I wanted to send out a quick notification that I have been adding some features to Vidya Poker!!
The juicy bits are:

• Deuces Wild gameplay mode!
  
• Ability to replace the outer-space background to a customizable solid color or gradient between two colors!
  
• And bug fixes!

Stay tuned! Update is getting close to being finished!!

Appreciate all your support and look forward to feedback on the new mode and options!!

--coolnames

Howdy Vidya Poker players!
coolnames comin' at you with the biggest milestone yet (and a patch)!

Finally calling the game released and exiting Steam EA!
I made a short trailer video for the milestone that is also posted on the store page:
I recently formatted my workstation and on loading up Vidya Poker for the first time, my player stats were not there! Duh, the player progress info was not backed up!

This is no longer an issue for players because Steam Cloud syncing now is working! Playing on any Windows machine through Steam, through the same Steam account, your stats and currency is now persistent!


Found a glaring bug with scoring that is now fixed! Earning a hand score of a 4 of a Kind 2s, 3s, or 4s *with* an Ace kicker card is now properly paying Diamonds out.


Thanks so much to all the players for your support during development! Everyone plays video games differently and on different hardware, so all your feedback has been extremely helpful!

Phone release incoming! Android first! 🤖

---

FEATURES:

• Steam Cloud is now implemented and saves all player stats and progress to the player's Steam account.

BUG FIXES:

• FIXED ➡ While playing in Double or Triple Bonus game modes, earning a 4 2s, 3s, 4s W/ACE,2,3,4 with an Ace as the kicker card now pays out diamonds properly.

Hey Vidya Poker players!
coolnames here, and do I have a juicy patch for you all!

More than 80% of the code has been rewritten for efficiency and performance. So much of the code was initially 'hacked' together to get functionality working for the sake of time. Logic for scoring, stat tracking, and manipulating the objects on screen have all been boiled down to run fast! Here is an example, green bit on the left is new, red bit on the right is old:
An important step for an Unreal Engine game is the minimization of casting being used. Casting is basically how objects and variables are linked/shared/communicated between one another when using UE's Blueprints. Casting in Vidya Poker has been almost completely removed, increasing performance and benefiting memory use.
Also, many old assets in the project have been culled. Even with the addition of new assets in this patch, the overall install size of the game has been reduced!


For anyone running the game on Skynet or a potato, and everything in between, you can now select any of four Quality presets to get the game running/looking just the way you like!
At default High, all visuals will have their full, intended fidelity! As you decrease Quality, visual candy is either reduced or removed. Laptop players should now be able to enjoy Vidya Poker at a good framerate!
Quality adjusts the following: fire and ice effects, lighting, space background, space clouds, card electricity effects, fireworks, and several UI elements.


Vidya Poker has been using Steam's stat tracking up until this patch. I have since simplified how stats are tracked to help with adding new content to the game as well as when the game is ported to other platforms.

Because of the change, a player's unlocked customizations they bought with Diamonds are now reset and Diamonds refunded. On your first launch of the game with patch installed, you will see this screen displaying your refunded diamonds:
Quality can now be changed on-the-fly by pressing the 'Q' key on the keyboard.

But, the best control additions have to be the new Mouse button mappings:

• Right Click to trigger DEAL/DRAW
  
• Thumb Button 1 Click to replicate pressing the 'Esc' key on keyboard or the Back button.
  
• Middle Mouse / Scroll Wheel Click to toggle Auto-Play

Using Right Click to DEAL/DRAW has made the game much faster and intuitive to play, imo. I have been loving playing this way...very fast!


Text now has a nice contrasting black stroke. Looks much better now!! Nuff Said!
I really appreciate your support while developing this game. More content and tweaks will be coming!! Be well!

