The History Of Afterlife: Rickard's Quest

Afterlife was originally released in October 2004, and was improved and developed steadily over the following years thanks to lots of great feedback from players.

• Added workaround to help prevent potential bug in external library.
• Access to higher difficulty levels for an Act is now locked until lower difficulty levels have been completed.
• Renamed difficulty levels.

• Fixed silly bug introduced in the previous update which caused enemy lifebars to display incorrectly.

• Synchronised in-game timers with framerate to improve consistency, especially when running on lower-spec hardware.
• Corrected name of Icecube Labyrinth Zone.
• Modified the Key-Chamber Acts for the Realms of Melys and Phraxia to improve difficulty.
• Modified code to improve performance of some interfaces when running on lower-spec hardware.

• Fixed serious bug causing the game to crash when attempting to save replays for certain Acts.
• Restarting an Act when playtesting in the Act Editor now works correctly.
• Fixed bugs in portal, Cruciform and Keystone collision detection.
• Corrected minor issues with secret areas, mana balloon and portal locations in various Acts.
• Blockheads in the Digital Chaos Zone now count towards the enemies remaining in an Act.

• Fixed bug allowing access to the Cruciform in the Desert Tomb Zone before the requisite number of Perfect grades had been achieved.
• Fixed display bug causing hellion graphics to be glitchy in Act Editor.
• Rickard no longer drops his Deadly Hunting Umbrella when landing in liquids.
• Rickard can no longer throw the Deadly Hunting Umbrella when on foot.
• Changed the locations of mana balloons in Act 5 of the Realm of Asphal.
• Minor code fixes, tidying and efficiency improvements.

• Fixed minor bug causing music to be restarted if the game was minimised while paused.
• Fixed bug causing the Lightning balloon not to correctly remain unlocked if an Act was completed in exactly one minute.
• Fixed bug potentially causing unlock message not to display correctly on completing the game.
• (Finally) fixed long-term collision detection issue causing the DHU to sometimes pass through enemies with no effect.
• Improved responsiveness of navigation controls in the Act selection menu.
• Improved forgiveness of collision detection between hellion and Rickard's hand-bombs.
• Reduced rate of fire of cluster rockets.
• All cyclops now count toward the total hellion remaining (and so must now be destroyed in order to complete an Act).
• Switched the conditions required to unlock certain balloons.
• Minor and miscellaneous code tidying.

• Fixed display bug causing full number of Hearts not to be correctly shown in the in-game HUD.
• It is no longer necessary to retain the DHU in order to attain a Perfect grade for an Act.

• Fixes to existing issues:
  • Fixed erroneous black pixels in sprite for enemy mines.
  • Fixed bug causing save-file corruption when updating from very old save-files.
  • Fixed bug causing the "Restart" option not to work in Replays.
  • Fixed several collision detection bugs (some serious) relating to hellion movement, and improved hellion collision detection system.
  • Fixed menu navigation bug when exiting the Act Editor.
  • Fixed hit-boxes for some hellion.
  • Miscellaneous and minor small fixes and code improvements.
• Improvements to existing features:
  • Replays are now automatically recorded for every Act (unless turned off in the game options), and record the entire length of the Act!
  • Improved responsiveness, performance and aesthetics of game menus and information screens.
  • Slightly redesigned aspects of the Act-selection menu to show Realm/Zone information more clearly for all Acts.
  • Improved aesthetics of the in-game HUD.
• New features:
  • Replays and Acts created using the Act Editor can now be optionally saved to the Windows "Documents" folder instead of the game's local folder (useful for systems which virtualize users' program-generated content).
• Major gameplay changes:
  • Reduced the time limit in which to complete an Act from 13:00 to 7:00!
  • Collecting all balloons in an Act now always adds a single Heart, regardless of when they are collected.
  • Aspect powers have been entirely removed from the game.

