Hello everyone!
I hope you are doing very well during this period. For my part, I have been working for about a month on a big patch for “The Strange Laboratory”.
When I say big patch, the word is weak … From a technical point of view, the game does not have much to do with its initial release. Indeed, almost all of the code has been reviewed and corrected. Which of course means that the game works better and no longer crashes between level 4 and 5 (in any case, I can no longer reproduce the problem).
Of course, this is not the only thing on the program. The game now works with DirectX 12 and Vulkan (when it was released it was only possible to run The Strange Laboratory with DirectX 11). For those who do not know what this changes, and to put it simply, the game works with these two types of additional rendering. During my tests, I noticed that Vulkan seemed to be the most interesting option in terms of frame rate gain. To choose DirectX 12 or Vulkan, all you have to do is launch the corresponding executable (they are named.). Please note, this only impacts the Windows version of the game, Linux was already using Vulkan and as for macOS, I cannot confirm the information yet.
The revised code and the choice of two new rendering modes, that’s all? No !
Do you play with the controller? That turns out well. Now the vibrations are available in the game!
Personally, I’m quite surprised by the new feedback (both visual and sound) provided by this next update … I think it was really necessary and that it obviously brings a plus to the original game (which badly needed).
I also took the opportunity to make some graphic adjustments to the various elements of the game. Some visuals have been revised and the game interface has received a few small changes which make the game more “polished”.
The level design was also entitled to some adjustments to make the levels fairer and more accessible (it was a criticism that came up often). Finally, still concerning the levels, the level of the end boss has been completely revised with a shorter combat zone, but which allows you to be better involved in the fight.
To finish with the modifications, know that it is now possible to make different display settings (V-Sync, frame rate, resolution and window state), graphics (quality of textures, rendering scale, etc.) and also the sound part of the game.
Certainly, the game will not be absent from any bugs or small problems, but I was particularly keen to put into practice what I have learned since the game was released in order to make the gaming experience more enjoyable and more attractive. .
This update is still under development, but I am gradually coming to the end of my changes and going into the intensive phases of testing. So there is no question of a release date yet, but it will be available before the end of the year and if possible at the beginning of December.
I sincerely hope that you will like this one and that it will motivate you to follow me in my next projects!
It was Maxim, thank you for reading me to the end.