiplayer, and sets the stage for future enhancements. 

The Ballland: World Launcher

The launcher is now set as the main download package. From the launcher, you'll be able to install the game, check for and install updates, and add custom stages you've recently downloaded into the game storage file.


This launcher is pending future upgrades as well, though the idea here is to use the launcher as your main point into the game. When we have a launcher update, you'll know as long as you keep up to date with the Release Notes from the application.

The UI Revamp

This UI revamp is an upgrade to all the capabilities of the menu user interface. We've enabled the buttons to have a transition into and off of the screen so that everything appears smoother. Buttons now have an animation when you hover over them, and the back button has a sound effect kind of like how it sounded in BBDeluxe. There are more captions and drop down menus, and those settings with arrows for adjusting can now be held to rapidly change them.

The profile data has been updated with a "coins" field which isn't yet shown but will allow the player to earn coins for every match and level they complete. This is to lay the groundwork for character upgrades and wearable items. Along with that, the game can now fetch some more information shown on the main menu, such as the Verified Clan and any data saved on the server that could be useful if lost between updates. For example, if the profile structure changes and one's XP is lost, it'll automatically be regained if the server has a snapshot of it, which happens at least once per connection.

Some other menu changes include changing the background of the online menus to the traditional "Stars" background just like in BBDeluxe and BBLegacy, and giving a small affect for the diamonds in the background.

The Level Editor Redesign

The level editor has a much cleaner interface and takes advantage of the behind-the-scenes UI upgrades to deliver that experience.



We've transitioned from a hotkey-based interaction to a graphical based one, where you can edit the essentials of a level with the "File" button:
- Level name and author
- Level size, background and music
- Saving and loading the stage
- Unlocking the level to allow others to edit it. By default the level is "locked", meaning that only you can open it up in the level editor. Levels you save can be played by others only unless it's unlocked, leading to collaboration and privatization of levels. Levels from before x.4 are unlocked.
- Lastly, exiting the editor.

You can also access custom functions graphically as well:
- Changing the grid size and toggling it ("G" still works)
- Positioning the camera
- Clearing objects and tiles
- Wall Optimize: This is a new function that, if correctly working, merges single block objects into their respective longer or wider collision blocks.
- Toggling the object layer: This is a new function that toggles the display of the object layer to view only the tiles if desired. You can also use F2 for this.
- Showing the full grid: This is a function that allows you to show the full grid vice the small region around your cursor.



You can still pull up the custom functions dialog box with F1. The functions themselves have been shortened to make it easier to remember (examples: "wo" for wall optimize, "fg" for full grid toggle)

Along with the level editor, we've revamped the tileset to have a more congruent style and mix well with BWorld as a whole. We've added a few more tiles, too, such as the colored solid bars, glass tiles, and flooring.

Enemies in the single player level editor now have a caption detailing their mode, whether stationary, moving, or following, and whether or not they respawn and have a following range. This way, simple arrow symbols no longer need to be deciphered in order to know what the enemies are doing when you load the level.

You can now use the right click mouse button to affect other properties of some objects. For example, you can now expand movers in both horizontal and vertical directions, and with enemies you can shift them onto the grid.

We also have a new object in the level editor: Lasers! Just like since Ballland Version 4, lasers are hazards which shock players if they hit them. Unlike previous games though, these lasers are based on where you place the Laser Blocks, meaning that you can have them go horizontal, vertical, as well as diagonal. Future controls will be able to activate and deactivate the lasers as desired.

Official stages were ported into the game file in a previous version. Those stages have small changes such as the Sunset A's red mover row, extra elements in the Stars A, and background preparations for a remodeling of BBD Purple Realms.

The Online Menu

The online multiplayer menu's player list and battle results allow you to view the profile of a player now and send friend requests to them. You can view information such as their last used character, profile icon, and current status. You can also see how many players are online.



From this dialog box, you're able to spectate a friend and join their matches. There is a new spectator-only mode that allows for us to receive a broadcast of a live match and receive player standings without joining the room. Spectator mode itself has had marked increases in stability due to the way we now handle spectators on the server. You can now shift which player you're observing by pressing space.



The online multiplayer menu now has an entirely new section called the "Clan Room." In conjunction with the server update, the game now has native support for clans called "Verified Clans." How this works is that the server owner (and players after x.3098) will be able to create clans and have their own clan page with list of members to add and play with. Clan leaders are automatically given the "Clan Leader" role, which shows in the player listings and battle information. Users can search clans to request to join from this clan room.



