Big Post-Jam Update – Polishing Things Up [1.1.0]


The jam version had its share of rough edges due to the limited time we had to develop it. Now we've fixed those issues. In version 1.1.0, all known bugs from the jam build have been resolved, and many aspects of gameplay and visuals have been improved:


Bug Fixes:

  • The element list can now be scrolled properly
  • Dragging an element from the list onto another element with a valid combination now works as expected
  • The "Play Again" button now fully resets the game
  • In the WebGL version, the "Exit" button now exits fullscreen first and shows a message instead of just freezing
  • The UI now scales correctly for all screen resolutions
  • When an element spawns near another with a reaction, it now properly displays an emotion
  • Emotions no longer flicker rapidly when elements are on the edge of each other's reaction range

Improvements:

  • Elements now idle wander around the game field, creating more interactions.
  • Elements now look at each other or in the direction they are moving (this was supposed to be in the jam version, but I forgot!)
  • Movement is now velocity-based, with inertia. When elements combine, the result inherits the average velocity of the parents
  • Added a visual effect when elements combine
  • Added 8 new custom combination sounds
  • More rules for the interaction of elements with each other have been added, making them more logical
  • Blinking is now less frequent and quieter, and overall sound balancing has been improved
  • The menu that appears when all elements are found has been redesigned to better indicate that the game is completed

Known Issues:

  • When elements react to each other, their gaze direction sometimes flickers
  • Over time, elements tend to crowd around the hole because a random wander point was selected in that area, but they can't actually reach it
  • The paper texture tiles not seamlessly. Yes, I see that too

The game is now available not only in the browser but also as standalone builds for Windows and Linux.

This is not the final version - we plan to keep expanding the game with more elements, music, and a UI overhaul. But now, it’s already a much more enjoyable experience.

Files

alchemists-homework-v1.1.0-win64-setup.exe 22 MB
54 days ago
alchemists-homework-v1.1.0-win64.zip 31 MB
54 days ago
alchemists-homework-v1.1.0-win32.zip 26 MB
54 days ago
alchemists-homework-v1.1.0-linux.zip 31 MB
54 days ago
alchemists-homework-v1.1.0-webgl.zip 13 MB
54 days ago

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Comments

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(+1)

Nice update! I like the new interactions, but you could probably add more elements, and maybe hints on how to MAKE elements.

Also, I found this bug, the "energy" text would clone itself, and the clone wouldn't appear disappear, it's everywhere!

Thank you!
Yes, we plan to add more elements over time; it would be great to include all 550 from the original alchemy. Hints and an element catalog are also planned

And thank you for the bug report, that's very helpful! I'll check why this is happening

(+1)

No problem! I'm excited to see how this'll turn out!