Here’s the link to the itch.io page — containing Windows, Mac, and Android downloads. I’ve decided to call this Demo 1.1, which retroactively makes the previous one Demo 1.0, and the really old one… 0.Something. I’m committing to this to have a handy way to refer to them and give myself a goal. By the time we get to Demo 2.0, I think we’ll really be looking good.
So, hello! We have a new version of the Catlandia demo to share. I’m personally excited about it because this means I’ve actually started delivering on last year’s promise of ongoing demo updates, rather than let myself get the game into the broken, incohesive mess that happened post-demo last time.
Though things are much different now. Then, the focus was on just getting a quest in, dialogue in the right order, and battles minimally working. Lengthy as the downtime was, the big overhaul made all these things better, more efficient to work with, and ready for future expansion. Anyway, what’s new?
Changes:
- Footstep sounds now play according to grass or dirt underfoot
- Quest log window now scrolls
- Accidental warp speed when holding shift removed
- Movement speed across resolutions fixed
- Support for fat cats improved, with new leg options
- Skinny cats introduced
- Cat face patterns now flip correctly
- Naps now play a soothing tune
- Cats should now display correctly in battle in front of or behind scenery
- Health loss via status ailment no longer has the “-” in front of the number
- Dialogue font increased slightly
- New cat Promo is now present in Fort Pawprint for conversation, but his shop will not open just yet
- A little extra in Marble’s convo
Notes on the Changes
Having said that, the majority of the changes this time relate to cleaning up a few messes. We added dirt footstep sounds so it doesn’t just go quiet. In the process, I fixed an issue that misaligned the footstep areas too.
The quest log window now scrolls, after a good frustrating evening not understanding the simple thing I needed to add.
I was informed that holding shift while moving made the player move crazy fast. This was a leftover from the older keyboard controls, and is now gone. Similarly, the walk speed was not correctly implemented, which meant the cat would move a lot faster at higher resolutions. I think I’ve got this consistent now, but feel free to let me know if it seems it’s moving too fast!
One very important change is to how the fat cats work. With the larger body, the legs looked bunched up together. Now when you select the fat body, the legs get separated a bit more, and it looks more natural. You’ve also got the option to use chubbier legs with any body. And you can be a skinny cat too!
Then, this one probably only would ever bother me, but when the cats change direction, their image is flipped. This is fine for most body parts, as you’re seeing a different side. But the head is kinda more front-facing. So when the fur pattern isn’t symmetrical, you see a patch on the left side of the face switch to the right. I accounted for this in headwear a while back, but missed the face patterns. Anyway, it’s now fixed. A patch on the left side stays on the left side.
Naps now play a soothing tune, and will take a little longer. It’s okay to slow down and relax sometimes.
Then just a couple of simple, minor fixes. Scenery now displays correctly behind or on top of cats in battle, and health loss display via status ailment is without the negative sign. Dialogue text size was also bumped up.
Promo, and Conversations Going Forward
There’s a new cat in town. Promo is the shopkeeper at Fort Pawprint, and boy does he have a deal for you.
Not yet, as despite telling you when he’ll open, the shop is not quite ready to go (again). But what I do want to talk about is… Talking to him.
Up til now, the various non-quest conversations available have just repeated if you reengage, allowing you to ask whatever you want with no consequence. But I want you to be able to go deeper. Characters should remember what you’ve already talked about and respond differently in the future. They should also say different things in the same conversation thread depending on what you’ve done generally.
Promo’s conversation accounts for whether you’ve done the teapot quest regardless of when you first engage. It’s a minor thing for now, but it should make things sound more natural. Nugget is active in the world, and the other cats should recognise that!
Likewise, Marble will now only run through that first conversation about the lake once, giving you a specific reply afterward depending on how you responded to him. Be careful as you navigate the world of Catlandia. What you say might just affect how friendly your new cat friends will be!
Next Steps for the Catlandia Demo
I’ve been wondering about how much to share in the demo. If I put everything I do in demo updates, there’ll be less that’s new when the game actually releases. But if I hold back too much, it’ll be a pain to manage and probably mean less frequent updates.
So I’m erring on the sharing more side of things, at least for the time being. I’ll lock away things that just plain aren’t ready, but if you’re nice enough to follow the project at this stage, I’m happy to reward that generosity!
Next up, then? In terms of technical stuff, I want to get saving and loading working again. Catlandia’s pretty small right now, but the next few content steps will make it much bigger, which means this’ll be more important. This function was working a long time ago as a dev tool, but it’s about time I integrate it with the dialogue system and update all the other things to save I’ve added. Hopefully, this will be in for next time.
Otherwise, it’s high time I plugged in more content. More plot, more quests, more conversation, and more room to explore!
Rumour has it there’s a dog out there in Whisker Woods who wants to be a real good boy…
