072623 Cosmogelica Build And Demo Date Announcement

First, if you didn't hear, Cosmogelica will be coming to SAGE 2023 on September 1st, 2023! Everyone will be able to download the demo then and check it out. I hope you look forward to it!

Today I come to testers with a new build. This one completely overhauls how backgrounds are loaded in, making them a lot more complex and detailed. It also overhauls enemy behavior in a way that I'm hoping is much more fair, but still quite tough. Here are the patch notes:

===== IMPORTANT =====

• I've rewritten the scene loader entirely and created a bunch of new graphics for the scenes, giving them an overhaul.
• The new scene system has foreground elements that are presented in a random order each run, allowing for a ton of variety and overall just a better visual presentation.
• Since this is a huge change, there's bound to be bugs. Please let me know if you see anything weird!

===== NEW =====

• You can now disable radio chatter (voice callouts.)
• You can now darken the playfield background to create a higher contrast between background and gameplay elements.
• The game now pops up a notification when you're on your last chance (Endless Type A only.)
• The stats panel (lives, missiles, etc) now slides out when a player is nearby it (so it doesn't obscure the player + bullets.)
• Custom borders are implemented now! You can find them in the Game settings on the menu, and you can have up to 8. There's more instructions there, so please check it out if you're interested (and let me know if you find any issues.)
• Note: If you intentionally put a corrupt file for a custom border, the game will not start up at all, so please don't do this.
• You can now adjust the dynamic difficulty scaling for the game. You can either turn it down for an easier game, or turn it up for an extreme challenge.
• You can now adjust how much damage you receive from enemy attacks and environmental effects. You can either turn it down to take less damage, or turn it up to take more damage.
• When using either of these difficulty modifiers, the modifier you're using will be drawn on the screen. You may not change this.
• Added "Shmup Mode" which disables your Special Weapon, but allows you to instead move at half speed when you press the button.
• You may now see your ending rank as well as your average rank at the end of a run.
• You can now change your weapons on the End Run screen before restarting the run.
• A scrollbar and some arrows have been added to menus that are long enough to have them.
• A soft shadow has been added to gel to allow it to stick out from the environment more.
• Added the SAGE 2023 splash screen.

===== IMPROVED =====

• The effect for when the screen has been cleared of bullets due to player death or winning a phase has been increased considerably.
• Improved the initial loading screen to represent that it's loading, just in case you don't have an M.2 SSD to load all the game files instantly from.

===== CHANGED =====

• The intro disclaimer text has been changed.
• Bullets no longer have extra momentum based on how fast the playfield is scrolling.
• Enemy behavior has been adjusted considerably to make it tough but fair.
• Songs now start a little faster than they did previously.
• Notifications have been moved to the top of the screen.
• Changed how the credits screen is drawn for compatibility with the new level loader.
• The sound effect for picking up coins has been quieted down some.

===== BUG FIXES =====

• Fixed a bug where meteors wouldn't scroll properly in certain situations.
• Fixed a bug where the first run of the game would always use the barrier gel.
• Fixed a bug where the flying mice wouldn't look right when pausing the game.
• Fixed a bug where the bees had collision when spawning but not when their spawn animation was finished (shoulda been the other way round.)
• Fixed a bug where "Fuel Used" would show twice on the End Run screen.
• Fixed a bug where the game could give you like 3-4 shot powerups at once, instantly making you OP.
• Fixed a bug where "Change Crew Member" would show on the "Pop Balloons" mode (your weapons are fixed in that mode.)
• Fixed a bug where "Skip Intros" would hang around on the logo splash screen for a few seconds anyways (just without showing anything.)
• Fixed a bug where the bat spawn in color was always dark before it was spawned in completely (it's supposed to smoothly fade in like the other enemies do.)

Thank you!

Thank you to the following people and everyone who makes this possible:

11Natrium, Ahty, Shadow8t4, Alicia Goranson, Carlis A. Moore., Anteater, Arron Savage, AshiPaws, Bizarre Machinist, Boozel, Brandt Howard, Spyduck, Cactus Bat, Caliburn Absolute, Circlingnugget, Claire Eckelman, Clover Arizona, Colonel Sandwich, Judah the Cookie Dragon, Daniel Rotwind, Dare Looks, Darkonius Mavakar, DimSumthing, DisQorded, Dizmus, DoricDream, EZGames69, EveryZig314, Fábio Fontes, Fao, FaultBat, Flake, Flaki, FoxyDude, Galuade, Gri, GloopQueen, Goronhead, Goupilleau, Gray Bell, Greuppe, Hazel Stagner, Holly 'Frinkel' Lotor, Jack O'Connor, Jammy, Jo Polaris, Joanna Jones, Jyrki, Kabit, Kaylex Deer, Keyes, Hulex Fox, Kirbizard, Kohaku Katou, Krazinsky, Kulkart, Trash, Legiayayana, Lorxus, Lulla, Luna Moona the Little Kahuna, Maniko, phantomsqueaks, Mark Cope, Marlyn, Maxine Red, Mello the Ferret, Micky 'Leviathan' W., Midori, Axel Husky, NovaSquirrel, Nuck, Okesska, Piper Malone, Raegal Boggart, RawrParty, Rhaen, Vinyl, Roger Tyranny, Ryunohito, RAVE_R0Ak, Cam D'Arcy, Saxxon Fox, Scylla-Leeezard, Ansel Geisel, Sharb, Some Egrets, Sqx. Flann, Stitch The626th, Swirlate, Tala Cuthbert, Tarocco, Tigersonalex, Touku, Upscale Furry Trash, Vectrobe, William 'Kenku' Swiftfoot, Xkeeper, darkwitchclaire, green, caseJackal, indrora, Luka 'Lumia', meerm, nickisdoge, raine, rainedoe, Foxxhoria, ubuntor, sol

There will probably be one or two more builds as I work toward the SAGE 2023 version, and then we'll be ready to rock. I hope you're as excited to play it as I am to present it!