Firstly a few words about a small patterns update. At the suggestion of
owsla, I've slightly changed their display. Now, frames on the ground are surrounded by square brackets, frames with a jump command are marked as a
J, and those without a command are marked as a dot. This should improve readability:
Another suggestion was to display it in real time, but I'll say right away that won't happen. Real-time information like showpre already creates problems with different recording rules across different communities, and I won't make things worse.
Regarding maps, I'd like to first announce a
new rule for mappers. Now, mappers must provide a demo of their playthrough (checkpoints are allowed) along with the map. We're forced to implement this rule because some mappers have begun abusing testers' services, fixing pointed jumps and at the same time quietly changing other, creating problematic, imbalanced places. Because of these situations, we've lost almost all of our balance testers, and players are simply fed up with the monotonous neon maps with high distance, unbalanced blocks. This new rule will make map releases less frequent, but at the same time, higher quality, which, in our opinion, is far more important than quantity.
We're also adding a new hard-extreme community map today
crn_kiva_lopussa (I think it's still a bit extreme in places, feel free to share your impressions in the comments) by
c0rn. The map is suitable for playing without saving until the lava room, where things aren't so rosy. If anyone wants it, I can add it to the list of maps available for recording with checkpoints. The map was tested by
TyIIIkA and
MEDVDED_EBUN, their help is greatly appreciated. Enjoy the game!
Release achievements
The most World records -
kyoto (2 world records)
Player who gained most exp -
bite (166 exp)
limit
bite
kiva_lopussa ("Cozy in the end" or "In the end - cozy") is a promise. The player reads it on the loading screen, sees the starting palm tree, the campfire, the turquoise water - and takes it as an invitation to a chill, easygoing stroll.
And then the map starts breaking them, slowly.
A labyrinth with black, bottomless water, where every wrong step is a fall into nothing. Jumps that feel impossible. Moments where you just don’t understand how to do it or where to even go next. You begin to doubt yourself, rage at the map, hate every single block, every failed attempt.
You curse the mapper, feel like you're not as good as you thought you were - but you keep going, because stopping is no longer an option.
And then, when your confidence is almost completely drained, you fall straight into the mouth of a demonic cat(no idea why I even put it there) and you end up in hell. A crumbling temple, fiery trees, lava that burns not just your eyesight, but your willpower too.
Only after making it through this hell, completely burned out, broken, but still moving - do you finally reach home. A cozy little treehouse, a bench, a crate of beer, warm fairy lights, and stars above.
Kiva Lopussa is not a description. It’s a promise you can’t truly accept until you've gone through all that shit. The only way to find that coziness is to burn in hell and rise again. We suffer so we can truly appreciate peace.
I honestly freaked out a bit when I sobered up and re-read my notes - realised the description was kinda meh, but I was too lazy to rewrite it :D