The Ares Horizon v2.0.0 - Major Update

🚀 Release Notes

VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

• The game launches in full screen, to exit the game, press the escape key on your keyboard or type out "exit"
• When opening the settings menu your mouse pointer will not be able to exit the window, you just have to click the "Apply Changes" button to return back to normal
• The game will pause when the setting menu is open, if you change the typewriting speed, it will apply after the one full line is typed out

INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAY THE MINI-GAME

• You would have a prep timer of 3 seconds to get ready
• Use left and right arrow keys to navigate through the spikes
• As the game mode difficulty increases, the speed of the spaceship, and the size of the spikes also increase

🕹️ New Content & Gameplay

• Landing Minigame: Added a brand-new space landing minigame featuring 3 distinct difficulties and deadly spike obstacles.
• Minigame Arcade Mode: Successfully landing your spacecraft now permanently unlocks a standalone mode to play the minigame without restarting the story.
• Expanded Storyline: Integrated a new story choice system, linking your Solar Sails decision in Branch 2 directly to your final choices in Branch 1.

⚙️ Settings & Audio Overhaul

• Pygame Migration: Rebuilt the settings menu entirely in Pygame to eliminate legacy Tkinter bugs and prepare for standalone packages.
• Dynamic Audio Engine: Switched to Pygame's audio engine, resolving cross-platform crash errors on macOS and Linux.
• Text Speed Customization: Added a slider to let players freely adjust how fast the typewriter effect renders text on screen.
• Factory Reset Feature: Added a "Reset All Settings" button to instantly restore all game configurations back to factory defaults.
• Dynamic Slider & Mute Toggle: Added an audio slider that shifts colors as volume changes, alongside a "Mute All Sounds" override checkbox.
• Persistent Preferences: Local game audio and player preferences are now securely saved using a .json backend file.

🎨 UI & Quality of Life Updates

• Instant Retry Loop: Introduced a localized "Try Again" screen that records attempt numbers without forcing users back through long loading sequences.
• Theme Modes: Integrated clean Dark Mode and Light Mode styling options for UI personalization.
• New Sound Effects: Swapped the base audio engine to deploy fresh sound effects alongside the looping background soundtrack.

🐛 Bug Fixes & Architecture Changes

• Screen Scaling Fix: Resolved a critical layout bug where interactive interface buttons would clip out or disappear on small resolutions and non-fullscreen displays.
• Cross-Platform Setup Docs: Revamped the local installation guidelines in README.md to guarantee seamless setup on non-Windows machines.