Hey guys! Krayfishkarl here and welcome to another Droplet: States of Matter update! Early access 1.27 is now available! This update redesigns the level layout for Toxic Bog.
Unlike other recent level reworks, the new version of Toxic Bog keeps its previous thematics and atmosphere. A swamp filled with toxic water and a variety of obstacles to traverse. The reason for this rework was actually quite simple. A design oversight in the original layout allowed the player to skip well over half of the level. This would be done by freezing a path across the swamp in ice form to bypass most of the level’s obstacles.
To solve this problem, I reorganized the layout to create segments divided by large, terraced waterfalls. You might also find new swamp sludge enemies the next time you explore these waters.
Additionally, one of the new obstacles for this level are tree frogs. Unlike most other entities in the game, you can freeze them and use them as platforms. I originally removed them from Autumn Hills and Borealis Vista as they were confusing to new players, but at the point in the game Toxic Bog takes place, players would have become much more accustomed to the gameplay. As such, the tree frogs worked well as an interesting one-off mechanic specific to this level.
And lastly, I’ve given the Abyssal Fissure level a minor graphical once over alongside a brand new music track. I’ve smoothed out the terrain to appear more naturalistic, and I’ve adjusted the colors to give the area a new mood and feel. I’ve also posted the background music to Soundcloud where you can listen to it alongside most of the rest of the game’s soundtrack.
That’s all for now! And with that, thank you for following the development of Droplet: States of Matter!
Patch Notes
Gameplay
- Redesigned Toxic Bog with a new layout.
- New enemies: Swamp Sludge, Mosquitoes and Jawtraps.
- More forgiving hit detection on certain enemies.
- Purple plants now shoot faster and are slightly larger.
- Wasps are slightly more aggressive.
- Jumping crocodiles are larger and can break through ice.
- Slightly altered atom placement in Abyssal Fissure.
- Floating helium enemies as well as jellyfish have more health.
- Adjusted time trial times for Abyssal Fissure.
Graphics
- Graphical updates to Toxic Bog.
- Graphical updates and color changes to Abyssal Fissure.
- Changed color of tree frogs to stand out more from the background.
- Graphical update to crocodiles.
- Updated the purple plant’s dart graphics.
Audio
- New background music for Abyssal Fissure.
- Updated sound effect for enemy barriers being removed.