It's been about 6 years since Vanadius originally launched. That's a long time! I decided I should port Vanadius to an engine that isn't Gamemaker (so I'm not bound to it anymore), but I went a little overboard and added quite a bit of stuff.

That led to Vanadius: Anniversary Edition! An updated port to the Godot Engine with tons of new features and enhancements (see the last post for a bit more information, as well as screenshots). It's out now!

The main point of this post is to give a more detailed log of changes made in this version. So here goes:

Changelog

Differences between Vanadius Classic and Anniversary / Version 1.3.0 Changelog

+ Added a new ending
+ Added 15+ new rooms, with 4 new collectibles
+ Added more interactable objects to the environment
+ Full Controller Support
    + The tutorial now has proper button prompts
    + By default, the game will attempt to automatically determine if you are playing with keyboard or controller
+ Completely redesigned the pause menu
    + Added a map that fills in as you explore
+ Revamped the settings menu with new options
    + Master Volume
    + Pause on Lost Focus
    + Button Prompt Type
+ Added an icon above objects that can be interacted with
+ Added additional backgrounds to the title screen
    + The background is chosen based on the area last saved in, rather than being chosen at random
+ Added more visual effects and sound effects for various interactions
+ Added additional visual cues to improve accessibility
+ Added unlockable shortcuts for long areas
+ Added unlockable gold stars to the title screen to indicate completion. Can you get them all? (There's 3)
    + Stars are permanent and will not be lost when starting a new save

* Rewrote most text to be more cohesive
* Settings can now be accessed from the pause menu
* Pits now need to be interacted with to fall down them
* The playtime counter now increments even if the game is paused
* Many, many room layout changes to be more intuitive and forgiving
* Revisiting the Clock Tower after completing it does not start a timer (Clock Tower longplay)
* Tweaks to the flask-dodging sequence in the Lab
    * Lasers have been replaced by spikes
    * There is now a visible timer
* Lots of sprites have been cleaned up
* Cave rooms are now cave-shaped
* Dialogue that prompts for an option has been made more consistent
* Loading a game and starting a new game now shows more detailed information about the current save file
* The game now runs in fullscreen by default
    * This change is to reduce stuttering. Stuttering may be more noticeable in windowed mode.
* Completed rooms no longer need to be completed again
* Many, many other changes

- Removed the ability to quit to the menu directly from the death screen
- Removed the ability to warp to the starting area from the pause screen
- Removed the Sentry Indicator

Source Code

The source code for this release is also available!

You can see it at https://github.com/kitsting/vanadius-godot

I don't plan on releasing the source code for the Gamemaker version, since it's very buggy and Gamemaker refuses to open it in newer versions.

What Now?

Anniversary edition or not, if you're reading this, I hope you enjoyed (or will enjoy!) Vanadius. I don't plan on adding anything to it again ever, except for maybe some small patches and occasionally updating it so it can run on the future's modern systems. Thank you.

I have a few game ideas bouncing around, so the next thing I release will probably be something completely new. There may be callbacks to Vanadius, though...