Five years ago I have released Pogostuck out into the world.

Thank you to the over 300 000 people who have played the game since, including those who have tried it and decided it's not for them (although I suggest sticking with it for 30-60min at least, as quite a few people who went on to enjoy the game greatly didn't like it much initially)!

Thank you to the gamers who have played Pogostuck for 1000+ hours, perfected the movement and destroyed all the game's challenges and records in leaderboards!

And thank you to content creators and everyone who has watched the game on YouTube, Twitch or other streaming sites!



To celebrate this milestone I've added 3 new wardrobe items:

• A birthday cake hat (with a secret special mechanic, maybe!).
  
• A new pause effect - for Pogo Masters only.
  
• An offbeat accessory - for Pogo Legends only.

To unlock the birthday cake hat boot up the game and play one of the maps for a bit during the celebration week (February 28th until March 6th).

See you on Mount Pogo!

Superku

An Upside-Down mode for Map 3 comes out today! Because why not.

This new mode is nothing for the faint of heart as you can imagine. It's definitely up there with Map 2 and Map 2 Upside-Down in terms of challenge. It features a few unique jumps and obstacles and should keep you busy for a while.
Similarly to Map 2 UD you can access the Map 3 equivalent by hopping into the portal above the mode blocks:



The only requirement to access the mode and for this portal to appear is that you've beaten Map 3 in any mode at least once (so you know the ending of the stage already and generally what the map is normally like).
Many changes in code were necessary for this mode but surprisingly, only a handful of modifications to Map 3 itself.

If you manage to beat this new mode without any co-op help (rubber bands or "helper friends") you will gain access to a new option in the wardrobe menu, the option to invert your character orientation.
There's no new achievement for now.


Good luck and have fun!

Superku

On your way up the mountain a caveman asks you for help. Their friend has gone missing. Being the good soul that you are you do not hesitate a second and pledge your assistance.

Looking around the foothills of Pogo Mountain you stumble upon an eerie place in the woods, seemingly surrounded by fog and permanent darkness.
As you stand before a wall of fog a cold shiver runs down your back. However, you gather courage and step through. Enter...



It's up to you to find the missing person! Explore and climb a new smallish map in this halloween themed update (a permanent addition to the game).
Unlock a few new cosmetics and achievements, compete for best times or just casually hop around this medium difficulty map. Whatever you prefer.



Please note that this is NOT a "Map 4", neither in scope nor lore-wise. Instead, you will find it listed as a "Bonus Map" in the main menu. Beating any of the previous maps is no requirement to access this new stage.

The new update releases for free right about now.

Have fun playing this new map, I hope you will enjoy!

Superku

Somewhere far out into the ocean, there is an island. A mysterious place that can only be reached... from space!

After getting over the mountain in Map 1 and falling into the cauldron you find yourself high up in the sky, Before you know it you crash on an island. What will you find at its peak?


Explore a map full of branching paths, shortcuts, optional areas and new obstacles and mechanics.
Collect various new unlockable items to customize your character even further or make use of the new Pause Effects which expand upon co-op gameplay. This co-op is opt-in and can easily be toggled in the Multiplayer Menu, which is the new name for the Friends Menu. (Note: Map 3 co-op will not be available on launch day. Also, additional co-op Pause Effects might be added at a later point.)





The update includes 33 new achievements of varying difficulty, indicated by the green background. Getting the Pogo Master rank will still require you to get all 29 blue achievements as it was before, no changes there. (Note: I did not have time to make a unique icon for every achievement yet, those will come at a later point.)



If you manage to get all new achievements and fulfill certain other requirements you now can achieve the prestigious and exclusive rank of Pogo Legend. This title is reserved for the best of the best, and people will see your accomplishment by a green slightly sparkling nameplate in the lobby. Oh, and if you want to go undercover and roleplay as an absolute beginner you now can toggle your name color in the Misc Menu.
To check your progress on getting Pogo Legend head to the Wardrobe Menu and press that green new button. The page that comes up will download and sum up all your best times and submit the result to a new competitive Pogo Legend leaderboard.
The top ranked players in said leaderboard will get some additional cosmetic options in the future.

The update includes various other technical improvements and smaller features, many of which have been patched in last year already.


NOTE: I plan to make a few adjustments to the map over the course of the next 2 weeks presumably. These include some graphical updates but small changes to the map layout also. Most importantly though the finale of the map could change slightly, that is the last 5-10%. It is very much not forgiving or lenient right now which would be detrimental to speedrunning in particular. Frustration is what I've tried to avoid with this map.


Special thanks to Bobandal for extensive consultation on the Map 3 sketch including some obstacles!

Special thanks as well to izumi for the Japanese translation, Julien "UULaCrevette" Petoux & Francys "Cuttyflame" Gaudin for the French translation, Fernando Alvarez Salgado for the Spanish translation,
WkaQhdwhdk_레일짬뽕 for the Korean translation, Sleeping for the Russian translation,
Lucas "Cheeseburger97" Marsh for composing music for the finale and Valmerix for a secret suggestion.

Have fun and good luck!

