Vibrant Venture News

[h2]Hi all![/h2]
[h3]It's been a while.[/h3]

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The past six months have been challenging for us personally, which is why this update took longer than expected. However, things are now more stable, and we're back on track! We truly appreciate your patience and support during this time. While the delay was unavoidable, our commitment to delivering the best possible game remains stronger than ever. Thank you for sticking with us - we’re excited to keep pushing forward!

With that said, we're excited to introduce a brand-new update, bringing a host of new content, improvements, and fixes. Let’s dive into what’s new in Beta 6!

[h3]🌟 New Level: 3-G[/h3]

The final Gauntlet Level has arrived! 3-G is now available, offering the toughest and longest Gauntlet level yet. As always, you'll need to defeat every enemy in each section before time runs out - but this time, the challenge is even more intense! And just when you think you've conquered it all… there's one final surprise waiting at the end. Do you have what it takes to survive?



[h3]🏆 New Achievement [/h3]

For those who conquer every Gauntlet level, a brand-new achievement awaits! This reward is a testament to your skill, perseverance, and mastery of the game's toughest challenges. It's the perfect way to celebrate your hard-earned victory and make completing the Gauntlet even more satisfying for true completionists. Will you rise to the challenge and claim it?



[h3]🎨 Visual Overhauls[/h3]

Several Sparklestone Shores levels have received a complete visual overhaul! With newly designed tiles and stunning parallax backgrounds, these level are more vibrant and charming than ever. And we're not done yet - more visual upgrades are coming to Sparklestone Shores in future updates, making the region even more polished and immersive!



In addition, we've also given 3-4 a visual overhaul! The updated tiles make the level look cleaner and more cohesive, creating a more enjoyable and less overwhelming experience.



[h3]🛠️ Level Builder – More Tiles & New Themes[/h3]

The Level Builder's tile system has been completely rewritten, allowing us to expand the tile selection while ensuring full backward compatibility. This means you now have access to a wider variety of tiles for creating more intricate and visually diverse levels. Plus, this update lays the groundwork for adding even more in the future!

For this update, we've introduced Cyan Grass, Sand, Green Stone, Beach Dirt Background, Sand Background, and Green Stone Background - all based on 2-1, bringing fresh new options to enhance your custom levels!



Additionally, two new themes have been introduced: "Beach", which perfectly complements the newly added tiles, and "Trippy", for those looking to add a more... alternative and surreal twist to their levels!



[h3]📺 Ultrawide Support[/h3]

We've officially added ultrawide support (up to 21:9) to ensure a smoother and more consistent experience for all players. Previously, the game wasn’t optimized for ultrawide resolutions, which could lead to unintended exploits and visual glitches. With this update, players using ultrawide monitors can finally enjoy a properly supported experience!



[h3]👀 What's Next?[/h3]

That’s everything in Beta 6! We hope you will enjoy the update, whether you're taking on the new Gauntlet challenge, designing levels with brand-new tiles, or simply enjoying the visual upgrades!

We've made significant progress on the World 3 boss, and our goal is to include it in the next major update alongside new story content! Additionally, as mentioned before, we're continuing our visual overhaul efforts, which may be released as smaller updates (e.g., Beta 6.1) rather than waiting for a major release.

As always, we love hearing your feedback! Let us know what you think about the new content, and if you encounter any issues, don't hesitate to reach out. We're excited to keep making the game better with each update!

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Enjoy!
- Pattrigue

[h3]Changelog[/h3]

• Added a new level: 3-G
• Added a new achievement for completing all Gauntlet levels
• Complete visual overhaul in several Sparklestone Shores levels and the Sparklestone Shores transition cutscene:
  • New tiles and parallax backgrounds in 2-1, 2-S, and the first sections of 2-G and 2-C
  • New tiles and parallax background in the transition cutscene
• Overhauled tile visuals in 3-4
• Complete rewrite of tile system in the Level Builder, making it possible to finally add more tiles
  • Includes a data conversion system to ensure levels created in previous versions are automatically updated to the new format to ensure full backwards compatibility
• Added new tiles in the Level Builder:
  • New ground tiles: Cyan Grass, Sand, and Green Stone
  • New background tiles: Beach Dirt Background, Sand Background, and Green Stone Background
• Added new themes to the Level Builder:
  • Beach Theme under the "World 2" category
  • Trippy Theme under the "Other" category
• Updated the Theme Selector icons in the Level Builder
• Updated visuals for the Gauntlet level UI
• Added a system to cap the maximum screen width with side black bars on ultrawide resolutions to prevent exploits and visual glitches
• Bug fixes

[h3]A new patch has been released for Vibrant Venture![/h3]

This patch also features some much needed changes to Azura's Homing attack and momentum in general.
See the changelog below for details.

