Phase 1 Complete: Steam Cloud & Multi-Slot Saves

Phase 1 Complete: Market Expansion

We have reached the end of Phase 1 on our roadmap. This update bridges the gap between hardware and accessibility, ensuring your progress is safe, portable, and available across multiple platforms.

Steam Cloud & Multi-Profile Saves

• Cloud Sync: Introduced SteamCloudManager to handle seamless cross-device synchronization and conflict resolution.

• Save Profiles: You can now manage multiple distinct save slots. This includes legacy save migration and the ability to switch profiles without affecting other data.

• Session Tracking: Added playtime and lastUpdated timestamps to metadata for better save management.

Linux & Hardware Support

• Native Linux Build: Native support is now enabled, ensuring optimal performance for Linux users.

• Steamworks Enabled: The platform-specific guards have been lifted, fully enabling Steamworks features across all supported desktop builds.

Gamepad UI & Quality of Life

• Dynamic Hints: UI elements like the Compendium and Outhouse now feature gamepad-aware prompts that update instantly when you switch input devices.

• Save UI Polish: Expanded the SaveProfileUI with larger interaction targets and clear controller icon overlays for easier navigation.

• Game Clock Update: Refined the HUD clock to dynamically switch formats (M:SS vs. SS) for better readability during intense waves.

• Graphics Persistence: The BootLoader now correctly applies your saved graphics preferences immediately upon launch.

Technical Hardening

• Stability: Implemented safer JSON handling, RouteManager guards, and null-checks for the SoundManager to prevent rare crashes.

• Combat Tuning: Updated CombatNodes.json with additional spawn entries for more varied enemy encounters.

What's Next? With Phase 1 finalized, we are officially moving into Phase 2: Shareholder Value, focusing on Steam Achievements, Daily Run Challenges, and Global Leaderboards.

Roadmap Update: Full Controller Support is Here!

The Market Outlook: Controller Support Integrated

The first major pillar of our roadmap is now live. We have completely rebuilt the input handling for Egg-Flation to provide a native, polished experience for gamepad players.

Full Controller & Input Overhaul

• Native Gamepad Support: Added comprehensive detection for Xbox and generic controllers with automatic device-switching.

• UI Navigation Helpers: Introduced GamepadUIHelper and GamepadFocusCoinOverlay to provide clear visual feedback on which button is currently focused.

• Menu Flow: Updated every menu—from the MetaShop and Compendium to the Route Map—with explicit navigation paths and auto-scroll functionality.

• Input Buffering: Added staggering and frame-skips to menu transitions to prevent accidental "stale" button presses.

Gameplay & Data Tuning

• Weapon Update: The egg_mine has been rebranded as the Toxic Egg Mine with updated visuals and descriptions.

• Combat Balancing: Increased projectileSpeed and projectileCount for specific abilities; reduced global hitInvulnerableTime for faster-paced combat.

• Enemy Tweaks: Adjusted base health for elite units and refined spawn intervals to replace "Virus Flocks" with "Chicken Swarms."

• Movement Logic: Improved the PlayerController to suppress mouse cursor movement while a gamepad is active.

UI Polish & Bug Fixes

• Wobble & Scale: Added ButtonWobble and MainMenuButtonFocus effects to all cards and buttons for a more tactile, responsive feel.

• Route Map Navigation: Re-engineered the map to handle D-pad panning and Left-Stick edge detection for easier node selection.

• Experience Bar: Fixed a legacy bug where the XP bar would loop its fill animation on first restore.

• Cursor Management: Improved mouse/keyboard detection to avoid "false positives" on shared axes.

Roadmap Status: With Controller Support finalized, we are turning our attention toward Phase 1's remaining goals: Native macOS/Linux builds and the Multi-Slot Save system.