Omvorm has been updated to v 1.3.0! Two updates in a year (kind of). Glorious stuff. This patch is mostly under the hood fixes ahead of a larger 2.0 release later on this year. The patch is available now on Nintendo Switch and PC!
Upgraded to Unreal Engine 4.27 which gives us some lovely improvements under the hood.
Level Check was happening on the Main Menu Basically the game kept shouting ‘Level Up!’ at you once you quit back to the Main menu
Repositioned the PowerDown mesh It was clipping through the floor which looks crap. Now it does not clip through the floor!
Blitz Mode kept on upping the level when you died Similar issue to the Main menu level up problem above, if you die and sit on the Game Over screen the game would shout ‘Level Up’ at set intervals. No longer!
Blueprint code refactoring Updates in the backend which has focused on tidying up blueprints, removing redundant code, and making things much easier for me to follow when I have not looked at the game in a while.
New Logo! The new 4MB logo makes its debut on the intro screen. About time too.
While testing Omvorm a few weeks back something struck me about it while I was whizzing the shapes toward me as fast as I could. There was no actual incentive to do this quickly. You could take it all quite leisurely and still end up with roughly the same score. You see the game would increase the level, and therefore speed, every 10 successful shapes you matched. So why bother going quickly? Well yes, exactly. But all that has now changed thanks to the Omvorm 1.2 patch. Gameplay has been upgraded, modes have been simplified and all in all, it is a much, much better experience for the player. The patch is available now on Nintendo Switch and PC!
A brand new style of gameplay which dramatically increases the fun and challenge of the game. The previous mode would increase speed/level every 10 successful Vorm walls completed, as discussed in the opening paragraph that you read about 30 seconds ago. Now the level/speed increases at a set increment of 20 seconds. Take your time and you have less chance to make the most of the slower speed Vorm’s coming toward you. Race through that 20 seconds and you could have a much, much easier job of getting a high score. It fully encourages you to move as quickly as possible now in order to get the biggest score.
The second part of this is that managing the speed of the game becomes crucial, going for the Speed Decrease powerups becomes incredibly important in order to bring the walls down to a more manageable pace and allow you to relax a little as you increase your point tally.
And of course, all of these changes affect the 2-player mode as now whoever can move the quickest, will absolutely get more points and win, provided they are accurate! It makes for a much more frantic and challenging competitive mode, one that I think is far more enjoyable than the previous version.
Removed multiple Blitz modes as to be honest, they were just unnecessary. There is just the one Blitz mode now and it simply starts with the game running at full pelt. It is actually a great way to practice dealing with the higher speeds you should achieve eventually in Marathon mode. Instead of going for a score in a set time, it is simply trying to survive as long as you possibly can while starting at a crazy fast pace.
New ‘How To Play’ section which appears at the start of each play of the game, whether in Marathon or Blitz modes. The previous How To Play information was in the Main Menu area and I don’t think it was very useful there. Moving it to the Game Start screen puts it front and centre for players new and old. The information has been updated to spell out exactly what you need to do as well as detailing the controls and perhaps most importantly, what each power-up does. Speaking of which…
New Power-Up Shapes have been created! They look so fancy. Not only have they had a visual makeover but the way in which they spawn has been updated. Previously they would all look the same and you would only find out what the powerup was once you collected it. Now you can see what is coming down the track and decide if you want the Point boost or not.
Upgraded to Unreal Engine 4.25 which gives us some lovely improvements under the hood.
In the last patch notes, I mentioned that I hoped it would not be a full year before improving the game again and thankfully that has not been the case. I still have a few more things I want to add to the game and will be looking to do this over the rest of the summer.
Omvorm has been dormant for a little while due to the fact I accidentally deleted the original game file like some kind of IDIOT person. Nintendo requires the original in order to update it with new stuff and so I was stuck but luckily for me, they are the nicest people in the world and they sent me back the file I originally sent them. What this means then is that Omvorm is getting a few updates!
This first patch is fixing a few bugs that cropped up again and fixing some technical things in the backend. Patch 1.2 is going to tweak gameplay hugely and make some really important updates to the UI but I can talk all about that later on.
Increased frame rate to 60 FPS from the original versions 30 FPS. Some effects and settings on Nintendo Switch lead to the game being played at 30 FPS but these have now been optimised so the game runs at a silky-smooth 60FPS whether docked or in hand-held mode. The PC version has also been bumped up to 60 FPS
Upgraded to Unreal Engine 4.24 which of course brings all the improvements that come with a new version of Epic’s engine.
End game scores recalculated in multi-player mode to stop one player from getting into the lead and then simply ending the game in order to win. Now you receive 10,000 points for each life you have in play upon the end of the game. This, of course, means the surviving player receives at least 10,000 extra points which should mean they win the match as the other player has initiated the game over sequence.
Stopped text expanding beyond high score table if you input your name as something super long. This looked super rubbish and ruined everything in your life if you ever saw it. Now scores/names are confined to the boxes.
All new logo because that is, of course, the most important thing to update in the game. The old 4MB logo is out and our fancy new 4MB logo is in. Is the game FGbetter for it? Yes. Yes, it is.
Hopefully, it will not be almost a year until the next patch (it definitely won’t be a year) so Omvorm should receive a much-needed gameplay tweak over the next couple of months. What I have in mind fundamentally changes the core gameplay loop and I think massively for the better.
Remember our little Unreal Engine Spring Jam entry that is coming to Nintendo Switch? Omvorm? Well, it is very nearly ready. But you guessed that from the title. It has taken a little under a month for me to spruce it up. New modes have been added. Tweaks have been made to the speed of the game. All in all, it is a massive improvement over what was already a fun game.
