Development notes
Every update I email lands here with all its pictures, along with what I’m learning as I make and play Embercast.
Release notes for every version
Embercast 0.3.29: ranked 2v2 and the Founders Cup
Embercast 0.3.29 is out for Windows and Mac, and it opens the Founders Cup: a 2v2 cup with $200 in prizes that starts this Thursday. This email also covers 0.3.27 and 0.3.28, which I shipped quietly.
Embercast 0.3.28: steadier parties and a faster Wardrobe
Embercast 0.3.28 is out for Windows and Mac. It makes parties steadier and the Wardrobe quicker. When your party heads from the Courtyard into a match and back, everyone now goes straight to the new room. The pauses of up to a minute some of you saw after a match are gone too.
Embercast 0.3.27: one press to play with your party
Embercast 0.3.27 is out for Windows and Mac, and it makes playing with your party quicker. When you lead a party, Play now starts with two new choices. In a party of two, 1v1 against your friend puts you on opposite sides of the Forest Court. Team up against bots puts your whole party on one team…
Embercast 0.3.26: hang out with your party in the Courtyard
Embercast 0.3.26 is out for Windows and Mac. It's the biggest change to how you play with friends so far, and it brings along the friends update from 0.3.24, which I shipped without an email.
Embercast 0.3.24: see who's online and queue for 2v2 with a friend
Embercast 0.3.24 is out for Windows and Mac, and this one is all about playing with friends. Your friends list now shows who's online and what they're doing: playing solo, in a party lobby, in a match, or looking for a 2v2 match. Offline friends sit at the bottom, and you can invite anyone who's…
Embercast 0.3.23: the Hollow Sovereign, its grimoire, and 2v2 with friends
Embercast 0.3.23 is out for Windows and Mac. There is a new outfit in the game that only one player can wear. The Hollow Sovereign belongs to whoever holds #1 in the ranked Top 100.
Embercast 0.3.20: the Nate hop, smaller rings and your replays back
Embercast 0.3.20 is out for Windows and Mac. First, a shot I have to share. This is the first double tap I've seen in Embercast: send the ember at the ring, chase it down, and tap it again in the air to put it in.
Embercast 0.3.19: ride the walls
Embercast 0.3.19 is out for Windows and Mac, and the Forest Court is rebuilt. The walls are one smooth curve now, and you can ride them. Sprint into the curve and your wizard runs up the wall. Come in fast from the air and you can land on it. Jump to push off, or slow down and slide back to the…
Embercast 0.3.18: watch any match live
Embercast 0.3.18 is out for Windows and Mac. It's the biggest update yet, and I'm really proud of it.
Embercast 0.3.17: the Forest Court
Embercast 0.3.17 is ready for Windows and Mac, and it has a second field. The Forest Court is a huge enclosed bowl in the middle of the forest. It's about twice the size of the original court, so you really feel small out there. The floor curves up into the walls like a skate bowl, so you can ride…
The world's first custom item was cast yesterday
Yesterday a player asked the Embercasting room for a gold skull helmet with glowing eyes and violet flames. A few minutes later that hat was sitting on their wizard's head. It's the world's first embercast, and no one else will ever own one like it.
Embercast 0.3.15: pick your wizard's skin color
Embercast 0.3.15 is ready for Windows and Mac. You can now choose your wizard's skin color. Open Collection and pick Skin, then spin the wheel, choose one of eight named shades, or set hue, tint and depth exactly. Every shade stays in the shadow family, so your eyes keep their glow. Your color…
Embercast 0.3.14 + play night tonight at 8 pm ET
Embercast 0.3.14 is ready for Windows and Mac, just in time for play night tonight. You can now press Find a match and play the next person who's looking for a game. No room codes needed. Every online match counts toward your Alpha MMR, and you can see where you stand in the Top 100 under Play.
Embercast 0.3.13 is ready
Embercast 0.3.13 is ready for Windows and Mac. The tutorial now matches your controls, with clearer button prompts and jump and flight lessons. The menus and HUD are cleaner, and boost trails now restart properly. I also gave the website a facelift.
Embercast 0.3.12 , a fresh start after every goal
Embercast 0.3.12 is ready for Mac and Windows. After each PvP goal, the court now resets, your camera faces the Ember in the center, and a big 3–2–1–GO countdown starts the next round. This also works in local matches against the bot.
Embercast 0.3.8 , item shop fix
Embercast 0.3.8 is available for Windows and Mac. This update fixes an issue where the item shop could stop loading after you left it and came back.
Embercast 0.3.7 is ready
Embercast 0.3.7 is available for Mac and Windows. Training now walks through Impulse, boosting and Ember Cam at your pace, with clearer instructions, a wider view, and an acknowledgement after each lesson.
Embercast 0.3.4 is ready
Browse your items and try on, equip, or unequip them in Collection. The item shop is clearer, and we fixed a bug that reset your control scheme after sign-in.
A sparring bot that shoots back
v0.2.1 fixes the sparring bot’s endless circling and includes an Energy balance update. Mac and Windows downloads are ready.
I’m bronze at my own game
Learning when to change the game, and when to get better at it.