Wicket's 1.5.0-alpha.1

Wicket's 1.5.0 alpha 1

This alpha brings back Order Up! and the other alpha-only games for alpha
players who installed 1.4.0 beta 3 or 1.3.2. It includes everything in
1.4.0 beta 3.

Updates stay on your channel

Alpha players now receive only alpha releases, beta players only beta
releases, and stable players only stable releases. An alpha copy also
skips any update that was not built for alpha, so an update can no longer
hide alpha-only games. Your saved records were kept.

Wicket's 1.4.0-beta.3

Wicket's 1.4.0 beta 3

Visuals

Game scenes, menus, status text and captions now appear in the window alongside
speech and sound. Live tutorials show their instructions beside the game scene.

Settings lets you turn the visual display on or off, enlarge text up to 200
percent, use high-contrast text and stop decorative motion. Game positions and
timing cues still update with decorative motion off.

Hold Control and press Page Up or Page Down to scroll screen text. Add Shift
to review caption history. Captions show speech requests in order; their timing
can differ from your screen reader's speech queue.

Scenes remain visible in tall windows. Holding modifier keys for scrolling
no longer produces an invalid-control announcement.

Updates

Alpha players now receive newer beta and stable releases as well as alpha
releases. Beta players receive newer beta and stable releases. Your chosen
update channel stays selected after installing an update.

This is a beta package. Order Up! remains alpha-only and is not included.
Alpha players installing this beta keep their saved records, but cannot play
alpha-only games until they install an alpha package that includes them.

Wicket's 1.4.0-beta.2

Wicket's 1.4.0 beta 2

This beta improves speech fallback and restores update prompts at the main menu.

Speech

Wicket's now skips system speech engines that report no installed voices.
This lets the built-in voice take over when no other speech is available,
including Windows compatibility environments with no installed system voices.

Press Control, Shift, and V together on any screen to switch between your
chosen built-in voice and automatic speech selection. Wicket's announces
the selection and saves it. Automatic selection may still use the built-in
voice when no screen reader or system voice is available.

Help now explains this shortcut. In Settings, Speech voice lets you choose
automatic selection or a built-in voice.

The speech change has not yet been verified on Retroid devices running Wine.
If the game is silent, try the shortcut and report your device, operating
system, and whether speech starts.

Updates

When the startup check finds an update, Wicket's can now offer it at the
main menu. You can also use Check for updates in Settings.

Beta channel

This update is for beta players. Alpha players continue to receive separate
alpha releases. Order Up! remains alpha-only and is not included in this beta.

Wicket's 1.4.0-beta.1

Wicket's 1.4.0 beta 1

This beta adds a built-in speech voice for devices without a screen reader
or system speech engine. It also includes the clearer instructions and
settings from 1.3.1.

Built-in speech

When no screen reader or system speech is available, Wicket's automatically
uses its built-in voice. Speech voice in Settings offers automatic selection
and six built-in voices. Speech volume appears while the built-in voice is
in use, and its speech rate changes in 1 percent steps.

Please try menus, tutorials and games on your usual device. In particular,
check voice selection, speech interruption, rate and volume, and whether
your choices survive restarting the game. Report your operating system,
screen reader if any, selected voice, and what you were doing when a problem
occurred.

Other changes since 1.3.0

• Neon Rail adds workshop parts and earned upgrades, and offers routes you
  have cleared less often. Endless rail lets you end a completed sector
  and keep the rewards from the run.
• Belfry, Neon Rail, Lantern Lake and Rooftop Garden have clearer teaching
  text. Neon Rail correctly explains tool charges and announces empty tools.
• Story and event games replaces the vague Game preferences label.
• Freewheel explains its once per session speech setting, and Left and Right
  cycle the choices in opposite directions.
• Cupid's Quiver uses Spoken aim and Spoken targets for its speech settings.

Order Up! remains alpha-only and is not included in this beta's game list.
Alpha players receive separate alpha updates and are not offered this beta.
To keep testing Order Up! after installing this beta, download
1.4.0-alpha.2 manually.

Wicket's 1.4.0-alpha.2

Wicket's 1.4.0 alpha 2

This alpha keeps Order Up! available and adds the built-in speech and
instruction fixes also released in 1.4.0-beta.1.

