I feel that one of the more frustrating elements of any game is overly long travel times. So it’s the last thing I want in MicroTale. Airships, of course, are an exceptionally fast method of transportation. But what if you don’t want to make some complex airship network? Then what? Well, that’s why the newest feature in MicroTale is “conduits,” special tiles that allow your character to move incredibly quickly!
Horizontal conduits speed up travel, and vertical conduits can even be used for "rail gun" travel
From the playing around I've done with conduits in the game they seem to be a truly exciting and fun addition. It also makes travel incredibly simple. They are, of course, resource expensive, adding a new level of challenge to the game while still being reasonable.
I’ve also been working on the lighting in the game. At least one person has mentioned that the lights don’t seem very effective when it gets particularly dark on the screen. This can vary from monitor to monitor, but the main problem is the way I’m handling the lights in the code. I’ve been playing with some different methods, and will get the issue resolved. Here's a comparision of some of the old lighting and some of the newer methods I've been trying.
My first attempts at lighting are pretty, but sometimes drown out clear vision
The new lights are mildly stronger, but still need work
Reaction to MicroTale's lights has been mixed. Some people really like the creativity available. It's relatively easy to make pretty looking things using the lights. Others, however, really hate the lack of functionality (including me). The lights are "OK," but don't give you as much pure light as would seem natural in a game like this. I'm dedicated to getting them to work right, just need a little more time is all.
Don't forget to keep up with MicroTale at www.jenito.com!
