SODHARA v0.4.5 is out! Major overhaul of everything done so far, this is by far the most substantial update yet.

Binary formatter save system added as an option. Change log:

• Alternative to XML serializer used previously.
• Several conversion types like `SaveData_Vector2` introduced to utilise the process.

Game version stored in save data. Change log:

• Game version read from app data.
• Game version stored in saved game data.
• Game version displayed in selection slots.

Bugfixes, expanded movement and health tanks. Change log:

• Grabbing onto ledges and clinging to walls while in throwback disabled.
• Wall cling on rising phase of jump disabled.
• Wall cling trigger areas best practices defined.
• Energy (health) tanks implemented.
• Energy tank prefabs created.
• Wall cling controller script overhauled.
• Sprint, power dash and third jump while sprinting implemented.
• Power dash destroyes destructable and crumbling platforms.

Charged shots implemented. Change log:

• Charged alt fire implemented.
• Reactive weapon unlock pickups.
• Minor fixes and enhancements.

Ladder movement and ad hoc enhancements. Change log:

• Ability canceller script added.
• Ladder movement with shooting, jumping and animations implemented.
• New jump cycle with rising and falling segments added.
• Placeholder grappling animation state and cycle added.
• Various minor tweaks.

Huge amount of various changes made between August and December 2023. Change log:

• Adjustments to player movement mechanics, such as handling transitions from slopes to flat surfaces, and implementing a "hop" mechanism for smoother gameplay.
• Enhancements to support both horizontally and vertically narrow maps.
• Introduction of ability cancellers as destructible objects within the game, improving gameplay dynamics.
• Various user interface improvements, including messages displayed upon visiting map stations and pop-ups triggered by specific game actions.
• Implementation of navigation points, both unlocked and always active, to aid player exploration.
• Addition and updates to game assets, including new tilesets for buildings and plants, doodads, level elements, and graphical assets to enrich the game's visual appeal.
• Significant updates to the game's scenes, incorporating new level elements, graphics, and animations to enhance the overall player experience.
• Introduction of new gameplay features, such as wall clinging cooldowns, sliding from platforms, and a translator ability, expanding the game's mechanics.
• Technical improvements, including updates to collider sizes to avoid bugs, and revisions to prefab settings for consistency across test areas.
• Documentation and code maintenance efforts, including updating the save system to track new abilities and general code cleanup to improve readability and maintainability.

More changes made between 1st and 10th January 2024. Change log:

• Gameplay Mechanics Enhancements: Introduced hot reload for faster development cycles, added nuanced movement controls like cooldowns for horizontal movement to prevent spinning, acceleration for sprinting, and conditions for grappling. Improved jump mechanics with modifiers for sustained jumps and third jumps, contingent on gameplay conditions like cooldowns or double jump unlocks.
• Environmental Interaction and UI Improvements: Implemented reading inscriptions only when the player is stationary, displaying temporary solutions for tracking booleans, and updating wall cling controls. Enhanced user experience with updated animations, prefabs, and environmental assets like underwater zones, security scanners, and waterfall animations.
• Code and Asset Optimization: Focused on code cleanup and optimization, including setting methods to private, cleaning up controller codes for dash, shield, and spider ball controls, and removing unused directives. Updated development tools and editor settings for improved workflow efficiency.
• Level Design Updates: Added new enemy types with specific behaviors like Shooter-Plain, FacePlayer, and ShootPlayer scripts, enriching the game's challenge. Updated level assets to include new tilesets, security scanners with light cones, and underwater zones to diversify gameplay environments.
• Technical Improvements and Documentation: Updated various editor settings, refactored movement and health controller codes for better clarity and performance, and documented gameplay elements like grapple beam settings and underwater movement mechanics.

