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Roadmap
Note: versions listed here are for the Ballistica engine, but there will be corresponding BombSquad releases for each.
Currently being slowly rolled out (and bug-fixed as needed).
- Transitioning all existing BombSquad 1.4 functionality to the Ballistica codebase, and squishing the inevitable resulting bugs. (see Ballistica vs. Original BombSquad)
- Though some of the script layer refactoring is still incomplete and there are a number of rough edges, things should be 'frozen' for now and made shippable, simply to remove the ongoing burden of maintaining parallel 1.4 and 1.5 branches. Later versions (namely 1.8) will focus on the remaining script layer reorganization.
Note that if you are a mod developer, you may want to instruct your players to freeze their installations and avoid updating to 1.5 for now so that your mods continue to work. You are also more than welcome to port your mods to work with 1.5, though I expect that APIs will still be shifting around significantly until 1.8, so you need to be prepared for this if you choose to do start porting now.
This relatively minor update will be released as soon as possible after the 1.5 release.
- Adding in a basic 'host in the cloud' feature allowing anyone to spin up a private game online which friends can join. This is intended to replace the 'Google Play' connection option which was recently discontinued and should allow friends to easily play together online while 2.0 is still in development.
- Fixes for any bugs discovered since 1.5.
This version will center on one major feature. I was going to ship this in 1.5.0, but I need a bit more time to finish it and I don't want to keep pushing 1.5 back.
- New dependency system with asset-packages, allowing modders (and myself) to distribute their work automatically. I've been somewhat avoiding adding new maps/characters/etc. to the game for a while to keep the install size small, but this will no longer be an issue after this release as things can be downloaded dynamically.
This version can complete much of the modernization work started in 1.5 in order to stabilize the APIs and prepare for the 2.0 release.
- Finish separating the ba and bastd packages to give modders a much cleaner, more organized system to work with.
- Finish adding type safety to the places where it is still missing, including node attributes, custom mini-game classes, game configs, custom player data, resources, etc.
- Hopefully a proper UI API (classes instead of giant ugly monolithic functions).
- Miscellaneous other API cleanup and simplification.
- In general, the API should be decently stabilized for modding purposes at this point. Any modders holding off on upgrading from 1.4 might find this to be a good time to jump in whole-heartedly.
Once 1.8 has stabilized, the focus will shift to 2.0, which introduces big user-facing changes built on this new foundation. Significant progress has already been made on some of these goals (cloud server code, net play code) but it has been set aside for the moment in the interest of getting 1.5 out the door.
- New online-centric play mode with secure cloud based servers, squads, matchmaking, ranked multiplayer, etc. (while still keeping classic modes intact)
- Modding functionality allowing scripts to be uploaded and played worldwide in cloud games (in a secure fashion).
- Additional official platform support such as iOS, Apple TV, Steam, and Switch.
- Netplay code improvements to reduce perceived lag and bandwidth usage (depending on how necessary this is after cloud servers are working).
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