• Reworked Azura's Homing Attack
  • You can now bypass the charge animation entirely by performing a homing attack while moving at sprint speed or faster
  • Moving slower than sprint speed triggers the charge animation
  • The duration of the charge animation increases based on your initial speed when initiating the homing attack; slower speeds result in a longer charge time
  • Bouncing off an enemy after a successful attack now retains your momentum
• Removed the movement speed cap
  • Momentum is now always fully preserved
  • Friction is applied when landing
  • Azura's Dash now has no speed limit, allowing you to maintain your speed while airborne
• Fixed crawling while being carried by a moving platform in a one block gap causing the player to bob up and down
• Fixed the background flickering in the Level Builder when entering playtesting right above the death pit
• Fixed walking up against the underside of stairs sometimes moving the player onto the stair
• Fixed sliding into the underside of stairs causing the Slide Kick to cancel
• Fixed Brachin and Brachin Goo animations ignoring time scale
• Fixed a checkpoint trigger being too small in 3-3

[h3]A new patch has been released for Vibrant Venture![/h3]

I'm extremely busy with my university thesis, so I haven't had time to fix everything yet, but I've taken care of the most serious issues. Stay tuned for more!

See the changelog below for details.

• Added missing decoration in 2-S
  
• Fixed completing a Gauntlet level after the timer ran out while swimming causing the game to softlock
  
• Fixed being unable to jump when standing on a slope next to a wall
  
• Fixed the World 1 Brachin and Brachin Goo using incorrect textures
  

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I know this update came out of nowhere, so let me explain.
A few weeks ago, I attended the Gamebox event here in Denmark, where I had a booth showcasing the game.



This gave me the opportunity to watch a lot of new people play the game, and I wrote down when I noticed things a lot of people struggled with. I ended up with a pretty long list of things to change, tweak, and improve, which is what this update is all about.



In addition, the second Gauntlet level has been finished for a while, so instead of waiting for 3-Boss to be done, I decided to release a smaller update now.

So, what's new in Beta 5?
Well, first of all, as mentioned, the second Gauntlet level, 2-G, is now available!



Of course, this level is a bit harder than the first Gauntlet level, so be prepared for a challenge!



The Brachin Goo tiles have been reworked and are now animated to make them more visible. This was done because I noticed a lot of new players wouldn't always notice them and ended up running into them on accident. This change also applies to the Brachin enemies, whose designs and animations have been updated as well.



Another thing I noticed at Gamebox was that the Character Barriers were a bit confusing for new players. They often didn't realize that the barriers locked them from swapping characters, so we've added a new lock animation to the Character Wheel when entering a Character Barrier. This hopefully makes the Character Barriers easier to understand.



Something a lot of people have been asking for as well is an update to the ancient pause menu sprites, and I'm happy to say that this has now been done! The new sprites look so much better, and they match the art style of the game much more closely. And their animations reflect each of the characters' personalities much better now, which is a nice touch.



I've also made a bunch of changes to the controls and physics because I noticed a lot of people struggled with the controls. Specifically, I noticed several instances where people had trouble landing after a jump, and they often ended up making this zig-zag movement in the air because they always moved further than they intended when trying to correct their jumps.



To address this, I've made the characters heavier, which makes them less floaty and easier to control. In addition, the max sprinting speed is now slightly faster, and it takes slightly longer to reach this speed, which makes the movement feel a bit more natural and less slippery. I also noticed that the Double Jump's reduction of horizontal speed was a bit too harsh, so I've reduced this effect. And Azura's Dash is now easier to stop, which should make it easier to control her movement.

As a general physics improvement, momentum now functions properly on springs and other objects that can bounce the player. Before, you could turn around immediately in mid-air after launching off a sideways spring, which looked and felt wrong. This is no longer the case, and momentum feels more natural now.



I also finally got around to fixing the irritating issue where jumping on slopes would sometimes completely halt your horizontal movement, which was super frustrating.

Those are the main changes to the controls and physics, but I've also made a bunch of level design changes based on the feedback I got from the Gamebox event. I'm not going to go through all of them here, but I've made several level design changes in World 1, since these first levels are crucial to introducing new players to the game. For example, in 1-1, the Seedle enemy is now introduced later on its own instead of close to the Leafly enemy.



This was done because I noticed many players would simply run past the first Leafly enemy and then get attacked by the Seedle enemy, and then they would have to deal with both enemies at the same time, which was too difficult for new players. Also, the Seedle being able to chase the player all the way to the first checkpoint was a bit too much, so the new design prevents this from happening.

This is just one example of the many changes I've made to the levels, so I hope you'll enjoy the improved experience. It should be easier to get into the game now, and I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think about the changes! I've listed all the changes in the patch notes, so check them out in the description below if you're interested.

Also, most players didn't seem to realize that the boulders in 1-4 and 1-Boss could be launched by attacking them, so we've changed the boulder sprite to a flower bomb, which now explodes on impact. This way, they stand out from the environment more and their purpose is clearer.



We've also added a joystick vertical sensitivity option, because I noticed many players would accidentally trigger crawling while moving left or right because they would slightly tilt the joystick down. This new option makes it possible to adjust the sensitivity of the joystick's vertical movement, so you can avoid this issue entirely.



And finally, we've made a bunch of other smaller changes and fixes, which I won't go through here, but you can read about them in the patch notes. I hope you'll enjoy the new update, and as always, feel free to reach out to me with feedback or suggestions!

