itch.io

1.0.1 is out now!
I'll be pushing updates in small increments to ensure stability. The next few small updates will focus on polish, and bug fixes (be sure to post any bugs you come across here so I can include a fix in the next patch!).

Bulk Editing Tags: [MOVED TO 1.0.2]
A menu will be added to provide bulk edit actions of Channel Tags. This will allow you to add or remove tags to a large number of channels in a straightforward interface. This should save you a lot of time and effort that should be going into making your map!

Channel Filtering Improvements: [DONE]
I'm adding the option to filter your channels by "Used" and/or "Unused". This way, you can hide all the channels that have tags/descriptions and only see what unused channels are available, and vice-versa.

Loot Pool Editor Filtering: [DONE]
Currently, you can filter the Item Catalogue by categories, which makes finding items a lot quicker. I'm also adding this filtering functionality to the Loot Pool side as well, to allow you to filter your loot pool items by category. This can also enable you to compare what items of a category you do and don't have in your loot pool, by filtering by the same category on both sides.

Loot Pool Custom Icons & Renaming: [DONE]
I'll be adding the option to rename a Loot Pool after you've created it. There's also going to be an option to select an icon for your loot pool to make it appear more unique among other loot pools you may have (easier to spot). These will be preset icons, and I will aim to go for icons similar to those you can use for accolade devices in-game.

Loot Pool Deletion: [DONE]
Nobody's perfect. It would make complete sense that if you're able to CREATE a Loot Pool, you should also be able to DELETE said Loot Pool. That functionality doesn't exist in version 1.0. It will be available in this 1.0.1 update. I apologize for MapPad lacking this type of functionality on a major feature release, and I will strive to do better on future major features and ensure that they include these types of functionality on release.

Documentation: [DONE]
Documentation will appear under the Help button on the sidebar. This will provide information on how to use MapPad and the different features it comes with.

Minor Improvements:
- Improved Design for Patch Notes [DONE]
- Improved Design for Theme Selection Menu [DONE]

This post is subject to update based on new bug reports. Bugs will be added at the bottom of the post as they're discovered.

FIXES:
-Improve performance in Loot Pool Editor when large amounts of items are being displayed [DONE]

That's all the news for now. Make sure you've downloaded MapPad through the itch.io APP to receive this update and future updates automatically!

I'm a solo dev and my main skill is programming in GDScript. The most fun I've had and engaged I've been during a game jam is when I've been able to work with a team (even if it's just one other person). Feel free to hit me up if you're looking for a programmer/gameplay engineer for this jam! I need a fun game jam in my life right about now lol

I'm updating this post to reflect the massive changes coming in the next update. Feature development has gone by a LOT faster and smoother than I initially thought (Features I assumed would take months to develop have all been nearly finished and bug tested in less than two weeks!). Here's an updated post on what to expect in the version 1.0 Alpha 1 release (Alpha meaning there could still be new features added in the next alpha. A beta release will see a "feature freeze" where no new features are added, only existing ones being managed and improved).

Backend Upgrade [DONE]
MapPad started as a simple but useful channel notating tool - to help you take notes on your channel usage in a visually pleasing way, with plans to add features to improve that down the road. But the long-term goal for MapPad has always been to add some incredibly useful features to cover a wide range of issues a Fortnite Creative developer might run into - and to have all of those features in one place. I'm glad to say that the upgrades under the hood will allow new functionality to be added on the fly, as everything that creates new data is being kept separated now to avoid conflicts (there's still only one save file per project of course). This wasn't necessary when MapPad was only doing one thing, but now it's imperative to the future of MapPad's feature-set.
"w-wait! I already use MapPad! Are my save files safe?"
Yes, your save files are safe with this update. When loading a save file, MapPad will check your save files data structure and import that data to the new structure, and that change won't be saved until you manually press Save yourself (or CTRL+S).  I'd feel free to use the tool a bit when loading a save file before saving it, or create a backup copy of your save file just in case. IF there was a worst case scenario, your save file won't get corrupted because MapPad doesn't auto-save, so if it does run into an error and crash, your save file was only read for a brief moment before the app had an existential crisis- and you can of course submit a bug report here if that does happen for some reason.

Tagging - Channel Notes [DONE]
There will be a channel tagging system in this update. You'll be able to add tags to Channels and Filter your channels by Tags to access certain channels quickly.

Groups - Channel Notes
The other half of the organizational update is channel grouping, a better way to categorize channels outside of tags. There's a reason that groups and tags are two different things. Tags can be filtered and searched, but groups will be in it’s own tab section on the interface (clicking a group tab will display all channels in that group).  Example: A party games map with groups for each game ; Color Slide's channel group displays those channels added into it, and channels associated with Color Slide group can be tagged by what they are used for - Add score, change color, decide winner, etc. - without having to clutter the tags with the otherwise additional “Color Slide” tag that would be needed to filter through to your Color Slide channels. This also helps when you only want to filter tags that are specific to a certain group. For example, you may have several channels tagged "Score System", but if you only want to see "Score System" channels for your Color Slide game specifically, grouping helps you accomplish that.) Grouping can be used however you want, it's just another way to categorize channels and save you from adding unnecessary tags as well as narrowing down your view so you can have less on your screen.
*EDIT : The Groups feature has been shelved for a future update. This one is tricky to implement, not functionally, but visually. I try to keep a no-tolerance rule with MapPad - things should never look too cluttered. The Groups feature was, unfortunately, beginning to clutter the UI, and while I have some plans to get around this, right now it's causing a bottleneck and slowing progress down too much. Groups will make a debut as a feature eventually.

