Melody's Escape 2 cover
Melody's Escape 2 screenshot
Genre: Music, Platform, Indie

Melody's Escape 2

Patch v0.5.3: New hairstyles

This update introduces 5 new hairstyles for Melody!

I've modified the hair simulation code to be able to handle many new types of hairstyles physics, and to pave the way for future custom workshop content.

Please join our Discord or the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Changes



  • Added 5 new hairstyles, available in the Character Customization menu
  • Upgraded the third-party audio playback library BASS to its latest version

Bug Fixes



  • Fixed a bug where flying visuals would appear in the Customization menu if you exit a track during a flying section
  • Fixed a bug where walking note bubbles would appear in the Customization menu if you exit a track during a walking section
  • Fixed a bug where the gold heart sound effect was using the game SFX volume settings instead of the UI volume settings
  • Fixed a bug where input lines sometimes wouldn't use the correct colors when forcing PSX gamepad icon types

Patch v0.5.2: "Medium" revamp and new achievements!

This update features a revamp of the Medium Difficulty, as the previous obstacle density updates made it too dense and difficult in some cases (especially for songs in the range of 90 to 100 BPM), and was identical to the extreme density of "Intense" in the vast majority of cases, lacking its own identity.

This resulted in a larger than intended difficult jump between Relaxing and Medium.

Medium's obstacle density will now instead have low density at low tempo, while keeping a high density at high tempo.

If you like the extreme density of Intense combined with the "4 colors" input type of Medium, you can use the "Custom Difficulty" menu to re-create this set of rules.

Please join our Discord or the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Changes



  • Revamped the obstacle density in Medium difficulty to progressively follow the tempo, up to 190BPM, which results in lower density for low tempo songs while keeping a high density for high tempo songs
  • Slightly lowered the obstacle density in Relaxing
  • Added 2 new long-term aspirational achievements: one for playing 500 tracks, and one for completing 100 perfect Intense tracks!
  • Added a secret achievement
  • Lowered the threshold for Flying Intensity once again, to make flying sections more common
  • Added additional particle effects on successful inputs, to give them more impact (but without making them distracting either)
  • Changed the "Diverse" input pattern from Custom Difficulty to be able to generate the same color twice in a row in some occasions
  • In Playlist Mode, you can now skip to the next track directly from the Track Loading Screen (but only once the track is loaded)
  • The "artist" tag is now displayed on the Track Loading screen (useful in Playlist Mode)
  • Melody's hair is now darker when failing an input


Bug Fixes



  • Fixed a bug where a track would still count as perfect if the final obstacle was a held one and the button was released early
  • Fixed a bug where the "Play all as Playlist" label wouldn't always been displayed when appropriate
  • Fixed an interface bug in the File Selection menu when using gamepad navigation, where the "Play Track" button sometimes wouldn't get selected
  • Fixed a bug with keyboard input rebinding that could get stuck if you tried to perform other actions during the rebind process
  • Fixed a bug introduced in the previous patch in the built-in mapping of "Regain Control", where one of the bubbles incorrectly expected a Direction input

Patch v0.5.1: Improved Input Arrows Visibility

The goal of this update is to improve Input Arrows visibility on ground indicators, so that the required input is clear at a quick glance.

Please join our Discord or the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

v0.5.1 changes



  • Updated the size of ground input indicators to match their timing hitbox more closely. This was omitted in patch v0.5 despite the significant track speed changes. As a result they are now bigger across the board, especially in Flying mode.
  • Updated the graphics of the ground input indicators to make their border thinner and their arrows more visible.

v0.5.0b Hotfix

v0.5.0b Hotfix



  • Updated the track mapping for the bundled song "Regain Control"
  • Fixed the Particle Effects not playing anymore at the end of slow-mo jumps
  • Fixed the achievement related to slow-mo jumps not unlocking properly
  • Fixed the Main Menu music not playing when exiting to menu from a track
  • Fixed the "Playlist Mode" not being cleared correctly in some instances

v0.4.11: playlist mode, interface changes and QoL

This update adds new features and quality of life changes to the interface.
Please join our Discord or the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Changes



  • Added a Playlist functionality, you can now play a queue of multiple files by pressing Q on the File Select menu. By default, the play order will be shuffled, but you can change this in the settings
  • Added an animated countdown when resuming from a pause (this can be turned off in Settings)
  • Added an option to toggle "input lines" to indicate your input position on the ground. It is now by default only shown for errors
  • Added an option to display input timing when you didn't hit a perfect timing on a successful input
  • The BPM is now displayed on the end-score screen
  • Added a "Retry" button on the end-score screen
  • Added "Toggle Favorite" functionality on the end-score screen (useful when playing in Playlist mode)
  • Added a button on the Pause Menu to skip to the next track when playing in Playlist-mode
  • Changed the error text when an incorrect input is pressed, to something less verbose
  • Upgraded the default font to support accents and ligatures, which looks noticeably nicer with latin-based languages
  • The activation visual effect of circle and square zones is now slightly larger

