Oh looky, I'm actually using my website!

Anyways, I've written up a huge changelog for the new update of Prototype N. I intended it to be a short changelog, but it ended up being way bigger because it was really fun to write. It is still incomplete though, a much more exhaustive list will come later.

This is all really due to switching engines to Godot since April last year. I'd said this was 9 months in the making, but in truth the demo's development didn't really get going until September. It was a big thanks to JorJoe05 (Jordan) who asked me if he could recreate most of the game in the Godot engine. It was a real heavy task but we all managed in the end! The project was bigger than we anticipated!

Anyways, right! Changelog!

A short lengthy but shorter version of the Prototype N v5.0.0 Changelog:

Note that this compares to the previous public demo (v4.9.0 from 2024) as opposed to the MAGFest build. For those who played the MAGFest build will also get a changelog later in the future.

General

• The game has switched engines to Godot and as a result the game was entirely rebuilt.
• The demo only contains the first world's levels. Ending at the Tortoisebot EX boss level. Abandoned Mines and Molten Factory are unavailable at this time.
• Title Screen now plays an Auto Demo of the first cutscene after a minute has passed. Press any input button to go back to the title screen.
• Localization is also unavailable until the next update.

Gameplay

• First cutscene now directly goes to the first level instead of the world map when finished/skipped.
• Weapons and enemies have all been rebalanced. Full details in the future.
• Slide Jump now retains momentum when you turn around.
• Slide attack damage has been reduced from 4 -> 3.
• Flame Cannon's burn spread is twice faster now.
• Gems no longer give points in-level when collected. But Gems Bonus still exist the same in the Round Clear tally.
• Challange Scores has been revamped in response to the above mentioned change.
• More details on this category in the near future.

Menus

• In almost every menu listed below, you can hold a directional key to scroll fast.

Main Menu

• The preview at the right only displays a mountain background. Previews from the last build will be return in a later update.
• Extra Modes and Sound Test are unavailable until a later update.
• Credits is accessible in the Main Menu.
• You can access the demo's cutscenes by pressing NumKey 1 or 2 respectively in the Main Menu, regardless if they've been seen or not.

Pause Menu

• Pause Menu now has "Restart from Checkpoint". Restarting it penalizes your score and gems, but keeps your weapons from that point.
• Options can be accessed in the Pause Menu in both World Map and in-game.
• Screen behind the Pause Menu darkens and the "GAME PAUSED" text is in the Medium font located above the pause menu box.

Options Menu

• Options has been heavily revamped into categories: Display, Audio, Controls and Accessibility.
• Display now has a "Max FPS" option, allowing you to play the game on higher refresh rates.
• "Pixel Grid" option added in "Display", allowing every object to run on a less restrictive grid, causing a smoother feel to the movement.
• Filters and Display help are currently unavailable for the demo.
• Master Volume is added in Audio settings.
• Controls screen has a massive revamp. You can set Gameplay and Menu controls separately. On top of that, every mapping accepts 2 inputs for both Keyboard and Gamepads each.
• You also no longer need to use the mouse to change controls.
• Shoot Plasma is now an option, allowing you to shoot the default weapon while equipping another weapon.
• Accessibility, an entirely new category has the following options: Screen Shake and Flashing. Colorblind accessibility and more are planned in a later update.

Database Menu

• Uncollected entries are mostly hidden in the the list, making it easier to find entries you have already collected.

Saves Menu

• Save Files count now goes from 5 to 10.
• There is now a No Save Mode. Playing this mode does not record any of your progress.
• Each Save now displays the last time you accessed it, gem count, and weapon/shield loadout.

World Map

• The World Map has a massive UI overhaul as the map field is displayed on the left.
• The right side contains an image of the island, gem count, loadout and inventory.
• The inventory is now a list. Pressing the inventory button darkens everywhere but the relevant info.
• You can now access the Database by pressing Menu 2 (V (Keyboard) and Y (Gamepad) by default).
• You can quit back to the Main Menu by pressing the Deny button (X (Keyboard) or B (GamePad) by default).
• Level info UI has been rearranged.
• Hightop Mountain's layout and tileset has drastically changed.
• Round enter SFX has been replaced with a new one.

Shop

• The van and Caroline plush's sprites has been touched up.
• Shields and Weapons are a single menu called "Exchange" now.
• The shopping menu now supports more than 3 items.
• In the future, progressing will unlock more items in the shop rather than just having different items depending on location.
• You can still flirt with Clara.

Graphics

• Nadine's sprites has been entirely touched up.
• Every level present in the demo has its tileset and parallax touched up. Making it easier to tell apart from decorations and foreground.
• Slide trails are smoother now and now show up while performing the Slide Jump.
• Turtlebot has smoother turning graphics now.

Sounds

• Music now all loops seamlessly thanks to the engine change.
• Many silent parts of the game now have sound effects such as Victory Screen tally, doors, specific enemies like Carcinoshell and Troutmarine, and so on.
• Midnight Summit now has waterfall ambience.
• Every gameplay SFX that aren't menu related now pans more accurately.

Cutscenes

• Everyone has unique pitches for the text blip sounds.
• The first cutscene has several parts redrawn or touched up, especially Nadine's graphics, to look more in line with the second cutscene's style.
• Text are color coded (experimental).

There may be more categories I didn't think of but I've covered all the major and important ones, right?

Thank you for reading and enjoy my game!