Velvet

v1.0 Full public release and Steam launch Major redesign from the earlier shop/loadout roguelite prototype into a cleaner route-based puzzle structure Four playable girls now live: Aria, Raven, Kayla, and Elena Full handcrafted five-stage routes for every girl Puzzle-first progression with clear board goals and fixed move budgets Distinct settings, visual progression, music, and reward content for each route Reward scenes unlocked by clearing stage 5, with gallery replay support Faster retry flow and cleaner stage-based progression Upgraded transitions and overall presentation for the full release Available on Steam, with direct builds for Windows, macOS, and Android v0.2 New Character: Raven - Goth alt girl with full 5-stage progression, unique expressions, and dedicated session/reward music - Space-war ability kit: Shadow Bind (chains gems in place), Obsidian Wall (unbreakable stone cells), Entomb ultimate (spawns 2 stones per move for 5 moves) - Higher risk/reward: 1.25x base multiplier, 500k score threshold for reward - Full animated reward sequence with voice lines Ability Shop - New standalone shop screen accessible from Girl Select - 12 active special gems and 6 passive modifiers in the catalog - Loadout system: equip up to 4 actives + 2 passives before each run - New profiles start with empty loadout — no specials until you buy and equip - Color-triggered specials: each active maps to a gem color, match 4+ to spawn it Special Gems - Renamed Blaze → Whip, Pulse → Bomb - 4 implemented actives: Whip (cross clear), Bomb (5x5 blast), Prism (color wipe), Poison (chain-pop over moves) - 8 more planned: Ricochet, Shatter, Spark, Vortex, Nova, Mirror, Gravity Well, Splinter - Poison chain system: 5x5 → 3x3 → 2x2 progressive spread with move-based timers Economy - Velvet Coins earned by cashing out — failed runs pay 0 - Spend coins to unlock and upgrade abilities in the shop - Cashout available from session start (no longer stage-gated) UI/UX - Master-detail shop layout with item preview and board visualization - Loadout dock on Girl Select screen with hover hints - Shop doorbell SFX on entry - Custom icons for all 18 shop items Technical - Modular session architecture: cascade orchestrator, spell planner, SFX/HUD/pause/outcome runtimes extracted from main game session - Data-driven girl profiles, spell registry, and special gem modules - Services layer: ShopService + EconomyService split from GameState v0.1 - Initial release - Core match-3 engine with heat system - 1 character (Aria) with unique abilities - 5-stage progression with animated reward sequence - Special gem combos (Blaze, Pulse, Prism) - 6 difficulty modifiers (stack up to 72.9x multiplier) - Available on Mac, Windows, Android