Platypus Adventures 1.3 - The Underworld

Explore deep beneath the Boondaburra Forest, and discover The Underworld! An old cave network that leads through a spectacular aquifer, filled with mystery and wonder.

Update 1.3

In addition to the new area, I've also added new items and equipment, re-worked the boss fights, added a good variety of new wildlife and a bunch of new quality of life and accessibility features.

I hope you dig this update, and as always feedback is always appreciated! Share it with me in the Platypus Adventures discord server: https://discord.gg/euQg72B

Platypus Adventures 1.3 patch notes

Core changes

• Upgraded engine to Unreal Engine 5.4.3 - Added colour blind accessibility options - Added an optional contextual controls overlay - Added auto detect graphics settings to scale graphics based on the system - Added resolution settings and automatic resolution detection - Added a "Cayote Time" system to improve platforming gameplay - Added a Level Select menu option in the main menus - The inventory can now be operated with the 1,2,3,4,5 keys on the keyboard - Added a quicksave button for keyboard (F6) - Changed the reflection method to utilize Lumen reflections

New Content: Items and equipment

• Added an equippable Slingshot ranged weapon - Added Mushroom pickup item - Added Spike Seed pickup item - Added Ghost Mushroom 3 piece cosmetic set (Backpack, Hat and Armour pieces)

New Content: Characters

• Added Stingray character - Added Blue Tang character - Added Blacktip Reef Shark character - Added Scrub Turkey character - Added Scorpion character - Added Crow character - Added Snail character - Added Goby Character - Added Clownfish character - Added Seahorse character - Added Centipede character - Added Blind Cave Eel character - Added Hermit Crab character - Added playable character for split screen mode "K. Wala" - Added playable character for split screen mode "E. Kidna"

World changes

• Added new area "The Underworld" located in the Forest - Added more world ambient sounds - Added a small area behind the waterfall at Green Hill in the Forest - Added a few flocks of birds that fly towards the new content "The Underworld" in the Forest - Re-worked Snake's boss arena and boss fight - Re-worked Sea Eagle's boss fight - Re-worked Crocodile's arena and boss fight - Added an avoidable heat system to the desert - Added more covered areas in the desert, to compliment the new desert heat system - Reworked various elements of the world layout

Balance and adjustments

• Ladders now require the player to use an input to trigger, to avoid accidental climbing - Added underwater attack animations to Platy - Seagulls will now land on Platy and provide direct combat support - The heavy logs at the dam in the desert can now be attacked and destroyed - Added the ability to parry attacks from small creatures - Picking up items will no longer temporarily stop Platy's movement - Objects in the world will fade out when too close to the camera - The new game screen now resemble the start of the game - The new game screen now contains the full settings menu - Increased player steering response while swimming - Disabled player attacks while poisoned - Increased Snake boss health and damage output - Added random movement to some friendly characters where appropriate - Added a colour fade out to the death camera - Added a body to first person camera mode - Adjusted the first person camera position to properly match Platy's eye position - Increased Sun and Moon light intensity - Increased night time duration - Decreased enemy attack speed while underwater - Cassowary now helps to fight back the attackers before the Snake boss fight - Adjusted the look of water to improve the underwater/above water separation - Increased the damage taken from Boulders - Increased enemy movement speed

Fixes

• Fixed various issues related to Split Screen mode - Fixed an issue where some inventory actions would become visible at incorrect times - Fixed an issue where Windowed mode was not working properly - Fixed an issue where some graphics settings where not being saved correctly - Fixed an issue where pickup item text would sometimes display in the incorrect location - Fixed an issue where some pickup items could not be interacted with - Fixed an issue where riding Cassowary or Emu would reset the player camera position - Fixed an issue where the camera position could not be changed while riding cassowary or emu - Fixed an issue where the text prompt to ride Cassowary or Emu would sometimes show incorrectly - Fixed an issue where friendly characters where sometimes not buoyant while submerged in water - Fixed an issue where reversing the canoe would cause it to drift in the wrong direction - Fixed an issue where Platy was forced to stop riding Cassowary in the centre of the forest village - Fixed an issue where some music was repeating unintentionally - Fixed an issue where a quest marker was appearing unintentionally in the Forest area - Fixed an issue where Echidna sometimes would not clear a swinging vine gap - Fixed an issue where Crocodile would sometimes become knocked out of position during a scene - Fixed an issue where some characters where not appearing when loading into the world - Fixed an issue where the Snake boss would sometimes not appear at the start of the battle - Fixed an issue where the Snake boss would sometimes dissapear after constricting the player - Fixed an issue where the Snake boss music would sometimes not play - Fixed an issue where the diving animation was being triggered while using the swinging vine - Fixed an issue where the underwater post processing would display incorrectly - Fixed an issue where birds would sometimes spawn underwater - Fixed an issue where some fish and birds would spawn unable to move - Fixed an issue where some fish would swim at an incorrect angle - Fixed an issue where surfing a wave while picking up an item could soft lock platy - Fixed an issue where a Turtle in Yaringa village would repeatedly accept payment - Fixed an issue with the water bucket where it would clip through the ground if you fell - Fixed an issue where Platy could be burned by fire despite dousing it with water - Fixed an issue where holding the jump button could cause a soft lock - Additional fixes and optimizations