But first - dev news, so we can push the links below the fold:
This past week was a slow one, due to the holidays. However, we still were able to migrate the project to a more stable "Long Term Support" version of Unity. This was an effort ideal for such slow periods because it involved the project re-building its internal library twice - a process that required 14 hours, each time!
We are also investigating the possibility of changing the game's render pipeline, which will give it a real boost in visual quality.
Now- we've tried starting a Twitch channel four separate times during the development of Peace Island. It never lasted long, because no matter what precautions one takes, their service is essentially incapable of broadcasting audio in a relaible and consistent manner.
If didn't matter if both OBS and the Twitch streaming client confirmed that the background music you were playing was at proper levels. There was always a 50/50 chance that your channel was broadcasting Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" at a volume that was likely to blow out a viewer's speakers - and you wouldn't be aware until you re-watched your content after broadcast.
Add to that:1 - The platform's lackluster attitude towards regulation of online gambling.2 - The fact that Jeff Bezos gets a cut of every penny that changes hands3 - That Twitch did NOTHING to police the neo-nazis using their platform for YEARS...
...and you can see why we might be reluctant to use their platform again...
That having been said, Twitch remains one of, if not THE pre-eminent streaming platforms for gamers. During the recent controversy regarding gambling on Twitch, some speculated the YouTube's new Gaming service had the potential to challenge their supremacy - a fantasy that lasted about nine days...
Not being on Twitch for all of these years is a decision that might have actually hurt the project, in minor ways. After a lot of discussion, Laura and I decided to put the question to the public.The poll we have on Twitter is on-par with results from our other social media.
So - over the coming days, we will be setting up a new channel there - stay tuned for details! It will just be dev streams, and the occasional stream of whatever games we might be playing at the time, but who knows what might happen?
SO - HERE'S THE LINK TO THE LONG-DELAYED MAC ALPHA:
https://app.box.com/s/fh08iug2op0guod20wrsd1vieqvcivkt
The manual is essentially the same as the one for the PC:
https://app.box.com/s/32fk5tn5g0vgwl36mw86rr6fj29p1b8q
HERE ARE THINGS MAC USERS NEED TO KEEP IN MIND:
1 - As in times past, your Mac might have issues with the compressed file, and refuse to expand it. This is because of Apple's 'security concerns' about compression methods that were not designed at Apple HQ. We hoped to address this problem by posting the build to our iCloud account, but in order to host files this large, Apple requires payment - which we have no problem with. However, Apple has been refusing every form of payment we throw at them.
If you experience problems decompressing the file, we recommend using The Unarchiver. It's free, safe and secure!
2 - Some displays and graphic cards might have issues with our ocean shader. On our development Mac, the ocean looks fine, but on a different test machine, there were severe glitches. If you experience the same, please send us your system specs.
3 - If the game performs especially slowly, try re-setting your monitor settings. Try lowering the resolution, and then running the game at lowest resolution/quality. If problems persist, please send us a message here on Patreon.
We finally got mailer envelopes in, so shipments of art print premiums resume, tomorrow!
See ya'll next week - thanks as always for your confidence, support, and patience!