• Fixed serious bug in music looping routine causing incorrect play resumption, and a crash under some circumstances when the game had been paused.
• Prevented binding of the ESC key to game controls.
• Prevented the same key being set for multiple game controls.
• Tabbing out of the game back to Windows now works correctly.
• Added support for binding of mouse buttons to game controls.
• Added default control-schemes.
• Added messages to list game setup steps on loading.
• Improved navigation of game menus.
• Switched precendence of display of Zone and Realm information in the Act selection menu.
• Corrected Zone information for two Acts in the Realm of Ashara (Frostbite) from the Ice Caverns Zone to the Ice Labyrinth Zone.
• Miscellaneous code tidying and improvements.

• Fixed bug causing game to run fast for some players, and improved timing routines to give more consistent framerates across different systems.

• Fixed minor bug causing music to incorrectly resume following game pauses.

• Fixed bug causing a Perfect grade to be unattainable for the third Act of Desert Tomb Zone in the Hard setting.

• Fixed serious bug causing the game to crash upon unpausing.
• Fixed bug causing not all data to be erased by the "Delete Save Data" option.
• Made minor cosmetic corrections to the Act selection screen.

• Fixed serious bug allowing shortcut keys to access locked options.
• Fixed bug causing selection of Acts in the Training Pad Zone to allow access to locked difficulty modes in the main Zones.
• Made improvements to shortcut-key handling during Act selection.
• Wraith runes are now displayed in the Zone information boxes to denote the current Realm.

• Fixed bug making the first Act of Desert Tomb Zone impossible to Perfect on Hard or Suicide difficulties.
• Updated graphics for Rickard.
• Updated in-game texts.
• Improved code relating to timing.
• Fixed bug potentially causing game to hang when customising controls.
• Fixed several timer-related bugs.
• Added update check to notify of new versions.
• A Perfect grade can now only be achieved when no damage has been taken during an Act.
• Miscellaneous code tidying.

• Customising the "Record Replay" key now works correctly.
• Corrected some details in included readme files for replays and custom levels.

• Restructured code dealing with umbrella jumping to produce a smoother and more accurate effect.
• Added the option to restart an Act on failure or from the pause menu.
• The game now automatically associates itself with replays and custom act files (needs to be "run as administrator" to work in Windows Vista).
• Improved ability to bounce the DHU using a balloon impact while submerged.
• Capped the maximum mana score.
• Miscellaneous code improvements.

• Fixed a bug affecting horizontal bomb collision detection.
• Fixed a minor display bug in replays.
• Improved the timestamp format for ARP filenames.
• Made minor in-game text improvements.

• Fixed a bug causing bombs not to correctly break scenery or trigger switches.

