What a ride since the last stable release and patch notes back in April last year.. I got a new full-time job, 2nd son was born in August 2021, and we - my wife & our children - finally moved to our new house beginning this year. Well, Im not really here to talk about my IRL events (unless you want to know more?), but more to announce that this new stable release brings a lot of bug fixes and enhancements that I have been carefully working on last year. See all changes list at the bottom of this post to learn more. The most important news is indeed that the local co-operation mode is now out of beta and available to all players. No new content, but a devlog showing whats next this year will follow in a couple of weeks.
So, this local co-op mode will allow up to 4 players to play locally on the same screen, or using the Remote Play Together feature from Steam. Full gamepad support, but player 1 may use the keyboard instead if prefered while others must play using gamepads. Another important thing to mention is that I reworked entirely the game camera to make it flexible enough for whats next. Currently the camera will stick to a random player that is alive (normally the most advanced one in the current level). Players who die or fall will pop into a bubble. Bubbles should pop-out once they overlay another non-bubbled players around safe areas. Anyway it is possible to remain bubbled the whole level. If no players are alive, current level will restart and current progression in that level will be reset.
Additionally this update brings a lot of bug fixes, enhancements, and non visible changes that should enhance your gaming experience. This was also a good opportunity to prepare lots of stuff for whats next, but I'll talk about that specifically in a separate post. [hr][/hr]

Update installation insctructions

Before updating the game, please make sure to uninstall the existing version of the game you have. Then reinstall the game with the latest available version. Please, notice that you'll loose your current progression. This is temporary. I will workt on a solution in the next updates. In the meantime, I'll keep providing save game files that you can manually add to the game files. See section below.

Using an archive save file

I have created a post Save Files Archive in the General Discussions sub-forum with instructions on how to restore save files. Plus I added a download list of save files that you can use to unlock the Forest and/or Beach environments. You're free to use these save files in case you lost your progression, and don't want to start from zero. Anyway, please, be aware that it won't unlock achievements automatically. More info on what each save game file does directly within the forum post. If you run into issues or would like to share some feedbacks, please make sure to create a new post on related sub-forums:

• Bugs & Issues (link to sub-forum)
• Feedbacks & Ideas (link to sub-forum)

You can also join our friendly Discord server if you prefer and use according channels depending on your request. [hr][/hr]

Changes list

Find below a detailed list of all changes included in this new stable version. This is a copy of my devlog notes I updated daily through last year while developing these changes.

New features

• Local co-op feature up to 4 players out of beta!
• Characters selection screen - It is also possibilite to select different food type: currently steak, chicken leg, carrot, and brocoli are available;
• New camera system - Reworked the camera entirely. Added lerp functions to smooth camera moves and avoid eye sicknesses. In local coop, camera will always target the player with the highest X position value. This local coop camera is a temporary solution for now and will evolve depending on players feedback;

Enhancements

• Controls - Player 1 can play using a keyboard or gamepad, while others (player 2, 3, and 4) must play using gamepads;
• Level HUDs - Now invisible by default. Steak and crate counts are shown for a few seconds when you collect them, and then disappear. You can see them anytime while pausing the game;
• Crates - Added Squash & Stretch animations to all crates (wood, metal, metal wood, TNT, and Nitro);
• Player Lifes - If a player takes a damage and has no heart left, Dino won't rise up, and level will restart;
• Overworld map - One cloud chosen randomly will pull out his tongue for a few seconds - as suggested by @EighthRikks during his Twitch stream - Thanks for this funny idea!
• Level updates:
  • Level 5 (Forest): Moved a hive further to avoid a very complex situation where too much bees spawn at the same time (see screenshot below);
    
  • Level 8 (Forest): Added one non breakable crate at the beginning of the level to give players an alternative path to climb for these who struggle with bridges and bridge posts (see screenshot below);
    
  • Level 19 (Beach): Monkeys should no longer attack players while speaking to octopus;

Bug fixes

• Overworld Map:
  • Fixed a couple of issues related to the bottom bar showing inappropriate tiles in a few cases;
  • Removed unused enemies count on bottom bar;
• HUDs - Food icon will now match your food preference set on the character select screen;
• Bees - Fixed a bug where bees sometimes got stuck;
• Crates:
  • Fixed a bug while sometimes players can't destroy or jump on a crate;
  • Fixed another bug while player 2, 3, or 4 couldn't bounce on bouncing crates;
  • Metal jump crates - spawned via transparent crates - weren't making player jump anymore (as seen in screenshot below). This was a regression issue due to a rework on transparent crates behavior. Now fixed;
    
• Level bug fixes:
  • Level 13 (Beach): Heart animation wasn't starting automatically;
    
  • Level 15 (Beach): Fixed a bug where a heart could be stuck between metal crates in some cases. Thanks @Dark_Lake89 for the bug report!;

[hr][/hr] That's it for today! Thank you for your time, and support. Talk to you soon, Antoine G. A very big thanks to our patrons for their amazing support:

• @alexdumont
• @bloodyspasm
• @D4ddyRazzy
• @Dark_Lake89
• @DevillersJerome
• @CharlesIsat
• @harpie_be
• @kindeyegames

And also to our Discord community for their precious help! Here are a few ways to get in touch:

• Discord: discord.gg/A8DGFx5
• Twitter: @__sleepingpanda
• Instagram: instagram.com/_sleepingpandagames
• YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC2QgF84ZA-iBa6mlQQuF8Jg
• Facebook: facebook.com/sleepingpandagames
• Patreon: patreon.com/sleepingpanda
• Website: sleepingpanda.games