Overview
Hey Small Santas!
I have been hard at work in the north pole grinding out this update between classes and gift wrapping with the elves, and I am happy to announce that the 2.0 update is here! This update completely rethinks the game; I took the feedback I got from players and have made many changes to the game. I have also added a LOT of new content, some of which completely changes the gameplay for this game:
-Some art has had some slight changes in both items and environment
-Item spawning has been changed
-The map is now randomly generated
-The movement is more user-friendly
-A settings tab with sound and snow sliders has been added
-UI has been revamped
-A whole setlist of Christmas music was composed by OJ429
-New Items from more holidays and movies have been added
-Christmas Spirit is introduced into the game
-A new movement ability has been added
-13 yuletide lads have come to cause mischief
-Snowballs are added
Hope you all enjoy the update, Thanks for all the support and Happy Holidays!!!
Special thanks to OJ429 for music design.
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Art Changes
There are a few subtle changes made to artwork in the game including the following: The ornaments item that go on the tree have been retextured to show multiple ornaments rather that only the one from before. Because of this change the Christmas tree will now start off without any ornaments on it, however it will still be distinguishable from the other trees as it will not have snow on its branches.
One of the wisemen now holds a different colored object rather than the previous bright pink.
The wreath no longer holds a candle and now only has a bow but with more ribbons.
There are now two differently colored socks for the fireplace.
There are more variations to the bushes, candy canes, and trees to make the environment more visually interesting; and icicles will also spawn in caves around the map (note that they are purely cosmetic and won’t have any gameplay features).
Map Generation and Item Spawning
I am happy to announce the newly implemented random generation system. The game now includes places that will spawn in every game such as, a towering mountain with possible tunnels, a dense evergreen forest, and a candy cane land. These landmarks will be organized in different ways in different maps, each of which is organized by chunks, which are different shapes and sizes but will then randomly choose from a numerous selection of prebuilt pieces. These puzzle piece chunks will be inserted into the map, however unlike a normal puzzle, many pieces can fit into one spot, making the map effectively random.
Furthermore, the item spawning will now be random as the pieces / chunks described above will have their own spots that can spawn items of different sizes. Since there will be a lot more spots than items and the placedown location, they will choose random spots over the map making every game different. In addition to this, the new items described in a later section will now also spawn, and to keep from forcing the player to complete the tedious task of collecting every single item, only 12 items will spawn on the map.
Movement Changes
The most numerous piece of feedback I got from the previous version of the game was that the movement was torturously unbearable, taking away from the fun and cozy game experience. To help fix this problem, the player speed has been significantly reduced, making handling more easy. Coyote timing, which allows the player a few seconds to jump after falling off of the edge of a platform, has also been added. This makes it so that players no longer fall when they feel that they should have been able to jump.
UI / UX Changes
The in-game UI has been completely revamped so that the lights are now strung across the top of the screen. The player will also be able to press tab in game and a list will pop down showing exactly what the player needs to collect. A settings menu has also been added that will allow the player to change the volume and amount of snow. A useful bouncing arrow will show the player what places they have items to place on. The spirit dial and a snowball counter also appear on the player's UI.
New Items
Christmas is now a simultaneously secular and religious holiday, and the holiday season is celebrated by many religions, so it seems fit to not only include items from Christmas, so I have decided to do research into different winter celebrations and have added items from more holidays and cultures:
-From Hanukkah: the Shammash candle that goes on the Menorah
-From Diwali: the diya candles that go in a Deepavali, or row of candles
-From Kwanzaa: the Umoja candle that goes on the Kinara
-From Kwanzaa: the Unity Cup and muhindi, or corn, that goes on the Mkeka
-From the Netherlands: a chocolade munten, or chocolate coin, that goes in the clog
-From Catalan culture: the blanket that goes on the Tió de Nadal, or Christmas log
-From Norwegian tradition: the broom that is hidden in the closet
-From Europe: the fruitcake that is put in the oven
-From England: the turkey that is put in the oven
Please note that I do not celebrate any winter holidays other than Christmas, so if I misrepresent something here or in the game I apologize and would appreciate it if you could please email me the error so I can correct it.
In addition to the holiday items, I have also added items from some of my favorite Christmas movies.
- From A Christmas Story: BB’s that are loaded into a Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time.
- From A Christmas Story: a lamp cover that goes on a leg lamp
- From Elf: the Kringle 3000 that goes on the sleigh. Santa's sack and sleigh bells will also go on the sleigh
- From National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: a tangled cord of lights that are placed on the house
- From National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: a moose cup that is filled with eggnog
Spirit and New Movement Ability
Christmas spirit is known to be important for getting Santa's sleigh to fly. However, in Small Santa Simulator it's going to help Santa in different ways. Spirit, measured by the clausometer in the bottom right corner of the screen can hold up to 24 points of spirit. Different amounts of spirit points, from 1 to 6, will be gained by collecting the new spirit items that are used on pick-up:
-1 point: Milk, Cookies
-2 points: Nut Cracker, Christmas Crackers
-3 points: Letters to Santa, Snow Globe (Elf), Christmas Card
-4 points: Mince Pie (UK), Radishes (Mexico)
-5 points: Christmas Pickle (Germany), Tanguan (Donzi)
-6 points: Snow Globe (A Child’s Christmas in Wales), Dreidel (Hannukah)
The clausometer has a bulb that is halfway across the meter. The bulb changes its color from red to green when the player reaches 12 spirit. Once the player reaches this amount, they can now use the new ability of “laying a finger aside of his nose and giving a nod up the chimney he goes” boosting the player up. This will use 2 spirit. The spirit will, however, decrease over time, at a rate of 1 spirit point per 10 seconds, and once it is less than halfway, the player won’t have the ability anymore.
Yuletide Lads and Snowballs
13 yuletide lads, from Icelandic folklore, will hide in various spots around the map and surprise the player by hitting them and will take away some christmas spirit. These lads will try their best to be hidden, however, each lad will have their hat sticking out of the snow along with an item that distinguishes the different lads based on their name. They will also be distinguishable by their differently colored clothes. These lads will be able to be knocked out by snowballs. These snowballs can be collected by picking up the new snowball item that will spawn randomly around the map and will grant the player 5 snowballs. Here’s a table of the Lads information.
Music
Special Thanks to OJ429 for the new music setlist for Small Santa Simulator. The playlist consists of the songs: Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. While I recommend that you listen to these beautiful renditions of the songs, there will be a slider to turn off the music if you want to listen to your own Christmas tunes.