Hey guys! Krayfishkarl here and welcome to another Droplet: States of Matter update! Early Access 1.49 is now available! This update adds lip syncing to the professor.
Next to Droplet and Molly-QL, the professor is a character that has some of the greatest number of lines in the game. While this was certainly a daunting task, I was able to narrow down the number of lip synced animations I needed to do as the camera was not always focused on the professor while he was speaking. But nonetheless, he is fully animated in locations where he is fully visible to the player.
Additionally, I thought it would be necessary to give him a graphical update just like I did with Dr. Ruby Dium. Mainly, I updated his face to have a warmer, friendlier look to it. I repositioned the eyes and improved the rigging to make him much more expressive than before. I am intending to give Droplet and Molly-QL a similar sort of treatment, especially Droplet. By saving the main characters for last, I am able to use all of my accumulated experience in 3D modeling to make them look the best they can.
In other news, I’ve continued to add various quality of life updates. One that is particularly noteworthy is the addition of a Type C Mapping Configuration. With this option, you can bind sprinting to Left Shift or Enter, pausing to Escape or Tab and crouching to Left Control or C.
And lastly, I have added an inventory screen so that you can visually keep track of the star charts and artifacts you have collected. Previously, there were only text pop-ups indicating you obtained a star chart, but having something more concrete should help establish the importance of these objects for progression.
That’s all for now, and with that, thank for you following the development of Droplet: States of Matter.
Patch Notes
Gameplay
- Added a Type C configuration that sets the Sprint button to Left Shift and Crouch to Left Ctrl.
- You can now press C to crouch.
- Added an inventory menu where you can easily view what star charts and artifacts you have collected.
- Fixed a bug where the Polarize ability could be activated in situations where it was not meant to.
- Slightly moved the levers in the Galactic Science Festival.
- Idle animation timers now clear properly under a few conditions.
- One of the large Kakamoras in Tiki Tectonics will no longer accidentally kill itself by clipping its axe through lava.
- In preparation for transitioning the game into its finalized state, debug commands have been disabled. (Dev note: It is recommended that you start a new game if you have a save file that you have used debug commands on.)
Graphics
- New model for the professor.
- Lip synced the professor.
- Updated graphics for the backstage area.
- Game Over screen now has a chance of featuring Lord Krypton under certain conditions.
- Graphically updated weapons used by the Waterworks moles and the Avogadro gang.
- Adjusted cutscene camera angles throughout the game.
- Some absolutely essential features added to the Radon Industries bathrooms.
- Fixed a bug where crystal pop-ups were overlapping the pause menu.
Audio
- Rerecorded one of the Argon Town Guard’s lines to match some lore changes about Duchess Cara Bonnie.
- New sounds for picking up lives and artifacts.
- Adjusted some audio mixing throughout the game.
- Made waterfall sounds louder.
Text
- Clarified some text in the tutorial.
- Controls are now highlighted within tutorial pop-ups.
- Hardcore Mode now makes the life counter more distinct in case you forget you turned it on from a previous play session.
- Minor lore changes regarding Duchess Cara Bonnie. She now hails from the Tetrel Kingdom.
- Corrected a typo in Lord Krypton’s dialogue in the intro cutscene.
- Fixed some help menu options that weren’t appearing in the demo version.
- Bug fix where notification for collecting all atoms wasn’t always coming up.
- Fixed some bugs where pop-up text animations were disappearing prematurely.