050423 Cosmogelica Build (Patreon)

Edit: Whoops! Looks like the build I put on itch had a freeze in it. I've uploaded one that hopefully doesn't freeze!! Go to itch to download, or I posted it in the discord too. Original post below.

Howdy! Coming at you today with a new Cosmogelica build for $5 Patrons and above. I know it's been a while - I had a lot going on, and also I wasn't sure about the direction the game was going in. However, after changing how I approach the game as well as upgrading the visuals, the path forward is now clear, and I'm quite confident in the future of the game (it almost got canceled, scary!!)

If I haven't stated it enough, this build has the new graphics. Please test it out and let me know what you think!! Also, I changed the default mappings for gamepads. If you want them, you can go to the new Input Remapping menu and put "Reset to Defaults" to get the new mappings.

As always, here are the patch notes:

===== IMPORTANT =====

• The boss in this version is not fully implemented yet, so don't expect the most complex attack patterns ever.
• I'm putting the debug story mode in this version so you can see it, though there's not much to it yet. You also can't fight the boss at the end properly (it's buggy.)
• The palette remapping has been abandoned in favor of more traditional rendering. I really liked the remapping, but it was causing a lot of issues for me.
• You can read about the new true color rendering here: https://blog.cyansorcery.com/entry/cosmogelica-true-color
• I've swapped the fire buttons when using the gamepad. If you haven't played the game before, you won't have an issue. If you have, you can use the new Input Remapping menu to change it, or just press to reset the device to its original inputs (it will reset to the new ones.)

===== NEW =====

• Input remapping has been added! Please let me know if you encounter any issues, thanks!
• A new "Controls" menu has been added! Now you can see how to play the game. Press an input on a different device (ie keyboard or gamepad) to see inputs for that device.
• A new "Hi-Res" rendering mode has been added for everyone that loves subpixel movement (you can turn it off if you have subpixel movement.)
• You can read more about this change here: https://blog.cyansorcery.com/entry/devlog-cosmogelica-story-mode-and-high-resolutions
• I'm testing a system where the player does not immediately die when getting hit, and instead has a little bit of a chance to get out of a bad situation. This should make the game less punishing, while still maintaining the difficulty I'm going for. Please let me know what you think!
• A new balloon mode has been added! Challenge your own high score, or compete against a friend to pop the most balloons in 1 minute!
• Chromatic aberration has been added in very specific situations. You can adjust how strong the effect is, or disable it entirely.
• You can now set the window to Fullscreen Borderless (a highly requested feature.) Exclusive fullscreen is still available if you want it, but otherwise it will be fullscreen borderless by default.

===== IMPROVED =====

• Improved the animation on the way text is drawn in certain situations.
• Most text in the game now has a thicc 😩👌 border around it so you can see it better.
• Adjusted the game drawing shader to be more efficient (specifically with the glowing effects.)

===== CHANGED =====

• Tweaked the menu animations when switching between menus.
• Rewrote the music playback system to take advantage of Gamemaker's built-in looping for songs.
• This new method means that the game has less files overall and less install size, since I don't have to have 2 copies of each song.
• (Ironically, this build is still almost double the size of the last one, since I added more music and other stuff.)
• The colorblind accessibility option was removed (it wasn't that good anyways, but it also doesn't work with the new rendering.) I'll come up with better ways of handling this in the future.
• XInput X (Blue) has been assigned to Special/Cancel, while XInput Y (Yellow) has been assigned to the pause menu. The "Select" button now swaps your shot type. It's not necessary, but you can reset the input mappings to get these new default mappings if you like by using the new Input Remap menu and using "Reset Inputs."
• The border around gel has been darkened to give it a more solid outline in lighter environments.
• You can now adjust the main volume past 100%, just in case the game is too quiet.

===== BUG FIXES =====

• Fixed a bug where the gel would be shown at an incorrect position when starting a new game.
• Fixed some rendering bugs in the menu.
• Fixed bugs related to palette remapping by virtue of just removing the palette remapping.

Download

Patrons at $5 and above can use this link to access the download, or find it in the Discord chat in #dev-test-zone

https://cyansorcery.itch.io/cosmogelica/patreon-access

If you're not a Patron or your tier is not high enough, please consider it if you can - I lost a lot of patronage after announcing Shield Cat's hiatus so it's been more difficult for me to find time to work on Cosmogelica (and subsequently get back to Shield Cat.) (Again, not canceled, I'm just taking a break from it.)

Thank you!!