New Features
Cinematic Level System - New scripted sequence levels with camera movement, dialogue, and no player input required. Used for story-driven moments between gameplay
Menu Pause Freezes Game World - Opening the pause menu now properly freezes the game world with a grayscale effect, preventing any background gameplay while paused
Controller Support Improvements - B button now closes menus and overlays. ESC handling unified across all game states for consistent navigation
Speech Audio with Intercom Echo - Dedicated speech audio channel with echo effects for intercom
Scientist Reaction Dialogues - Scientists now react to events happening around them (acid barrels, doors, vents, creatures) with contextual dialogue
Otto Introduction - New character introduction dialogue with branching reactions based on your choices
Preview Prompt Improvements - Level preview prompt now shows level number, pulses, fades
Tentacle Eye Tracking - Tentacle creature eyes now follow the player with every step, not just during attacks
Blood Absorber Cleaning - Saturated clothing gets cleaned when stepping on clean floor tiles
Sector 3 Content and Revised Sector 2 - New art-test infirmary level,
Bug Fixes
Fixed items pushed into tentacle tips incorrectly causing a "move"
Fixed ESC during level preview opening the menu instead of closing the preview
Fixed overlay navigation stack corruption from multiple sources (overworld init, community panel, duplicate pushes)
Fixed recipe outputs not triggering scientist reactions
Fixed camera not following player on first play from level editor
Fixed tongue creature state corruption when multiple creatures shared a position
Fixed hint bar blocking mouse clicks on level preview buttons
Improvements
Music now seamlessly cross-fades when the same track is re-selected instead of awkward silence
Steam leaderboard scores now upload immediately on level completion
Door animations simplified and shortened
Improved depth sorting on game map walls and decorations
Reduced outline artifacts on semi-transparent edges
Ghost inputs after pause/unpause transitions are now prevented
Reset timer properly cancels when opening menus
Dialogue camera uses consistent grid-aligned positions
Cinema bars animate properly through menu transitions