What's New In Version 2
I've just released a second, more polished version of To See the Stars! And you might be wondering, what's new and what's still to come?
What Hasn't Changed
My inspiration hasn't changed much for this piece, though I have been listening more to the Minecraft OST, which was a bit of an unconscious inspiration for the first iteration of this as I've come to realize.
Quality of Life
There have been a few quality of life additions added. Firstly, more edge colliders have been added so you can't fall off the sides of the map.
Secondly, there are better trigger targets around objects in the scene so there is less fiddling needed to trigger audio cues.
Third, billboarding has been fixed so objects no longer hover over the player! You can now properly see things from all angles!
New Areas
Rather than punish players for trying to leave the map as they were able to in the previous build, now there are two new 'areas' of music present, both for ascending to great heights, and for walking off into the cosmos! It plays into a more surreal landscape, which suits this theme well!
New Audio
Now there are some new audio effects present as well! Walking around in the water splashes around, as does diving below! Additionally, the music is more muffled under the water. All of the music is now affected by the wide open space, rather than being quite so crisp as it used to be.
New Friends
Now you also have a few little friends who'll play you a song! Go keep them company and see what they'll play for you on this isolated planet.
Comments
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Really nice additions and polish! I especially like the decision to open up the boundaries of the environment. It nicely acknowledges players who don't choose to stay on the main path and makes the space around you feel even more expansive and surreal.
The only thing that feels a bit off for me is the trigger behavior for the alien musicians. Partly because their animations suggest they are always playing I feel like their music should fade in and out as I get closer or farther away, rather than abruptly come in or cut off when I approach or walk away. I think they would feel more integrated into the space if either their music had a smooth distance-based roll-off or if their animations only played when you can hear them. Also, this might take more effort than its worth, but it would be a really nice touch if their animations exactly matched their music, only moving on each note.