Bug Fixes



  • Fixed an issue where the Error Popup could show "No Obstacle" instead of "Too Late"
  • Fixed a bug with inputs being enqueued in some situations when the game's window was not focused
  • Fixed a rare bug with tracks loaded from cache file, that could have a few obstacles missing at the end
  • Changed ground zones indicator to fade-in based on distance instead of time, to fix an issue where they would suddenly fade-in during slow-motion jumps or the intro walk
  • UI Buttons with an icon now have their text properly centered

Update v.4.10b: Additional changes to the color patterns

v0.4.10b: Additional Changes



  • Added more color diversity to the new default color pattern progression
  • Modified the required thresholds for the "hearts" scoring system. Scoring 5 hearts is now more difficult.
  • Slightly lowered the maximum density of bubbles in Walking mode (this change only impacts uncommon edge cases)
  • Fixed a bug that made "archs" solid obstacles appear too often at high densities.
  • Changed the visuals and positioning of some of the solid non-held obstacles in order for them to fit with the new high density without blocking visibility of the next obstacle
  • Changed Melody' small jump animations to fix a visual offset, so that her feet correctly match with the true position on the track when landing
  • Fixed a bug that used the "forgiving" timing instead of "regular" for late input presses in Medium and Intense. The "late" hitbox now respects the input timing settings.
  • Lowered the "Early Press" error popup hitbox zone. This does not impact the size of the hitbox for a successful input.
  • Fixed a bug in the Customization screen where Melody could revert to an idle stance
  • Changed font size of the smaller UI elements to be more visible on Steam Deck

Update v0.4.10: Improved audio detection, and supports up to 220BPM!

This update features many improvements to the audio analysis algorithm, and elevates the maximum obstacle density once again to support very high tempo songs!
It also features a revamped color pattern progression that is more fun and rhythmic.

Please join our Discord or the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Music Analysis Improvements



  • Upgraded the maximum supported tempo from 180 to 220 BPM as an experimental feature (but only if certain strict conditions are met, to avoid mistakenly doubling songs in the range of 91 to 110 BPM, which are vastly more common)
  • The obstacle density in Relaxing and Medium now supports up to 200BPM
  • Added a new "Extreme" obstacle density for Intense, supporting up to 220BPM, and with higher density in general. If you would like to experience this density with lower difficulty levels, you can use the "Custom" Difficulty menu to create your own set of rules!
  • Improved peak detection in the audio signal, to solve many cases of "missing" obstacles that felt like they should have been placed on the track, by making the algorithm more sensitive over multiple different frequencies (as a downside, the increased sensitivity may result in sometimes spawning obstacles that feel like they don't belong, but hopefully this is a rare occurrence)
  • Fixed a rare occurrence where a song would detect the correct tempo but sync obstacles with a half-beat offset. This was a problem specific to high tempo bass-heavy songs, with a drum pattern that would constantly switch between bass and snares, and the algorithm would favor the snares instead of the bass.
  • Added a new color pattern progression that is simplified but also much more fun and rhythmic, by alternating colors on circles. While the previous one was more difficult, it also felt completely random and didn't fit the new upgraded density. The previous pattern is still available in Custom difficulty under the name "Diverse".

Bug Fixes / Small Changes



  • Fixed a bug with bubble color patterns generation that was still using a clockwise pattern
  • Removed "Movement Speed" from the Custom Difficulty menu options, as this value is now inherently tied to the "Obstacle Density" value
  • Added "75" as a "FPS limit" choice
  • Fixed a bug where the new High Obstacle density setting wasn't respected for obstacles placed just before a held note
  • Fixed a bug with gamepad navigation in the Settings menu when trying to select an element featuring a button
  • Adjusted accuracy timing in the Calibration Menu
  • Changed the calibration test button to "Q" on Keyboard to avoid a bug with UI navigation


Due to music algorithm changes, all previously cached tracks will be re-analyzed again the next time that you play them.

Patch v0.4.9: Audio/Video Latency calibration and File Selection improvements

This update adds support for Audio and Video latency compensation, and features multiple improvements to the File Selection menu.

Please join our Discord or the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Gameplay Changes



  • Added Audio and Video latency compensation settings (useful for players using unconventional hardware like Bluetooth headsets, HDTVs or delayed input methods)
  • Added more diversity to Walking-mode's bubble color patterns
  • The hitbox for a "Too Early" error is now bigger (this does not impact the size of the hitbox for a successful input)
  • Lowered the blur amount in the Pause Menu
  • Slightly changed the Green obstacle color to be greener

Interface Changes



  • Split the "General" settings panel into two separate panels: "Interface" and "Gameplay"
  • Added a "Default Folder" option to choose the default folder when you first enter File Selection
  • Added a "Refresh Files" functionality to the File Selection menu (F5 on keyboard and Select on gamepad)
  • For quick access to custom folders, files marked as favorite now also add their parent folder to a new "Favorite Folders" list (in the "Favorites" section)
  • Added a "Show file extensions" option
  • Added a "Hide Music Streaming warning" option
  • The Folders panel in the File Section menu is now slightly larger

Bug Fixes



  • Fixed mouse scrolling speed in the File Selection lists to be much larger
  • Fixed a bug with input position lines not scaling with the new size of ground indicators
  • Fixed an uncommon bug with two very close obstacles that would both fail with a "Too Early" error if you pressed too late on the first obstacle
  • Fixed an uncommon case with two close obstacles not registering input errors made over the hitbox of the first obstacle
  • Fixed a bug where the FPS counter would oscillate between 74 and 76 when the game was running at 75Hz
  • Fixed iTunes XML playlist loading not working if a playlist was empty

Due to music algorithm changes, all previously cached tracks will be re-analyzed again the next time that you play them.

