Dashpong demo update & small devlog

Hey guys, it’s been a long time since my last devlog, and I wanted to write a few words before doing my next video about Dashpong! Development has been going really well, and I just updated the demo. So, if you just want to play, download the latest build and enjoy ;)

I don’t think I’ll be able to list everything that happened since the last devlog, but here we go!

Special modes

I’ve added lots of special modes, like rewind, multiple balls, gravity wells, world gravity, special balls, and much more! We are approaching 30 special modes, and I still have some ideas. I think I’ll soon stop implementing more and make sure everything is stable and enjoyable to play.

New maps

I’ve created two new maps: Reversed and Pointy (name are temporary, if you have better ideas, please let me know!)

QOL & bug fixes

I’ve added lots of quality of life features and small bug fixes. You can now select “random” when choosing a map. This will choose a map for you, and will change it at every new game. You can also start a game in asymmetry: 2V1, 3V1, you choose!

Audio

I’m always adding more sound effects, thanks to my collab with Audiopad. At the moment we’re working on the ones for the special modes, and there’s a lot to do!

General

In game messages

I’ve added two ways of displaying messages in game:

• The first one is when someone scores. Depending on the score difference, or if you’re on a streak or many other possibilities, it will display a message with the score, such as: DOMINATING, SCORING SPREE, etc… I think this is a cool way to make scoring even more interesting.
• The other one is when you save the ball or shoot on goal. If you manage to stop the ball with your character in front of a goal, you’ll see a message like: “SAVE” or “EPIC SAVE”. If you shoot on goal but something blocks the shot (like a paddle), you’ll see: “SHOT ON GOAL”.

Goal replay

I’m working on a very cool feature: goal replay. Just like in Rocket League (a great inspiration for Dashpong), you’ll see a replay of the goal after the scoring animation. Of course, it’s skippable and you can deactivate it completely in the settings.

This doesn’t mean that the replays are saved! This is another feature I’d love to implement, but right now I’m stuck because Godot takes too much time to give me the viewport texture each frame. This is hurting performance, so unless it gets better with the next Godot update or if I find another solution, I can’t do it.

Awards & stuff

On an another subject, I got nominated for the Colors of Indie award! I didn’t win, but I’m very proud of having being selected. I had to pitch my game in front of 3 people from Mooneye studio and this was a great experience. I’m going to try more award things like this and game conventions in the next weeks/months. I think this can be a great way to let people know about Dashpong.

Wrapping up

And I think that’s it! There’s probably way more stuff but I tend to forget as I’m adding so many things in Dashpong.. oops

I hope you enjoyed this little text devlog. I’ll make a video devlog soon, talking about the rewind mechanic, as it was a pretty interesting one to create.

If you want to see more Dashpong stuff, I’m live pretty much everyday on Twitch. Follow me there and drop by to say hi!

Byyye!