Hey guys! Krayfishkarl here, and welcome to another Droplet: States of Matter update! Early Access 1.18 is now available! This is a much larger scope update than usual as it comes with some big changes to the game.
First off, two areas have received a graphical rework. The Neon Badlands hub world now features blue, sulfurous lava to make it more distinct from other lava levels in the game. Frozen Fortress has also been converted from BSP brushes to static meshes giving it a much more organic, naturalistic look. It features several unique enemies such as Ice Elementals and Fire Giants inspired from Norse mythology.
In early July, I made an announcement that I would be removing approximately half of the levels from the game so that I can spend more time making sure the remaining levels offer a complete, satisfying experience upon launch. That change has now gone live. While I have been consistent in releasing updates approximately once per month, I want to be able to deliver a finished product in a more reasonable amount of time. I have altered the number of atoms and crystals throughout the game to accomodate these changes. Some levels were moved to other hub worlds in order to better balance the game’s difficulty. The levels that were cut from the game will be retrofitted for future projects.
Lastly, obtaining a blue crystal now requires collecting 95% of the atoms in a level instead of all of them (except the Science Museum which still requires all of them). This is to make the game’s difficulty more forgiving, especially if you find yourself finishing a level with only one missing atom.
That’s all for now! And with that, thank you for following the development of Droplet: States of Matter!
Patch Notes
Bug Fixes
- Torch flames no longer have collision.
- Fixed some clipping geometry in the final boss fight.
- Fixed a bug where the post-credits cutscene had invisible characters.
- Fixes a bug where the crystal notification UI gets stuck at certain times.
Gameplay
- Removed approximately half of the levels from the game. Adjusted crystal requirements to proceed to the next hub area as a result. Relocated portals as needed.
- Removed two artifacts from the game. Reorganized them across the levels.
- Recalculated the percentage of completion based on the crystal totals.
- Obtaining a blue crystal now only requires 95% of the atoms collected. This is to help mitigate the need to search a level for one last missing atom. The only exception to this rule is the Science Museum.
- New enemy types added to Frozen Fortress.
- State change timer no longer decrements while being launched from a plasma cannon.
- Re-added pink crystal to Ruby Dium boss fight.
- Adjusted atoms in the following levels: Neon Badlands, Gale Vale, Sprites and Elves, Bonsai Bathhouse, Toxic Bog, Chrome Skyscrapers and Weather Machine Test Site.
- Toxic Bog has several new enemies including zombie ants and exploder mushrooms.
- Another form changer added to Arctic Rig to make breaking the plasma boxes in the hidden area a little easier.
- Changed some boxes in Haunted Shipyard to not be slot machines.
- Add an extra weather drone to Abyssal Fissure to make the artifact location segment easier.
- Eased up on the difficulty of Industrial Junkyard and made it more speedrunner friendly.
- Added some dialogue to Molly-QL in Bonsai Baththouse and the Waterworks on the off chance that level is their first encounter with enemies having immunities.
- Changed some boxes and switches in Arctic Rig to make it more speedrunner friendly.
- Fireling boss fight moved to a new location.
Graphics
- Graphical update to Frozen Fortress.
- Recolored Neon Badlands. It now has blue lava inspired by the real-life volcano Kawah Ijen. Freezing it produces a different colored ice for better visibility.
- Changed sky sphere of Temple of Sobek. Also removed the large roof to make the area feel more open. A full-scale rework is coming in the next update.
- Updated grass throughout the game.
- Weather Machine Test Site now has some glass walls to evoke the feeling of a test chamber.
- New roar animation for Cave Bears.
Audio
- Minor tweaks to the Frozen Fortress theme to improve audio balancing.
- Updated the music for Temple of Sobek.
- New sounds for the Tiger and Cave Bear enemies.
- Rerecorded some voice lines to reflect the changes to the collectibles.
- Optional cutscene added to the Galactic Science Expo if you visit it after unlocking Oganesson Labs.
Text
- Updates some hints to reflect new crystal locations as well as to fix some inaccurate hints.
- Changed the early access notice text on the startup screen.
UI
- Moved the Galactic Science Expo and a few other levels to their own separate screen in the status menu. This is to organize the levels by what planet they are actually on.
- Removed the option to press the select button to exit a level to mitigate accidentally pressing it.