The Summer 2023 Patreon Build

Thank you everyone for your continued support! I do recognize that these past two months have been a bit slow, but things are finally looking to be on track again.

I'd like to announce that the next Patreon build will feature a level tentatively named DemoCarry. As you can guess, this is the level that revolves around the carry and throw mechanics shown off in Mechanic Preview 2- as well as a number of complementary mechanics.

(Every level in SPP starts with a mechanical focus, and the theming is integrated at a later stage. So, when naming files for a new level, I usually call it "Demo______".)

Patreon Builds: Bonus Levels?

The original plan for the Patreon builds was to focus on bonus levels- optional levels exploring mechanics and interactions that didn't quite fit the "main" game, but would be perfect for optional content. Using these levels for Patreon builds would keep the "main" game fresh and spoiler free!

Reasoning for "DemoCarry"

"BonusDrill" took about two months to develop- shorter than the span of a normal level, but it still was longer than anticipated. For the Summer 2023 build, I was hoping to rework 20-30 rooms from a partially finished level called "DemoDecent2", which focused on rising platforms. However, I have not yet started that rework. If I were to start now, I'd anticipate releasing the next Patreon build in late July / early August. So, in order to meet the thrice-yearly goal for Patreon builds, it’d make more sense to use a level that’s more finished.

I could have stopped development of "DemoCarry" to work on this new bonus level, but it's a lot easier and more efficient to finish the level now rather than resume work on it later. (And I've had to pause development on this level twice already!)

One other alternative for this upcoming Patreon build would be building a new bonus level with the leftover rooms from "DemoCarry". Since this would use all of the same mechanics as "DemoCarry", it'd be like developing an extended version of the level. However, these rooms were cut for being complex and difficult, and it probably wouldn't be that fun to jump straight into the deep end without understanding all of the underlying basics.

Final Notes

One major advantage of the bonus levels is that they require very little development time for visuals- these often take as long as the level design itself. With that in mind, the visuals for "DemoCarry" will likely use the bonus level theme, as there isn't really enough time to finish the junkyard visuals.

Oh, and I should mention the upswing to releasing a "main" level instead of a bonus level- "DemoCarry" will be about twice as long as "BonusDrill".

Lastly, the release date for this next Patreon build is June 23rd. This should be enough time to fix the remaining bugs and polish up any other ends. See you then!