---

STATS:

• New Stat tracking system implemented. All player stats from Steam players are maintained; Spent Diamonds are now REFUNDED when loading the game for the first time. All customization unlocks are reset to default.
• ACHIEVMENTS ➡ New Achievement added for 'Unlocked All Toons'
• ACHIEVMENTS ➡ New Achievement added for 'Unlocked All Toon Skins'

INPUT:

• KEYBOARD ➡ 'Q' Key ➡ Cycles Quality levels.
• MOUSE ➡ Right Click ➡ Triggers DEAL/DRAW button during poker gameplay.
• MOUSE ➡ Thumb 1 Click ➡ Replicates pressing 'Esc' on Keyboard or clicking on the Back button in UI.
• MOUSE ➡ Scroll Wheel Click ➡ Toggles Auto-Play.

UI:

• OPTIONS ➡ VFX Quality combo box added to increase performance on lower end systems and mobile.
• OPTIONS ➡ Screenshots will not be available to the player if Steam/Steam Overlay is NOT running.
• All mention of "Money" is now changed to "Coins"
• Player now has the ability to Reset Gameplay Stats, Coins Stats, and Diamonds Stats, each independently.
• HOLD/HELD text above cards is now 3D with black contrasting bevels.
• Tooltips added for descriptive information for certain UI elements.
• Notification text can now be shown in the top left corner of screen when triggering a Quality or Auto-Play change.
• NEXT and PREV buttons when in customization menus are now disabled when the player is focused on either end of displayed list of items.
• Blur effects for UI elements/background are now affected by Quality setting.
• Attempting to select a card when the player is not able to, the DEAL button text will pulse a red color.
• When the round is over, Pulse the DEAL button yellow.
• Toon uses HOT animation when in the Customize Menu
• Removed 'HIDE' toggle button for Paytable during play.
• Player Stat tracking for most favorite Poker type and Toon now tracked.
• Design for Bankrupt notification has been updated.

SOUND:

• SFX ➡ Ice sound plays when losing a hand in a Cold streak.
• SFX ➡ Counting of Winning Coins AND spending of Diamonds now has varying pitch for a unique feel.

GRAPHICS:

• Toons now have realistic lighting when in High and Med Quality settings.
• Toon now is color tinted depending on Hot / Cold mode player is in.
• On lower quality, change cubemap tint on skysphere when in cold/hot.

OPTIMIZATIONS:

• Removed old UI assets from packaged project.
• On LOW quality, changed all fire VFX to low shader impact version.
• Reduced casting of BPs almost entirely in project.
• When in Hot streak, launch fireworks to the left and right of Hot/Mult text, making them more visible.

BUG FIXES:

• FIXED ➡ Mouse controls are no longer being treated as Touch Input, increasing accuracy and enabling ToolTips to be used for Hover functions.
• FIXED ➡ Cards no longer fall infinitely when falling after Deal/Draw
• FIXED ➡ SFX for payouts of coins/diamonds & when purchasing unlocks now play audio clearly and consistently
• FIXED ➡ Transition time of music tracks between Hot/Cold/Normal has been reduced.
• FIXED ➡ New Player, Game opens in default Windowed mode.
• FIXED ➡ New Players now have the correct default Card Back selected on first play
• FIXED ➡ When returning into gameplay from the Main Menu, when in COLD mode, ice effects are now orientated properly on cards.
• FIXED ➡ SFX for MainMenu button in Pause UI is now functioning properly.
• FIXED ➡ Last selected Toon Skin is now maintained even after changing Toons.

*** UPDATE 6/11/21 @ 5:30AM PST ***
New version 3.0.5 uploaded to Steam Beta branch

Fixes:
-- Right Clicking with Mouse now works properly and should have no more issues.
-- When in Hot Streak, fireworks now shoot up from the sides of the Multiplier Text (so you can see them better!

New additions:
-- 'Q' on keyboard now cycles through Graphics Quality presets.
-- Mouse Thumb Button 1 now triggers the Back buttons when in a menu or toggles the Pause Menu.
-- New text Notifications show in the top left of the screen when changing Quality or when Auto Play is turned On/Off.


