As we work to create the third game in the Geocells series, we have some new features currently in development that will eventually be included in all Geocells games (as v3.0). Rather than waiting until everything is finalised and the next game is released, we have decided to make some of these features available early as beta features so that current Geocells players are able to access them sooner.

The new features are not as polished or tested as they will be by the time Geocells v3.0 is ready, so we are introducing them as optional beta features. All beta features are opt-in, so they will not affect the play experience for players wanting a stable and well tested set of features. We will make sure to differentiate between beta features and other updates in our patch notes.

Bug fix: Post-game bonus levels now load applicable save data correctly.

Bug fix: Changing profiles no longer sometimes temporarily freezes the game.

Bug fix: When the 'random rotations' challenge is enabled, all cell graphics and animations now have the correct orientation after each grid rotation (instead of some displaying upside down or backwards).

Bug fix: When completing a level with no mistakes, the 'perfect' text sound now plays only once instead of playing multiple times.

A number of new Geocells features have been partially developed but are not yet ready for release. To provide an opportunity for players to get an early preview of upcoming features, a new option has been added to toggle beta features on or off. Beta features are only available in the full versions of Geocells games (not in the free demos).

Run the game, open the options menu, navigate to the game tab, then select ‘enable beta features’. This will enable the beta options menu which includes a section for all of the beta features.

A new options menu has been implemented with scrolling support to allow for enough space for new options and features. This menu will not be shown unless ‘enable beta features’ is selected from within the game tab of the current options menu. This option is required for all other beta features.

A new in-game sidebar has been implemented with scrolling support to allow enough space for new options and features. This sidebar will not be shown unless ‘updated sidebar’ is selected from within the beta features section of the new options menu. This option is required for some beta features.

Some players may be more comfortable with clues counting down as green cells are revealed, so a new assist has been added that enables this play style. This assist is off by default so needs to be selected in the options menu if you want to use it. As with other assists, it is not available when the ‘no assists’ challenge has been selected.

A new infinitely replayable game mode is now available, with a basic Minesweeper style set of rules (clues indicate how many mines are in the surrounding cells; some guessing may be required). While playing, you can left click on a clue to highlight which cells it is referring to. To access Minefinder, once it has been enabled in the options menu, go to the level select screen, then click the left or right arrow at the top of the screen until it says ‘Minefinder’. You can then select the grid size you want, as well as one or more challenges if you so choose, and then click the play button. Saving and loading of Minefinder levels is not currently implemented. The ‘clues auto-disable’ assist and the new ‘clues count down’ assist do not currently work with flagged cells. Significant customisation options are planned for future versions. This option requires the new sidebar to be enabled.

New cursor selection options in the updated in-game sidebar build upon the existing options for how mouse clicks in the game area will be interpreted. Specifically, mouse orientation (i.e. green on left mouse button or right mouse button) can now be changed while playing, and the freedraw notes tool has been merged into cursor selection. This option requires the new sidebar to be enabled.

This new cursor allows players to zoom in and out and to move the camera around to get a better view of the puzzle they are solving. Saving and loading of pan and zoom settings is not currently implemented. This option requires the new sidebar to be enabled.

Snapped notes expands upon the freedraw notes by allowing players to fill in a grid directly with their notes. The current implementation is very early in development and has known bugs and limitations (for example, if snapped notes do not align with the grid, resizing the screen is a work-around that may get them to align). Currently, the only supported option is to mark cells as green or grey, and then click the ‘apply’ button to see the changes be applied all at once (be aware that any mistakes that are applied will crack the affected cells). Additional features for this new assist are currently in development. As with other assists, it is not available when the ‘no assists’ challenge has been selected. Saving and loading of snapped notes data is not currently implemented. This option requires the new sidebar to be enabled.

Note:

Steam achievements have not made it into the current patch as we have encountered some significant complexities in adding steam integration support for Mac users. We are still working to find a path forward and will keep you informed of our progress.

We have created a discussion thread for feedback regarding beta features. If you have any feedback or features you’d like to see in a future patch, please let us know by posting on the discussion forum or in the comments below. All community feedback is welcomed, appreciated, and will be considered for future development.

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Happy puzzling,
Scott and Georgie

Geocells Quadcells patch 2.0.1 is now available. This patch includes a few bug fixes and updates. Here is a brief overview of the changes:

New feature: Click to skip victory screen animations
New feature: Selected challenge settings will now be saved between play sessions

Bug fix: Creating a new profile for the first time will now start with fresh data rather than a copy of the last profile’s progression
Bug fix: Level preview background colour now matches theme
Bug fix: Fixed misalignment of selected colours in draw mode
Bug fix: Mac only – Title screen will no longer show various icons while loading