Double Turn update for 20 June 2018

Finally at long last, v0.16.0 aka The Controls Update, the first decent sized update has arrived! This update is loving dubbed "Leaping Lariat" internally (yes, every minor release is named after different wrestling maneuver). The Controls Update includes Steam Controller support and in-game control bindings for keyboards and non-Steam gamepads.

First off I'd like to apologize for the lack up updates up to this point. After getting out a ton of bug fix patches right after launch, I wanted to focus on getting this bigger update finished. In the process I ran into some unforeseen issues, some scheduling problems due to some of my freelance work, topped off with a general burnout from the tedious nature of this update. This update is not flashy, and most players might not even touch the Steam Controller support or customize their controls at all! But it was desperately needed.

One of the major reasons it took so long was that it's a ground up rewrite of the input code. This was useful to make custom bindings go more smoothly and necessary for Steam Controller support. Since player input touches everything from the menus to the online play, it meant careful work with lots and lots of testing and re-testing.

The other reason was because during my work on this update, the game development tools I built the game with (HaxeFlixel and OpenFL) had some significant releases so I took some time to upgrade those. This means I'll be able to take advantage of much more up to date features I wasn't able to before as well as day one get some nice bug fixes.

v0.16.0 Patch Notes

Features:

* Steam Controller support  
* In-game controls customization

Improvements:

* "Dodge" is now it's own re-bindable action; No longer Jump+Block, and defaults to Right Bumper on Gamepad or "F" on Keyboard)

Keyboard and Gamepad configs can be edited by going to "Options" menu then "Controls" and joining with a device. You can also hit pause in a match and edit them from "View Controls" in the pause overlay. Currently only Player 1 will save and load when you close/open the game. Players 2-4 will be saved until the player leaves or the game is shut down. Steam Controller bindings need to be managed in Steam's input manager, and cannot be edited in-game.

What's Next

My immediate focus is bug fixes, I have a few minor bugs related to the controller customization things I want to iron out that didn't make it into this release. After that all of my effort will be into a really fun update for combat. I've compiled a ton of feedback and have a few areas of focus to improve combat. In general this means: more environmental effects for non-standard stages, character-specific special moves, some general combat balancing, and improved hit feedback and vfx. I'll keep this update fairly streamlined to make sure I can ship it much quicker than I could v0.16.0!

Also, given that this update took way longer than I had planned and I lagged behind some bug fixes, I pushed back my plans to do Player Profiles until a bit later. The groundwork is there for them with this update, so once I get a few more features in, I'll tackle that. That will include saving controller configs that you can reload at any time and profiles for local players, allowing your friends to make a profile and have their configs ready to go the next time they play with you in those Player 2-4 slots.