Universal Pico Tanks - Multiplayer Mayhem

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by PandaArcade, Nov 22, 2017.

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  1. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    #261 PandaArcade, Sep 9, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2019
    Wow, thank you for your thoughts! That's probably the most in-depth review of the game we have had so far, we are really glad you have taken the time to play and share this with us. If you like the toppers, just wait till the new update, I think you will be happy ;)

    Re: Beta testing sessions. We do test the game internally, we just hold scheduled events for a number of reasons - which I'll outline for anyone interested :)
    • We value the feedback of players outside the dev team since you are our audience - it's important to know what's liked and what's not. Plus, after so much time working on things, it's always good to get some fresh eyes on it.
    • Since we removed 1v1 and 2v2 from the beta, it's been hard for testers to find 6 people in the same region to play a match with during any time of the week. Scheduled sessions get more people online at once.
    • We are not a big team and we ourselves can't really test 3v3 without setting up a couple of spare iPads to run the game idly. We don't really have the resources to hire QA testers.
    So if anyone is willing to volunteer a few minutes of their time later today to test the game, we would be very grateful. As macplash said, us devs are active on our Discord to answer any questions you have, discuss feedback, chat about whatever etc. I think we have a very kind and enthusiastic community, and I would love for you to be a part of it!

    If you would like to play Pico Tanks with us today, we will be matchmaking at 3:30pm AEST. If you can connect to the Australian server, you will be able to play with us devs. Otherwise, you can coordinate with others in other regions for a match. (If we release the next update in time there will also be 1v1 available shhh) To sign up to the beta, jump on our Discord and follow the instructions. We will try to add you as soon as possible so you have access for the event :D

    There is an event countdown (with a link to view your local timezone) here: www.picotanks.com/beta
     
  2. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    #262 PandaArcade, Sep 12, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2019
    It’s THE TOPPER UPDATE and it's out NOW! :D We've added 145 new toppers. We’ve got Fruit Bowls, we’ve got Balloons, we’ve got Golden Toilets, Sheep, and Mini Tanks that sit on top of the main tank. Choose from a rainbow of colours and look your best on the battlefield!

    Notable inclusions in Beta Version 15.0:
    - 1v1 & 2v2 is back
    - Group chat
    - 145 new toppers
    You can read all of the changes here: picotanks.com/changelog

    Sign up to the closed beta: picotanks.com/beta

    Have more topper ideas? Let us know! :cool:

     
  3. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

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    Will I be able to get into games now there are more testers? When I joined I tried lots of times but never managed to get in a single game yet sadly.
     
  4. macplash

    macplash Well-Known Member

    Apr 17, 2014
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    @ste86uk there's not enough players yet to just randomly jump into the battle. That's why using the Discord is essential. And adding some friends might help as well. My friend code: JK3C92Z2 (iOS) and PK31KKSE (Android) - add me and we can do some damage on the battlefield :) either together in 2v2 against someone else or 1v1 against each other.
     
  5. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Calling beta testers in Europe, America and Russia! Jump on Discord later today to participate in crazy 3v3 matches.

    Saturday 6:00pm UTC. Head to www.picotanks.com/beta for more information.



    Australia, NZ and Asia event on Monday!
     
  6. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

    Nov 22, 2017
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    [​IMG]

    We are finalising the names for all the items in Pico Tanks before we release the game to the public, and we would love your opinion on Tank Bases and Abilities :)

    You can add your own ideas or you can vote for the options already in the list. Feel free to discuss on our Discord :D

    https://forms.gle/We6gGexw6Fz8Q3Es7
     
  7. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    This poor topper has forever floated around in a spooky abandoned cave. That is, until small tanks with quirky configurations and colors appeared!

    Choose from a crazy amount of toppers to decorate your tank in Pico Tanks Beta. All items are unlocked! www.picotanks.com/beta



    We have added ambient sounds to give this map a bit more life (sans mine cart). What do you think?
     
  8. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Shader animations for UI

    We made another indicator for when the games loses connection with the online services. We will likely make it another color at some point.

    https://i.imgur.com/bhTetRt.mp4

    The moving parts of these UI elements are animated using shaders. We do this so that the mesh Unity generates for the UI isn't getting rebuilt every frame on the CPU.

    This is achieved in two different ways here. The cogs use a feature in Amplify called the Rotator which rotates a UV or other Vector 2 position by an angular value of Time from an Anchor point. For those who don't know, a UV coordinate basically tells the renderer which pixel of a texture to draw on a particular part of the mesh. While the connection plug, rather than adjusting the UV coordinates, offsets the final positions of the vertices using basic trigonometric functions very efficiently at render time.

