New update in the works! 1.0.1

Hello everybody! Welcome to the first ever devlog for Tiny Dinosaurs! Today, I wanted to talk about the upcoming patch update 1.0.1 that'll hopefully be done soon, as well as some general stuff for the future of this game. Without further ado...

Update 1.0.1 - Coming soon!

Okay, the actual update won't be nearly as exciting as the headline makes it out to be, but it will still be substantial (at least, it's looking to be that way). This patch aims to address a ton of internal things the game's been lacking that I couldn't fix due to time restrictions. Lately, though, I've been working to fix all of them, and 1.0.1 will be the collective result of that effort. Again, most of it is internal, so you probably wouldn't notice much difference, but they'll be extremely helpful when I start working on the bigger ideas I have for this game. The  main changes will be:

• New music - All of the battle themes and the winning theme (all pre-existing songs btw) are composed by LEMMiNO. I think his music is incredible, but the only reason its in the game is because I didn't have the time (or really the skill) to create all of the songs the game was missing. It also just doesn't fit the vibe of the game I wanted too well. Think of it as just a rushed decision. Now that the game's out, I've been playing around with creating my own new music to replace his! This may be the most time-consuming thing on this list, but hopefully it'll be done in time for 1.0.1.
• Better AI - During development, a lot of my playtests with the enemy AI resulted in some very strange blunders on the AI's part. In short, the main problem is that the AI isn't all that smart...yet! With 1.0.1, I intend to have a better version of the AI working that will actually give a proper challenge to the player. The old AI will still be kept around as an option under the 'AI Type' setting.
• Huge optimizations - Since the original prototype of Tiny Dinosaurs was built in roughly 4-5 hours and all of my additions since then have been blind cramming of features I wanted to see in-game, it's no surprise TD lives and breathes spaghetti code. This will be the most invisible change of all, but I'll be reworking the entire game so that adding in new stuff like attack types or combat systems will be easier on my part.
• Polish - There's sooooo many points of the game that, personally, I think could do with some added juice and polish. Stuff like sound effects, dino animations, end screens, transitioning between menus, ect. These are all points I want to give a better feel to, so that will be another point of 1.0.1 as well.

These are the biggest points I want to hit with 1.0.1. Anything else I'm thinking of adding is reserved for larger future updates. Speaking of which:

The Larger, Future Updates™

These are the updates that make me most excited to think about. 1.0.1 will be a simple stepping stone into making these bigger additions a reality; new dinosaurs, more interesting combat mechanics, more customizable games, and of course REDACTED, which is probably the biggest change of all.

Whether any of these things I have in mind will actually come out is...anyone's guess honestly. I'd love to think they all do, but I'm one developer and games take time. Plus, there's other projects I wanna work on too, stuff that excites me more than Tiny Dinosaurs, so the game's future is up in the air right now.

Marketing

Skip this section if you don't like boring stuff.

Marketing things has never really been my strong suite, so when I released Tiny Dinosaurs, I didn't really do anything to push it out into the public. Soon, though, that will change; trailers, video-devlogs, official OSTs to listen to, and spreading the word are all things I want to do for Tiny Dinosaurs. If you wanna help out, tell your friends or family! Share the game online! Whatever helps it grow.

I'd also like to publish this game on other platforms, like Gamejolt or Steam (even if I'm way too broke for Steam haha). Itch.io has been under some controversy lately anyway, so it's always good to branch out.

The End (for now)

And that's it for Tiny Dinosaurs' first devlog! Hopefully you're excited for the future of the game! I know I am :-)

I'll make more devlogs with and following the release of 1.0.1, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I will be off untangling that dreadful spaghetti code. Ciao!