Alpha updates stay on alpha

Alpha players now receive separate alpha updates. Beta and stable releases
will no longer be offered on the alpha channel, so an update will not hide
Order Up! or other alpha-only games. You can still choose another channel in
Settings. Installing a beta or stable copy hides alpha-only games while
keeping their saved records.

Speech and instructions

• A built-in voice speaks when no screen reader or system speech is available.
  Speech voice in Settings offers automatic selection and six built-in voices.
• Tutorials and help are clearer in Belfry, Neon Rail, Lantern Lake and
  Rooftop Garden. Neon Rail correctly explains tool charges and announces
  when none remain.
• Story and event games replaces Game preferences and explains what it affects.
• Freewheel explains its once per session speech setting. Left and Right now
  cycle its choices in opposite directions.
• Cupid's Quiver uses Spoken aim and Spoken targets for its speech settings.

Please test speech interruption, voice selection, rate and volume, and check
that your settings survive restarting. When reporting a problem, include
your operating system, screen reader if any, selected voice and what happened.

Order Up! is still in early testing. This release does not promote it to beta.

Wicket's 1.4.0-alpha.1

This is the first alpha. Alpha copies get new games and features first, before they move to beta and then stable.

Added

• Order Up!, a new Action game. You run a sweets and diner counter by ear while grouchy old TV chef Augustus Crumb films his show. Build sundaes, cones and shakes, cook on the grill, and keep two or three customers happy before they walk out. Three seasons of episodes, daily, weekly and monthly challenges, and special days through the year.

Wicket's 1.3.2

Wicket's 1.3.2

This patch fixes exporting from the Soundtrack. Your saves and records
remain compatible.

• Exported albums now go in a Music folder inside the Wicket's folder,
  not your own Music folder. Each album gets a folder of its own, and the
  game says where it saved the album when the export is done.
• The lobby's time-of-day pieces (Parlor rag, Morning, Afternoon, Evening
  and Small hours) are listed from the start as not heard yet. Play one in
  the Soundtrack menu and it counts as heard, so you can export Wicket's
  album without opening the parlor at every hour.
• The Pause theme track is gone from Wicket's album. Every game has its own
  pause music, so that track could never be heard, and the album could
  never be exported.

Wicket's 1.3.1

Wicket's 1.3.1

This patch makes instructions and settings clearer. Your saves and records
remain compatible.

• Belfry explains the secret bell sequence, guesses and feedback before
  introducing its bell-ringing terms. Its tutorial clarifies how Plain and
  Village differ.
• Neon Rail explains which traffic to meet and which hazards to avoid. The
  tutorial correctly identifies slowdown pulses and priority overrides as
  limited-charge tools; boost recharges between uses. Empty tools now say
  that no charges remain.
• Lantern Lake gives a clearer first paddling task and explains its shoreline
  landmarks. Rooftop Garden explains how to recover from watering mistakes.
• Story help explains how to find and complete the suggested activity.
• Game preferences is now called Story and event games, with clearer help
  explaining that excluded games remain available in Play.
• Freewheel calls its default speech setting once per session and explains
  when that session ends. Left and Right now move through its choices in
  opposite directions.
• Cupid's Quiver labels its speech options Spoken aim and Spoken targets.

No game rules, scores or unlock requirements have changed.

Wicket's 1.3.0

Added

• Update channels. Settings has a new Update channel row with three choices: stable, beta and alpha. Stable is the default. Beta and alpha get new games and features early, while they're still being tested, and every channel still gets each stable release. The help has a new Update channels topic.

Changed

• The Character voices volume now covers every recorded character voice in the parlor.

Wicket's 1.2.0

Added

• Wicket's now updates itself. It checks for a new version when it starts and asks before installing. Settings has Check for updates, and a switch to stop the check at start.
• Updates download only the files that changed, so most are small. Each one is checked against Wicket's own signature before it's installed.
• To get this version you still download it by hand. From now on, updates come to you.

Fixed

• On a Mac, the game no longer stalls when speaking through VoiceOver.
• On a Mac, sounds that were missing from the app now play.