The Android release of #TurnItOn is getting closer day by day but the to-do-list just won't get shorter: this week I did a lot of small tasks but each time a bunch of new ones emerged from the void.
First of all, I had to face the crushing quality of the uploaded trailer. I knew that YouTube recodes all videos but I was optimistic. Fail. I have decided to render the whole thing again, now in full HD and with much higher sample rate. This little job took 3 days and I had to juggle the project among all available computers next to me. Keep this in mind if you have similar plans! At least it was not released officially yet, so I don't have to apologize. Another lesson came meanwhile: I had a small chat with colleagues of our animation department (Neocore Games), as I was curious what their opinion is. They were very helpful and now I'm sure next time I will ask them before even moving a damn vertex. Yeah, it is always a good idea to ask professionals.
The second lesson was about the package name (in Unity: File/Build Settings, Player settings, on iOS it is called bundle identifier, on Android package name). Yes, I read before not to use the desired final name in the first run, because it is most likely you will fail with your first attempt. I have just skipped and of course, I failed as predicted. I wanted to do a beta test version first but it turned out that even beta testers should pay for it as it is going to be a paid app. No problem, the game is not officially released yet, simply lower the price to zero. NO! DON'T DO THAT! Either generate promo codes or do a promotion period with 100% reduction. Else you will fail just like me: the app turns into a free app and you can't revert. Unpublish, change the package name, start over.
Luckily, there happened nicer tasks too: The game plays now both 2 new in-game audio tracks randomly, not to get bored while playing long sessions. Now, if you finish all the levels, there is a small scroll to witness including the credits. It has been translated to Hungarian, Slovak, Polish, German and Italian (Thank you, buddies!). Spanish and French are missing. (If you want to see your name in the end scroll, you might want to translate 3 sentences for me :) ) I'm preparing for the exhibition too: I bought a Mini Displayport to DVI cable to have the best possible picture from my laptop on to my monitor, created a few shots for a slideshow and designed an 80x180 cm X-banner. This last one goes into production next week.
My previous testers from PixelCon, supporters and handpicked YouTubers can expect a mail next week with a promo code for the game and link to the trailer. Official release awaits one more week.
