2026 Update

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Where have we been?

Well, it's been... what, over 7 months since the last blog? Ouch.
To cut it short, in November I started a course that has pretty much taken all of my time and energy, prompting a huge change in routine.
That's about it. There was some little work done around the start of the year, but that has only made me realise something.

During the development of Deep Down Demo, I've really pushed what I could get done in Gamemaker, the game engine Spring Escape is made in. I wouldn't say I pushed the engine itself to its limits, there's plenty of games that do even wilder stuff, but when it came to how much I could handle, it has started to reach a limit of sorts.

Slow compile times, editor lag, nameless error messages, really hard iteration processes, and a whole load of other issues... it's been tough to get more and more things done in this engine, which is why...



Spring Escape is waiting!

...for who?

well... someone.
It didn't say for sure it'd come.

And if it doesn't come?

We'll come back tomorrow!

And then the day after tomorrow...

...possibly.

Come on... let's keep going.

We can't.

Why not?

We're waiting for Godot!

Moving to Godot

Spring Escape is currently getting ported to Godot Engine!
While everything will be as 1:1 as possible, some technical additions include:

* Unlimited FPS cap option
* The use of a bigger resolution of 480x270 pixels
* Use of delta time to keep things running well during lag
* Robust collisions! You won't just fly by looking at dirt funny


The bigger resolution was added to give more space on screen for both level design and menus, which always struggled with the screen's small resolution.
Environments also feel a lot bigger, allowing for more complex scenes and less cramped level layouts.

You'll still be able to import your current save data from the Gamemaker version at any time, with the exception of Blossom Time records, time to grind again!

Aside from this small setback, the game is still heading on the same direction, no huge changes of plan. However, with Godot having easier support for certain features... bigger possibilities are in hand.

As for how the porting is going, here's a list of some key things:

* Patchy is fully done, you may find they move a little faster!
* All of Sector A's mechanics have been recreated.
* The first hubworld has been remade.
* Steamworks support works.


Here's a short clip of the new first level of Spring Escape (everything is still a work in progress)

Of course, such a change is going to slow down the development of new things for the game by a lot, but I promise it's going to be worth it!
The current version of Deep Down Demo will remain up and playable for the time being, but I may consider creating a new demo closer to release.

Thank you for continuing to follow along with the game's development.