Hey souled endurers. Five years ago today Ilamentia was released.. happy birthday phasmic one. :]
It's been just over a year since the last update and in that time I've had some really great feedback, so just thought I'd potter about tweaking bits and bobs based on that feedback. There's not too much in terms of new content, but if you've struggled with levels before you may want to give it another whirl.
// General Changes
- The game now runs at 60fps.
- Added a new level called Shadow to island #1.
- Added 8 new achievements related to completing island levels. If you've already completed levels then you should get relevant achievements when entering the level selection room. Also tidied up the achievement icons.
- After fully completing an island a small platform will now appear in the middle of the level selection room offering a brief narrative.
- Added some extra sub-divisions in the existing game options (e.g. sound levels go down in 10s now rather than 20s).
- Added an Exit button to the title screen. Pressing Esc on the title screen no longer ends the game since this was quite easily done accidentally.
- Went through all the level hints tweaking them, adding more, fixing typos, etc.
- When entering a level the white overlay now fades out much quicker.
// Island Theme Changes
- The island icons have been redesigned since several of them used to look very similar to each other. They also incorporate an extra new numbering system which is also used in some other levels.
- Skybox: Removed the constant brightness flickering.
- The themes for island 2 and 3 have switched to make it easier to smooth out the island difficulty curve since the starkness of the island 2 theme limits its level options.
- #2: Reduced the frequency of screen glitches and they now don't show at all until you have souls. The glitch no longer nudges your aim.
- #3: Increased the overall brightness (most notably when close to completing a level as it used to get very dark). When the shaders are turned off the general colour has been changed from blue to red.
- #5: Reduced amount of screen blurring (in particular when you have no souls).
- #6: Reduced amount of screen pixelation and doesn't pixelate at all until you have souls. Fixed a bug where the fog colour was being incorrectly set based on the island you visited last.
- #7: Decreased brightness of platforms and fog to increase contrast with the sky. The colour shifting is slower based on how many souls you have (in particular when you have no souls).
- #8: Reduced the opacity of the film grain effect (in particular when you have no souls).
// Level Changes
- Note some levels have changed island, notably islands 2/3.
// Island #1
- Coddle: Added extra text to the tutorial saying devouring souls opens the level's exit. Moved the map fragment onto the platform since there's a common assumption you can walk into it to pick it up which just leads to the player falling.
- Proximity: Added a new puzzle mechanic, the platforms won't fall if done in a certain order (though you can still also beat it the old way if you really want).
- Hop: Added a new mechanic, some platforms rise up as you get close. Level layout has been tweaked to make use of the new mechanic. Falling now teleports you back to the beginning platform. Phasms have been removed.
- Drift: You now have to fly up a bit from the beginning platform for the souls to be shootable. Previously you had to be close to them which made things a bit confusing since some souls could be shot from the beginning platform without flying up.
- Fragment: Changed the icon on the outer boxes to a phasm icon to differentiate them from the central boxes and to emphasise them being on isn't a good thing.
- Path: Changed the positions of the activator blocks so from the beginning platform you can see at least one of the platforms the activators activate. Slightly increased the range the souls become shootable to make the solution a tad easier to spot.
- Sense: Added a text line in-level that spells out the directions you've been through as you progress successfully.
- Flee: Extended the exit platforms so it's possible to complete the level getting hit once. The souls embiggen faster when they become shootable.
- Reflect: Each third branch is now a bit longer so it's a bit easier to see between the branches. The active box highlight is slightly increased so it's a bit easier to see the top active box.
// Island #2
- Facade: Added a phasm voice effect when near-ish to a fake soul and tweaked the layout to make use of this mechanic. Reduced the amount of souls from 5 to 3. Added a landmark so it's easier to navigate. When hitting a fake soul a visual/sound effect is played to emphasise that was not a good thing.
- Fade: Reduced the amount of souls from 3 to 2.
- Runic: Slightly reduced the amount of runes on the first two monoliths. Falling now teleports you back to the beginning platform.
- Forthright: Lengthened the end platform size and they appear sooner (by the time they show up you've solved the puzzle).
- Circuit: Lengthened the timeframe you need to hit the broken box to continue the circuit.
- Seeker: Added a couple of arrows to the map to jog the noggin.
- Map: Increased the size of the emit explosion so it's a bit easier to see in the Claustro room. The hints in the teleported room are now the Map's hints rather than the teleported rooms normal own hints. Fixed a bug where a hint was being shown when entering the portal. Fixed a bug where the wrong visual theme was showing when restarting the level.
- Pressure: Added a landmark so it's easier to navigate.
- Vortex: When the exit opens the small central platforms no longer begins to fall.
// Island #3
- Spire: You can now tag phasm spires by getting close to them which then easily visually differentiates them from regular spires. The soul spires now always cast a beam upwards and have a floor decal so can be easily seen from anywhere.
