Hello fellow Pinball Platformers! How have you been?
I know it has been a while since I have pushed an update for the game, it's because this one is a BIG one! So let's go!
This update brings 28 new levels! New? Well yes and no... These new levels are a copy of their normal version, the same starting point, the same finish line (see this as the B-Sides in Celest).
But I have added much more traps, changed the "layout", and I have added new mechanics!
Walls of Cubes:
I have placed these cubes a bit everywhere, they act as platforms, or as walls. Some of them can be destroyed by hitting a button that will be placed on tough spots that will force you to be more precise when you kick the ball.
Tracking Canons:
These ones will for sure affect your sanity! Pass in front of them, and they will start to track you, at this point, your only option is to hide behind a wall, or a flipper!
After 2.2 seconds, it will shoot at you and instantly destroy the ball!
Ghosts:
Look at these lovely guys! They will follow you because they love you! But they might want to get too close, way too close! These ghosts will push the ball or even destroy it if they squeeze it against a wall.
But they can also help! Climbing a wall when you are a ball sounds impossible, find a ghost, and let him bring you higher! Just don't forget to pass through his home to remove the curse.
Winds:
And finally, how can I, as a developer, make your "rolling" more interesting? Wind!
Wind going up, wind going down, wind going left and right, or even in diagonal! You will have to anticipate the change of velocity if you don't want to end up in the fire.
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Now let's talk a bit more about the B-Roll mode and why it took so long to make.
I wanted a real change in the look for these levels, I hope you'll find it interesting!
To access the B-Roll version of a world, you'll have to complete its normal version. It is recommended to progress through the game before tackling the B-Roll mode. Some late-game mechanics are used in early levels in this mode, you might hit a wall of difficulty if you jump straight into it.
Obviously, new levels mean new goals and so new customizations! Actually one new goal. In this mode, there is no more "Death Goal". Instead, you will have to collect a "Kubos" and finish the level to unlock the "Kubos Goal". The Kubos are placed in each level, in a difficult spot, requiring you to take risks to collect them, if you catch one and pass the following checkpoint, good job you have secured the catch, but if you die before the checkpoint, you'll have to collect it again!
Let's talk about customizations. You'll collect Cubes instead of Balls in the B-Roll mode. Use these to unlock new skins for your Flippers, your Death Mark or your Leaderboard Icon!
Yes! An icon for the leaderboard! Show the world your progress through the B-Roll world!
Talking about the leaderboard, it now displays the number of deaths you did when submitting your best time (you'll have to replay the level to update your entry).
What's more? Well a lot, so I'll just talk about the biggest changes.
- There is now a global progression screen, accessible from the main menu. You can track your progress for each level, the total amount of attempts, number of wins, deaths or playtime etc...
- I have removed the accessibility setting that allowed you to slow down the game when the camera was moving too fast. I have replaced it with two settings.
- The first one, allows you to enable or disable a message that will be displayed if you die too many times during a run, This message will offer you to slow down the game by 30% until you reach the next checkpoint. The option is on by default, but you can turn it off if you want.
- The second setting allows you to run the game at 70% of its original speed, allowing players that are struggling to progress through the game. Don't worry, the timer is also running slower, so there is no penalty for using this setting. This is why it's called "accessibility" and not "cheat".
- I have added more colours for the flippers, you can change these from the game settings.
- There are now 38 new Achievements, related to the B-Roll mode but not only.
The tiny changes that you won't notice, but if you are curious:
UI work, game introduction, lighting optimizations, geometry optimizations, texture optimizations, proper FPS counter, post-processing optimizations, Gravity Void has a new look, fixed some cameras and some flippers, added a little pause after each death, fixed a tiny bug with the blue canons, increased death goals, added some more feedback on the bouncers and impulses, added some indications for the Gravity Void, improved goal animation, added an overview of the goals on the level introduction, slowed down the camera movement for each level introductions, and more super tiny changes!
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I really hope you will enjoy this update, it took me a lot of time, and I hope I have answered most of the requests from the community.
I know I could add so much more to the game, but 2021 marks the seventh year of development! And I have to admit I would like to move on, you know, seven years!!
I am still not 100% sure, but I think this will be the last content update I bring to the game, the community has proposed some very cool ideas, that could be very fun to add, so I might, much later, add these to the game (for free, I do not plan to add any DLC to the game).
So for now, I consider Super High Ball completed! I'll obviously continue to update the game from times to times, by fixing bugs or polishing some aspect of the game. I'm still considering adding various languages localization and another set of accessibility settings.
This means I need to prepare for release!
That's it! Thanks a lot if you have read everything!
A very warm thanks to those who have added a review on the store page, it is very important to bring Super High Ball in front of potential new players, the more "positive" reviews, the more the game will appear in front of Steam users. Also a mega thanks to the members of the community who has been tracking bugs, and made suggestions!
Stay safe, and see you soon!
