FOOLISH MORTALS 2.0
We've been working away at a whole bunch of features which have been requested since release, so here is a pretty chunky update! Welcome to Foolish Mortals 2.0!
Controller Support
In the process of getting console ports ready, we're now happy to announce Foolish Mortals is playable with controllers on PC! We've tried to implement controls which feel intuitive, and make most of our quality of life features easily accessible. The controller integration should cover a wide variety of controllers, and brings us one step closer to getting console ports up and running.
Cutscene Clickthroughs
Many of the cutscenes in Foolish Mortals were designed with synchronised scores. However, we understand that in some cases you may want to advance these scenes a little quicker without skipping them entirely. So we've reviewed the whole game and, wherever possible, allowed for clicking through dialog as with any other part of the game. This mostly applies to scenes such as in-depth conversations with NPCs, where the music may be timed to small beats, but still works to set the atmosphere even when clicked through. While some scenes involving more complex synchronised visuals, music, and dialog are still only skippable with the Esc key, we really hope this provides a better balance for those players who want a faster pace to their adventure! It's also possible to skip song verses in the interactive song if you realise you're heading down the wrong route with it.
Overwriting Saves
The setup of our save system in our game engine needed a bit of reworking to get this implemented, but I'm really pleased to say we've managed to get it working! As well as having 80 save slots, you'll now be able to overwrite saves in the menu.
Menu UI Improvements
Based on player feedback, and tweaks we made for controller support, we've given some of our menu screens a bit of a refresh, including a mute/off button for volume and dynamic hint scales, and clearer sections for our Settings & Help menus, which should make things easier to parse.
Map Shortcut
Another feature we've had requests for was a change to the way our map shortcut works: rather than taking you to the map without an ability to return to where you were, you can now use the map shortcut again (whether it's from the menu in the top right, M key on the keyboard, or the relevant controller button) to go back to the last place Murphy was. (And, as I've found out whilst testing controller support, jump back after an accidental button press!).
Animation Optimization
Some of our animations, particularly those for larger cutscenes, turned out to be pretty huge. On most systems, these have played out fine, on others they've lagged a little, and on some they've simply caused crashes outright. We want all players to have a smooth experience, so we've been working hard to optimize our biggest animations to reduce the graphics load in these scenes and get things running smoothly for more people, without compromising on quality.
Menu Soft-Lock Bug
Occasionally the menu might come up as unresponsive, and we're still trying to narrow down why this is happening. In the meantime, shortcut keys should still work, so you can use F1 to exit the Menu, and D to exit the Diary (or the relevant controller buttons). If this happens for you, please do let us know through our Discord. Any information might help pin it down, such as what system you're playing on, whether you used the Menu button in the top-right or a shortcut key/button, or what you were doing in the game prior to the bug, etc.
Savegame Library
While we've taken every precaution to prevent old savegames from breaking, with such a large update it is still a risk. In case it does happen, we'll soon be uploading a library of savegame files for key points throughout the game. These can be accessed at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z_jaZtaH44ysRJLdrERF1ne92fsSqIGN, which will include a spreadsheet that explains at which point each savegame is saved at, and how to put them into the game.
Alternatively, you can email us at Inklingwood.sophie@gmail.com if you're having any issues, or want to try and pickup exactly where you left off, and we'll try to get you back on track with Murphy's adventures!
As always, thank you for playing, and happy adventuring, Ghosts!
Sophie & David
Small patch to fix graphical issues with an animation.
New Features
Updated Settings Menu
The Settings menu now shows the Current Version number for the latest update, and the Save Version when loading an old save. This distinction should allow us to identify any bugs and possible causes more easily in new updates!
Skippable Song Verses
While we hope people enjoy every moment of our interactive song, we understand that some players might want to skip verses if they're needing to listen to them again while completing the puzzle. With this in mind, we've now managed to make it so that most verses are skippable with the Escape key.
Bug Fixes
Ballroom Mezzanine
After changing the way we tracked the dance steps puzzle, some people had been able to access the Ballroom Mezzanine after solving the puzzle to direct an encore. As fun as that might sound, it often led to a soft-lock, so this has been fixed now!
Shocking the Vicar
In Part 3, if you used the ||horn or kazoo on the Colonel after he's dropped his ear trumpet|| you could shock the Vicar so much that ||his bible disappears||. We've now made sure that animation only plays at the correct time!
What's behind the curtain?
In Part 4, clicking on the curtains in the Brothers' Corridor caused an unexpected change. We won't be more specific, but if you got to Part 4 prior to the update and did this, you'll know what we mean!
Menu Soft-Lock
This is a tricky bug we've been trying to squash - some players have found the Menu and Diary screens occasionally become unresponsive. It wasn't consistently reproducible, but I've narrowed down some likely causes and made changes in the scene transitions, and some actions running in the background. There's no guarantee this one's fixed just yet, so if you run into it again, here's some troubleshooting guidance:
As always, thank you for playing, and happy adventuring, Ghosts!
Sophie & David