Search - Channel Notes [Moved to 1.0.2]
The search bar in Channel Notes is pretty straightforward. Whether you're tabbed into a specific group, filtering for specific tags, or just searching through all channels, the search bar will return what you're searching for (By channel number or channel summary).

Sidebar [DONE]
Before getting into the new features, I'll show you how you can access them first.

The sidebar is where functionality will reside in MapPad from now on. Here's the buttons in order from top to bottom:
1. File - Create New, Open, & Save Files
2. Channel Notes - Access the Channel Notes feature
3. Channel Usage - Access the Channel Usage feature
4. Loot Manager - Access the Loot Manager feature
5. Task Manager - Access the Task Manager Feature (not included in this release)
6. Help Button - Access Bug Reports, Tutorial & Changelog
7. Settings - Access Theme Settings and Channel Limit settings
There may be slight changes to the sidebar throughout the Alpha stage of development, but the overall functionality will remain.

Channel Usage [DONE]
Knowing how your channels are adding up can be helpful - especially when you can just take a quick glance at your channel usage through a pie chart.  You can view channels that are tagged, channels that have a description despite being untagged, channels that exist in a group, and also of course the channels that are currently unused. 

Loot Manager [DONE]
The loot manager is my favorite feature to have implemented so far. It's something I've gotten annoyed with in the past when working on maps - managing loot pools among item spawners, item granters, chests, and anything else you can drop an item in and never take it back out without clearing the entire device and starting over. I used to take notes on what items I had in what devices, but those text files strained my eyes over time, and I thought - why can't I just have  a drag and drop interface where I can add items to a loot pool and just use that as a reference instead? So I made it happen. The Loot Manager will ease your mental struggles when managing loot pools in your maps, and can even prove useful when planning a loot pool in advance! This feature will, of course, see some changes throughout the alpha development stage, but will mostly be attempts at making the UX more intuitive and easier to use (like changing item quantity for example).




Any picture examples that aren't included are still undergoing UI design/implementation (aside from Task Manager, which is still in development). It's one thing to develop the feature, and a whole other mess of things to get it to fit with the rest of the application without feeling out of place. Feedback is appreciated, and I look forward to the full release of this version so everyone that's interested can use these features!

That's all the news for now. Make sure you've downloaded MapPad through the itch.io APP to receive this update and future updates automatically!

First I want to say that I wish every commented review was a stream because it's way more informative to me as a developer to watch exactly how someone interacts with the game. Appreciate the review, especially the good feedback (I've never had the chance to play wind waker, and now I wish I had before I did this jam). Some of your questions were covered in the tutorial, but it's not very clear that the tutorial text is a button so that's probably a design mistake on my part. Definitely not a great game loop but a good lesson in what is and ISN'T fun in game design. I enjoyed watching that though, I'd go as far to say I'd love to QA test my larger projects with you streaming them as kind of an "Streamer Early Access" type deal. The assessments are fair and the feedback is actually useful and thought provoking, even when it's blunt (but blunt feedback makes better games). So maybe in the not-so-near future I'll hit you up and we can work something out for my larger projects :)

I LOVE the sound effects, gives me nostalgic vibes. Clever use of the limitation too! Great game with the right amount of difficulty

Thank you :)

Thank you :)

Thank you :) 

Agreed. An idea I initially had was for random consumables to drop - package freeze, package "nuke",  score multiplier, time slowdown, etc. It also would've been cool to find new ways to add a little more "punch" to the gameplay, and difficulty increase over time. Thank you for the kind review, it was a fun jam :) (Also I worked at a FedEx warehouse as a package handler briefly lol)

Awesome use of the limitation!

LOL that final level, good job!

Thank you! :)

Thank you! :)

Thanks :)

Thank you :)

Thank you!

Todavía no, pero puedo usar el traductor para comunicarme para el game jam si te parece bien.

Hi, I'm Devin and I'm a programmer in the Godot engine (most experienced in 2D development). I'm not very experienced in art or sound design, but I've done my fair share of implementing free assets into a lot of hobby projects. I'm looking for an artist and an audio/sound designer. I'd love to just brainstorm with a couple other people and see what comes out of it :D My discord handle is creatorguy#4813 if anyone is interested :)

Update 0.0.2 : Live!

 I anticipated channel limit increases in Fortnite, and appropriately planned a future-proofing feature that allows you to set your own channel limit as needed. The problem is I should have implemented this feature much earlier on, prior to release. Right now I'm just making sure that implementing it won't break or corrupt any save files. It will be out before Christmas, and channel lines will be uncapped after that so they  can be adjusted as needed. This update will essentially future-proof this tool as far as channel updates in Fortnite are concerned (knock on wood).

Update 0.1.0 : January/February 2022

I'm also going to include what I have planned for the update AFTER the channel limit fix. This would be the tagging system and search bar. You'll be able to add tags to Channels, Filter by Tags to access certain channels quickly, and jump to certain channels instantly by either searching their number or their tag info. My goal is to also allow searching channels by the info they contain, but I think I'll just have this as an option in preferences (search by Channel # and/or Channel Info). I'll also fix the popup menu's UI colors not matching the rest of the UI. Speaking of UI, this update may include some early UI color customization features as well (picking your own color theme by HEX instead of preset palettes).

That's all the news for now. Make sure you've downloaded MapPad through the itch.io APP to receive this update and future updates automatically. 

it is a bug :( I put it in the description, unfortunately I had already fixed a game breaking bug after submitting before I even noticed the smelting one. Thank you for playing and leaving a comment! 😁

Thank you!

I love these aesthetics, great work!