Patch v0.4.8: New Color Patterns progression for Circle Notes, and more!

This update changes the color pattern progression of circle notes, for a vastly more diverse type of pattern. This will make the game more difficult in Medium and Intense. If you would like to keep using the previous "clockwise" progression, you can find it in the "Custom" difficulty menu.
As the feedback from the community about the speed changes was unanimously positive, I've decided to roll out the 20% speed in Relaxing and Medium too, making it the new baseline speed, and then made Intense even faster!

Please join our Discord our the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Gameplay Changes



  • The default color pattern progression of inputs is now vastly more diverse
  • Added a brand new input method: "Duo Color", accessible in "Custom" difficulty. This new take on Mono-Color constantly alternates between two colors, which provides a nice middle-ground between Relaxing and Medium difficulty
  • The movement speed is now 20% higher than the previous base in both Relaxing and Medium. It has been upped to 30% in Intense difficulty (from 20%)
  • The obstacle density in Relaxing is now also set to High
  • A transition from Walking to Running intensity will now also trigger the "boosting" jump animation, just like when going from Walking to Sprinting
  • Added the BPM value on the UI during a track

Bug Fixes



  • The displayed BPM on the track loading screen is now doubled when appropriate (this is purely cosmetic, it had no impact on the track's actual density and tempo)
  • Coming back to the File Selection screen (after a track or by leaving that menu) now refreshes the content of the last opened folder. The last selected track is also automatically selected again when using non-mouse input navigation.
  • Fixed a bug which distorted the length of slow-motion jumps areas due to the new movement speed
  • Fixed a very rare bug where ground indicators and the ocean could sometimes stop being rendered for a portion of the track
  • The mouse cursor is now instantly hidden when switching to gamepad or arrow navigation on keyboard
  • Fixed Covert Art of music files not being displayed anymore in the music info panel since the previous patch
  • Fixed a bug with the "3/4 time signature" flag not being saved correctly in track cache and thus not displayed in follow-up playthroughs. This had no impact on gameplay.
  • Optimized held voices' start time position in some cases for 3/4 and 6/8 time signature music.
  • The "favorite" icon in music info panel is now golden
  • Forced the "Confirm" action in UI menus to the "South" button on gamepads, to fix an issue with Switch gamepads (behavior unchanged on other gamepads)

Due to music algorithm changes, all previously cached tracks will be re-analyzed again the next time that you play them.

Patch Notes: v0.4.7 (High BPMs density support)

The focus of this patch is to address the maximum obstacle density of high tempo songs (140+ BPM), that often felt like you were playing them half the rate, which didn't feel great and also made the game too easy.

I've also tried to improve the feeling of speed in the game in higher difficulties, and to make the Sprinting (red) intensity a bit more common.

Those changes mostly impact Medium and Intense difficulty, but please note that if you would like to revert to previous levels of density and difficulty, you can use the "Custom Difficulty" option to create your very own mix of game rules!

In the next patch, I will tackle the issue of note patterns color progression that make the current patterns not engaging enough, as well as addressing arrow visibility issues.

Please join our Discord our the Discussions Forum to share your feedback about this new patch!

Gameplay Changes



  • The music algorithm now handles tempo up to 180 BPM (from 140 BPM)
  • Significantly increased the maximum obstacle density in Medium and Intense difficulty. This will be very noticeable if you are using songs above 140 BPM, in some cases it can up to double the density.
  • Melody's movement speed is now 10% faster in Medium difficulty, and 20% faster in Intense difficulty (except during Walking sections)
  • Lowered the intensity thresholds required for Melody to both start Running or Sprinting
  • Increased the input hitbox timing size in all difficulties.
  • Ground indicators are now larger (increasing their arrow visibility too) and grow in size with the new speed variable (to respect the hitboxes)
  • Bubbles from Walking intensity are now slightly larger
  • Lowered the timing before obstacles can spawn again after a slow-motion jump that ends in Jogging intensity and above

Bug fixes



  • Fixed a bug with regards to obstacle input priority when two obstacles were too close together.
  • Fixed the hearts score sprites not being centered in the Music Info preview panel.
  • Fixed held solid obstacles in Intense difficulty not being fully purple.

Due to music algorithm changes, all previously cached tracks will be re-analyzed again the next time that you play them.