The first major post-launch update for Feed IT Souls: DOME Edition is here.

The goal of Feed IT Souls has always been to challenge the player, pushing them beyond their comfort zone. Not so far that they end up frustrated enough to throw their Game Boy at the wall, but certainly enough to make them sweat such that, if they do reach the end credits, they will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment (but actually, lol). 

I've been listening carefully to player feedback over the last couple of weeks and have decided too many players are being pushed too far beyond their comfort zone on Easy difficulty setting. Most of the playtesters for FITS were in fact speedrunners of the jam version. As a result, v1.0 is simply too hard for casual players. I want to make sure Easy difficulty is at least a little more welcoming while still retaining that challenge (it's only called "Easy" because its easy relative to Hard mode!).

So with all that said, version 1.1 focuses on improving the player experience for those that are finding it too frustrating by smoothing difficulty spikes, and giving players more control over how they explore the world. I have also updated the digital manual to clarify a few more game details.

Thanks for your feedback and support. This is the first game I am publishing on my own, so please rate, review and share Feed IT Souls: DOME Edition if you think it is worthy and to support me on my quest to be a self-sustaining Game Boy developer.

Below is a full breakdown of what’s new.

Happy gaming,
Tom (Gumpy Function)

Updated Digital Manual

Two new manual pages added to the digital manual. They cover save statue, checkpoint statue and palette statue functionality as well as a detailed breakdown of the world map features and icons. 

Additions

• Checkpoint Map Access
  You can now open the world map from nearly all checkpoint statues by pressing Up. This provides quick navigation and route-planning without needing to return to a save room. Note: saving is disabled when accessing the map via a checkpoint.
• Additional Checkpoint
  A new checkpoint has been added to Caves 2 to improve pacing and reduce repetition fatigue.
  
• (SPOILER) Optional Egg Location Reveal
  Players now choose whether remaining egg locations appear on the map once all souls have been retrieved. This choice is found in the room to the right of the portal hub.

Changes

• The map’s objective marker has been revised to better flag the critical path in some areas.
• Instead of revealing areas based on the number of souls collected, the map now updates based on what rooms the player has entered.
• A number of targeted adjustments have been made to soften difficulty spikes on Easy difficulty setting in the following areas:
  – O-Zone 3 (Before first auto-scroller section)
  – Surface
  – Caves 2
  – Factory X 2

Fixes

• Resolved an issue in Factory X 2 where the Muckman above the lower entrance wouldn’t reset to its initial position after being defeated and re-entering the room.
• Corrected an initialization error in the palette selection menu that caused the palette menu cursor to initialize with a -1 tile offset.
• Fixed an error where the player could be incorrectly sent to the DOME save room instead of IT’s chamber if entering IT’s chamber before obtaining the fourth soul.
• Tidied up formatting issues in The Head of DOME’s dialogue windows.

Please note: Because some variable memory addresses are likely dissimilar across different versions of FITS, v1.0 save files may not be compatible with Feed IT Souls: DOME Edition v1.1.