Rhythm Doctor News

[h2]Version 0.16.1[/h2]

[h3]Story Mode Improvements[/h3]

• Added new Steam Achievements related to Act 5
  
• 2-Player support added for Kingdom of Balloons.
  
• If you’re playing with a single controller, you can now play two player levels by each player being controlled with the buttons on each side of the controller. This is especially useful to play 2P levels on devices like the Steam Deck.
  
• While in menus, un-focusing the game window will mute game audio.
  
• Playing Rhythm Weightlifter now shows as a Discord status
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• X-1 is now unlocked after beating 5-X instead of 1-XN
  
• Fixed various graphical glitches.
  
• Improved macOS controller support.
  

[h3]Level Editor Bug Fixes and Improvements[/h3]

• Settings Menu is available right from the Level Editor’s main menu.
  
• Added a preview for event duration on the timeline.
  
• Timeline height is now remembered between sessions.
  
• Brightness/Contrast/Saturation VFX Presets will now disable properly.
  
• "Show Rooms Horizontally" now scrubs properly.
  
• Sound selection now has an Edit option (you can also toggle between dropdown and edit with right-click)
  
• Fixed room selection for some VFX Presets.
  
• You can specify a room for the Show Dialog event.
  
• Various fixes related to the "Matrix" VFX preset.
  
• Improved the behavior of many events when scrubbing.
  
• Various UI improvements.
  
• Bookmarks can now be traversed using the buttons available at the right side of the timeline.
  

[h2]New Level: Kingdom of Balloons[/h2]
Level by: tepid
Level vfx by: tepid
Character sprites and background by: Kamayana
Song by: Kurubukko

We've added a new level as part of our collaboration with indie game, Circle of Sparks! Circle of Sparks is a decorative rhythm game by WizDream Games, where you'll be setting up your own room and hanging out with characters in between the songs. In our level, you'll be treating Sophia and Lune as they travel into a virtual reality world.

You can find Kingdom of Balloons in the Basement ward, alongside our other guest patients. You'll need to have cleared level 4-4 to unlock Kingdom of Balloons.

[h2]New Minigame: Rhythm Weightlifter[/h2]

We've added a new minigame! You can find it in the Act 5 Physiotherapy Ward.

Rhythm Weightlifter is an experimental minigame about testing your ability to keep 2 separate rhythms in sync with each other. You can either play solo (with two hands) or play together with a friend in local co-op.



You'll be given barbells with different weights stacked on each end. One side might need to tap quarter notes on the beat, while the other side has to tap sixteenth notes, to keep the weightlifter from dropping the barbell. As the challenges go on, the rhythm combinations will get harder and harder. Also, a twist: there's no music to help you. Good luck with becoming the Rhythm Weightlifting Champion!

Special thanks to DeadlySprinklez for help with making the prototype of Rhythm Weightlifter, thank you to Wopa for all the great Weightlifter in-game art, and thank you to Tempo Lab Games (creators of Bits & Bops) for letting us use their audio latency engine.

[h2]Improvements and Fixes[/h2]

• 5-X can now be played in 2-Player mode
  
• Lucky now wears a new outfit when controlled by Player 2 in 2-Player mode
  
• Janitor spawn behavior re-worked. Now, the Janitor can be found in the ward of the level you most recently played.
  

[h2]Level Editor Improvements and Fixes[/h2]

• New VFX Preset: Balloons
  
• The event inspector panel in the level editor has gone through a major UI overhaul. Most events are now using standardized UI elements to create a more cohesive look and help us add new features more easily. Please let us know if there are any visual or game issues with both new and old levels or something like that.
  
• Added "Language" and "Player Mode" conditional support for the following Sound events: Say Ready Get Set Go, Set Beat Sound, Set Beats Per Minute, Set Counting Sound, Set Heart Explode Interval, Set Heart Explode Volume
  
  Note that events like Play Sound will continue to have their current behavior with conditionals, that is they check for their conditional an amount of time equal to your offset setting before the event occurs.
  

Thank you for playing!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RhythmDrGame

Official Discord Server: https://7thbe.at/discord/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhythm.doctor/

Cohost: https://cohost.org/7thBeatGames

We've made some small fixes.

[h2]Version 0.15.1[/h2]

• Fixed X-WOT crash on fail
  
• Updated localisation
  
• First mistake in a level now always cracks the heart
  
• Fixed gap in row glow visuals
  
• Fixed hand position in Intro sequence at the beginning of the game
  
• New "syncopation style" toggle on Set Beat Modifiers
  
• Fixed X-FTS missing mistake sounds.
  
• Fixed behaviour of empty room masks.
  
• Fixed behaviour of opacity in decoration tint events.
  
• Fixed window dance "shake" behaviour.
  
• Fixed dialogue text animation for vector fonts.
  
• Fixed 5-X song volume being multiplied twice.
  
• Attempted fix at 5-X and 5-2N first load desync.
  
• Fixed missing glitch sfx in 5-X on Linux systems.
  
• Fixed button and hand animations on level start.
  
• Lucky no longer moonwalks in the CLS background.
  
• Fixed floating text events not being able to be called by tag action.
  
• Level Editor: Fixed CPU marker selection in the level editor.
  
• Level Editor: Fixed event control hover tooltips persisting after changing tabs in the level editor.
  

Thanks for playing!

[h2]New Level[/h2]

We have a new level: Fixations Toward the Stars

We're collaborating with indie rhythm game, vivid/stasis! A few months back, you might have seen that they added All The Times (Rhythm Doctor) and It Go (A Dance of Fire and Ice) as playable levels. This time, Saturday and Allison visit Middlesea. Fixations Toward the Stars features music by Foodbot, and pixel art by Winston.

