Well... hello there

Hello there, so much time.

The development of this game has been resumed. I made a roadmap with the changes that I want to do in order to finish the game. In this post, I will explain when will the changes be available and what are the most important changes that you will see on each update. I'll cover the roadmap for each version in separate posts.

When can we expect new versions?

I've split the development of the game in four checkpoints, which are going to be versions v0.5, v0.6, v0.7 and v0.8. There is no schedule, but if everything goes well, you should see Rectball v0.5 in the last week of 2023 or in the first week of 2024. After that, there should be a new release every month or every two months, who knows.

If you have the game installed on your phone (and if you don't, here is the link to Google Play Store), you will get an update whenever each one of these checkpoints releases.

Join the public beta program! (Android only)

If you want to get the new features already and you cannot wait, you can join the public test program and receive the updates as I work on them. Use this link on your phone or this link on your web browser in order to join the program. I release a public test version every couple of days provided there is something to show.

Also, worth mentioning as usual that while I do my best so that they work as expected, public test releases may have unfinished work or things might not be very responsive. If something is odd and you believe it is broken, please report it as a bug. You can send feedback via the itch.io page, the GitHub repository issue tracker or send me an e-mail to the contact address you see in the Google Play page. Make sure to provide information about your phone brand and model with your report.

What is on the roadmap?

Details for the list of changes to be done in each checkpoint will be provided as separate blog posts, but here I'll cover the important changes I am making to the game in the upcoming months in order to finish it.

There will be PC builds again. The last version of Rectball with support for Windows, Mac and GNU/Linux was 0.4.7. The game focused on being mobile first and the PC version was seen as low-effort. However, I'll reintroduce it back again with v0.5. The releases will be available through this itch.io page.

Rectball will be available through F-Droid. Remember that Rectball is not just open source but also free software. While currently the main Rectball version is distributed via Google Play, it is also possible to compile a free software version that is not linked against Google Play Services or other privative libraries. If you have F-Droid installed on your device, you will soon be able to just grab the free (as in freedom) version without needing to manually compile the APK.

Update the user interface. This is a work in progress that is going to take a couple of versions, so you will see changes in v0.5, changes in v0.6 and changes in v0.7. The game is getting a refreshed look and feel, some dull colours are changing to something more vivid, and the user interface elements are going to be more modern, in the hope that the game is easier to understand and navigate. The pause button inside the game will be replaced with a settings button: it will pause the game too, but it also allows you to quickly change settings without having to leave a game.

New assets for the gems. The gems that are part of the board will change. Instead of being circles they will have different shapes. This is important because it makes the game more inclusive and accessible. Previously, Rectball was accessible as long as you enabled Colourblind mode in the settings. However, this option will not be needed anymore as there will be a single game artwork and it will be inclusive by default.

Rename the game. If the gems will stop being circles, what's the point of calling the game Rectball? Also, the name is difficult to pronounce, it is difficult to share and it is difficult to promote. A new name was chosen and it is more simple (and it passes the pronunciation tests!). Once the new gems are added, the title and logos will change.

New tutorial. Understanding Rectball can be difficult at first, so I made a new script that explains the game better and with more visuals. It will be worked on after the new gem design is added to the game, in the hope that it allows people to understand the game better.

New gameplay modes. A new Calm mode provides a board with no time limit, perfect for those times when you want to do something while you wait but you don't want to be in a hurry. You will be able to pause and save the game to continue later where you left. Gravity mode will experimentally change the way the board is cleared. Instead of making new gems appear where the old combination was picked, the gems will fall down and new ones will appear from above.

When will the changes start popping up?

As I said at the beginning of the post, the v0.5 checkpoint will be released in the upcoming weeks. Make sure to follow this game or follow me on itch.io so that you don't miss an upcoming devlog post where I'll present the changes planned for v0.5 in detail with screenshots.