Hey guys! Krayfishkarl here, and welcome to another Droplet: States of Matter update! Early Access 1.16 is now available! This update features a brand new level added to the game, the Weather Machine Test Site. It serves as the new penultimate level which can be found in Oganesson Labs. It features a unique mechanic where hitting a device known as the Weather Machine Mark IV will instantly change your default state of matter.
Those of you who have followed me for some time may actually recognize this level. As a matter of fact, the Weather Machine Test Site is the fabled “Lost Level” of Droplet. I originally created it as far back as 2018, and it used to serve the same role as the final 100% completion level. At some point, I decided to remove it from the game as it was initially built around once obsolete game mechanics such as a fixed camera and a slower walk speed.
So why did I bring back this level even though I scrapped it in the first place? Well, I realized that this level would benefit the game’s balance tremendously. I felt the Weather Machine Mark IV was underutilized as it had only appeared in three boss battles and a final bonus area locked behind 100% completion. By reintroducing the lost level in the game, this mechanic could be explored to a much greater potential making for some unique, interesting gameplay.
Of course, due to the aforementioned reasons why I cut the level in the first place, I retooled it to be balanced around the modern gameplay. I made the corridors much more spacious to give the camera more breathing room. I also added extra levers and switches to find in some areas to remedy an issue where you could skip some of the puzzles. Droplet’s movement speed is much greater than the original 2018 version that the level was originally built around.
Lastly, given that there’s a fixed number of collectibles in the game, I reshuffled some atoms and crystals from other levels to put it in this one. Several levels now have fewer atoms to collect, and areas that had crystals removed from them now have them replaced with extra lives.
That’s all for now! And with that, thank you for following the development of Droplet: States of Matter!
Patch Notes
Graphics
- Toned down the effects of the item spawn cloud.
- Graphically updated the turrets in Lord Krypton’s arena.
Gameplay
- New level added called “Weather Machine Test Site”. It is based on a cut level of the game that was brought back after being lost on a broken hard drive for over a year and a half.
- Lucky Cyberpunk moved to Krypton Estate.
- State changing platforms now change at consistent rates across all levels.
- Water mines can now be triggered by shooting them.
- Reduced the number of atoms in: Abyssal Fissure, Frozen Fortress, Cirrus Harbor, Lucky Cyberpunk, and Steelworks of Heck.
- Removed pink crystals from: Ruby Dium, Fireling and Ultimate Challenge.
Text
- Changed “Sodium Cave” to “Sodium Cavern” to match the original game’s level title.
Optimization
- Removed some unused files to cut down on file size.
- Removed some unneeded shadows.