Final batch of changes made between 11th January and 25th February. Change log:

• Gameplay Mechanics and Control Improvements: Enhanced player control mechanics include refining jumping and movement, such as adding intervals between shots for weapons, disabling movement when inactive, and improving horizontal movement. Specific updates were made to ensure smoother transitions between different player states, like climbing, jumping, and interacting with ledges and slopes.
• Enemy Design and Interaction: Introduced new enemy types (Shooter-Plain, Walker-Limp, Walker-Run, and Flyer-Drone) with various behaviors and updated existing enemy assets for better integration into the game environment. These changes aim to diversify gameplay challenges and enhance the game's dynamic.
• Graphical Enhancements and Level Design: Updated and added new graphical assets, including tilesets for ground and level doors, to enhance the visual appeal and coherence of game levels. Significant level design updates include rebuilding areas with new ground tilesets, fixing misplaced tiles, and adding secret areas to explore, such as morph ball tunnels.
• Refactoring and Code Optimization: A substantial effort was made to clean up and refactor the game's codebase for better readability, maintainability, and performance. This includes organizing class properties, removing unused directives and variables, and improving method visibility for easier access across classes.
• Animation and State Management: Updated animations and state management to reflect the player's actions more accurately and smoothly transition between states. This includes fixing animation triggers, updating the player prefab, and adjusting how the game detects and reacts to player interactions with the environment.
• Miscellaneous Updates: Various other updates include editor settings adjustments, level map updates, and methodical fixes to enhance gameplay, such as preventing abuse of the jumping mechanic to affect animations unfairly.

Add inter-scene door barriers that react to particular variations of player shots in the style of Super Metroid. Change log:

• Add door barriers reacting to various player shots.

Code and asset refactoring. Change log:

• Performed state observer refactoring by breaking it down into `Ground`, `Horizontal`, `Input`, `Jump`, `Slopes`, `Special` and `Vertical` components, where each component takes care of only a subset of states previously handled by the `StateObserver` class. In addition, the checks that have been proven wrong have been redone and tested.
• The `StateObserver` itself has been made static and all the states it observes are static as well, leading to less clutter in classes using it. This class also handles assignment of values to the fields of observer components, i.e. it functions as a mediator and a facade for this functionality.
• Values of relevance for the animator are now set from within the `AnimatorHandler` class.
• Entire code base related to the player has been refactored and partially rewritten. Most significant change is the exclusion of the slopes steeper than 45° leading to redundancy of much of the code used to check whether the slope angles are within bounds. Player game object has been reorganized to achieve a flatter and thus easier to manage structure.
• Class fields and variables have been renamed so as to conform to Unity standards.
• Regions have been added to (almost) all classes so as to achieve the `Components`-`States`-`Fields` structure now common in the project.
• Cheat code functionality has been added to the game.
• Crystal pickups now feature `Rigidbody2D` components allowing them to fall if needed.
• Pop-up windows can now be closed with the cancel button.
• Light sources behind the `FogOfWar` objects are now turned off while the fog is visible.
• Unlocking door barriers with weapons more powerful than required is implemented.
• Closed #109, #112 and #114.

Area01 tileset refactoring. Change log:

• Refactored all of the tilesets used in Area01.

Removal of unused Area01 tilesets. Change log:

• Removed unused Area01 tilesets.

Improved Ladder Detachment. Change log:

• Removed redundant boolean value that controlled detachment. Refactored code to check if the player is touching ground beneath platform depth to prevent automatic detachment while only partially descended from a platform.

Update maps to use new tileset. Change log:

• Update all the level maps to use new tileset.

Final polish before release. Change log:

• Analog sticks as movement input options disabled (temporarily).
• Update levels with enemies, abilities, pickups, tutorial messages, etc.
• Make area map optional within a stage.
• Add revealed world map area stat for completionists' reference.
• Add "ball touch" switch trigger and extendable ladders.
• Enable spider ball on all stages.
• Enemies may drop ammo for the weapon they use if said weapon is unlocked.
• Update inter-stage doors with weapon-respondant barriers and particle effects.
• Add in-game status message at the bottom which reacts to pickups and such.
• Introduce cheat codes.
• Add new game icon.