This update is huge!
If you liked Free Chess before you're going to love the improvements we are bringing to 2.0
-Single player:
First things first, we heard your requests for a single player option so here it is!
The option to player single player has now been implemented and you will have the option to play true solo, where you can plan out matches with yourself without interruptions, or go head to head with a bot.
We have also added a slider to the difficulty of said bot, but be warned, even at the lowest difficulty, beginners may find it very challenging, but Free Chess allows even the worst players of chess the ability, to cheat... That's right, we believe that the concept behind Free Chess has always been about the unrestricted option of being able to play how you want.
The AI is represented by this robot hand and will move pieces just like you would. *It was a really awesome feeling to see this guy finally functioning 100% moving stuff around!*
Also, Yes, you can checkmate the bot on the hardest difficulty in the first turn, or you can simple remove several pieces at a time. Play however you like!
-New Maps:
With the addition of AI single player, we have also implemented maps to come with various DLC sets for those wanting fresh environments to play in.
-Movement Guides:
We love the idea of letting players move however they like, but after joining a few matches, we realised there are some out there who have no idea how pieces move.
Our Movement Guides are just that, and can be completely ignored if you wanted to chea.. I mean, play differently.
Here are some examples of said guide.
As you can see, pieces are shown all the available tiles they can move and even the pieces they can take.
This also applies to the most important piece in the most important stance, Check!
When a king is in check, the guide will show you all the possible safe locations for the king to move into, so no more having to gesture where the king can move.
-King Check & Check Mate:
With our guides we have also implemented a visual Check icon to show players when a King is in Check.
This system also enables players to see when they are in Check Mate.
-Game Clock:
We heard a few of you wanting the ability to play with a chess clock, so we added it!
This clock is currently locked at 10 minutes per player. At the end of each players turn the clock will pause and start counting down for the player who's turn it is and so on.
-Win Lose Game Clock:
We finally have a way to show when a player has become victorious!
With the clock we have a way to see which side has won, this will trigger when the timer counts down to 0, scoring the win to the player with time remaining on the clock, or to the first player to Check Mate the other player. Despite the game being over, you will have the option to continue playing.
To reset the game, simply pause (esc) and hit restart (Host player only).
-Grid Numbers:
This one might not seem like much, but calling out where to move stuff with friends is hard without the grid, so here it is!
Note: the grid numbers and letter will move based on the camera allowing the easiest readablity.
-View pieces:
This update came before 2.0, but I thought this would be a good spot to remind everyone this feature exists.
Some of our DLC pieces may confuse players on the first time seeing them, so we want to make sure players always know there is a way to identify what is on the table (or off) at all times by holding CTRL on the keyboard.
This feature also shows player names on the correct player hands, in case you have too many hands flying around during a game.
Update log:
Steam Build v2.0.0
Added Single Player
Added Stockfish Chess Engine
Added Movement Overlay for Pieces
Added Audio Queues for Check/Mate/Game Over
Added More Maps
Added Rank/File Indicators
Added AI Robot Hand
Added Realign Pieces Button (R)
Added Press Space to end turn
Improvements to Hand Movement
Updated Hand Cap Indicators for Team/Turn Indentification
Updated 4 Player Textures to Work Nicers with Team Colours
Fixed Issue with Offsets using Grid Location
Fixed Pickup Piece Move Display now only activates when piece is on the Board
Fixed Piece Tile detection (Location of Piece) being Wrong
Fixed Material Rendering on Record Player
Thank you to everyone who has played so far, we hope you enjoy the new features and are excited to see what you all get up to in your games!
As always,
Stay Awesome!
-GrimmGitz
