Hello again,

Development of the demo is going nicely, so here is some major progress:

• The second boss is nearly completed; he just needs some SFX, balancing, and the implementation of his arena gimmicks.
• The second level revamp is near completion.
• The first level revamp has begun.
• Enemy pathfinding is more responsive.
• I decided to slightly rework the "camera heads" to have a more unique attack. Instead of shooting a singular bolt, they now shoot three bolts in a spread-out manner (basically like shotgunners). I made this change because the red laser enemies functioned similarly with just a few differences, and since the demo has deviated from my original design document, it felt appropriate to have the camera heads fill a different niche.
• The item progression tracker and time tracker systems have been added. I will implement them in the save system once the end-of-demo zone is done.
• I decided that the end-of-demo zone will be built from an unfinished map to save time.
• I’ve chosen to make the max FPS option 120, with the recommended being 60 for a more stable experience if 120 is inconsistent. I'll confess this is the area of expertise I lack the most, and I’d love to get help from a backend programmer if the Ko-fi is successful.
• The music that will be present in the demo is completed.

Potential Setback: Godot 4.3 is seemingly around the corner. It’s noted that it's mainly QoL changes, so it shouldn't break anything, but you never know. I don’t build things with engine janks or bugs, so I trust that it won't cause issues. One thing I took note of is that 4.3 has improvements in level geometry performance. So if the demo isn't planned for release when 4.3 drops, I'll update to it. Otherwise, I'll make the first major patch of the demo use 4.3 (you guys have waited long enough, and I don't want to look like a fool who can't keep a release date every time I announce one).

UPDATE 8/15/2024: Godot 4.3 is here, I'll get on that ASAP.

I also plan on going on vacation next Friday, so the next bi-weekly update will be on the lighter side. Looking at the unfinished things I’ve listed and not listed, I’m glad I decided to delay the demo. I would’ve had to crunch and release a rushed product, and I don’t want that at all—it’s my baby, after all.

TL;DR: 

 The demo is nearly 85% done. See you next time!