Hi, Ells&Pills is here!
This update includes the following changes:
- The Polish localization of the game and store page has been updated. A huge thank you to the translator, Mateusz 'StanleyNovak' Szymański!
- ∞ difficulty: checkpoints have been added to the level, so instead of restarting the entire level you can now warp to the nearest checkpoint close to where you fell. Same as before — hold R to warp; a full level restart is still available through the menu button.
- Further polished the difficulty-select screen. All mode names have been rewritten and a new hint now clarifies the difference between settings.
- HARD difficulty has been removed. I’ll try to explain the reasons for these changes below.
The latest Steam discussion got me thinking about all these "difficulty levels" and what they really mean in their current form.
Originally, before the game even came out, we had no plans for any difficulty levels at all. They were only added later, trying to find some balance and make the game accessible to more people, since the controls take a bit of getting used to before you can really enjoy racing down the ramps. Basically, it was always about making the first steps easier — apart from that, there's no real difference.
That’s why in the last update I turned off UNREAL, and today HARD is gone too. It might come back later in some new form, but no promises. For now the game is stripped of anything extra and there’s zero confusion: you’ve got the regular game in its original, settled state; the same thing tuned for a “peaceful” run; and a “practice” mode with no timer and no Steam features (and without the constant ticking in your ear, ha!).
Player Mute_Jack also suggested an easy mode with 15 minutes on the timer instead of 10. Adding that would be trivial, but slapping on extra minutes feels like a lazy fix, so I’m handling the whole time-pressure thing a different way in the next update.
Best Regards,
Ells&Pills