*** Original Post ***

OK! Version 3.0 Beta is available on Steam to test this week!

As of this news posting, the specific version number is v3.0.4

Known issues I am currently working on:

• Right Click to trigger DEAL/DRAW sometimes unintentionally triggers the click+drag card selection functionality.
  
• Progress towards achievements are not being displayed correctly in Steam. Announcer voice triggers but no Steam Overlay pop-up is shown.

List of changes to test and provide feedback on:

• General performance should be much better. A ton of code optimizations and superfluous logic culling should mean the game running faster/smoother in general.
  
• Refunding of player's previously held Diamonds + Spent Diamonds. A notification screen should be shown on first load into the game.
  
• New Graphics Quality settings are available in the Options menu. Things that the Quality settings adjust are:
  
  1. Fire / Ice effects
     
  2. Lighting
     
  3. Skybox
     
  4. Clouds
     
  5. Card selection particle
     
  6. Fireworks
• New Controls Added:
  
  1. Mouse Right Click now triggers DEAL/DRAW
     
  2. Mouse Middle Click (Wheel button click) will toggle Auto-Play
• New Card Face Styles added
  
• More Card Back Styles added and sorted
  
• 2 new achievements for the unlocking of All Toons and All Toon Skins
  
• Player Stats screen is now tracking Favorite Toon and Poker type.
  
• Bankrupt notification screen is a bit better looking.
  
• SFX when counting Coins and Diamonds has been redesigned to be uniform and consistent, no matter the amount being counted.
  
• Game now remembers the last used skin for each Toon.

Will be polishing a bit more and fixing the few small things I found and what you guys find...then releasing out of Early Access!

Enjoy and thanks so much for playing and your help making the game more fun! 💪

Hey guys and gals! coolnames here!

I have been working hard on the next big update for Vidya Poker for the past weeks, putting all other projects on hold.

🎊🥳🎉 This next patch will be Vidya Poker leaving 'Early Access' on Steam!! 🎉🥳🎊

New stuff that you should like:
- 2 new card styles to unlock and use
- 30 total card back designs to unlock and use
- Ability to change Graphics Quality (very useful for lower spec'd machines)
- 2 new achievements
- Install size reduced even after all the additional content
...and lots of optimizations and some bug fixes! 🦶🐛

One very important change is how Stats and Unlocks are tracked/saved. I have rewritten all the code and moved away from Steam Stat tracking and am now doing the tracking in-game, on the local machine.

What this means is that your current stats, coins, and unlocked toons/skins are going to be reset when the patch hits. 😲
Steam Achievements will NOT be reset.

I could have spent a TON of time writing code to migrate all your data saved on Steam servers to the new system, but I have instead decided to focus on working more on the actual game design and new features!

Vidya Poker Early Access players' current Diamonds will be maintained. All spent Diamonds for unlocks will be refunded to the player. Players can then spend Diamonds on their favorite unlocks right away.

I hope this is an acceptable compromise as I continually add content and optimization!

When the beta is available to test, I will let you guys know!

As always, any feedback you have, please shoot me a comment or whatever!

-- coolnames

Hey everyone! coolnames comin' at ya with a pretty big content update!
Thank you all for your support during the dev process!






Vidya Poker can now play itself!
Clicking the 'AUTO' button or pressing 'A' on the keyboard will toggle Auto Play!
Interacting with the cards or the Deal button will exit Auto Play.
Auto Play logic is as follows:

1. Deal a new hand!
   
2. If dealt winning hand, hold winning cards. Otherwise, hold specific cards for best chance of rewards.
   
3. Draw replacement cards!
   
4. Celebrate winnings! (timed)
   
5. Repeat!

Card selection rules if dealt a non-winning hand are as follows:

1. 4 to a Royal
   
2. 4 to a Straight Flush
   
3. 3 to a Royal
   
4. 4 to a Flush
   
5. Pair (other than Jacks or Better)
   
6. 4 to a Straight
   
7. 2 suited Face Cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack)
   
8. 3 to a Straight Flush
   
9. 2 Face Cards
   
10. 1 Face Cards
    
11. WIPE

When turned on, this feature will capture a screenshot at the end of a winning hand at a x7 (or greater) multiplier or a hand score above Full House. Perfect for when using Auto Play!





