V4.2.6 Pre-release 1 build for Changed3D, and what's next? (Patreon)

Hello everybody! Things are moving a plenty, and I've done a lot of progress for the Pre-Release 1; found a ton of bugs, found a lot of stuff to improve and rework a bit, but there's still a last stretch to go, and I don't want to release something that's not, at the very least, close to perfect! In other words, much enjoyable to play, bug-free and high UX standards.

Anyways, what new brings this Pre-Release 1? Well, you'll be surprised how much more changed from the last Beta build to this one, I don't know why, but I got a surge of 'adrenaline' to fix some long-lasting bugs and some nasty things that affected the gameplay throughout the game, so let's see some of that:

VentsAreaHexagonalHallway: Boxes are movable now, and Female Snep won’t let you dodge her chase by going to the Maze!

Bug Fixes: Stiger unstuck from Metal Box trap, no more crashes with bodyless AIs, and vent door teleporting glitches are gone.

Monster AI: Won’t target Imperceptible humans; harder to throw them to the void with the bridges (but still possible!).

Maze Updates: Added final dark note dialogues, fixed wall gap and Third Spiderweb save/load issue.

Controls: Gamepad support’s back (XBOX tested), plus fixed mouse sensitivity, FOV, and key bindings options.

Sneaking: Crouch-to-sneak works, “Stop running” bug fixed, and White Tail’s harder to hide from.

Puro surprised: Puro puts a subtle “surprise” expression if you find the Secret Room directly.

Extras: Heartbeat/Typewriter volume options, Save/Load menu animations, and “Skip Cinematic” finally works!

And more! But I'll leave the full list in the attached Changelog.

You can download the build here.

Now, what's next? Well, we're close to the final Pre-Release candidate, but we're still not there, as I have found some serious issues with The Maze's balance, and I've decided to post-pone the launch of the Release, so we'll have some more Pre-Releases until I can properly work that out.

Right now I'm working in the Pre-Release 2 (still not stable enough for me to share that one yet!), which will feature more complex AI Sight behaviors; say goodbye to AIs seeing you instantly! And why this? Well, this wasn't really an issue with previous levels, but with the dynamic properties of The Maze (and my newer design philosophies), enemies seeing you instantly really causes conflicts with balance, difficulty and fairness overall.

I'm also considering altering the level design of The Maze to allow more exploration, and escape routes, because as it is, it's a one-way only to escaping and running away from monsters, which brings issues with balance; but I haven't decided on doing this still as it's a big move for me. I will try altering the spawn rates first and test some other stuff out before recurring to this!

Oof! Sorry for the long talk! But I really want to be transparent about these things, I feel it is important to let you guys know what I'm up around doing!

Also, don't fret to comment here or on Discord if you find a bug, or just want to share something, or give feedback on a specific thing! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for supporting me, I sincerely hope you enjoy what I'm making, and I'll strive to be better each time! See you all soon!