Vlobs version history

Version 1.1.5 Released 2023-12-19

Changes and improvements:

• Improved bomb and block clearing special effects.
• Added leaderboard row for the player ranked one step above your score, so you know what to beat to advance.
• Added billions score number format separator and adjusted leaderboard layout to fit higher scores (Wow Player#503!).
• Fixed issue with global leaderboard ranking not being shown correctly unless you were in the top 20.
• Separated fancy graphics setting into individual antialiasing, shadow quality, post-processing and particle settings.
• Continuing a game with the current best score will no longer show the new best score effect each time.
• Fix combo tiles sometimes being incorrectly rotated when continuing a game on a rotated level.
• Game now defaults to windowed mode instead of full screen on first launch.

Version 1.1.3 Released 2023-09-07

This is a mobile-only update for iOS and Android
Fixes 3d rendering issues on some mobile device models.

Version 1.1.2 Released 2023-08-21

This is a mobile-only update for iOS and Android
Changes and improvements:

• Mobile version compatibility changes.
• Fix risk of getting stuck in wrong board rotation when saving/loading game in different device orientations.
• Improved bomb special effect with new screen shake.
• Performance improvements.

Version 1.1.1 Released 2023-07-19

Changes and improvements:

• Improved antialiasing to make the game less blurry on low resolutions.
• Improved adaptive camera zoom on smaller phone screens.
• Show a hint message about placing vlobs if you tap the Next panel.
• Fixes a bug some tile graphics could get out of sync with board rotation.
• Fixes a possible bug with locks count getting out of sync.
• Fixes vsync framerate issues on some platforms.

Version 1.1.0 Released 2023-07-10

Changes and improvements:

• New combo multiplier tiles for risk/reward balancing.
• New upcoming vlob display for more strategic gameplay.
• Improved score display showing current group score and combo for more arcade feel.
• New global highscores leaderboard where you can see how you compare with other players.
• New lock block mechanic for later level locking and unlocking action.
• Automatic board rotation on mobile to fit non-square levels to landscape/portrait mode.
• New level up score bonuses (try to combine with combo multiplier!).
• Improved special power visual effects.
• Track and show some gameplay stats in the main menu.
• Engine update for improved performance, stability and compatibility.
• Adjusted vlobs dot spawning chances over the levels for more even difficulty curve.
• Best score level is now saved along with the score.

Bugfixes:

• Correctly update the connection selection vignett when game board rotates or resizes.
• Restores previous vlob to place after a special power has been used.
• Fix issue with changing device orientation while Game UI is transitioning in.
• Fix cursor location after selecting special power.
• Fix fullscreen state not being saved on macOS 10.15 after using window fullscreen toggle.

Version 1.0.4 Released 2023-04-22

Changes and improvements:

• Progress is now saved if you quit during a game so you can continue later.
• Save game window size if it's been resized and restore next time game is launched.
• Properly center window mode game window when using multiple displays.
• Fix some shadows on mobile at later level far camera distances.

Version 1.0.3 Released 2023-03-25

Changes and improvements:

• Better connection select spotlight size based on game zoom level.
• Better game window size based on monitor resolution when switching to windowed mode.
• Added little name labels to the special power icons to help remember what they do.
• Added a dialogue asking once if you want to turn off fancy graphics if the game is running very slowly.
• Fixes a graphical glitch with moving blocks on some devices.
• Fixes a bug with the game over screen highscore display after restart.
• Fixes a bug with the time bar max value after restart.

Version 1.0.2 Released 2023-03-20

Changes and improvements:

• Prevent board clicks while the board is animating to avoid misclicks.
• Removed gray vlob color as it was a little too similar to the black.
• Better Settings and Credits menu scaling on narrow screen mobile devices.
• Fix bug that could sometimes cause incorrect game over on the last vlob placed, even if it should have saved you.

Version 1.0.1 Released 2023-03-15

This is a iOS only update, with some improvements for the mobile build and preparation for Android support.

Changes and improvements:

• Support for mobile portrait mode!
• Improved shadow consistency on different resolutions.
• Improved camera zoom for different devices and orientations.

Version 1.0.0 Released 2023-03-10

Full release version! Available on Steam (windows and linux), iOS/macOS App Store and itch.io (macOS, windows, linux)

Version 0.9.3 Released 2023-03-08

iOS and macOS appstore only update

Changes and improvements:

• Better camera zoom adaptation on non-wide screen resolutions.
• Adjusted brightness levels on iOS platform.
• Adjustments to level board rotation.

Bug fixes:

• Limit the number of special blocks that will spawn on the board to one as intended.
• Fix some incorrect vlob glow animations.
• Fix a stutter issue first time a vlob group pops.

Version 0.9.2 Released 2023-03-01

Changes and improvements:

• New best scores in ongoing games are now saved even if you quit or restart without getting a game over.
• New zap power sound effect.
• New bomb power sound effect.
• Added some new best score game UI and game over screen effects.
• Update to new Godot engine version for improved compatibility and stability.

Version 0.9.1 Released 2023-02-21

Changes and improvements:

• Made special power select more interesting with more vibrant effects and new sounds.
• Improved hint text for placing vlobs and using zap power.
• Improved excess vlob count display on level ups.
• Tweaked stressful mode level time bonuses and added a new time up sound.

Bug fixes:

• Properly apply fancy graphics setting anti-aliasing to next preview as well.
• Fix dismissing hint text also hiding game board frame on full size levels.
• Fix hint text placement on larger and rotated boards.
• Fix scaling and offset of mute button on mobile.
• Fixed some bugs related to getting multiple levelups from the same group.