I think only one last big update is left while still in Early Access. Here are the main features planned to be implemented:

• New locations to unlock and play in: mountains, ocean+ island, forest, etc!
  
• Graphics quality / performance options!
  
• Multi-language support! Let me know which should be a priority!

See ya then!

---

GAMEPLAY:

• AUTO PLAY ➡ Toggling Auto Play will have the game play itself autonomously.
• SCREENSHOTS ➡ Toggling option to automatically capture screenshots in Steam when earning a hand with a 7x win multiplier or a rare score.
• CARD BACKS ➡ New designs are now available to be unlocked and used.

INPUT:

• KEYBOARD ➡ 'A' Key ➡ Toggles Auto Play during poker play.
• KEYBOARD ➡ 'A' and 'D' Keys ➡ Cycles through selections when in Customization menus.
• KEYBOARD ➡ Space Bar ➡ Selects item when in Customization menus.
• MOUSE ➡ Scroll Wheel ➡ Cycles through selections when in Customization menus.

UI:

• WHAT'S NEW ➡ Button now on Main Menu to showcase news and patch release notes.
• AUTO PLAY ➡ Toggle button under DEAL button during play. A progress bar is shown showing the timer remaining before a new hand is dealt.
• CUSTOMIZATION ➡ All customization menus are now rendered in 3D and unlocks are presented in unique ways.
• CUSTOMIZATION ➡ The 'Select' button is now hidden when switching to an already selected Toon or Card.
• ICONS ➡ New Question Mark icon for 'How to Play' buttons.
• READABILITY ➡ Added black stroke around Game Type button text during poker play.
• HIDE POKER UI ➡ Now includes the hiding of all UI elements (except menu button and winning score text).
• HOW TO PLAY ➡ Instructional information updated to include new features.

SOUND:

• Sound now plays when app is not in focus.

STATS:

• Special types of '4 of a Kind' scores are no longer added to the '4 OF A KIND' stat. Each is now unique.

BUG FIXES:

• FIXED ➡ When diamonds are counted after a winning hand, SFX no longer trigger an extra time.
• FIXED ➡ During gameplay, rotation of Toon is no longer affected by FPS drops.
• FIXED ➡ All UI elements are no longer 'focusable', preventing inadvertently triggering things when pressing Space Bar.
• FIXED ➡ Viewing the 'How to Play' menu during poker play is now readable.
• FIXED ➡ Resetting player stats no longer resets coins, diamonds, nor achievements. Achievement progresses for multiple scores *are* reset.
• FIXED ➡ After resetting player stats, the player's win/loss streak is reset now.

coolnames here! Still plugin' away on Vidya Poker updates! When testing this update, I got a pretty decent multiplier goin, and then BAM! got a Full House!!

Was pretty lucky!


New visuals for Hot and Cold Streaks are live!

I added some falling transitions to all 3D streak text!

The Streak Multiplier text has a constant fire type now, but displays a fire burst when winning another hand and when incrementing to the next multiplier.

Cold Streak text is now in the game! It is just another subtle visual to add some zazz to the scene when in a Cold Streak.


When playing in a higher resolution window, the larger mouse cursors help find the little guy!


With the help from a couple very awesome players, a couple glaring bugs have been fixed!

• Diamonds earned from Hot Streak multipliers were being reported, but not saved correctly. Diamonds are properly saving now!
  
• A quick player could select a discarded card after clicking the DRAW button. This only caused a visual glitch and did not affect scores or stats. Now fixed!

Any bugs you encounter, please send me a message on the forums or directly so I can fix it!


