MAY DEVBLOG ?

May is full of game updates! The systems that allow skins to be used were implemented, an advanced settings menu was finalized, new easter eggs were added, and much more!

Store

The store has been getting a lot of love recently. We upgraded the entire logic system from play.lightnite.io to improve performance and make the system more robust. Additionally, we slightly changed the style of the storefront home screen to reduce the amount of item listed. The amount of items was reduced from 7 to 4 (originally, it was set to 13).

Currently, every time the user reloads the site, a new item is displayed on the store. Next month, we plan to release a static section of the storefront, where the same items are listed for a period of time during an event.

Graphics

One of the things that we want to improve is consistency. We put some effort into coming up with guidelines for the graphics whether it is for the 3D models in the web viewer or the posters that show up when browsing the store. The changes mainly focus on how the assets are displayed (orientation, viewing angle, and other paramenters). From now on, you will find the store entries getting a little more consistent and getting a professional touch.

Skin Deposit

Now, you can finally deposit your skin from your liquid wallet to the game!

From the settings button, click on deposit skin. Then, a liquid address is generated. Make sure to correctly copy the desired address to send the liquid asset.

Skin Withdraw

In addition to skin deposit, we added skin withdraw which allows you to export your skin(s) from the game to your liquid wallet or gift it to a friend!

From your library, click on the settings button of the specific skin. Then, choose to either withdraw to wallet or gift to friend. Make sure to correctly paste the desired address or user ID to send the liquid asset.

Explorer

Some improvements have also taken place at our game assets explorer. When searching for an asset, now you can query by TICKER and USER ID as well as the previous attributes NAME, UTXO, LIQUID ID, SKIN ID.

Since we are adding a static option to buy specific skins from the game, we are adding a button to the explorer where you can go and buy that skin directly from the store.

User Interface

We have been working on the character customisation screen. The prototype concept is shown below:

As you can see, what the prototype is missing is the UI. The first UI mock-up was based on previous concepts which were curvy and cartoony.

However, since our current menus have an angular sharp design, we decided to go with something that has the same visuals for now. This angular design was revised a few times, and the final version was integrated into the game.

Please note that the curvy design is not completely scraped. If you want to see it in the game, feel free to share your opinion by leaving a comment and voting for it at issues.lightnite.io.

Character Customization

As you already know, the next big milestone for us is to enable players to use the skins they have obtained (through giveaways, special offers or the store) in the game. We decided to do this incrementally due to the vast number of assets we currently offer in the store. The first step is a small pilot test, while the second step is a continuous fan-driven process. Read the following sections for more details.

Demo Assets

This first step involved picking a few assets from each of the major customisation categories that we want to support and making them available in the game. The reason we wanted to cover different categories is to make sure that the systems we built are rock-solid and our pipelines are watertight (pun intended). Some of the categories were brand new, so we built models to populate them.

We also had an ongoing discussion on how to best implement customisation in a way that does not hurt performance but does not require too much time to make an asset available in the game. We are satisfied with the solution we picked, and the demo assets are ready for testing.

Please make sure to experiment with them as much as you can and contact us if you notice any issue.

Remaining Assets

You may have already noticed that the demo assets were either already in the store or were recently added. The next step is to make all the store assets available. Since we have plenty of assets, we want to selectively pick the assets that we work on first.

That is where you, our fans, come in the picture. We are obviously going to prioritise popular store assets, but we would also like to provide you with two ways to influence what becomes available next. Soon, our marketing team will start teasing assets that we think look cool.

If these assets generate a lot of hype, we will add them to the top of our list and make them available in the next game release. This is the first method. The second method revolves around something similar; the only difference is that it is initiated by you. If you post a request for an asset that, again, generates a lot of hype, we will also prioritise it.

Make sure to visit explorer.lightnite.io and create hype around the assets you want to see in the game. Also, don't forget to follow us in social media to vote on issues.lightnite.io.

Collaborations

Blockstream Giveaway

If you have been following us on social media, you must have obtained a skin or two by attending the giveaway hosted by Blockstream. The event featured a few skins and assets which we prepared graphics for.

Settings Dialog

Due to high demand, we extended the settings dialog box to fit more options which are distributed over three tabs.

The general tab holds common settings, such as the sound sliders, graphics quality, resolution, and other seetings. Now, you can control the volume of sound effects and music instead of just being able to turn them on or off.

The keyboard tab holds settings specific to the keyboard and mouse input. In this tab, you will be able to redefine keyboard bindings, adjust look/aim sensitivity, and invert vertical axis among other things.

We made a sophisticated keybinding system that supports two assignments (main and alternate) for each action as well as key conflict resolution.

The last tab is the gamepad tab which is very similar to the keyboard tab, but is dedicated to gamepad controllers.

In the future, we are planning to add support for presets (both built-in and custom) and the ability to customise bindings per controller (which is going to be useful for people owning multiple controllers). Note that, currently, we only support one controller.

Closing Remards

We were planning to release the COVID19 mini-game during May, but we shifted things slightly to give ourselves more time to refine the gameplay logic and visuals. We are extremely sorry for the delays, but we believe that you will love the revisions we made. We are itching to share updates, but we will wait for the right moment.

If you like what you see and want to support us, please join our community!