    In this video, you can see how the cogs' mesh isn't rotating but the connection plug mesh is moving back and forth.

    https://i.imgur.com/I2sYuU2.mp4

    Why did we do them differently? We did the cogs this way because we also did a 2D effect to give them depth which wouldn't work if we were rotating the cogs' mesh. The connection plug was animated this way because if we were doing it by offsetting the UV coordinates the mesh that the plug was rendering on would have to be long enough to accommodate the movement I wanted. Otherwise the plug texture would move off the edge of the mesh.
     
  9. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    This is some footage of our last beta test, thank you to everyone who has been testing with us! We have some more playtests coming up and we'd love to see you online. Newcomers welcome https://www.picotanks.com/beta

    Jump online and play Pico Tanks 3v3 matches again this weekend!
    - Saturday 3pm UTC America, Europe and Russia regions

    Pico Tanks developers play with beta testers during the Monday session - come show us what you got.
    - Monday 3:30pm AEDT Australia and Asia regions

    Make sure you matchmake on the Discord so you can get a match!

     
  10. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Pico Tanks Beta Version 16.0 is out!
    You can read all of the changes here: picotanks.com/changelog

    Notable inclusions are:
    - 46 new emotes :cool:
    - Original menu music
    - Rainbow Mohawk topper
    - Renamed Tank Bodies, Abilities and Maps (with the help of our beta testers)

    Play the beta now! picotanks.com/beta

    New Emotes!
    You can communicate with your team with emotes during gameplay. Pico Tanks now has over 50 emotes with unique sounds. Try them all out in this new update and let us know what you think! You can equip up to five at any one time - which five do you choose?

     
  11. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    It's Melbourne International Games Week! Because we are so close to launching, Pico Tanks won't be at PAX Australia this weekend.

    But if you are going to GCAP, you can see our studio manager Alicia Jakovich on a panel talking about F2P games tomorrow https://sched.co/Us4c

    [​IMG]
     
  12. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Sparks fly, the engine sputters, and smoke trails behind while your tank chugs along on low health. The screen also pulses red until you heal up!



    Join us on the beta: https://www.picotanks.com/beta
    Signup to our mailing list for our upcoming launch date announcement: http://eepurl.com/dODw0r
     
  13. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Customise your tanks for 3v3 Multiplayer Mayhem with the developers tomorrow! Matchmaking will be on our Discord. See you there :)
    - Fri 4:30am UTC (3:30pm AEDT; Thur 9:30pm PDT)
    - All regions
    - www.picotanks.com/beta

    [​IMG]
     
  14. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Exciting news! We will be announcing the soft-launch date for Pico Tanks this week.
    Subscribe to our mailing list to be one of the first to know: http://eepurl.com/dODw0r

     
  15. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Pico Tanks is launching in select regions November 28 and will be available for free on iOS and Android! Pre-register on Google Play for an in-game reward: http://bit.ly/PicoTanksPreRegister.

    Regions included in this round of launch: Australia, New Zealand and Philippines. Global launch TBA!

    Check out the brand new trailer for Pico Tanks :)

     
  16. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

    Nov 22, 2017
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  17. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Our newest and most colorful tank topper has arrived, the Rainbow Mohawk. In Pico Tanks, you can decorate your tanks with more than 230 paints and toppers to choose from, with many more designs and variants on the way! Closed Beta: https://www.picotanks.com/beta



    Pico Tanks will be available on iOS and Android in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines November 28! Pre-Registrations are open on Google Play now: http://bit.ly/PicoTanksPreRegister
    For Global and Soft Launch updates subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/dODw0r
     
  18. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

    Nov 22, 2017
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    3v3 with Pico Tanks devs today! Bring it on :D

    3:30pm AEDT (4:30am UTC; 8:30pm PST) Australia, Asia, US West and nearby regions. Jump on our Discord to let us know you're playing: www.picotanks.com/beta

    [​IMG]
     
  19. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

    Nov 22, 2017
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  20. PandaArcade

    PandaArcade Well-Known Member

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    Devs VS Beta Tester matches in just a few hours. All regions! All welcome! Let's go! https://www.picotanks.com/beta
    3:30pm AEDT | 4:30am UTC | 8:30pm PST

    [​IMG]
     

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