Loop For A While v0.3

v0.3

New

• A second area has been added: Meadows. Its time for some peace and quiet, surely!
• CODEX — a malfunctioning chip that catalogs everything you encounter across loops. Appears next to the Journal once the loop memory persists. Tabs: Hostiles, Anomalies, Items, Objects, Terrain, Documents. Each entry shows reactions from the host alongside any intercepted signal. Enemy entries link to their anomaly traits. Discovered notes are permanently readable in Documents. Bonus note pickups display a short explanation of what they unlock
• One-shot actions: hold Shift while queuing to mark an action as one-shot — it executes once then automatically removes itself from the queue. One-shot actions are tinted yellow for easy identification (Credits to Hydration)
• A new skill is now obtainable (Credits to Hydration)
• Mana fragments: set auto-use threshold (unlockable)
• Crystals: set auto-use threshold (unlockable)
• Ambush Mastery: a new technique can be discovered (unlockable)
• Shrine of Focus Pressure II and III now have additional rewards (unlockable). Pressure II and III was reset on old saves to challenge again
• Added brief explanation text when unlocking Focus and its upgrades
• Added new misc notes
• Some objects will now be sealed behind mysterious barriers (Credits to Naikoraptor)
• Hovering a key in your inventory now highlights all matching discovered locks in the world (Credits to Potatomaster)
• Added permanent ×0.5 and ×2 speed toggles to the control panel. Only one speed mode can be active at a time
• Added a Reset Progress button. All progress is permanently wiped on confirmation
• Killing or interacting with certain objects can free something nearby
• Some enemies can now be interacted with instead of fought
• Interacting with certain objects now triggers a fade to black

Changes

• Mana fragments and crystals are now used immediately on the first action after pickup
• Reworked Focus – it no longer speeds up the next action. Now it reduces instability instead (Credits to Rewind610)
• Empty containers permanently show as a darkened (used) texture once searched
• Each action in the Action Picker now has a “+” button that queues it without closing, making it easier to queue multiple actions in a row
• Slightly reduced the default size of all interactables, enemies, and NPCs for a cleaner look and better tile readability. Pot size reduced further to better communicate that they are walkable. Item pickups reduced in size even further to better distinguish them from interactables
• A few narrative reactions rewritten for better accuracy
• All bonus note pickups now display a short explanation of what they unlock
• Entity reactions (enemies, items, interactables etc.) moved from the Journal to the CODEX — as a result Journal is now slimmer and more readable
• Enemy tags are hidden until you've fought them once
• Right-clicking a tile with only one possible action now queues it directly, no popup
• Pressure I trials now show their Max Instability reward
• Cursed interactables are visually tinted purple, matching corrupted enemies

Balance

• Reworked instability curve — build-up accelerates meaningfully over longer loops
• Reworked skill XP curve — early levels feel similar to before, but amount required grows significantly past level 15
• Focus is exempt from generating instability when used
• Crystals now reduce future instability build-up rate in addition to current value
• Significantly decreased mana/time costs of instability tiers, while lowering the ceiling from 2.0 to 1.5
• Familiarity no longer reduces instability overhead — familiar actions are still faster, but instability pressure applies to the full base duration
• Corrupted enemies now scale instability cost with loop progress — hits harder late, lighter early.
• Trial Pressure II now curses all interactable objects
• Exploring deeper zones yields more skill experience, even for same actions
• Nerfed basic skill (movement, combat, interact) milestones multi from 1.25 -> 1.1, 1.15 and 1.2 per milestone
• Lowered level requirements for both mana 20 -> 15, 30 -> 25 and skill milestones 30 -> 20, 50 -> 30, since req xp now scales far more after lvl 15

Fixes

• Shrine menu now correctly displays hidden rewards for unchallenged pressure levels
• Action queue scrollbar is now draggable
• Scrollbar no longer extends under the help button
• Scrollbar highlights on hover to indicate it's interactive
• Queue insert cursor/hover no longer renders over the scrollbar
• Fixed journal not updating with new entries when opened via keyboard shortcut (J)
• Fixed player performing a phantom move after stopping, clearing the queue, and resuming
• Fixed player not resuming execution after inserting actions into the middle of the queue
• Fixed removing queued actions incorrectly shifting subsequent actions instead of leaving them anchored in place
• Fixed queue strip cursor going out of bounds after undo/redo or removing actions with cursor active
• Fixed player getting stuck after removing or undoing actions while the queue was mid-execution
• Backtracking between zones is now possible. Reaching a zone edge automatically steps you into the adjacent zone, allowing you to plan and execute routes in both directions
• Fixed the queue ghost preview drawing from the wrong tile when planning at the end of a broken route
• Fixed appending new actions to a broken route reconnecting the entire route incorrectly
• Fixed cursor showing green for tiles that are unreachable due to a blocked path