Meet Layla Rostova!

She is your new announcer for every update, build, and hotfix.

This will let me concentrate more on developing and writing devlogs, rather than spending time finding the perfect screenshot for each post’s thumbnail. Her hairstyle, clothing, and background may evolve over time, and the left side of the image will adapt based on the type of post.

Mic cut

🎙️:Alright, that’s enough about me! Let’s dive right into what’s new!

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These two mechanics will be entirely optional, with no presence in the story - no dialogues, no quests. To access them, players must enable them in the settings; otherwise, they will remain unseen. That said, both systems are designed with depth and complexity for those who enjoy them. They are not just features to check off but carefully crafted mechanics shaped by deliberate design choices.

Additional optional mechanics will be introduced, provided they align with the Biopunk genre, just as these do.

X-RAY

This image is cut because it's still in development

This shows the internal view of the characters during animation scenes, I’ve decided to go with a 2D approach as it can be drawn and animated separately. This will take 25% of the canvas and be shown on the right side of the screen.

Repetitive Pregnancy System (Parasitic)

Once you turn on this feature…

1) Your character experiences a reproductive cycle, generating a new ovum every few minutes.

2) During animation scenes, you will have the option to trigger a pregnancy mechanic. The amount of liquid released is measured in milliliters (see the stats window below), and an available ovum is required for the process to be successful, of course you can release the liquid and then wait for it to be available, but you are wasting valuable time.

3) The seed remains viable for a few minutes, and at regular intervals, it will attempt to fertilize an available ovum. If successful…

4) A fertilized egg is formed, initiating the growth of a fetus that develops to a specific size based on the type of creature it will become. This process triggers visual changes in the character, such as belly expansion, along with potential buffs or debuffs (e.g., reduced jump height, to be implemented later).

Keep in mind, your character’s womb has a capacity of 18, which can be increased with certain items. This allows multiple fetuses to develop simultaneously.

5) Once a fetus fully matures, you can spawn a creature to fight alongside you for a limited time. During the seed’s viable lifespan of a few minutes, it will continue attempting to trigger fertilization.

6) If you wish to clear the liquid inside, you can use a specific tonic item or visit a designated location for cleansing.

Again, these mechanics are optional and will not influence your progression.

A few other things that are tied…

Notifications

I’ve finally made a system to display notifications for a limited time at different parts of the screen. The systems above show notifications, which you can turn on / off from the settings.

Settings

Saving your settings will display “You have unsaved changes” message.

Engine update

This is a preparation for a bigger update, finally on the latest version of this one, which allowed me to update navigation and audio systems for better features and performance.

Checkpoints

Added more checkpoints, so you don't have to restart the level if you die.