Hey guys! Krayfishkarl here and welcome to another Droplet: States of Matter update! Early access 1.28 is now available! This update reimagines the Deep Sea Mines level with a brand new layout.
Deep Sea Mines is unique from other levels in the game in that most of it is completely underwater. You’ll find yourself on a continental shelf where there’s a series of caves, a network of pipes and all sorts of mysterious machinery. Towards the end of the level is an open area where you’ll explore an underwater base accessible through a series of pressure hatches.
I had to design this level differently than most other areas as I had to account for being able to freely move along the Z-axis. As the level turned out to be more difficult than another similar water-themed level, Abyssal Fissure, I decided to swap its placement in the game. You’ll now find Abyssal Fissure in the Xenon Lagoon hub world and Deep Sea Mines in the Radon Industries hub world.
As the level’s name suggests with an intentional pun, you will find underwater mines that explode when you get close to them. In this level, you’ll have to use these explosions to your advantage to clear boulders that block your path. You will also encounter surveillance cameras that will summon nearby electric pylons should you get spotted.
And lastly, you’ll find metal gratings in this level. All states of matter pass through them except for ice form. Though metal gratings are featured heavily in other levels, the way they are used in Deep Sea Mines comes with a twist. Because ice form constantly floats to the surface, in this underwater setting, you might find that some sections play as if the gravity is reversed. You’ll have to navigate carefully and think outside the box to solve a few puzzles in order to find all the crystals.
That’s all for now! And with that, thank you for following the development of Droplet: States of Matter!
Patch Notes
Gameplay
- Redesigned the Deep Sea Mines level to have a new layout. Includes several new enemies such as shark torpedoes and sea divers.
- Swapped the location of Deep Sea Mines and Abyssal Fissure.
- Removed the following areas: Steelworks from Heck, Tachyon Gang and Fireling. The new crystal total is 150.
- Sea mines have shorter fuses, and they now respawn.
- Replaced kelp enemies with new anemone enemies. (Try saying that three times fast)
- Time trials no longer reset your state of matter upon touching a gold crystal.
- Gold crystals now despawn 90 seconds upon entering a level (previously 30).
- Fixed an edge case where the game number wouldn’t show on the file select menu.
- Fixed a bug in Arctic Rig where the wrong levers were assigned to a door.
- Turret bullets now stop when hitting walls.
- Puffer fish now attack differently.
- Clam collision is now slightly larger.
Audio
- Turrets now have sound attenuation.
- New music for Cirrus Harbor.
Graphics
- Visual overhaul for Deep Sea Mines.
- Checkpoints that are underwater now show the character swimming.
Misc
- Debug Menu can now be minimized.
- Corrected an animation error when respawning to an underwater checkpoint.