Hey Sponge Buds!

This update focuses on revamping the new player experience, further optimizing performance, continuing to fix outstanding bugs, adding new achievements, and improving level design based on feedback.

• Revamped player onboarding for new and returning sponges

  • A new “How to Play” video is now accessible from the main menu

  • Added tutorial videos for major game features such as the defibrillator, hammer, pressure plates, grave stones, and many more

  • Rafts now temporarily display indicator footprints to instruct new sponges how to steer

• Implemented some punching system upgrades while going fast

• The level selector in now on the main menu when hosting a game

• More additions:

  • Added a more stable camera rotation system

  • Added UI around repair bit limits

  • Added more player feedback when taking damage

• More improvements:

  • Optimizations on both the GPU and CPU

  • Optimizations to network during choppy water

  • Updates to the overall localization

• Air Time: Jump over a chasm

• Dance Off: All players using an emote at the same time

• Death from Above: lose the raft to a stalactite

• Explosive Ending: lose the raft to a mine

• Giddy Up: Ride the inflatable duck

• Hoop King: Get ball through the hoop

• Last Sponge Standing: Be the last sponge alive at the end of a level in a four player round 

• Pollinate This: Nobody likes a buzzing beaver

• Suffer for Your Freedom: Get water + physical + poison damage at the same time

• Trippy: Eat the magic mushroom

• Turdtastic: Lose the raft to a turd

• Took the Scenic Route: Find the destroyed RV

• Getting Your Feet Wet

  • Added repair bits

  • Adjusted layout slightly to accommodate new tutorial section

• Reaching New Heights

  • Fixed a spot where players could get stuck if they dove too far underwater

  • Removed random geometry from the level streaming patch

• Test the Water

  • Fixed some spots that players could get stuck under while in the water

• Into the Wild

  • Fixed a spot where players could get stuck under water after a jump

• Wood Chipper

  • Grounded a floating chocolate

• The Climb

  • Fixed the collision with the pipe for getting Bing Bong (!)

• Razor Edge & The Barrage

  • Grounded a floating campfire

• This Is It

  • Fixed some errant water clipping and artifacting

  • Fixed the smashers to match the exterior design on the tower

  • Fixed a spot where players could get stuck after the fan puzzles

  • Fixed puzzle switches, removed the big wheels

• Addressed an issue where players would remain stuck in the Cosmetics Shop if another player joined the session while using it

• Fixed items missing translations

• Fixed replication issues around mines and boxes

• Added light in the tunnel in the 1st safe area

As always, thanks so much for your support!

(As a bonus, Sponge Break is currently on sale for a limited time. This sale not includes the full game, but also our Supporter Pack and Original Soundtrack, and will apply to all of our bundles, too.)

We'll you on the river.

— Goosebyte

Howdy, Sponge Buds.

It's been a little over a month since Sponge Break launched, so we thought we'd do a quick check-in to share what our team has learned -- what works, what doesn't -- and what's coming next for the game.

But before we dive in, we just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who's played or purchased Sponge Break. We wouldn't have made it this far downriver without you. So please keep rafting, and definitely keep the feedback, reports, reviews, streams, and random memes coming. 🙏

Anyway... on to the update!

• 💥 You really enjoy the chaos!

• 🗺️ The variety in level design has been a big hit.

• 😈 Many of you didn’t expect Sponge Break to be this challenging!

The combination of physics-based raft traversal, platforming, and light puzzle-solving seems to be hitting some sort of sweet spot. We also love seeing players discover unexpected solutions to specific challenges, like throwing items at stalactites or using an inflatable duck to clear a minefield.

• 🎓 Our onboarding experience, especially raft controls, isn't super clear right now.

• 📡 We've made a lot performance improvements, but we still need to make more!

• 🐛 We’ve also fixed a lot of bugs, too, but some frustrations with physics issues still remain.

Not everything has been smooth sailing since launch. While we've deployed over 20 updates since Sponge Break released focused on addressing direct player feedback and reports, we still have opportunities to further optimize performance, squash more bugs, and improve the new player flow.

• 📚 A reworked opening and better introduction to raft controls

• 🏆 Several new achievements

• 🧭 The ability to pick which level to start on if you've beaten it previously

• ⚡ Major performance optimizations

• 🌐 Major networking improvements to smooth out physics-related friction

• 🧯 And many more bug fixes based on your feedback

For Patch 1.1, we're focusing on addressing areas of player feedback we haven't been able to hit quite yet, including some adding more tutorial content. including an official level picker, and doing bigger passes on performance and network optimizations to help keep the chaos fun vs. painful.

And that's the update!

While we're a small team of six, our focus from Day 1 has been to deliver a great game that provides outsized amounts of silly, somewhat "sloppy" fun for players around the world. Every day, we show up to work to make sure that goal stays a reality. And with your support, Sponge Break has only gotten better.

We hope you enjoy what's next, and we'll see you on the river.

— Goosebyte