Devlog 2: Menus, Triggers, and Proper Animations

Time spent since last devlog: ~10h 10m
Total time logged: ~32h 53m

The levels aren’t finished yet, but the game is finally starting to look and feel like actual Geometry Dash instead of a static test build.

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Visuals & Triggers

The levels were way too stiff before. Adding authored trigger behavior makes everything move and pulse like the real game:

• Pulse & Color Triggers: Added live HSV shifts and over a thousand pulse triggers so backgrounds, objects, and channels flash to the beat properly.
• Movement & Easing: Implemented real easing curves (including overshooting) and move stacking so platforms follow the player smoothly instead of jittering.
• Rotate Triggers: Objects and hazards actually spin around pivot points instead of sitting frozen in place.
• Mirror Portals: The entire camera flips cleanly now without breaking the screen layout. (no animation for flip yet WILL BE ADDED NEXT)
• most of this works OKAY, but there are still lots of changes to be made.

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The UI Overhaul

The game now boots into a real main menu. The setting, icon menu, pause menu, and win screen were rebuilt from scratch using original assets and binary-accurate layouts:

• Game Feel: Button press animations, proper hitboxes (almost), snappy sliders, and difficulty badges match the real thing (except for dash for some reason).
• Icon Menu: Swapped out the old sprite sheet for the individual 2.2 sheets. All 107 palette colors and hundreds of icons are loaded in and selectable. (not formatted well rn)
• HUD: Practice mode buttons, pause screens, and attempt counters scroll away naturally instead of cluttering the view.

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Next Up

• Finishing all levels
• bug testing
• optimizing everything
• more bug testing

More devlogs coming soon