What’s new?

This patch may seem smaller than the previous one when looking at patch notes, but it actually represents a lot more work and really adds a big chunk of content to Oftalmogarden.

The main feature of the patch is a new garden: Carbon Marshes!

This garden looks a lot different from other gardens, Crystal Fields or the Crimson Desert, the atmosphere there is a lot moodier and darker, less colorful, and definitely more gooey.

The cycles of life and death are much faster in Carbon Marshes, as local microorganisms promote the growth of vegetation but also greatly accelerates their decay. This creates a very rich soil, as well as unusual quantities of Petrol which are replenishing much faster than in any other environment or planet.

However, since Petrol is considered a dangerous and highly controlled substance, only some groups of Pirates dare to extract and exploit it, using makeshift disposable pumps.

This update also adds the Flamethrower, which is probably my new favourite weapon.

Despite its short-range, the Flamethrower is extremely powerful on groups of small enemies as well as larger single targets. It applies rapidly ticking damage over time that can be stacked, and should have plenty of ammo for you to have fun with. It’s also the coolest-looking weapon I’ve made so far!

Another significant addition is the Utility Belt upgrade, which lets you store a Power Up for later use. This is a first step to add more “active” elements to the game, be it upgrades or other mechanics. While shooting, exploring, and dodging attacks is fun in itself, I feel that some players may want to have more stuff to do during gameplay.

Lastly, Light Clusters have been changed to Dark Orbs that drop Dark Light. They work exactly the same as before and have just changed color, this change was meant to differentiate them further from regular Light Drops, which will allow me to introduce new mechanics specifically for Dark Light. More on that later.

Future content

For the near future, I have plenty of upgrade ideas, and maybe some weapons, but I mainly want to start working on bigger features which will take time to put in place.

Here is a non-exhaustive, non-binding list of “big” things I want to add to the game:

• Lore and narration, which will most likely be in the form of descriptions. However I do not want to interrupt the flow of the game, so narration will most likely occur in between runs.
• Unlocks. This ties in with narration, but it’ll also be a way to reduce the initial pool of weapons, upgrades, and curses for new players, as well as rewards for successful runs.
• A boss fight, probably only one initially. That boss fight will represent the “end” of a run, but you’ll of course still be able to loop indefinitely afterwards for a high score.
• A personality for the drone character. This might involve some voice acting.
• A mechanic to capitalize on previous runs, which will be different from unlocks, possibly in the form of XP carry-over. This will help out struggling players as well as make runs feel like they’re not a waste of time.

So yeah, all of this will represent a lot of work, and it would be impossible to predict how much time these features will take to develop, test, and balance, which is why I don’t want to commit to any date. But be sure that progress is being made, and that new stuff will definitely keep coming.

I’ll try to keep you updated on how things are going, both on here Itch and on Twitter. Don’t forget to follow me if you’d like to follow my progress!

And now, the patch notes...

Gameplay

Weapons

• [NEW] Flamethrower
  • A devastating short-range weapon that rapidly deals stackable damage over time.
  • Very effective against groups of enemies, but also on large single targets.
  • Looks cool, but can impair visibility.
• Shotgun: Slightly increased vertical spread.
• Minigun: Increased damage per shot to 6 (from 5), slightly reduced horizontal spread. Note: As almighty as the Minigun used to be, the last nerf was probably too harsh, this weapon is never meant to feel weak.

Upgrades

• [NEW] Utility Belt
  • Can store a Power Up, use with E.
  • Picking up a second Power Up will use it right away.

Note: This particular upgrade was suggested to me and planned for a long time, and I want to add more “active” upgrades and other mechanics in the future.

• [NEW] Dark Prism
  • Foes may drop Dark Light, granting bonus XP.
  • This is in addition to regular Light Drops. Dark Light does not increase the objective, and foes cannot drop more Dark Light than Light Drops.

Curses

• Unsecured Latch: Can no longer drop more than one weapon per garden. Now stacks with diminishing returns. Note: Unsecured Latch could lead to situations where players would almost always lose all their weapons, but the point of this curse is to force improvisation and not completely rob the player of their firepower.

Gardens

• [NEW] Carbon Marshes
  • Carbon Marshes are a dark, muddy swamp full of decaying vegetation.
  • This new garden features completely new assets, visual effects, and music, and should feel a lot different from Crystal Fields or the Crimson Desert. The atmosphere is bleak, dirty, and oppressive.

Note: This is a big addition for me, I’ve learned a lot about 3D modelling and visual effects while putting the Carbon Marshes together. It has also helped me progress on the lore of Oftalmogarden, which I hope I’ll be able to deliver in game soon!

Options

• Added mouse sensitivity options.

Other

• Increased follow speed of Dark Orb drops.

Presentation

Visuals

• Pickups that cannot be picked up will now shake when the player walks over them.
• Health/Ammo pickups now show a text when the player’s health/ammo is full.
• Burning enemies display a particle effect.
• Improved the appearance of some 3D models.

Interface

• Added a HUD element for stored Power Ups next to the player’s health bar.