• The game now carries the subtitle "Rickard's Quest".
• Heavily updated and improved in-game texts.
• Rearranged main game menus.
• Act Selection screen now displays targets for time and combo scores as well as for Acts.
• The target number of Acts shown on the Act Selection screen now shows an accurate total number of Acts.
• The best time, combo and mana information is now only displayed on the Act Selection screen if the relevant records have been set for the selected Act.
• Updated icons used in the game.
• Altered the requirements for unlocking various things in the game.
• Added two new balloons.
• Added new types of block which are "opened" by completing or perfecting a certain number of Acts.
• The menu screen now appears differently for players who have completed or perfected the game.
• In Training Pad Zone, weapons are now limited to those being practised.
• Added example replays for the first eight Acts in Training Pad Zone.
• Fixed a bug causing the "Delete Save Data" function to delete the saved data even if the Esc key was used to abort the action.
• Fixed bug causing generated enemies to erroneously appear to have been hit.
• Fixed minor display bug in the in-game font.
• Fixed bug allowing Rickard to sometimes be able to umbrella-jump even when already hanging from his umbrella!
• Fixed bug causing the target Act-time not to be achievable in the Final Quest.
• Fixed a minor bug causing the level selection screen to display empty quotes when viewing Final Quest Acts.
• Fixed several minor aesthetic bugs in the Act Editor.
• Made aesthetic improvements to a variety of in-game graphics.
• Rickard can now accumulate "mana", by collecting mana balloons or by killing enemies with the DHU. The game records the best mana score for each Act in the same way as Time and Combo scores.
• Higher difficulty levels now provide a decreased number of hearts.
• Rickard now only survives the destruction of his balloon in Acts which have already been completed on the "Suicide" difficulty setting, and in Training Pad Zone, only when Act 10 has been successfully completed.
• The top, left and right edges of the Act area are no longer harmful to Rickard or his balloon.
• Touching the bottom edge of an Act area no longer causes instant death to the balloon.
• The DHU is no longer destroyed by touching the top, left or right edges of the Act area.
• Deadly scenery no longer ignores temporary invulnerability following a hit.
• Enemies and damaging attacks now jolt the balloon even when invulnerable.
• Shots are now destroyed on impact with Rickard or his balloon.
• Shots are no longer deflected by incorporeal scenery.
• Shots can now be deflected by the DHU.
• Completely overhauled balloon collision detection.
• Made improvements to collision detection for bombs, fixing several minor issues.
• Ghosts will no longer overlap each other.
• Tweaked accuracy of collision detection for Rickard on foot.
• Altered the abilities and balance of all balloons.
• Handbombs no longer do extra damage when Rickard is on foot.
• Altered the physics for handbombs thrown by Rickard when on foot.
• Collecting all ten Cruciforms no longer upgrades Rickard's bombs.
• The DHU now delivers an increasing level of damage depending on the size of the current combo.
• The DHU now harms enemies even when static when Rickard has collected the crux for the current Realm.
• "Apotheosis" now takes a different Aspect for each Crux.
• In Aspect form, Rickard now harms ghosts on contact.
• Aspect powers now protect from deadly terrain.
• Aspect powers are no longer automatically activated upon collecting all mana balloons in an Act.
• Aspect powers now consume mana, and end upon running out of mana.
• Bombs now make a splash when hitting a liquid surface.
• The balloon now floats in liquids rather than sinking!
• The balloon no longer produces a flame when submerged in liquids.
• Deep slime is no longer deadly.
• Rickard can now swim in liquids, and drown!
• The DHU now floats on liquids, and can be affected by splashes and the balloon's bouncing.
• The DHU now slides on slippery surfaces!
• Chain-combos can now be linked by skimming the DHU across liquids or slippery surfaces!
• Pregnant (green) spooks now produce live offspring when killed on all difficulty levels.
• Guardians now fire shots even on the Easy difficulty.
• Modified movement patterns for white devilfish.
• Grave-flowers now generate pixie-flowers rather than baby spooks.
• Stan-bust golems no longer regenerate health, but cannot be hit while "sleeping".
• Fixed several behavioural issues relating to constructors and blockheads.
• Fixed a bug causing defender eggs to behave incorrectly in Acts featuring more than one white defender.
• Improved aiming-accuracy of several enemies.
• The red grave-flower now shoots at Rickard.
• Practice Targets now always produce a large explosion.
• Enemies will no longer shoot at Rickard after he is dead.
• It is no longer possible to achieve combos in Training Pad Zone.
• The controls for umbrella-jumping and throwing the DHU are now reversed.
• The timer now stops running when Rickard exits an Act.
• Rickard must now recollect his umbrella in order to achieve a "Perfect" grade.
• Added new sound-effects for wall collisions.
• Improved ending sequence.
• Edited many Acts to improve aesthetics, difficulty balance, and support for updated gameplay.
• Updated the ARP file format to increase precision, detail and recording length. The game automatically updates files saved in the previous format to the new format.
• ARPs opened from the command line now present a menu rather than looping automatically.
• Holding the Shift key now allows reverse cycling of edit modes in the Act Editor.
• Removed terrain-dependant hellion from the Act Editor.
• Removed cruciforms and keystones from the Act Editor.
• The properties of the selected tile are now displayed in the corner of the screen in the Act Editor.
• Fixed view issues in the Act Editor.
• Many miscellaneous code updates and improvements.

• Fixed bug allowing Perfect grades to be achieved without all hearts intact if balloon was damaged after all hellion were killed.

• Corrected code so that collecting a Cruciform when all balloons have already been collected now triggers "apotheosis" for Rickard's balloon (this was somehow only fixed for Rickard on foot in the last update).
• Capped balloon rebound speeds from deadly tiles.
• Collecting all of the mana balloons in an Act now regenerates the balloon's hearts.
• Made miscellaneous code improvements.
• Made improvements to blast graphics.