- Bond: Added a permanent floor so there's now no platforming at all. Added a shine around the pillar when at full height so you can more easily see when a soul is hit.
- Roil: Added a new mechanic, some platforms are now special which do one of two things when stepped on, either go up/down much faster and increases the maximum height they roil, or just stop the platform's movement dead. Platforms now fade out 50% faster.
- Spring: Reduced the amount of souls from 13 to 11. Changed the layout so it's a bit more thrilling.
- Persistence: Reduced the amount of souls from 6 to 5. Changed the layout so there's more choice involved.
- Afar: Added a collision mask to the large pillars.
- Knock: Fixed a bug where one of the pillar textures was wrong (it seemed brighter than the others which caused confusion).
- Untitled: Made the logo on the title screen easier to see. Fixed a bug where the intro hint was showing after teleporting in.
- Vibe: Visually tweaked some things.
// Island #4
- Slide: Played around with the design a bit to make things more interesting (e.g. you now get 2 open slots but no border edge markings).
- Cycle: Added an extra soul at the beginning so you can safely see the effect hitting it has on the boxes.
- Planes: Fixed a bug where it was setting the wrong theme. Increased the player's jump height a smidge.
- Glade: Removed the phasm. Improved performance a bit (somebody said it was the only level to give them a performance error).
- Slots: Fixed a bug where hitting only 2 slots would create the exit instead of 3. When the exit opens the slot boxes now become inactive and rise (previously you could still hit the last box to reset all boxes).
- Cling: Added vertical lasers to the souls since they're otherwise easy to miss. Added an effect when you step on a safe platform. The phasm face on a safe platform is removed when you step on it.
- Order: Stepping on a phasm platform now creates a visual/sound effect emphasising you dun goofed.
- Convert: Fixed a bug where the gamepad analogue and d-pad weren't working.
// Island #5
- Blind: Added a puzzle element (The blind rate increases the more souls you collect). Removed the ability to shoot (just move into souls). Increased the rate the blind is removed so you're not hanging around as much. Upon collecting a soul that platform falls so it's easier to see which souls you have collected.
- Pitfall: Reduced the amount of souls from 8 to 6. Sped up the speed the platforms rise so the cycle is much faster. Redesigned a bit so it can be solved in multiple ways. Increased the size of platforms a bit.
- Reversal: Reduced the amount of souls from 6 to 5. Fixed the wrongly coloured floors.
- Tumble: Fixed wrong coloured texture on the tall platforms.
// Island #6
- Nocturnal: Reduced the amount of souls from 4 to 3. Collecting a soul will teleport you back to the center and create a barrier over that soul's entrance (so it's easy to keep track on which souls you have). Played around with the layout design and aesthetic to make it more interesting. Increased the presence of fog. Fixed a bug allowing you to walk outside.
- View: Added a platform that shows the second view which only shows once you fall beyond a certain point, just so you can confirm you have the correct view.
- Series: Reduced the amount of souls from 6 to 5. All souls at least show a small laser so you can always see where they are and how many are left. Fixed wrong coloured texture on the tall platform.
// Island #7
- Escalate: Played around with the layout and mechanic to add a puzzle element and reduce the length of the level. Each escalator now has a stone that you can hit to manipulate its speed. Once a soul is hit its escalator freezes. Each escalator is a little different (e.g. some longer than others, missing steps). Jump height slightly increased.
- Amp: Added a landmark next to the third soul so it's easier to judge when the platform stops moving (also moved the soul up a bit since you're otherwise jumping way over it).
- Extrude: Slightly increased player jump height.
- Maze: Slightly trimmed down some of the deadends.
- Blink: Slightly reduced the speed the platforms switch on/off.
// Island #8
- Sacrifice: The level no longer deletes your 'sacrificed' completed levels, instead you can only activate island pillars that you have completed all the levels for. Removed the phasm creation, instead a visual/sound effect is played.
- Fate: You no longer have to rummage around your hard drive, instead each platform is linked to an island with it's random position set using a seed based on how levels within that island has been completed (it's possible to beat the level without beating all other levels but beating more increases the chances of a favourable position).
- Macular: Added a landmark so the level is easier to navigate. The souls now have lasers so they're easier to see. Slightly tweaked the layout to make it more interesting. Mascular effect fades in more quickly. Platforms fall and fade out twice as quickly.
- Collateral: Tweaked the layout to make it a bit more interesting. Reduced the amount of souls from 4 to 2. Increased player jump height.
- Presence: Removed the phasm.
- Shy: Added a landmark so the level is easier to navigate. Platforms no longer fall when stepped on (they do still fade out but now also fade out a little slower). Slightly increased player jump height.
Enjoy. :]
