Issue #4 · · Ghastasaucey

Morning Post #4: Hygro Plantago Trial Arrives

This issue covers the July 31 beta release of 0.17q: the Hygro Plantago Trial, Wheel Zombie and nut-plant interaction fixes, Pine Zombie and The Pond details, localization and subtitle improvements, and future plans for the Sands boss, the next chapter, Snowbloom Palace, and Applayer.

Good morning, everyone! It's the last day of July! So let's take a look at this week's Morning Post—and this week's beta release.

Cover doodle for this issue: hand-drawn Hygro Plantago~~~
Cover doodle for this issue: hand-drawn Hygro Plantago~~~

Foreword

We are giving the art a little more time to catch up this week. This beta brings a few other additions instead, and I also want to share some of our recent art progress…

Content Log

First up is the Hygro Plantago Trial. More Trials will be added one by one over the next few releases.

Hygro Plantago Trial instructions: absorb liquid in a 3×3 area and convert it into effect smoke covering the same area
Hygro Plantago Trial instructions: absorb liquid in a 3×3 area and convert it into effect smoke covering the same area

Next comes a long list of smaller refinements. Wheel Zombies facing the opposite direction can now push the wheel, and each push now takes effect at the correct moment.

A reverse-facing Wheel Zombie pushing the wheel
A reverse-facing Wheel Zombie pushing the wheel
A Wall-nut blocking a Wheel Zombie from pushing the stone wheel
A Wall-nut blocking a Wheel Zombie from pushing the stone wheel

Nut plants now counter Wheel Zombie more effectively: a single Wall-nut can stall one for a long time. We also fixed a bug that allowed Wheel Zombie to keep pushing its wheel after changing lanes mid-push.

Frozen Pine Zombies no longer jump backward when hit. The Pond now works properly in “Chain Reaction.” The sun-counter transition in the upper-left corner of the tutorial now lines up better with the story sequence. Glory Skill hotkeys now behave more sensibly in Sandbox. Subtitle rendering also received a broad round of polish, especially for languages other than Chinese.

Finally, we synchronized a number of localization details, with particular improvements to Vietnamese and Russian.

Some Future Plans

First up is the final art, music, and animation for the Sands boss. Animation work has now begun; the core artwork is complete and is being refined.

I hope to have the boss's final artwork and music in the next beta.

Work-in-progress final art for the Sands boss: a black-and-green dragon beneath an aurora
Work-in-progress final art for the Sands boss: a black-and-green dragon beneath an aurora

Beyond that, work on the next chapter is already underway. For example, here are some early art sketches for the chapter from a friend who recently joined the project:

Character and plant action sketches for the next chapter
Character and plant action sketches for the next chapter

Finally, we have also started on some substantial new content for Snowbloom Palace, along with more involving Applayer. I very much hope we can share all of it with you in the next beta…

Aside

The Hygro Plantago Trial was originally designed with four stages. Right before release, however, the fourth stage was cut for a few reasons.

So why was it cut? I will release the stage as a DIY level on pvzvoyage.com—try it for yourself if you are curious!

That's it for this week's Morning Post — see you next week!