Vertical Velocity 2.0 is here!

Vertical Velocity 2.0 — The Full Rehaul Update

The 2.0 update completely overhauls Vertical Velocity from the ground up.
This build refines every system — from player physics and camera behavior to boss encounters, audio, and UI — resulting in tighter controls, smoother flow, and a much more polished experience overall.

Core Systems & Player

• Rebuilt PlayerLauncher with drag thresholds, cooldowns, perfect launches, and velocity caps.

• Added perfect launch particles and SFX.

• Unified collision and death handling through the new GameManager.

• Improved consistency across spikes, bosses, and hazards.

GameManager

• Implemented as a persistent Singleton.

• Manages death FX, slow-motion, growth/shrink, respawn, and scene resets.

• Added autosave for tutorial scenes and manual save slots in the pause menu.

• R key resets any level for speedrunners.

• Integrated global pitch shift during slow motion.

Camera Systems

• CameraController: smooth follow, parallax, screen shake, and focus hints.

• CameraWaypointController: supports cinematic sequences such as boss intros.

• Preliminary CameraBarrier system to limit camera outrun speed.

Enemies & Hazards

• Spikes redesigned for clarity and instant kills.

• ThornThrower: rotating flower turret with full FX and attack phases.

• Geysers, Spike Elevators, Wind Tunnels, and Lightning Bolts added as new hazards.

• Major boss overhauls:

  • LogBoss: cinematic intro, rolling chase, destructible tilemaps, impact FX.

  • LavaBoss (CoreBoss): dynamic lava rise, rumble intro, rock spawning, victory fanfare.

  • CliffsBoss: maze arena with fog timer and snake finale event.

Audio

• Complete soundtrack integrated.

• Added SFX for launch, drag, impact, and hazard types.

• Ambient and environmental layers (wind, rumble, lava).

• AudioManager with individual sliders for Master, Music, SFX, and UI.

UI & Menus

• New main menu and pause menu layouts.

• Expanded settings: Audio, Graphics, Cursor, and Save panels.

• Added save slot previews with screenshots and delete/load functions.

• Graphics panel now supports resolution and fullscreen options.

Visuals & FX

• Updated UI and environmental sprites.

• New particle systems for leaves, mud, wind, and tile destruction.

• Enhanced boss impact effects and screen shake feedback.

Code & Level Updates

• Unified Manager System (GameManager, SpeedRunManager, SaveSystem).

• Removed redundant legacy scripts and simplified hazard logic.

• Core and Forest regions finalized, including LogBoss.

• Cliffs region complete (tutorial + 3 levels + boss).

• Clouds region Level 1 added, with more content planned.