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The
MGC Times
October
2011 Newsletter
Dear
customers and fans,
At this point, the pre-order sales
have covered 100% of my development costs for Dirk Dashing 2, and I'm
finally earning some income from this game. So once again I
want to thank everyone who has pre-ordered it!
I
also want to thank those of you who check out and purchase some of the
new games in my weekly What's New e-mail for Windows and Mac. When you
buy one of these games, that also helps me because I earn a small
commission from each sale.
When
I started the weekly e-mails a few months ago, I wasn't sure how they
would be received. I was worried people might think I was starting to
spam them. I'm not a big heartless company that wants to sell you
every game that comes across my desk. As you know, I'm very selective
about games made by other companies - if they're not family-friendly,
I won't include them on my site, no matter how well they might sell. I
try to play through each demo personally, and I assign color-coded
ratings to help you decide if a game is appropriate for your family.
So hopefully you see the weekly e-mails as a service to help you find
good, clean games.
- Troy Hepfner
Dirk
Dashing 2 Hints and Tips
I've
been receiving occasional e-mails from players who are struggling with
certain parts of the new game, so I thought I would add a new section
to the newsletter to share some hints and tips.
This
month's tip: don't forget about the other weapons and gadgets in your
inventory! Take this situation from level 1-3, where Dirk is riding a
platform and approaching a guard who is on a higher ledge. You can try
to jump up and shoot him with a dart, but you might miss the moving
platform on the way down. So throw a gas grenade instead, Grenades
travel in an arc when you throw them, so they're perfect for dealing
with enemies that are above or below you. Use the Tab key to cycle
through the items in your inventory, or open Dirk's handheld via the
Enter key.
Another
tip: don't be afraid to experiment with the new weapons and gadgets
that you pick up along the way. Save your game, and then experiment
all you want. When you're done, restore your saved game. That way you
won't lose any gadgets or ammunition.
Dirk
Dashing 2 Production Update
There
are several different subjects I want to talk about in this month's
production update, so I've divided this section up.
Subject
#1: The conspiracy behind the elusive v0.6.2
Yes,
there is a v0.6.2 of Dirk Dashing 2. No, you won't find it on the web
site. So what's this all about?
I
spent the first part of last month fixing nearly 30 different bugs
found by pre-order customers, and I added a few new features that I
felt were important to do earlier rather than later. These changes
were incorporated into a special v0.6.2 build that I made available
exclusively to pre-order customers on September 26. I debated whether
or not to release it, since the save game format is in the process of
being changed. But because it had a few critical bug fixes that some
customers needed, I decided to do a limited release.
The
demo version on my web site and the version in the BMT shopping cart
are still at v0.6.1. I have no plans to publicly release v0.6.2 or
to make a demo version of it. My plan is to wait until the changes to
the save game format are completely finished later this month, and
then I'll release an official update (more on that below).
However,
if you pre-ordered the game since September 26 and you would like to
play v0.6.2, let me know and I will provide you a link. Just be
aware that the save game format has changed (which means you'll have
to start a new game when you upgrade) and that the save game format
will be changing again in the next version (which means you'll have to
start over again at that time).
Subject
#2: The race to the Independent Games Festival
I've
decided to enter Dirk Dashing 2 in the 2012 Independent Games
Festival. The IGF submission deadline is October 17, so my whole focus
right now is to get the game ready in time.
As
I mentioned in last month's newsletter, Jesse and I are working on a
new interactive audio design that will tie the music more closely to
the story. We'll be transitioning between music pieces as plot
developments and game events occur. And to fill the times when there
may be no music playing, Jesse is creating various ambient sound loops
and new sound effects for game objects that previously had no sound.
We've
also identified a number of other audio improvements. First, I've
assigned a new material property to every floor surface in the game.
The material property indicates whether it is made of stone, wood,
metal, carpet, etc. Jesse is recording a bunch of footstep sounds for
each material, which I will tie directly to the animation for Dirk and
other game characters. So as they're walking or running around, you'll
be able to hear them.
Second,
I've implemented a simple 3D positional sound system, so any object
that emits sound will gradually fade in/out based on its distance from
Dirk. Previously, I was turning off the sound for any object that
wasn't on screen. But now you can hear the pop of wall-mounted gun
turrets in the distance, the faint footsteps of an approaching enemy,
etc. This will create a richer audio landscape for the game, which
will also help for those times when there is no music playing.
We
think all of these audio changes will give Dirk Dashing 2 a good
chance at qualifying for the Excellence in Audio award. If so, that
will bring me some much needed press coverage and exposure for the
game.
Subject
#3: The progress on the Part 3 levels
As
you may imagine, the audio upgrades are taking up most of my time. So
I haven't made much progress yet on the Part 3 levels.
I
did spend some time adjusting my plans for Part 3. I've had requests
from pre-order customers for more puzzles, and sneaking around the
Conquertech skyscraper headquarters in Part 3 is a perfect setting for
puzzles. Parts 4 and 5 of the story will be much more action-oriented,
so I've tweaked Part 3 to provide a stronger emphasis on puzzles.
I'm
also close to finishing Chapter 3-1. Mike is doing some animation for
a new electrical hazard, which I'm going to use for some of the
puzzles. And I cleaned up the old animation frames for Bumper, the
little workaholic robot from Dirk 1, who will be making a return
appearance. Here's a screenshot of the shipping/receiving area of the
skyscraper, with the revised art for Bumper.
What's
next?
We're
going to spend the next two weeks getting the game ready for the IGF.
We need to finish the audio upgrades and get the game as polished as
we can. This means fixing a few more bugs and making whatever little
enhancements we can to the graphics, audio, and gameplay to give it
the best presentation we can.
After
the game is submitted on October 17, I will release v0.6.3. This will
contain all of the new features and bug fixes from v0.6.2, as well as
the new audio upgrades and enhancements made for the IGF.
Then
I will work to finish up the Part 3 levels, which I hope to have ready
sometime in November.
Stay tuned!
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