3-Boss is still in the works and progress has been made, but it's not quite ready yet, so we will release that in a later update. We just wanted to get this update out now to address the feedback we got from the Gamebox event, and I hope you'll enjoy the changes!

Enjoy!
- Pattrigue

[h3]Changelog[/h3]

• Added a new level: 2-G
• Added a new lock animation for the Character Wheel when entering a Character Barrier
• Added a joystick vertical sensitivity option
• Added checkpoints in 1-G
• Added new Pause Menu sprites
• Overhauled several graphics
  • Updated Brachin Goo tile graphics
  • Brachin Goo tiles are now animated
  • Updated Brachin sprites and animations
  • Updated Seedle Bush sprite
  • Updated Violastro's leaf trap sprite in 1-4
• Overhauled and tweaked controls and physics
  • Max sprinting speed is now slightly faster
  • Using the Double Jump now reduces less horizontal speed
  • Azura's Dash is now easier to stop
  • Characters have more weight now, making them less floaty and easier to control
  • It now takes slightly longer to reach sprinting speed
  • Momentum now functions properly on springs and other objects that can bounce the player, and you can no longer turn around immediately in mid-air after launching off a sideways spring
  • Jumping off slopes while climbing no longer halts horizontal movement
  • The wind physics in 3-2 and 3-3 have been improved and no longer causes significant speed losses
  • Fixed several inconsistencies with sprinting
• 1-1 design changes
  • The hole at the very start now includes a platform, making it easier to exit
  • The Seedle enemy is now introduced later on its own instead of close to the Leafly enemy
  • Redesigned the area where the Seedle is introduced to make it easier to fight or evade the Seedle without it following the player all the way to the first checkpoint
  • Redesigned the Air Kick tutorial
  • Slightly adjusted the Dash tutorial
  • Redesigned the section following the cave exit
  • Added a new checkpoint after the final Character Barrier in the level
  • Removed several poorly placed Brachin Goo spike tiles that caused frustration for new players
• 1-2 design changes
  • Redesigned the opening area to now include a tutorial board reminding players to use the Slide Kick attack
  • Redesigned the area featuring the first stompable Bramble Bopper to clarify that it can be stomped
  • Removed the Breakable Rocks at the end of the second section due to their poor placement and the frustration they caused when trying to destroy them
  • Readded the Glide tutorial board after the Vine Stab tutorial
  • Redesigned the area following the Glide tutorial to teach players that holding the jump key while Vine Stabbing allows for higher bounces
• Redesigned the launchable boulders in 1-4 and 1-Boss
  • Changed boulder sprite to a flower bomb
  • Now explodes on impact
  • Updated sprites in 1-4 to glow, making them consistent with their appearance in 1-Boss
  • Updated vine sprites in 1-4
• 1-G's second section now features one fewer enemy and has been redesigned on the left side for improved movement
• The platforms in 1-Boss are now graphically distinct, and the wind does not lift you as high
• Dying 10 times without reaching a checkpoint will now prompt the player to try Assist Mode
• The Character Swap animation is no longer affected by slow motion, making it easier to identify the active character while slow motion is active
• The Character Wheel is now visible on-screen by default
• Covered a death pit in the final section of 1-4
• Platforms added beneath the Coral Springs in the sky sections of 2-2 prevent the player from falling to their death at the end of the section
• Fixed gamepad controls in the Level Builder using the incorrect joysticks
• Fixed the Character Wheel tutorial board layout in 1-1 not matching the actual Character Wheel layout
• Fixed several instances where enemies did not respawn, potentially softlocking the player
• Fixed the Double Jump tutorial board speech bubble obscuring a platform in 1-1
• Fixed being able to clip into walls in 3-4 using Moving Hooks
• Fixed the Challenge Coin HUD appearing when playing levels in the Level Builder
• Fixed weird camera movement in the third section of 2-3
• Fixed camera issues near the end of 3-1 when using Assist Mode's Infinite Abilities modifier to Double Jump to the ceiling
• Fixed being able to repeatedly use the Homing Attack ability with Assist Mode enabled even though Infinite Abilities was disabled
• Fixed getting stuck on ceilings with spikes while using Assist Mode's Hazard Protection modifier
• Fixed an issue where the interact arrow above doors was not affected by slow motion blur

A new minor update has been released for Vibrant Venture, featuring a number of fixes, balance changes and a visual improvement.

See the changelog below for details.

• Reimplemented checkpoints in 1-Boss and 2-Boss
  
• Spewshrooms in 1-Boss now fire less frequently and only when the player is close to them
  
• The log in 1-Boss now automatically aims at Madeline when slamming it
  
• Improved Spewshroom projectile visuals
  
• Increased default slow motion duration from 2 seconds to 2.5 seconds
  
• Increased Longer Slow Motion upgrade duration from 3.5 seconds to 4 seconds
  
• Fixed Longer Slow Motion upgrade being usable in Time Trials
  
• Fixed the file select screen rounding up file completion percentage resulting in incorrect values being displayed
  
• Fixed the Character Orbs showing up immediately while jumping out of the minecart in 3-Bonus
  
• Fixed the upload button in the Level Builder being visible even when offline