Update v0.9

Hey everyone, big news from The Return of the Dark Mage forge!

I've just tagged and pushed v0.9, and this update is packed with a bunch of enhancements focused on making the game feel more alive, responsive, and rewarding! We've been busy merging in some exciting changes, so let's dive into what's new.

Bringing the Juice! Animations & UI Polish (Pull Request #17)

A big part of this update was about adding that extra layer of "juice" – making interactions feel more impactful and the overall experience smoother.

• Silky Smooth Scene Transitions: Navigating between the title screen, the dungeon, and those (hopefully infrequent!) death or win screens is now much more pleasant. I've implemented new fade transitions. No more jarring cuts, just smooth sailing!
• Animated Selections: The trusty item/direction selector now has a little animation when you make a choice. It's a small touch, but it makes selections feel more dynamic and confirmed. You'll see the selector pulse nicely when you lock in your decision!
• Impactful Hits!: Combat feedback got a visual upgrade! When you land a hit on an enemy, or an enemy (or a trap!) lands one on you, you'll see a "Hit" animation pop up. It really helps to emphasize the action.
• Shields Up - With Sound!: Your trusty shield now makes a satisfying thwack or clink when it absorbs damage, providing crucial audio feedback.

Richer Rewards: Better Chest Generation (Pull Request #16)

We also took a look at how treasure chests are stocked, aiming to make them a bit more exciting.

• More Generous Chests: I've tweaked the logic for populating chests. This effectively doubles the pool of potential items (that meet the value criteria for the room's danger level) before items are selected for the chest. The goal here is to potentially offer a greater quantity or variety of loot, making cracking open a chest feel even more worthwhile!

And of course, wrapping all this up:

• Version v0.9: All these goodies are now officially part of version 0.9!

I'm really excited about these changes and how they improve the overall feel of The Return of the Dark Mage. The focus on animations, transitions, and sound, combined with refinements to core gameplay loops like looting, should make your dungeon delves even more engaging.

As always, thanks for following along! More updates to come as we continue to build and refine.

Happy (and now juicier) exploring!