First off: this isn't the beta you're looking for. Many of you have been patiently awaiting the big beta overhaul, and while this is a beta release, it is just the standard build with a couple of potentially volatile items that I need tested.

This update contains changes to the launcher and primary fragment shader, which are two things that can cause a lot of unforseen headaches on different OS and hardware setups, necessitating a beta release before pushing these changes out to everyone. You can opt to receive beta releases at any time by looking for the betas tab of the game's properties in your Steam library.

So why am I pushing these volatile changes out now instead of holding them for the big beta? This shader change aims to address one of the more common complaints I've seen: why does the game have to look so retro? I get it, you like pixels, but these ones are too big, or the pixelated fonts can be hard on your eyes, or you're just not in the mood to have sharp, saturated blocks of color pumped into your retinas. I've done things in the past to assist with this: various filters and the "double-res" fonts, but it seems nothing has quite done the trick!



So I'm introducing new "smooth" and "artsy" pixel filters (leftmost section of images is "hard" pixels). The "smooth" setting is replacing the default "soft" pixel setting (which was virtually indistinguishable from "hard" at most standard resolutions), while the old, rubbish "artsy" filter has been completely discarded in favor of a much smarter smoothing algorithm of my own design (I had a great vacation this year!).



The "smooth" filter intelligently rounds the corners of non-contiguous pixels to create a subtle softness without compromising sharp pixel edges. It even helps improve the double-res fonts:



The old "artsy" filter was a poor attempt to disguise the game's pixels, but it ended up a mess; the new version, on the other hand, is very playable. However, the double-res fonts are not usable with this filter (it makes them look worse, while the low-res fonts actually look quite smooth and legible).



Other changes: the double-resolution fonts are now the default, and the launcher no longer keeps a console window open while you're playing (an inadvertent side-effect to launcher fixes from this past spring).

Changing the default shader and font set is a significant design change for me, as most of the game was developed to adhere very strictly to the grid (no rotating, scaling, or offsetting pixels), and compromises were available but never pushed in the past. Development on the beta has me re-evaluating a lot of priorities, though, and I need to offer the best default experience I can. Please let me know whether you feel this is a step in the right direction, and of course, please report any issues you have with this release so I can prepare the standard release quickly.

Thank again, everyone!

Changelog

Changes:

• "Artsy" filter is completely different, no longer sucky
  
• "Soft" filter (the default setting) replaced with "Smooth" filter with slightly rounded corners
  
• Double-res font set is now enabled by default (for new players)
  
• On Windows, launcher no longer leaves a console window open while the game is running