KatFS 0.2.3 Now Available!

Hello everyone! Today is update day for Kalia, and while this is another "minor update", it does bring a rather significant change! But before we get into that, let's go through the other changes in this update:

• Improved trigger queries: this is more of a dev change that won't have any major impact on the demo, but it removed the need for two redundant collision layers;
• Fixed localization flag icons: the language icon would sometimes surrender and display a white flag. This has been a known issue with Unity's localized asset system, so I decided it was best to write my own code for it. Flags should display just fine all the time now;
• Fixed a bug with the archer skeletons: I noticed they were still firing their arrows even after being interrupted during their draw animation, and possibly related to that, they would sometimes freeze in place if they were interrupted in such a way. Should be fixed now;
• Enabled automatic fire for the firebolt: holding down the "fire" button will now continuously fire Kalia's firebolts at a capped rate until you let go of the button (or get interrupted in some other way). I'm considering expanding on this as an accessibility feature in the future. You can see the difference between holding down the button and spamming it below:

And now the big one: The existing demo chapters 1 and 2 have now been linked together! If you play through all of chapter 1 in version 0.2.3, rather than returning to the main menu after defeating the boss, you'll find a brief new segment that will lead you directly to the start of chapter 2, allowing you to play through the entirety of the demo as one seamless journey! Well, mostly seamless, as the second chapter is still a separate instance that will have to be loaded:

The option to start a new game on chapter 2 is still there however, if you'd rather skip the ancient complex and go straight to roasting spiders. This is a major change because it brings the demo closer to how I envision the full game: as one big continuous journey through the ancient underground. It's a major objective that the game's environment feels consistent from beginning to end and that it is part of a greater world, rather than a set of separate levels that only feel vaguely connected.

It doesn't have to be completely linear either! This system works well with branching and interwoven paths and allows for backtracking since each area is persistent, meaning that the stuff you have activated, moved or destroyed in one area will remain so should you return to it.

And since you've read this far, why not treat you to an overhead view of the now combined demo chapters 1 and 2?

And that is it for this update! So what now? The chapter 2 build of the KatFS demo seems to be in a good spot, so there's only one way to go from here: the third (and final) demo chapter! Chapter 3 will be the most ambitious one yet, featuring a new and smart type of enemy, an environment unlike the one seen in the first two chapters, and even new and stronger fire abilities for Kalia! I'm also considering taking a period before getting started on chapter 3 to update the Unity version that KatFS is being built on (as well as its packages). Unity 2019.4 has gotten me this far, but it's becoming clear that it might hold the project back some point in the near future, so it's best to get this out of the way early. Depending on how that goes, I might push one more minor update to the chapter 2 build focused solely on the updated Unity version, as well as any other small fixes and improvements I can include along the way.

That is all for this devlog, see you next time!