Hey guys! Krayfishkarl here with another Droplet: States of Matter update! Version 1.6 of early access is now available! The main feature of this patch is a graphical and musical rework of Bonsai Bathhouse, a level found within the second hub world of the game.
Bonsai Bathhouse is inspired by zen gardens and koi fish ponds. It has a serene, yet dangerous atmosphere, as after all, it’s filled with yokai who all have a bone to pick with you. The area, as its name implies, is a partial water level where the player can practice their ability to swim.
Bonsai Bathhouse has received more than just a new coat of paint. Atom placements and secrets have been significantly moved around, and the level now features three new enemies. The ent shoots magical leaves at you. As a plant-based enemy, it cannot be damaged while in water form. The nurikabe is a walking stone block that will hinder your path. Being made of a harder material than other enemies, it cannot be damaged by cloud form. And lastly, there’s the catfish which happens to be very hungry. It will attempt to eat anything unfortunate enough to be in its way including you.
In other news, the Oganesson Labs hub world has also received a graphical update. Oganesson Labs is the seventh and final hub world containing the game’s most difficult levels. It has been reimagined to be a science station in an asteroid field with a new ominous sky color to set the mood for what’s at stake.
Finally, a number of smaller updates were added throughout the game. The meteors that fall down in certain levels such as Cretaceous Caldera have been given a graphical update. The Golem enemies seen in some lava levels have received new textures to better communicate that they are made of stone. And a few new player animations were added such as getting electrocuted.
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Patch Notes
Gameplay
- Replaces the knights in Bonsai Bathhouse and Forest Pyramid with a new enemy, the Nurikabe. The Nurikabe behaves similarly to the knight in that it tries to block your path. It can be defeated in any state of matter except cloud form.
- To balance out the new Nurikabe enemy, the knights have been given slightly more health.
- Adjusted some platforms in Forest Pyramid so that they can’t be cheesed as easily.
- Enemies that eat you (anglers and the Dunkleosteus boss) no longer send you back to the last checkpoint. Instead, they spit you out right where you are after a brief moment.
- Size of the angler’s collision check increased.
- Triggering a hazard event while swimming (i.e. explosion, getting eaten) will no longer send you to the floor.
- Small adjustments to the beginning of Abyssal Fissure to remind players about the mechanics of mud.
- Moved a goat in Gale Vale so that it doesn’t unfairly hit you when exiting from the artifact challenge.
Graphics
- Static mesh updates for Oganesson Labs and Bonsai Bathhouse.
- New electrocuted hazard animation.
- New getting eaten animation.
- The Professor’s colors now change based on the current state of matter of the environment for better immersion.
- Droplet now appears in plasma form during cutscenes in Oganesson Labs.
- Changed the font of the text in the cat shrine.
- Updated appearance of falling meteors.
- Updated fire particle trail.
- Texture update for the Golem enemies so that it better communicates that they are made of stone.
- Added small animation for collecting health and ammo so that it’s more visible that they are being collected.
- Added animations that trigger when filling up on health in certain ways.
- Disabled camera shake for meteors.
Audio
- New drinking sound for Droplet.
- Updated sound effects for final boss fight.
- Updated sound effect for air hazard
- New sound effect for unlocking progress gates.
Other
- General performance improvements.