Much like us, vivid/stasis combines rhythm gameplay with characters and a narrative, so it was really fun to be able to crossover like this. Go check out the game if you haven't already!

[h2]New Level Select Ward[/h2]



Middlesea Hospital has become a popular place to visit, so we've opened up a new ward. You can now enter the Basement, which is basically Ian's office. That's where you'll find the new vivid/stasis collaboration! You'll also find our crossover levels with fellow rhythm games Bits & Bops and Unbeatable.

I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll see a new face, so we'll keep you updated next time we add a level here.



[h2]Game Improvements and Bugfixes[/h2]

• Added "ice" and "chili" song speeds to 5-X
  
• Improved freeze beat visuals
  
• Improved freeze beat audio cue clarity
  
• Added act number above ward entrances
  
• Added Restart from Checkpoint button
  
• Added a new rank for completing a boss stage without checkpoints
  
• Tweaked 3-X pager to display Mr. Stevenson instead of Paige
  
• Removed skipped beats in 4-4
  
• Improved 1-XN virus infection animation
  
• Fixed 5-1N invisible hit
  
• Fixed 5-X game over cutscene
  
• Fixed 5-X checkpoint skip
  
• Tweaked boss health bars so that they always reach 0 when the boss is defeated
  
• Added error sound for trying to change fullscreen setting during certain boss stages
  
• Added Instant Dialog option
  
• Tweaked heart crack appearance to always be proportional to your level rank
  
• Tweaked subdivisions to only count one mistake per set
  
• Fixed held beat particle effects
  
• Tweaked Ian's voice on the train to sound muffled
  
• Updated Insomniac pager icon
  

[h2]Level Editor Improvements and Bugfixes[/h2]

• Added the Custom Character Template Generator, which lets you import any story character
  
• Added Custom option to Set Counting Sounds
  
• Added level event tooltips which let you preview conditionals, tags, targeted rooms and data
  
• Added syncopation audio cues
  
• Improved syncopation visuals
  
• Added Tile Sprite event
  
• Added grid view to the level event selection panel
  
• Added ability to resize timeline by dragging
  
• Added playhead indicator to timeline scroll bar
  
• Removed Resize Window from the level editor
  
• Added Tutorial Notes VFX preset
  
• Added Diamonds VFX preset
  
• Decluttered Set Theme variants
  
• Fixed subdivision spotlight displaying incorrectly for one frame
  
• Fixed Floating Text with instant fade permanently disappearing
  
• Added ability to hold down shift to adjust swing sliders by half increments
  
• Added interval to skipped beat cue
  
• Added new UI for Play Expression's expression picker
  
• Fixed Custom Character fps = 0 behavior
  
• Fixed SVT beat wave opacity
  
• Fixed game not pausing during some file browser popups
  
• Fixed Window Dance playback button
  
• Fixed CLS song text color
  

Thank you for playing!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RhythmDrGame
Official Discord Server: https://7thbe.at/discord/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhythm.doctor/
Cohost: https://cohost.org/7thBeatGames

The story of Rhythm Doctor continues! Today, we've added Act 5 to Story Mode. This is a free update that continues the story right where Act 4 left off. When you start up the game and continue your save file, you'll notice a new hallway in Middlesea Hospital: the Physiotherapy Ward.

Have fun! We had a lot of fun making it.



[h2]New Features[/h2]

Act 5: Enter the Physiotherapy Ward, meet our new patient, and play 4 new Day Shift levels and 2 new Night Shift levels.

New Night Shift level added to Act 4, "4-4N Murmurs"

New Level Editor Features: New heartbeat types and a new character seen in Act 5 have been added to the Level Editor, to use in your own custom levels!

Visual Updates to 4-2, 4-2N, and 4-4

Added two new options to the Settings: "Drum Mode" and "Tap to Hold."

Full detailed changelog coming soon!

[h2]Act 5 FAQ[/h2]

Q: What is Act 5?
A: Act 5 is the next chapter of Rhythm Doctor's Story Mode. It's a free update, added as part of our Early Access, to continue the story of Ada Paige and everyone else at Middlesea Hospital. It takes place immediately after the conclusion of Acts 1-4, which have comprised the game since we first released on Steam. Remember when you saved the hospital from that virus?

Q: How do I unlock Act 5?
A: It is unlocked after you complete Acts 1 through 4, including the Night Shift boss level "Super Battleworn Insomniac." You will also need to complete, or have already completed, 2-1N "wish i could care less" in the SVT Ward.

Q: How many Acts will Rhythm Doctor's story have?
A: We're aiming for one or two more, but we're not quite sure yet. Act 5 is not the conclusion of the story! We are not currently planning to do any more "main story updates" to the game until the rest of the story is completely finished and we're leaving Early Access. We feel this is a good place to leave off for now, and we'll continue working quietly towards the conclusion!

Q: I'm going to stream the game on Twitch or Youtube. Should I record my whole desktop again?
A: Yes, you should probably record your whole desktop instead of just the game window. Or you can adjust your settings in the Settings menu, where it says "Window Movement." If you've played the rest of the game, you probably know what this means.

Thank you so much to everyone who has played Rhythm Doctor, streamed it for people around the world, made custom levels, posted fanart and fanfic, and cheered us on during our continued development! When making a game like this, it's hard to know how much it'll click with anyone else, but we've been surprised and delighted to see how much love there's been for this game and our characters.

Act 5 has some challenging levels in it, so if you're rusty with your rhythm skills, you might want to warm up with an earlier level.

Good luck, and thanks for playing!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RhythmDrGame
Official Discord Server: https://7thbe.at/discord/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhythm.doctor/
Cohost: https://cohost.org/7thBeatGames