So much new stuff! (Patreon)

Last month I tested the game and I found a few problems. So, during July I tried to fix many of the things I didn't like in the game. It was a very productive month!

• New Art
I tried to update a few old levels with better backgrounds and parallax scrolling

Old vs new Oak's stage sample

• New Art
Titan  and the guys who did the level editing were struggling or they found  that job to be a chore (Titan originally made the very first level using  only code! I can't even fathom that). But now I know how the GameMaker  works, and I can level edit myself, in the quality that I want. I'd love to revamp the levels, even tho it may kill me - so much work!

I  created/updated over 50 objects, that will hopefully breathe some new  air into the game. These objects will replace some old ones, as they try  to conserve game memory. This clean up is crucial, because many objects  exist twice in the engine (a lot of early art exists as both normal and  mirrored). In  my updated art, Forest B has now orange trees and Forest C has snow near the mountain peak. And Oak has a lake in the  background! (see image above)

A lot of art and plans that was made behind the scenes, got rejected and abandoned. And lots of older art is replaced. The containers for example, were used in every level, but they now  appear only in Docks and Forest A. Other levels will have new kinds of  platforms and obstacles, and you can see most of them in the following  picture.

• New map details
So  yeah, even though sometimes it's hard to be self-motivated, my muse  spoke and made me stay home, not to talk to  anyone, and just work work work! I updated the map and I wrote down in  detail which character meets who, and where. These meetings must have a  certain gravity to them. When Voms for example meets Ucogi, they need to  talk about important story stuff, not about the weather.

yes, my maps are crazy

• Hostage Puzzles!
Most  of the areas in the game were left empty until now, in hopes of  populating them with platforms that I would make in the future. I'm  happy to say that I finished with the platform designs and I know what  goes where for the majority of the levels. Major factor was my decision  to turn each Hostage scene into a puzzle.

I'm proud of what I managed to do there. It was a huge task and challenge, as all 33 Hostage puzzles needed gradual  difficulty and the chance of resetting them, if the player makes a  wrong move. I love the fact that these puzzles are not mandatory. You can ignore them and continue with your quest!

As an example, check the image below. That's Forest C11 and if you remember, there was just a building and a tower. But there's a new layer of depth now! You think you can reach the Hostage?

Hostage puzzle in the snow

• Ucogi Boss updates
Regarding Ucogi, me and Titan had many exchanges. I made a first version, he added it in the game, it needed a few fixes. I updated Ucogi, he  added it in the game, but it needed a few more fixes. I updated Ucogi again,  but Titan was too busy with other things. Right now I'm waiting on Titan, so that I can check and make sure she's as awesome as she should be.

I also made several storyboard pages, as to how the Ucogi Boss Fight should be. We thought it was finished but what Titan  had done was the bare minimum, and we had to discuss and come up with a  few cool ideas. Titan's next task is to finish this Boss battle.

Ucogi Boss fight storyboard

• Tool lv3 attack
What  else, what else...  I changed Voms baseball-bat move. You get that move  with Tool lv3. You are supposed to repel projectiles by pressing [Down,  Forward + Attack]. Personally, I prefer if that attack was a charging  move, because it would be easier to time and pull, and many players  complain about button input in metroidvania games and they rarely use  them. If you have an opinion about this, leave it in the comments.

The  baseball-bat move was Titan's idea but it felt to me that something was  missing (A). So after a lot of pondering, I made the Tool's affect  cover 360 degrees (B), and even though I haven't tested it yet, it feels  like a great addition to the game.

A) original                   B) updated

Regarding  the upcoming Beta... you will have to wait a bit. I need to finish  Ucogi and apply the new designs to a few levels, while Titan checks his  to-do list. And he has a lot to do until we are ready for a decent  release.

Pheww.... I think I might need a break during August. I havent been on vacation in over 3 years.  Thank you for reading about our progress and for being around! It means a lot.

- Veins