Yoohoo! I’m happy to announce that There Will Be Ink is complete. ish! All of the game’s features are in place, the campaign finished, and it feels more or less, I think, like a complete game. There is still some polishing and tuning I’d like to do, but version 1.0 will pro-0-o-o-bably arrive in March. Having worked on this game solo for quite a long while now, this is exciting to me! Anyhow, let’s get on with what’s new in this update.

At last, the campaign is complete! The end boss and accompanying battle will hopefully be a challenge for anyone who’s reached the end. There is a little surprise afterwards as well. I’ve also added, for all campaigns, a screenshot from the moment of the end of the final battle to the Victory Page (accessed from the HQ page, once a campaign is complete).  The new “Walking Talkie” ability, once activated, allows you tell units where to go in Tactical Mode. Commanding a squad leader will result in all units from that squad moving. I’ve always resisted making TWBI an RTS, but this seemed like a fitting way to open up unit command for those who really want to do that. Also it gives squads a little more meaning, which I think is needed. This update also includes several QoL updates based on my tester feedback (thanks, R!). For instance, players are assigned first to Heroes when joining; there is a “show controls” option from the pause menu; I added a sound effect that climbs in scale as your kill streak goes up; water/unit/bullet interaction is a little better; knockback has a little more impact, and so on. There is a full list below. And as usual there is a list of bug fixes as well.

Next I’m working on a release trailer, as the current trailer (and Steam page for that matter) is extremely outdated. Otherwise just more polish and tuning. I’ve also been working on a faction that includes melee units, but I first need to make melee combat fun before that will see the light of day. All right, cheerio!

Changelog

New Features & Content

• Final mission and end boss for TWBI campaign, plus some other surprises!
• General Unit Ability/Unlock: Walkie Talkies – allows for the commanding of units during Tactical Mode
  • Moving a squad leader (with the circle icon) moves all squad members

Changes & Enhancements

• Added end-of-battle screenshot from last campaign mission (if victorious) to Victory Screen background
• Players are deployed first to Heroes when joining
• Added “Show Controls” option to pause menu
• Significantly improved pathfinding performance
• Added sound for kill streak > 10 (pitch increases with each kill)
• Colour of text now changes with kill streak > 10
• Animation speed now varies with movement speed (eg slower in water, snow, etc)
• Units moving in water now leave wakes
• Added water ripple effect for bullets hitting water
• Reduced kills needed for 3- and 4-star generals
• Reworked knockback mechanic and increased knockback amount
• Tactical Mode: tooltips no longer appear when hovering over pause menu items
• Tactical Mode: Full UI is now hidden with tab/x toggle
• Tactical Mode: units on the move (approaching target or deploying) now show line indicating path
• Tactical Mode: left gamepad stick now works to move cursor when UI hidden
• Adjustments to unit tooltip in Tactical Mode
• Adjustments to scale and positioning during pause/Tactical Mode
• Updates to Tutorial text
• Revised some TWBI campaign text
• Added several tips to the randomized main page tips
• Reformatted tips and added count and ability to cycle through them
• Main menu now requires confirmation to exit game
• Changed “Barracks” page name to “HQ”
• Added shortcut to go to Victory screen once campaign is complete
• Changed hide button on Victory stats to TAB (from ‘v’)
• Smoothed out edges of the notepad/battlefield
• Added gradient to Victory text to make it so very flashy
• Added warning text for when I accidentally leave autoplay on

Bug Fixes

• Fixed crash when cycling unit left and right at the exact same time (kbm only)
• Fixed crash with 4-star generals/heroes
• Fixed mission text being skipped after “lake frendz” mission
• Fixed custom campaign victory text not displaying on Victory page
• Fixed weapon error when moving/prone being reversed (Tactical mode)
• Fixed bullets hitting water often making dust instead of splashes
• Fixed bug that allowed Heroes to emerge during Tutorial missions
• Fixed mouse sometimes interfering with pause menu items when playing with gamepad
• Fixed bug where maps would not load in Map Editor if they contained units normally hidden from map editor
• Fixed units meant to be hidden from Map Editor being available to deploy