Godot Demo 3 Released!

Hello everyone, Rriik here bringing you a long awaited update to the Godot framework I've been working on! It has been almost 10 months since the last update, and I have been busy implementing tons of features into the framework, bringing it to a point where it can run Identity just as well as Ren'Py would.

Boy, what should I even begin with? Since the last demo, I've added everything from a fully working options menu, audio framework, vastly improved input handling and lots of useful features such as auto-play mode, improved skipping, a controls screen and confirmation dialogs for menu interactions.

And these are just the surface features. I've tweaked the way the progression system works quite a lot since the second demo, fixed a heap of bugs and corner cases and improved the overall handling of the application.

Essentially, I wanted this last demo build to be a big one. I wanted it to allow me to port Identity over with almost no compromises or missing features. And aside from a few quality-of-life features (like having the dialogue be gradually revealed instead of all at once), I think I've got everything.

The audio framework itself was a crazy beast to tame. Albeit a little messy, it should be pretty stable right now, and aside from the occasional track not playing when it should after extensive skipping, it should play back all sounds while also allowing features like track crossfading over the same audio channel, something that is not possible in Ren'Py. If you encounter any sound bugs, the best way to fix them is to simply save the game and reload it. The correct sounds are saved on the backend regardless of what is or isn't playing in game.

I could ramble for days about all these features, for a full list you should look at the changelog. But right now my main goal is finally in sight: porting Identity's story to this new engine. So far, I've reworked day 1 in the demo to bring it in line with the current Ren'Py files. It also has full audio implemented across the entire day. This should be a reference point for how the game audio will be like when we get around to implementing it for the rest of the content!

As for the near future, I estimate that I will finish porting the rest of the story by the end of March or early April, depending on my IRL situation. With it, we will also begin adding custom UI to the game. After it is fully ported, I'll start working on the remaining needed features and continue work on improving the UI and feel of the game.

Because I am dedicating myself fully to porting the game, we won't be posting new official Identity releases until this is all done.

I want to thank every single one of you, the people that care about this project. Many of you have been with us since the beginning and helped us grow, make mistakes and learn from them, maturing our vision and ultimately, our game. And together, we will soon bring it to the next stage.

Changelog

- Revamped Day 1 with audio and tutorial segment.
- Added ability to automatically advance text (auto-forward).
- Added ability to keep skipping after choices and to skip unseen text.
- Added confirmation dialogs for various actions in-game.
- Added an options menu. Note: text reveal speed not yet implemented.
- Made skipping more reliable.
- Improved input handling for keyboard, controller and touch controls. More work is still needed for some menus and interactions.
- Added audio playback support. Crossfading between tracks also supported.
- Added a play time tracker to save files.
- Added list of credits.
- Added a controls/help menu.
- Fixed save thumbnail rendering on mobile.

Notes

- Controller support is implemented but not yet obvious in the controls menu.
- 'Move' transitions are not implemented yet, shouldn't impede gameplay.
- Sometimes audio may not behave properly, particularly when skipping. Simply save and load back up and the issues should be solved.

(Links expired. Please check our Patreon page header for links to the latest public and Patron releases)