The "Achiever" Update
Gravia's getting closer and closer to release, hopefully just another couple of major releases before I'm calling it "ready" for v1.0. Today's release gets nearer to that target with new music tracks, new levels towards the end of the game, and an overhaul of the Achievements system, adding about 50 achievements, including a bunch of cryptic Hidden achievements for people to look for.
New Music
Each of the five major areas of the game now has its own distinct soundtrack. Upon entering a new area, there's now also a title card to improve the sense that you're someplace new, and making progress through the game.
New Levels
This release include three new levels. "ICARUS Protocol" is found in the Research Labs area, while "Anti-Pattern" and "Vaporware" are both found in the Reactor Complex. Each of these levels hopefully adds and interesting and unique experience, and one of them includes a module that a lot of people have been looking forward to...
Not to mention whatever this is...
New Achievements
Gravia had a handful of achievements up until this point, mostly just so I knew how to add Steam achievements. This release overhauls that, and introduces more than 50 new Achievements. You can view achievements in-game on the Journal screen.
There are four categories of Achievements:
Progression - These are basic Achievements you'll usually find just by playing the game normally.
Funny - These are awarded for doing some fairly silly things, or dying in unusual ways. These usually aren't difficult, just amusing.
Challenging - These are special challenges to accomplish. Most of them are simple enough to understand, but potentially very difficult to actually perform. Others are just a bit tricker than what the game normally asks of you. I'm very open to adding more if players want to suggest interesting challenges they think could go into the game.
Hidden - This group contains achievements for doing some unexpected things in the game. These are "Hidden" in Steam, meaning that Steam won't tell you the name or description until you earn the Achievement. But the in-game Achievements screen will give you a hint for how to find each of these achievements. These achievements reward people who are curious, and think outside the box. Have fun sleuthing your way to the solution to these, or just finding them by accident in some cases.
Final Thoughts
The next major release will be the "Reactor" Update, featuring... the Reactor. :) We're really closing in on the final few levels here, and I'm excited to bring it home in the "near" future. As of this release, Gravia contains:
68 levels across five major areas, with a mysterious narrated story unfolding along the way. On-average this represents a 7-10 hour experience.
108 hidden secrets. Each level contains at least one optional secret challenge to find. Finding all the secrets probably adds another 40-50 hours to the game.
Most levels support Time Trial mode, where you see how fast you can complete each level, with Leaderboards for each of the levels, and 1-, 2-, and 3-star time goals to try for.
About 1/3 of the levels currently have "Hard Mode" support. You'll just have to experience this yourself to see what it's all about.
The full patch notes are in-game for this release. Just open the Info screen on the Main Menu. And as always, please drop by Discord if you have questions for feedback to share.
Thanks,
-Dan