Thanks so much for your support! I am still working on a mobile release but will be ironing out some further game refinements first! Next big one will be Graphics Quality settings!

---

UI:

• HOT STREAK / COLD STREAK ➡ New 3D text & animations for current Hot or Cold Streak status.
• CURSOR ➡ New larger mouse cursors.
• PLAYER STATS ➡ 4 OF A KIND bonus hands indented for clarification.
• HOW TO PLAY ➡ Updated information regarding Keyboard controls.
• HOW TO PLAY ➡ Updated information about earning Diamonds with Aces and Hot Streaks.

MUSIC:

• FADE ➡ Music now transitions slowly between tracks when entering/leaving Hot and Cold Streaks.

BUG FIXES:

• FIXED ➡ Bug where extra Diamonds earned during a Hot Streak were not being saved.
• FIXED ➡ Bug where a player could select discarded/falling cards if quick enough after a DRAW.

I Hope you have had fun playing...and with the new options and gameplay tweaks, I hope you will like the game even more :D


I started implementing keyboard input support for both the menus and during gameplay. Ever closer to the casino/bartop way to physically play!
- The Escape key will either toggle the Pause menu or back you out of any sub-menu you are in.
- The 1 through 5 keys will toggle selection of the respective playing card.
- Space/Enter keys will trigger the Deal/Draw button.


There are now Video options available to be changed from both the Main Menu as well as when the game is Paused!
I made some changes to increase how much currency is earned ...that should make playing more fun!
- Hot Streaks now award the player additional Diamonds and Coins using a Multiplier that increases per win while Hot!
Example:
Hot multiplier = 3
Winning hand payout = 1
Total Diamond payout is 3 x 1 = 3
Total Coin payout is 3 x 25 = 75


- During a Hot Streak, if a winning hand as Aces, the Hot multiplier is increased +1 for the Diamonds calculated. Now Aces always provide an additional bonus no matter the Hot status.
Example:
Hot multiplier = 2
Winning hand payout = 1
Total Diamond payout is 2 x (1 + 1) = 4
Total Coin payout is 2 x 25 = 50


- When not in a Hot Streak, a winning hand with Aces will award the player in Diamonds equal to that of the payout multiplier for that hand.
That's all Folks! ...for now! Still adding features! (further animations for Hot and Cold streaks, graphics quality selection, etc). Have fun!



BRANDING:

• INTRO VIDEO ➡ coolnames video added 😎

GAMEPLAY:

• ACE HANDS ➡ In non-hot streak, diamond payout = paytable mult
• HOT STREAK ➡ Multiply Diamond payout with Fire intensity level
• HOT STREAK ➡ Multiply HOT Multiplier into coin payout
• HOT STREAK ➡ Winning hand with Aces has +1 Diamond payout

UI:

• OPTIONS MENU & PAUSE MENU ➡ Access to Video options in to change Resolution, Fullscreen and Vsync
• HOT STREAK ➡ Show fire intensity level for payout multiplier
• MENUS ➡ New Button Icons
• Version number and username in corner of viewport

INPUT:

• Keyboard Support ➡ Escape Button ➡ Exit Menu or Toggle Pause Menu
• Keyboard Support ➡ Space/Enter ➡ Deal/Draw Button
• Keyboard Support ➡ 1 - 5 Keys ➡ Card selection

I wanted to push out a compiled update to Vidya Poker with the big additions I have been working on.
If you want an early sneak peak / help test out stuff that could have a bug, you can check out the Beta version of Vidya Poker in your Steam Library!

• Use 1-5 keys to select cards.
  
• Enter Key and Space Bar tripper DEAL/DRAW button
  
• Escape Key toggles Pause menu or backs out of nested menu screen.

1. Right click on Vidya Poker in your Library list and select Properties
   
2. Click on BETAS
   
3. Select the beta listing in the drop down.
   
4. Leave access code field blank, as it is not needed.

💪😎