Thank you for your kind words. 💙
Where is the option to make a stand-alone app in GameMaker 2? I couldn't find it, it isn't where it was in GM1.4.
The background layers are currently stored as large files -- at 640x640, a 36-frame animation fits on a 4096x4096 texture, and most of these are 12 frame or fewer. I would have liked to have used shaders and palette rotation tricks, but 48 hours wasn't enough time to plan. I'd like to revisit this using the animated tile system.