Badges, Trading Cards, and all the associated fun stuff are now available for Night Shift!

There were also some minor bug fixes between this announcement and last, namely Windows 8 having some issues. Those have been tested and fixed, so if anyone finds anything else that needs fixed don't hesitate to let me know!

Thanks, Brandon Brizzi
@OutManOdd
bbrizzi@theoddmanout.net

Remember a couple weeks ago when I said I was still working on Night Shift? Well here's the big update! There's a fair amount that's been added and changed, so I'll break that down for you:

-Multiple puzzles/levels have been added.
-The ending has been added.
-Achievements have been added.
-Game pad controls have been changed.
-Various bugs and annoyances have been fixed.

Mostly self explanatory, I think, but I'll elaborate on some of these points.

The additional levels and ending means that the game is done. You can play it front to back and have a satisfying experience. I'm not planning on adding any more content and will be moving forward with release next week assuming nothing completely disastrous happens.

Achievements are in the game now. The technical reason they weren't in already was because I needed to switch compilers to add the Steam API, and this caused framerate issues. The framerate issue has been solved so achievements are in. However, you will notice the Steam Overlay is not present. This is because my rendering method was not conducive to allowing the Overlay to hook in properly. Admittedly, this was an oversight on my part and can't easily be fixed at this stage of development.

I've also fiddled with the game pad controls. The layout wasn't quite what people were hoping for last go around, so here's what I've changed it to:

Left Stick: Steering
A Button: Accelerate
B Button: Reverse
X or Y: Toggle Headlights
LB, RB, LT or RT: Flash Highbeams
Start Button: Pause

Previously it was mostly just move around with the left stick, which was cumbersome. I've tested and designed these controls for 360 game pads. They should work with a variety of controllers, but I haven't tested them.

In regards to a Mac port, not anytime soon. For much the same reason there's no Overlay, I cannot easily port this to OSX. Core functions of the graphics library I'm using have been deprecated on OSX which means I need to upgrade Libraries to get around the problem. This unfortunately also means I would have to revise large amounts of code. For those wondering, this is the main reason there isn't a non-flash OSX version of 1000 Amps (my other game). The plan on this front is to do my next project in a compatible graphics library and use that knowledge and codebase to upgrade/port Night Shift and 1000 Amps.

The last thing I will be doing with Night Shift, barring any unforeseen circumstances, is adding Trading Cards. After I've done that I will be flipping the release switch.

At some point in the future I'll elaborate on the process of making the ending, but that's a little spoilery so I'll wait until you've all had a chance to absorb it before I go around telling everyone why it took as long as it did. For now I'll just say that the bulk of my early access period was spend working on it.

I hope everyone enjoys what I've done with Night Shift. I'm immensely appreciative of the interest and support shown thus far and look forward to hearing what everyone thinks of the finished product.

Thanks, Brandon Brizzi
@OutManOdd
bbrizzi@theoddmanout.net

Hey gang, its been a while.

Lets be clear, I'm still working on Night Shift! December got to be a very hectic time for me and I wasn't able to devote nearly as much time as I wanted to Night Shift. What I have been working on is the ending! Which has been more work then I perhaps initially bargained for.

So here's the current plan: I'm going to finish the ending. Then I'm going to fiddle with the gamepad controls a little, I don't think I spent enough time on that. Lastly, I will be making some (more) efforts to get Steam support into Night Shift, but I'm making no promises on that front.

I apologize for not being more regular with updates. You WILL be getting a complete game relatively soon. I hope you'll bear with me until then.

-Brandon Brizzi

After much toil, and a bit of summer vacation, I've got the first update for Night Shift done! You should all now be able to enjoy the benefits of... controllers! I've tested and designed the pad controls around the XBOX360 controller. Other pads can be used, but I've tailored the code towards the 360 layout, and I have not tested any other controllers. Here's the control layout:

Left Stick or D-Pad: Movement
A Button: Confirm
B Button: Toggle Headlights
Triggers: Flash High Beams

Currently there is no in-game notification of any of this. Some form of notification will be added down the line. There have also been several changes to the general gameplay that should address some common complaints.

Unfortunately there is also some negative news. Much of my efforts over the last couple of months had been focused on getting Steam Integration for Night Shift up and running. It has become clear that because of the way I chose to implement the graphics in Night Shift, Steam Integration will not be able to happen in any reasonable amount of time. As such I've removed the Steam Integration goals from the Early Access page. I apologize if this puts off anyone who was waiting for these features. For now I will instead be focusing on completing the gameplay and story elements.

If you have any questions or want to discuss things I'll be on the forums, and you can reach me through my e-mail and on twitter:

bbrizzi@theoddmanout.net
@OutManOdd