TLDR: Jump Adventures will be free. A quality-of-life update is coming in the next few weeks.
It's been a little over two years since I released Jump Adventures. This is pretty much my first commercial project, and I'm grateful for anyone who purchased the game and provided valuable feedback. Unfortunately, the game didn't meet my post-launch expectations.
Despite the disappointing release, I decided to give the game a second chance by making it free with a few improvements to make it more accessible.
The game will release for free alongside a quality-of-life patch: new languages, performance improvements and bug fixes. Existing owners don't need to do anything: you'll keep the game in your library and receive the same update as everyone else. I don't have a specific release date for this patch, but I'm confident I can release it within the next few weeks, as the majority of the work is already done.
A while back, I started experimenting with making a level editor for the game, using the Godot editor as a base. The functionality for custom levels was present all the way back in 2023, but I never used it outside of official levels.
I want to set proper expectations, however. This is not going to be an extremely beginner-friendly approach to making levels. My initial plan was to build a fully in-game editor that would be approachable and easy to use for everyone. After experimenting with it, I realized that building such a tool to the standard I wanted would require a substantial amount of development time. Instead, I'm taking a different approach. The tooling, while not purpose-built from scratch, will still have automatic setup process that will hopefully significantly reduce friction.
The level editor and Workshop are being developed alongside my current main project, so I don't want to give a release window. I'll be providing updates whenever I have anything worthwhile to share.
Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who bought the game, played it, and took the time to share feedback. Even though the game didn't turn out the way I hoped commercially, I'm glad I made it, and I think making it free is the best way to give it another chance.
I hope the upcoming update makes the game a better experience for both existing players and anyone discovering it for the first time. And if the level editor and Workshop eventually make it into your hands, I hope you'll have fun creating things I never thought to make myself.