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Changelogs:

• Integrated a death status preview system that stops previewing subsequent statuses if an entity is predicted to die from an action.
• Implemented a new context action allowing entities to swap positions.
• Implemented and expanded turn element effects (including lockdown, stun, and expose), and configured turn elements to decrement each turn.
• Added curve line indication in the rewards scene to explicitly show which card or upgrade affects which Duoshifter deck.
• Streamlined the level start sequence by making the dialog seamless and uninterrupting.
• Added a safety toggle setting requiring players to select twice for zero-option cards to prevent misclicks.
• Polished UI behavior with improved UI scaling, optimized UI anchors and positioning via UI Scale Factor settings.
• Enhanced game balance by tuning several enemy units and refining enemy threat actions.
• Fixed bugs related to card contexts, enemy behavior and elements.
• Code refactoring across Card Context Selection, Elements, and the Preview Manager systems while removing unused project plugins and assets.

Developer Notes:

I took a 4-day vacation with my family, filled with mountains and pine trees. It was super refreshing and a well-done disconnect from my game. Therefore, little work is done this week and it wasn't scheduled. So, yes... another bugs-and-refactoring week. Next week, new stuff! Best of luck to me.

Wishlist Duoshift on Steam: https://boldaestheticcreative.com/duoshift-steam
Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/boldaestheticcreative
Join Duoshift Playtest Community: https://discord.gg/kzB6hFhTXE

Changelogs:

• Expanded the game's audio design integrating numerous sound effects (including Card UI specific sounds), dropping old music tracks, and reducing default volume baselines.
• Expanded card mechanics by introducing 3 unique Trash Cards and a mechanic where Duoshifters receive a Clutter card in their draw set upon taking damage.
• Executed a major Custom Actions and Shield Rework, alongside behavioral improvements for enemy units.
• Refined win conditions so victory is achieved once all combat enemy units are eliminated, even if supportive units remain active on the field.
• Added procedural flavor by generating random enemy dialogue at the start of each level.
• Upgraded the hand overlay UI with a dynamic cards background with a distinctive active Duoshifter color tint.
• Improved directional range display rendering additional selectable tiles (e.g., Burst now displays 3 selectable tiles per direction for its 3 range).
• Added dynamic deck buttons into the Shop and Reward scenes to select cards or upgrades that are compatible with both Duoshifters.
• Improved multiple scenes and UI including the Duoshifter Selection Scene, Discard/Draw Set preview visuals, context selection menus, tile overlays, cripple/disable previews, and the Entity Focus system.
• Fixed a gameplay bug in which a Duoshifter gets the the starting deck cards of the other Duoshifter.
• Fixed a gameplay bug where tiles with an active entity occasionally blocked player selection input.
• Fixed some crashes and bugs, including a crash during enemy kills and an oversight where shop/reward choices do not update Duoshifter decks.
• Fixed some visual bugs issues related to flipped preview entities, inverted enemy unit spawns, and wall offset getting damaged.
• Fixed a visual bug where inactive cards in the hand set are rendered on top of the active ones.

Developer Notes:

A lot of love given to audio, UI and bugs. This was a very productive week for the development. I have also discovered some bugs related to game saving/loading and collection scene. But I won't fix them for now and have noted them down ofc. I should fix them though. It is just that I feel so fatigued of not adding new stuff. I should try alternating it: bugs week, features week, bugs week... So, in the next week, I will start adding some new cards and relics. Alongside that, I will also work on improving animations as well as unit statuses.

Thank you. 😁✨

Ask your questions here. They should be related to the game jam. Thank you!

Haha, thanks for trying it out! We have fixed (or at least, decreased) the slipperiness of the camera (not updated yet). In fact, here's a pic of 'slightly' improved visuals as well. Stay tuned for the next update! 😉

Thank you, Aun. Really good observation with the camera movement.

Actually, we were iteratively lerping the camera movement since the end value keeps changing which AFAIK, is not possible to make it framerate independent even though the parameters use delta time. Gotta find some elegant solution for that! 😁

Would you mind playing another FREE game of ours too? 😉
https://boldaestheticcreative.itch.io/plasma-pursuit

Thanks for playing and making a video on it! :D

Nop, I haven't but I was real close to full bar haha.

Great game! I enjoyed it and like all the effects that are crafted in this little piece. One thing that I felt missing is the player feedback when big potato gets some damage/hit. It would be great if there were some fast-forward or fast/hard modes because the game pacing is slow for me lol. :D

Thank you! :D

Thanks! :D

Haha, thank you! 😄

Awesome, thanks! And yes, I agree with all the points that you have mentioned.

Interesting. There are times when the player wants to skip the current line/row (especially when you are low on HP {yummy greed of extra turns} and get skulls on all cards in a line/row). That's a good one! And yes, multiple battles and some variations. Thanks.

