Performance Enhancements:

• Target framerate increased to 60 FPS (from 30 FPS).
  
• The game is now compiled! (We'll release a more mod friendly branch soon.)
  
• Reworked fish thinning system, GREATLY increasing performance for most users.
  
• Optimized texture sheets to reduce typical VRAM consumption.
  
• Stopped drawing a bunch of stuff behind sonar and then immediately filling over it; greatly increasing performance for users with integrated graphics.
  
• Optimized fish drawing, improving performance when many fish are active but far off screen.
  
• Optimized fish targeting scripts, and many others!
  

New Stuff and Balance Changes:

• Added a new upgrade: Bulbguard. It protects your lightbulb from Bulbeaters!
  
• Fish on rod/boat no longer always load with full health; their value and orientation is saved.
  
• Fish now sink in place when bombed, stunned on the sea floor. (Stunned state is now saved.)
  
• Fish that are floating to the surface now get stuck on rocks. (Floating state is now saved.)
  
• Having the "Attract Worm" rod upgrade on your rod now gives you the effect of Dig hat.
  
• Legacy saves disabled: no save protection for very old saves, and you can no longer gain a legacy.
  
• Phase and Snoutfish no longer go to the chasm to sleep at night.
  
• Increased the value of: Glacier, Tik Tik, Lemonback
  
• Decreased the value of: Snoutfish, Nightfish Sire, Koin, Thistle, Old Cusper, Maw
  
• Plateau fish are no longer revealed in catalog until level 65 (up from 50).
  

Minor Tweaks:

• Discovered hats no longer appear on the map once they are in the hatalog.
  
• Chompy no longer bites Crayfin when Crayfin is held by swimming cat.
  
• Stalker now picks a new early huge target every day of the week.
  
• Worm sprite updated and it no longer makes blood when bitten.
  
• Boom Puff now explodes when bitten, even if not on the hook.
  
• Bombs now detach on line snap (and can later be recovered).
  
• Torby catalog entry now reflects its extinction state.
  
• Bombat can no longer be flicked off the hook.
  
• Fish that are netted are no longer bombable.
  
• Bombat can now escape the caves.
  
• Glow removed from crystalfish.
  
• Cowfish blink.
  

Bugfixes:

• Cavin actually swims in the caves.
  
• Stormy should swim around during storms as intended.
  
• Schools of blinking tetras no longer threaten to crash the game.
  
• There are generally fewer flying coral larges (Tik Tik, etc...)
  
• Ghost will no longer appear if a medium fish is on the line.
  
• Rising lure no longer has any effect if the line is snapped.
  
• Worm can no longer be added to the line when a bomb is attached.
  
• Background music now gets quieter when swimming deep, not just when the lure sinks deep.
  
• Cuddlefish and Skrimp sprites should no longer appear in the other's place in the catalog.
  
• Fish lights stay more closely aligned with their fish, and they shine through other fish less.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused fish to get stuck returning, bouncing up and down in place.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the rocket to make noise while off after casting backwards.
  
• Fixed a bug that would make Witchy, Dig, and Fennec sometimes spawn inside rocks.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused Puff to count as 133% of a fish towards catalog completion.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused fish to lunge for an empty hook if you detonated a Bombat early.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused a fish to stay full value if it was bit after giving experience.
  
• You can no longer put fish on the lure while swimming if there is a bomb on the lure.
  
• Puff is no longer always inflated; now becomes deflated when held in Cat's paws.
  
• Fish can no longer be placed off the back of Tech Boat and Collier.
  
• Mamo egg now actually detaches on line snap.
  
• There are fewer braindead, misshapen, skeletonized or otherwise malformed fish.
  
• Numerous other bugfixes that there were not well documented.
  

• Now press "Enter" to slow velocity while swimming (instead of "Space"); this no longer drains O2.
  
• Flicking with an uncooled Magmer on the line now snaps the line.
  
• Added 3 new fish (one contest winner) and a new hat.
  
• Phase 100% no longer gets stuck on rocks.
  

Balance Changes:

• Changed Magnalav approach conditions (easier to attract).
  
• Piercer gets tired of chasing the lure after some time.
  
• Lightbulb lure duration extended (happy exploring!)
  

Bugfixes:

• You can no longer scare fish off the boat with bombs.
  
• Selling a hat from the Hatalog no longer gives double dollars.
  
• Loading the game with Moga or Maw on the line no longer crashes the game.
  
• Selling an Abyssal after loading the game no longer results in crashbug.
  
• Fish no longer jump off the boat on loading the game with a full boat.
  
• Fish should no longer respawn as bones.
  
• Cardina Data (red skitter) bug should no longer occur.
  

Performance:

• Last year I coded a performance enhancement that disabled far-away fish to speed up processing. It resulted in a number of obscure crash bugs, so I've undone the optimization. You may notice a slight performance drop with this patch. For what it's worth, know the fish are having a lot of fun off screen.
  

• Mythic hats are now purchasable after level 45.
  
• Slightly increased spawn rate for some huge fish.
  
• Fixed a bug causing Bombats not to bite rocks.
  
• Fixed a bug preventing the Mamo from being caught.
  
• Other minor bug fixes.
  

Important Note:

Question for Discerning Fishercats: