New Menu Layout and Planned Features/Changes

Hello Phylolab Testers,

Thank you to all who've test played the first official build of our alpha this past week. We were able to take the much needed feedback you all provided and use it to not only release a new build today (vA0.31) but also write up a more solid development schedule from now until the release of the demo on November 15th. We'll first talk about what we've implemented now with this new build. Then, we'll layout what features and changes we plan to implement in future builds.

What's New/Changed in Build vA0.31

• New Intuitive Menu Layout - We've revamped the main menu so that it is more intuitive and helps teach the player some of the controls and mechanics of the game before even starting the level. Through the main menu, the player navigates through options by controlling a cursor and moving it up and down a sort of chain. The player can then choose and option by inserting a corresponding base for the option using either the left and right keys. By doing this, the player already knows near 60% of what to do before even the game starts.

What Features/Changes Will Be Implemented in Future Builds

• New Cursor - We've had users having trouble with figuring out what they could actually control as a sort of cursor in the level. We originally had it so that the chain in the center of the dna strand would fill in with the color of the current base you have at your disposal. Instead, we will change this with have a sort of mini version of you current base that you can move up and down the chain. 

• New Purple Base Type - This new base type can either be very helpful or very detrimental depending on whether you control it or not. If you do control it, you can match it with any base in the moving dna strand. However, if a purple base shows up in the dna strand itself and not in your control, you can only match it with another purple base. Once this new base type is implemented in a build, we'll be trying to collect data and feedback on whether it helps make the gameplay more engaging or whether it becomes too much of a detriment. 

• Completely New Lose Condition for the game - We originally tried to have a sort of "Instability" system as a lose condition for the game. Basically, if bases crossed a border at the bottom of the play area, then an "enzyme" would cut off that line of the strand and you would become more instable. If you maxed out your instability, then you lost the game. The only way to lower your stability, then, was to make combos of two or more adjacent same type pairs within the strand itself which, for some reason or another, wasn't working properly. What we saw from feedback was that players weren't able to make a connection between the instability meter and dna getting cut off. We've ultimately decided to get rid of the instability system altogether as we've felt it's not really intuitive and have instead implemented a completely new lose condition. Now, the dna that is cut off from the bottom will become junk dna and be stored in a sort of "junk dna storage gauge" at the bottom of the screen. If the player collects too much junk dna within the gauge, then they lose the game. Players can clear out junk dna by making combos within the dna strand. Any combos a player makes will also give points that will accumulate in a meter located just above the junk dna gauge. We've yet to decide what the points could be used for. Maybe gaining a bonus or buff. We'll have to brainstorm a bit more to see what works and what doesn't with the points system. 

We plan to have a new build uploaded to Itch every Monday implementing the features/changes discussed above from now until the demo, so stay tuned. Good luck, lab testers!