Version 0.9.0 Released 2023-02-16

Changes and improvements:

• Special Power blocks (replace old bombs) that appear at random and give you a special action you can use.
• Added moving blocks.
• Added another rare surprise challenge on level 8+.
• Added a quick sound toggle button in the game interface on web and mobile builds.
• Added a new mute all audio setting to quickly toggle on/off all sound and music in the settings.
• Preloading of sound effects to avoid stutters first time the sound effects are played.

Version 0.8.7 Released 2023-01-31

Changes and improvements:

• Residual pop particles don't live as long.
• Performance adjustments to some effect shaders.

Bug fixes:

• Fixes Esc-button resuming game in settings menu when paused instead of first closing the settings.
• Fixed an issue where the vlobs bar animation would not finish in some cases, preventing level progression.

Version 0.8.6 Released 2023-01-29

Changes and improvements:

• Added a new Fancy effects toggle in the settings to turn off post processing and reduce shadow quality on low-end machines.
• Added post processing glow and anti-aliasing (when Fancy effects is on).
• Tweaked pop/glow animations and effects with more particles and glow (when Fancy effects is on).
• New menu game start transition.
• More performance improvements.

Bug fixes:

• Fix taskbar and window app icon on Windows.
• Fixed offset Game Over Highscore animation on wide screen resolutions.
• Fix shadows disappearing on later levels where the camera is further away.
• Fix to accidental buttons clicks in the game over menu trying to place a last vlob on time up.

Version 0.8.5 Released 2023-01-18

Changes and improvements:

• Changed Next Vlob generation to avoid some unlucky random sequences.
• Added extra UI feedback to the time bar to show when time is added.
• Changed Game mode selection to a second step after clicking Play in the main menu.
• Added a preview of the next piece in the game board cursor.
• Added gray color blobs in some color sets.
• Improved shadow quality.
• Added an additional game music track for more variation.
• Added some subtle shading to the UI overlay and progress bars.
• Added a transition effect when starting new game from the main menu.
• The Give Up button now appears a little earlier on later levels.
• Added support for both landscape orientations on mobile.
• Move camera a little closer on small mobile screens (phones).
• Some adaptations for future possible Web versions.
• Performance improvements.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed music bug where the game would get stuck on one specific track and keep looping that instead of picking the next.
• Fixed a bug with UI-scaling of the top left corner buttons in the in-game overlay.
• Fixed a bug where the Give up button would remain on screen after giving up and restarting.

Version 0.8.1 Released 2023-01-11

Changes:

• Added an introduction hint to get started for first time players.
• The board cursor shadow now changes shape based on what you're placing next.
• Added a Give up button that is shown where there are just a few empty spaces left.
• Added a more pronounced animation to the last 10 sec tickdown animation for the time bar.
• Some improvement to shader pre-loading.
• Updated to new version of Godot engine.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed background gaps on edges of very wide screens.

Version 0.8.0 Released 2022-12-27

Changes:

• New unlockable second game mode. 100% more stressful!
• Added more sound effects and tweaked some animations.
• Added a new game music track and music is now played in a randomized order.
• Added glow animations when UI bars fill up.
• Added a little idle animation to vlobs dots that triggers at random after a while.
• Added steam page wishlist link to main menu.
• Music and sound is now paused when game is in the background.
• Game is now automatically paused when game is in the background.
• Popmarks are no longer colored by vlob color.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed a bug where the first vlob could be an unexpected color when restarting right after reaching a level that introduced a new color.
• Placed vlobs connection markers are correctly rotated to match preview even if the board is rotated.
• Fixed a crash in 0.7.5 when restarting game while hovering mouse over a game object.

Version 0.7.5 Released 2022-12-20

Changes:

• New mechanic for placing blocks on later levels to mix up gameplay.
• Added a hover animation to some special blocks to indicate they can be clicked.
• Made background a little lighter and smoother.
• Vlobs spawning is now more generous with ones and twos for the last tiles before game over.
• Performance improvements.
• There's now a secret fps counter you can toggle on by clicking in the top right corner.
• Added Godot license text to credits menu.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed a lighting bug with special blocks and vlob popping slights.
• Fixed bug where the UI would block placing blobs bottom right corner on some window sizes.
• Fixed bug where you could get stuck in connection select mode by selecting a connection during the transition animation.

Version 0.7.0 Released 2022-12-08

Changes:

• New special blocks appearing on later levels offering a new mechanic to clear space.
• Improved level transition animations with growing gameboard, block spawning and color changes.
• More music tracks for a bit more variation during play.
• Added a frame that appears around the game board when it has reached full size to show it won't expand any more.
• Added Enter keyboard shortcut for all main recommended menu buttons (Play, Resume, Restart).
• Added Quit items to pause menu and game over screen to quit without needing to go to main menu first.
• Added board highlight if you click the next vlob preview, to hint you should click the board to place it.
• New music handling code the allows for cross-scene music playing and sequencing from music lists.
• Pre-loading of shaders to reduce stuttering when new shaders appear for the first time during game.
• Improvements to background shader coloring and lighting.
• New custom splash screen during startup.
• Performance improvements.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed fullscreen default setting not being applied correctly on first launch.

Version 0.6.4 Released 2022-12-05

Changes:

• To make later level progression more rewardning the board now resizes in more horizontal and vertical steps up to the max.
• The background color now changes when new vlob colors appear for more visual variation.
• Set a minimum window size to avoid some scaling issues.
• Added feedback and bug report link to the main menu.
• Added itch.io link to the main menu.

Bug fixes:

• Fixed bug with being able to place blobs outside the board if you clicked on the edge.
• Fixed Play button in main menu losing y letter when resolution is scaled down.
• Detect if fullscreen has been changed the system and update game fullscreen setting to match.
• Fixed/improved adaptive UI scaling in Settings and Credits menus.

Version 0.6.3 Released 2022-11-30

First public testing build available on itch.io