• Defender eggs are now destroyed if they are inside a block when their parent is destroyed, fixing a bug causing them to sometimes become stuck out of reach when a white defender was killed.
• Corrected code so that collecting a Cruciform when all balloons have already been collected now triggers "apotheosis" for Rickard.
• Cruciforms may now be collected after all hellion have been slain.
• Slightly reduced umbrella rebound speed from hellion collisions.
• Fixed bug causing the Final Quest not to stay unlocked.
• Made miscellaneous code improvements.
• Made improvements to blast graphics.
• Tweaked in-game texts.

• Removed status screen.
• Best Time & Best Combo information is now displayed on the Level Select Screen.
• Removed help text for completing first Zone without unlocking second.
• New Zones are now unlocked for every 7 Acts completed, rather than 13.
• Miscellaneous code improvements.
• Improved the look of text screens & Level Editor properties screens.
• Removed balloon selection screen.
• Balloons can now be selected from the Level Select Screen.
• Balloons can now be hit more than once before being destroyed (to achieve a "Perfect" grade, it is still necessary to complete an Act without being hit).
• The DHU can now be bounced around by explosions.
• Improved magic balloon graphics.
• Tweaked in-game texts.
• It is now possible to customise the control for the "Record Replay" function.
• Changed default controls.
• Blockheads are now destroyed on collision with a hot air balloon.
• Completely rewrote movement and collision code for the DHU, fixing at least one rare bug, improving its accuracy, and now allowing it to be bounced upwards off sheer surfaces...
• Improved bomb graphics.
• Application now displays correctly in the task list.
• Cruxes now appear in all difficulty modes.
• Adjusted umbrella-jump handling for Rickard.
• Edited one Act to reduce difficulty.
• Restyled enemy health-bar.
• Fixed bug causing tile properties not to be loaded correctly when playing replays.
• Tweaked balance of "Autumn" balloon.

• Updated installer to fix problems with some versions of Windows Vista.
• Added visual cue for perfect status achievment.
• Tweaked intro sequence.

• Game now runs at a resolution of 640x480 for both menus and game.
• Redesigned and improved code efficiency of level select screen.
• Added Zone information to level select screen.
• Redrew image for Training Pad Zone.
• Added icon for in-game clock.
• Backdrops now scroll in parallax.
• Level editor now scrolls.
• Backported Training Pad Zone backdrop from Afterlife 2.
• Updated code for compatibility with latest core module.
• Made miscellaneous code improvements.
• Improved optimisation of graphics drawing code for speed.
• Tweaked text on level editor help screen.
• Various miscellaneous graphical imrprovements.
• Level editor can now be swicthed between two view modes.
• Edited one Act to improve aesthetics.
• Made minor miscellaneous tweaks to existing levels.
• Fixed bug in level editor causing false tile properties when a new tileset was loaded.

• Improved error handling.
• Fixed bug causing game to crash when rocket was fired out of the level's bounds.
• Fixed bug causing game to crash when files were loaded from a working directory on a different drive to the game executable.

• Fixed bugs in one Act causing completion/perfection not to be possible in all difficulties.
• Tidied code, reduced size, and improved efficiency.
• Added a proper selection tool for tilesets in the level editor.
• Edited and rearranged all of the Suicide training Acts in order to better teach more attack and movement techniques.
• Tweaked Rickard's handling.
• Tweaked Level Editor help text.
• Added health-bar display for ghosts.
• Combo counter now appears in level editor level-test mode.
• Edited enemy names.
• Restricted pre-selection on menus and introductory screens.
• White Defenders no longer launch eggs.
• Fixed Stan Busts' health to increase properly with difficulty setting.

• Fixed "The Flooded Basement" to make completion possible in Suicide mode.