Clans have a coin bag which as of this point doesn't have any functionality but, in the future, will rise the more activity a clan has in the battlefield or adventure levels.

Due to server work, loading custom stages are more stable than ever, and there's no problem when being a spectator and transitioning to a player. This is a solid platform to build competitive gaming feeds on.

Both online and offline, the panels when selecting your character now more specifically show the stat and its maximum value. This is to lay the groundwork for upgradable stats.



You can now set whether or not you want bots to fill the empty slots in your rooms, as well as their skill level. Their skill level can also be set offline.

Another important setting you can change now are the Item Weights. This directly influences the items that you get and is the gateway to settings like "weak items only", Strong Items, etc. It's a gateway towards more controllable battles, meaning that matches can be more fair if e.g. every item one gets is either a bomb or a speed.



Each item has a "weight" from 0 to 100 measuring how often it'll appear relative to the other items.

Loading Screen

We now have a loading screen where custom stages and other assets can load in the background. This gives you a minimum of five seconds to prepare for the level or battle. You can escape back to the menu here if you're unhappy with the offline settings or wish to leave the online room.

Battle Changes

There is a new battle item: The Rainbow Ball. It bounces around like oranges but doesn't pop when it hits things and disappears after a set amount of time.

In battle, there are now words along the top display panels, and the item panels animate.



You can now send a normally moving item as a stationary one if you send it without moving. Yellows use their lightning strikes as revolvers. Temporary invulnerability after being hit is extended to all modes.

Optimizations have been made in the background to boost performance.

Speaking of performance, the CPU battlers are just a tad more ruthless now. They can see how many revolvers you have and know if you have low health in stock. This upgrade to the bot model boosts scoring by over 40%, leading to some virtually unreachable scores by the most advanced bots except to those humans that have embraced the Ballland matrix.

Various sound effects have been added.

Many bugs found along the process have been removed.

Installation Instructions

Because of the transition to the launcher, we're going to recommend one remove all previous versions of the game and set the launcher as a shortcut. 

The profile format has changed. If your XP has been affected, let us know and we will do what we can to restore your rating / experience points. This will involve logging onto the server and letting us know you did so, whether or not it kicked you off for having a bad version.

The custom levels format has changed, too. The disruption for this is minimal except levels built with < x.4005 are automatically unlocked.

After this release, there may be a minor update to address any bugs not caught from testing.

Tracked Bugs for x.4005

Shifting in the level editor sometimes makes the tiles disappear. (They're not really gone, as saving and reloading the level places them back.)

More Information:

When spectating a room from the Spectator View in the lobby and the only player there leaves, divide by zero error.

More Information:

From previous versions:

Purples not synced online.

More Information:

Long trails during item position syncing when they desync by a large distance.

More Information:

Collision bugs:
- Movers directed into a wall slide you into it.
- Players sometimes don't touch the wall they roll into.
- If a player bounces just right off a wall, they teleport.

More Information:

the round and round sound for the revolvers is back that was a thing in legacy i liked. are other legacy things planned like those blocks you can break?

SuperSoris wrote:are other legacy things planned like those blocks you can break?

Yes, though we’re split on whether or not we want to make it an item or a part of the stage.

Though now that I think about it, could be both.

For those not familiar with the blocks, they’re inspired from BQ2RP and took three hits before breaking and eventually respawning. They contribute towards changing the terrain of a stage and are an additional puzzle element in levels.

Other legacy ideas?

We want to experiment with warps that span multiple blocks. It’s not a difficult to implement idea other than figuring out how to incorporate it into the level editor. With the level editor, we’re limited to two fields per object, and both are already taken by the warp’s ID and its target. A third field would represent width, height, and color, though it may need to be exported to a separate object or somehow we condense the two fields into one.

Level 2 tile layer is another idea which can be implemented. Those are the tiles that are above the players rather than behind. It’s unlikely to change the level format, but also may require some adjustments to how tiles are controlled in the editor.

Timers for lasers will incorporate an external object 99. That 99 will affect the laser block set nearest to it.

That’s most of the field features from BBLegacy not yet into BWorld I can think of at the moment so I may edit this post later.