Currently, I am finishing up all the various tasks required before the game can be submitted to Nintendo. With any luck I can get that sorted this week or next, then it will be down to them to check there is nothing catastrophically wrong. I expect there will be some weird thing I need to fix so won’t guess at a release date just yet.
Working with the Switch has been great fun. I think Unreal Engine makes this process so much easier with the ability to easily switch off effects or processes that could cause a drop in FPS. Getting good performance in both handheld and docked mode was a little challenging but got there in the end. A steep learning curve certainly but being able to playtest the game on the bus is just the best.
Overall the development of this game has been markedly smoother than the previous three. No surprise really given I massively underestimated the work they needed. Galactic Defence Squadron is maybe the exception in terms of the ambition of the project. However, with that one, I got hugely stuck on some technical aspects which just wasn’t fun.
Starting with the small Game Jam project then moving into proper development has been great. I had spoken earlier this year about the desire to create small, experimental projects alongside the bigger more ambitious titles and perhaps this is the way to do it. Enter some game jams throughout the year then take those ideas and develop them further if they seem to warrant it. If not, I am sure that the experience will prove valuable in its own right.
Shifting Shapes
What then has really changed between the hastily smashed together Shape Shift and Omvorm? In truth, not a huge amount but also in another way, everything has changed. At a quick glance, you might not think too much. In actual fact, there have been a whole host of changes, many under the hood.
Changes for 1.0.0
Omvorm has been giving a huge amount of polish in preparation for release on Nintendo Switch and proper release on PC via the Itch.io store.
All new Blitz Mode. Quick challenges of 1,2 or 3 minutes to try and get as high a score as possible. The Vormwall starts at a much greater speed. Ideal for quick bursts of play.
All new Two-Player mode! Take on your opponent in Marathon Mode to see who can survive the longest and score the most points. Or battle it out in Blitz Mode, you and your opponent against the clock to get the most points.
New Power-Ups! All new PowerDown will take away points should you collect it or speed up your wall. While PowerSwap (only in 2player modes) will take points from your opponent or speed up their wall.
Power Up’s increased in size, again to make them easier to see.
Fixed an issue where power-ups could keep spawning even after the player has stopped playing. All new voiceover! Actress Lia Albers has kindly lent her voice to our in-game update robot lady. LEVEL UP!
Player now starts with one life in order to give them a bit more of a chance. Was a bit annoying otherwise?
Controls have been tweaked and fine-tuned, the shape change and player positioning are more responsive.
Multiple colour themes added to the level. The Player has the choice between red, white, blue, and pink. Blue is the best.
The Vormtunnel has been given a makeover and now looks amazing with new textures on the walls.
The lane that the Vorm appears in now lights up to make it easier for the player to navigate to the right space.
Vibration has been added when playing with a gamepad.
New Shape! The Cylinder is gone and a Diamond has replaced it. This is easier to see from a distance. This was less an issue when playing on a TV and more for multiplayer games in Switch Tabletop mode.
Removed the function where Vorms would occasionally change their colour once you got past level 10. The idea was to trick you with a Blue triangle but it was actually just really crap and annoying.
Level meshes have been replaced with BluePrint meshes to allow for easy dynamic colour changes mid-game. This results in the white lines on the wall flashing when the player speeds the Vormwall toward them.
Max Speed added to the Vormwalls. Previously they would keep increasing in speed forever, now they hit a top speed (which is really flippin’ quick) and will maintain that. They can go over this speed should you collect a PowerDown but will then revert to the max speed once you go up a level.
Wall Speed increases at an equal rate (+2.5 per level). Previously it was 1.25x the current wall speed.
Starting wall speed is now higher at 5 over the previous 2.5
The Main Menu has been totally redesigned. Scores are now in their own section while Options allows the player to change colours and delete local scores.
A tutorial section has been added to the main menu.
Pause Menu redesigned so that you can quit out to the Main Menu.
UI has been repositioned so it doesn’t go off the screen on some larger monitors or TV’s
Delay in the Try Again and Main Menu buttons appearing on the Game Over HUD to stop players accidentally restarting before seeing their score and entering their name.
That’s it for now. But there are plenty of other changes I would love to bring to the game, but it very much depends on how well it does. Should it prove moderately successful then I will look at bringing in Online Leaderboards on Nintendo Switch as well as look into the possibility of a 4-player mode. Something I think could be really cool but not sure how well it would work on a smaller screen.
That’s all in the future, right now it is about getting Omvorm over the finish line and then getting back to work on Undead Blackout. Will drop one more Omvorm update once the release date is set in stone, a date that hopefully won’t be too far away.
Remember that UE4 Spring Jam game that I bashed together in like 3 days? We didn’t win or anything but that is fine, I am not sad. Honestly. Shape Shift is a great little game and with a bit of extra polish, it could be a brilliant game. And that is exactly what it is going to get. First of all, it is not called Shape Shift any more. It is now called…Omvorm!
Omvorm is going to get the aforementioned spit and polish but it will also get some tasty new features. First up we have Blitz Mode which will simply be a quicker version of the regular game allowing for shorter play sessions. Secondly, I will incorporate some form of competitive two-player mode. Still figuring out exactly how to structure this one so stay tuned for more details.
The game will be updated on the Itch.io page (where it shall remain free until the update rolls out) but most excitingly of all – OMVORM IS COMING TO NINTENDO SWITCH! Cannot express how excited I am to be releasing a game on a Nintendo console.
When is all this happening then? Well unless there is some terrible unforeseen problem, the game should be available in its new form this summer. The vast majority of the work was done during the game jam so I am hoping that the additional development won’t be too painful.
On a side note, Undead Blackout is still coming and I intend to split my work between the two projects over the next month or so. Exciting times ahead!