• Changed controls for item selection in level editor.
• Fixed bug in level editor causing game to crash when balloons were removed and deleted.
• Reduced health of certain enemies.
• Edited several Acts to reduce difficulty.
• Fixed bugs in several Acts causing completion/perfection not to be possible in all difficulties.
• Disallowed Rickard dropping from the DHU when parachuting from a destroyed balloon.
• Changed sound of Rickard landing on his feet.

• Removed delay between umbrella jumps.
• Made miscellaneous code improvements.
• Fixed major bug in collision detection for umbrella jumps.
• Rickard now makes a sound when landing on his feet.
• Added extra animations for Rickard.
• Improved graphics for "Sky Blue" balloon.
• Changed abilities of "Autumn" balloon.
• Made "Sky Blue" balloon unlockable by completing 100 Acts.
• "Nightmare" balloon now falls faster.
• Fixed slight bug in rain effect causing it to sometimes "miss" parts of the level.
• Added two new playable balloons.
• Collecting the tenth Crux no longer has an immediate effect.
• Crux powers can no longer be used in Final Quest Acts.
• Updated format of ARPs; ARPs from previous versions will not play correctly.
• Finally found and fixed a really silly bug causing occasional variable overflow crashes.

• Fixed bug introduced in v1.4.2 causing Hunter Skulls to move incorrectly.
• Fixed silly bug in error-handling code, causing some problems under Windows 9x.
• Improved error-handling code.
• There is now no delay before being able to abort an umbrella jump.
• Rickard can now re-jump following a successful kill with an umbrella jump.
• Added on-screen display of the player's current combo score.
• Slightly darkened wood colour in Training Pad Zone to avoid transparency conflict with exit portal.
• Added new hint to the Stats Screen about "Re-Jumps".
• Fixed bug in one training Act briefing causing the briefing to ignore user-set controls in its instructions.
• Added note on aborting umbrella jumps to briefing for "Umbrella Jump Training".
• Improved code dealing with umbrella jumps to remove "jerky" landings.
• Balloon no longer makes a dust puff when landing underwater.
• Fixed bug causing Rickard to create a splash when landing underwater following an umbrella jump.
• Edited several Acts to improve gameplay.
• Fixed bugs in several Acts causing completion/perfection not to be possible in all difficulties.
• Improved balloon graphics.
• Fixed old bug causing balloon to sometimes pass through the exit portal without leaving the Act.
• Repositioned exit portal spawning flash.
• Balloon now makes a noise when landing on slippery surfaces.
• Fixed bug introduced in v1.4.2 causing rain in Graveyard to sometimes fall in two directions at once.

• Fixed bug causing some enemy shots to be "stillborn".
• Limited and standardised speed of Ambush Skulls across all difficulties.
• Corrected briefing notes for some training Acts.
• Made miscellaneous code improvements.
• Reduced fire rate of Cyborg Guardians.
• Fixed bug causing Rickard to cause a submarine splash when starting an Act submerged.
• Fixed bug causing Davy Jones to crash the game on Suicide mode.
• Edited several Acts to improve gameplay.
• Fixed enemy health.
• Fixed names of enemies in the Level Editor.
• Fixed bug causing Rickard to sometimes pass through mana balloons.
• Improved items of collision code.
• Rickard can no longer be knocked off the DHU.
• Added dynamic level effects for Mindwarp levels.
• Fixed bug causing Cruciforms to be collected even when Rickard didn't survive the Act.
• Rickard can now use Crux powers as soon as a Crux is collected.
• Fixed bugs in several Acts causing completion/perfection not to be possible in all difficulties.

• Fixed bug causing camera to sometimes fail to follow Rickard in replays.