Thank you very much. I didn't expect someone to like this tiny game (I guess I need to have an open mind about it). And yes, I am aware of this annoying bug.

Will fix it for sure in the next update. I will be adding two new keywords/elements: One that doesn't care about shields and simply damages health (thereby, giving health more importance and forcing the player to choose health more than shield).

The second is to simply add one (or more than one) card in the next row. (instead of three? four/five cards to choose from) But I am not sure whether that is gonna be effective or not. Gotta tweak it to decide if it really matters.

Deckbuilding isn't something that I consider as of now. Maybe, an element that allows players to 'store' a card from the current row for use later on whenever the player likes. This seems quite powerful IMO. What do you think?

Great game! The concept is solid. It is immersed in style and uniqueness. As for the gameplay, I like Twisted Metal and so, I like this. It is really that simple.

We want you all to not only develop amazing games but also, take part in the Game Jam Open Theme Process (yes, that's the new term for it xD)
Throw us some cool keywords, give us your eccentric ideas and shake your mind because we NEED your Theme Suggestions! 😃

Yup, I have seen the Pakistani Game Jam community grow and it is only gonna grow from here onwards!

And soon enough, some of us will end up delivering good indie titles to the world. 😄

Yess, let us do it! So glad to see you and your team motivated for the jam. We are excited to see what you all come up with! 😀

Heyy, thanks. It means a lot to me! And with your game, you have taken a really solid step towards gamedev too, don't forget that ;)

Hey, thank you, bro! This time, I take time with sounds. And yeah, the outline would have worked better with stall indication. :D

Yeah, a tutorial level would have been great. Actually, I kinda tried to make a very limited 'hideous' tutorial (tutorial that's not apparent but still helps the player in figuring out the game) because I don't like the idea of having an obvious tutorial (not sure if that makes sense). That was very limited in nature tho. Basically, in the start screen, you must swipe to toggle music or sound or play the game (3 directional swipes; I did add a brief animation for that tho) rather than tapping the buttons. The game that happens after it uses the exact same controls as well along with the same white colored indicators.

What you are doing is awesome, you know. It helps us and you too! IMO, it is a sure way to understand and get better at making games. :D

Haha thanks! :D

Almost all sounds are from me and my mouth, *ahem* 😂So, thanks!

Thank you so much! I really liked your feedback and I am so glad to see such a good analysis. There should have been some variety with the stall audio and the stall priority should have been made clear (which btw, is fruit > burger > fries).

As for the score and hearts/star thingy (which I also agree btw but felt like explaining a bit), I tried to add depth to the game by adding the concept of combos: basically, grabbing up the same type of stall multiple times consecutively. You will notice the multiplier popping up on the screen for that and as you do it, the food that you receive multiplies which is also why if you get double the amount of food required to win a level, you will get three hearts. Now, here's the caveat to it: it's all random and procedurally generated whenever you play the game, without accounting for this mechanic (combos) as well as the food amount to win.

With that said, I should have somehow given a clue to this mechanic and also, implement it into the procedural generation but I was afraid that I would end up making it even more complicated so I ended up with just what it is.

Thank you, Usama bro. 😄

I got it... that's hell haha. The distance mechanic is nice! I like how you added the text on the land pieces instead of annoying popups lol

Thank you! And sure, I will rate your game soon. 😁

Thank you, bro. It means a lot to me! 😄

Heyy, thanks! And yeah, there are a few camera flickering issues but I am glad to hear that you didn't get (or find) any other issues. Resident Evil was the main inspiration and again, I am glad that we were able to pull it off. 😃

Really good execution! Keeping things plain and simple with consistent tension without using jumpscares.  It would be nice to have a bit of a story touch but regardless of that, I enjoyed it. And of course, DON'T COME BACK :)

Exactly. Thanks! Appreciate your comment. :D

Thank you, psy_wombats! :)

Recently, added Assist Panel to allow players to make the game easier for themselves. Just play the game, pause it and you will see the Assist Panel in the Pause Menu. Thanks again for your feedback! 😀

Play for FREE Here (on Browser or Windows)

Control the 3 Hover Mechs and obliterate all hostile entities while protecting all of the Mechs from getting destroyed.

Objective: Destroy all 6 Vital Points/Buildings (displayed as a red cross on the minimap)

Controls: Mouse Pointer for Direction Tab to Switch Mech WASD/Arrow Keys to Move Space to use Boost Left Mouse Button to use Basic Weapon Right Mouse Button to use Special Weapon P to Pause

Game Duration: 15 minutes to an hour

Each Hover Mech is coupled with its own strength and weakness and gives a unique taste to all the encounters.

Don't forget to try out the Dark/Night Mode! It really adds *oomph* to the gameplay and style. :D

This game is developed in association with the HomeTeam GameDev community.