• Edited one Act to reduce difficulty.
• Fixed bugs in several Acts causing completion/perfection not to be possible in all difficulties.
• Changed order of training Acts.
• Made minor revisions and improvements to several Acts.
• Constructor now drops Blockheads more frequently.
• Fixed bug causing "apotheosis" to be retained between Acts in the Suicide difficulty.
• Rickard is now invulnerable to ghosts while umbrella jumping!
• Removed ability to achieve chain combos in Suicide Mode.
• Fixed bug causing snowmen to sometimes regenerate health beyond their initial health.
• Fixed bug causing timer display to overflow bounds after ten minutes.
• Cruciform hints on the Stats Screen now only appear for uncollected Cruciforms.
• Fixed redundant pixel in tile graphics for the Realm of Hellflesh.
• Level loading routine made more efficient.
• Fixed bug causing best times for training Acts 6-10 and Final Quest Acts not to be displayed.
• Improved letter "Y" in small game font.
• Fixed bug allowing new Realms to be unlocked by replaying already-completed Acts.
• Fixed time allowed for next shot in chain combos to three seconds exactly.
• Finally fixed long-time bug causing infrequent problems with chain combos.
• Finally fixed the infamous "Floating Umbrella" bug.
• Improved bomb graphics.
• Rickard is now able to survive balloon destruction when Suicide Mode is unlocked.
• The DHU can now be used to harvest Magic Balloons!
• Bombs are now upgraded to powerballs on collection of all Cruciforms.
• Clarified ghost classifications.
• Corrected very minor display mistake in Level Editor.
• Made miscellaneous code improvements.
• Improved graphics for "apotheosis".
• ALF files can now be loaded from the command line.
• It is now possible to play custom levels using alternate balloons.
• Removed the Afterlife Custom Level Player (AfterlifeCLP.exe) from the package.
• Implemented replay feature.
• Game will no longer run in two instances at once.
• Shots are now transparent.
• When crux-powered, the DHU now produces a star-trail that grows with each kill.
• Fixed bug causing Rickard to "skid" when left and right keys were used together.

• Heavily modified the Game Statistics screen.
• Fixed time display in the Act Select module.
• Added weather effects.
• Rearranged menus.
• Added title to the Plot screen.

• Timer now prepends second count with a zero if below 10.
• Controls can now be customized from the options menu.
• Game can now be paused using the ESC key.
• Slightly modified level title display.
• Snowmen can no longer regenerate above their initial health quota.
• Redrew realm portraits for both Frostbite & Foulblight.

• Added "Orchestra" option to the "Options" menu.
• Improved BGM selection in level editor.
• Altered the health of various enemies.
• Fixed minor bug in the difficulty selection window.
• When selecting an Act, the last played Difficulty is now remembered.
• Added Page Up and Page Down functionality to the difficulty selection window.
• Reduced combo size required to unlock the Nightmare balloon.
• Moved "Balloons" option to the main menu.
• Added "apotheosis" ability in Realms for which the Cruciform has been collected.
• Hitting the bomb key while umbrella jumping now ends the jump.
• Improved backdrop selection in level editor.
• Tile properties for highlighted tiles are now shown in the level editor.
• Improved balloon selection area.
• Changed abilities of the Pink Lace balloon.
• Made gameplay revisions to several Acts.
• Made minor cosmetic alterations to one Act.
• Number keys can now select Acts on the level select screen.
• Added extra information to Statistics screen.
• Made minor edits to the game story.
• Denied access to features in the editor not unlocked in the game.
• Fixed bug causing cruciforms to disappear in the editor.
• Reduced health of various enemies.
• Edited several Acts to reduce difficulty.
• Fixed task to unlock Buttercup by one second, for accuracy.
• Revised Custom Level play completely, by adding the Custom Level Player.
• Made the DHU more powerful in Realms where the Cruciform has already been uncovered.
• Fixed bug meaning some defender eggs were immobile.
• Edited one Act for general gameplay improvement.

• Reduced number of Acts needed to unlock Suicide Mode.
• Gave the Darkskull balloon more powerful bombs.
• Reduced the power of the Nightmare balloon's umbrella.
• Increased the umbrella power of the Pink Lace balloon.
• Fixed bug meaning hand-bombs did no more damage than dispensed bombs.
• Added two extra information screens.
• Reduced difficulty of one Act.
• Fixed bug meaning the game would sometimes not end even when Rickard was dead, dead, dead!

• Fixed minor bug in keyboard input routine.
• Fixed bug so user levels should now load correctly using "Open With".
• Fixed health total for baby spooks generated by green spooks.
• Edited several Acts to reduce difficulty.

• First release.