Superku

Stuck, looking for help or just want to talk to fellow Pogo players? Join the Pogostuck discord channel: https://discord.gg/jKaA7EX

I've just added the 33 new achievements that will launch with the Map 3 content update, launching January 15th.
Additional achievements will come at a later point when extra Map 3 game modes get patched in.

I want to make sure all of those achievements work fine and can be unlocked at launch. Therefore it was necessary to add them to the Pogostuck Steam backend. As a result, sadly all players lose the 100% achievement completion rate for Pogostuck and will not be able to regain it for the next 14 days.

Sorry, and thank you for understanding.

Superku

The trailer for the upcoming free Map 3 content update is ready. Watch it here:



launches January 15th, 2022, 9pm CET.

For more info about the map and what else comes with the update check my previous news posts or wait for the release day write-up.

Thank you, and see you at the top!

I've just pushed a new update live for Pogostuck. It does not include new content but has been in the works for ages still.
It uses a new system to establish P2P connections from lobbies. Dead lobbies where you cannot establish connections to most if not all other players (indicated by an X in the live ranking) should be a thing of the past now.
Now that the lobby owner does not dictate the player list anymore it was necessary to rewrite the rubber band syncing code. Should you experience issues with this or stumble upon another major bug please let me know!

Please note that the new version is incompatible with the old version, so players on different versions might not see each other and rubber bands may break or not function at all. When trying to play with friends please make sure you are all running the new version (you can check the version in the Misc Options menu).

Apart from this rewrite the update includes some bug fixes, internal work to prepare for Map 3 as well as a new button in the Multiplayer (Friends) menu to join a different lobby.

Work on Map 3 is slowly but surely coming to an end.

Recently I have implemented a new type of customization, that is Pause Effects.
You most likely noticed the addition to the Wardrobe menu early 2021 already. So far it only featured the ice freeze effect you unlock when you beat the Map 1 ice mode.
In the future you will find 8 new pause effects:


Use them to customize your pogo character even further or to interact with other players. Point them in the right direction, rate their moves or show them your affection:



The Friends menu has been renamed to the Multiplayer menu and now lists an option to opt into pause effect related co-op functionality. Go ham with your friends and shortcut everything by jumping on helper blocks, grapes and even mushrooms (all indicated by eyes on said objects) or help out a stranger in need:



Note that using this feature will give time penalties as well as prevent you from getting certain if not most Map 3 achievements until you reset your run (a new entry in the Multiplayer menu notes if you have used co-op functionality, including rubber bands, this run). Additionally, the pause effect helper functionality is only available in Map 3 and will never be added to Map 1 nor Map 2.


If you paid close attention you might have noticed the pogo stick I was using. Behold, the Pro Stick:



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Non-porous water-repellent rubber grips with True Gibster™ linings give the user maximum control.
While lacking in comfort, the water-permeable Pro Stick foot pedals deliver ultimate grip, increasing confidence and ultimately results.

Pre-order now for only 279,-Eur. Some terms and conditions may apply.

Work on Map 3 continues. I still don't know just yet when it will be done and released.
However, I wanted to share some insight into the development of the map.

As you might already know the main feature of Map 3 is branching paths and segments, multiple routes to take. One of them is a short strawberry themed precision jump area, reminiscent of the notorious Map 1 pineapples. This is what we will look at today.


Note: The screenshots do not show the final visuals of that area. In particular have I used a sprite/ texture from the internet for the grass and the tree leaves which I yet have to replace with my own.

The idea sort of came from a pineapple wall obstacle I sketched back in 2019 for a then theoretical Map 2. It was thought to be across and opposing the crocodile and dragon jumps that made it into the map later on. Have a look at that part of my larger Map 2 sketch file from back then (and you'll recognize other areas of said level):



While I prototyped the new Map 3 (over the course of 5 months, every now and then) I found the following alignment of small obstacles to be best, in terms of challenge, flow and general layout:



I had strawberries in mind but some other object also (for example for more spikey things, or have only the left side of that area be strawberries), however I do not recall my exact thoughts anymore.
Either way, when I was confident with the map layout I ported the level into Blender, my choice of modeling program, where I turned the (skewed) block based level sketch into actual game geometry.



You can see that the rendering of Map 3 is similar to that of Map 2, in contrast to the more simplistic materials and lighting in Map 1.
Taking on the strawberries I started with a basic 3D shape of a strawberry and then figured I have to create the normal map right away. For that purpose I created the monstrosity which can be seen below, with the sole purpose of generating the small blueish normal map in the lower right corner of the image:



Using that normal map I could create my first strawberries, move them in position and deform them slightly here and there to fit the level editor sketch as well as for visual reasons.



I realized quickly the polygon count was exploding so I had to "fake" all of the other instances with 2D strawberries, which caused a whole heap of other problems and additional work.
The idea now was to create 8 generic and multipurpose 2D strawberries which I would then be able to place into the level and only use up a few polygons for each. This included various steps, some of them shown in the following image.



As those 2D strawberry polygons make up a single mesh for greatly improved performance (instead of drawing every strawberry one by one) they don't have information about their orientation. As a result, the lighting of the 2D strawberries (in particular) is incorrect and will vary greatly on their tilt. However, I deemed it to be acceptable given the other benefits and considering the time and work it would take to improve on this.
Still, making the 3D and 2D strawberries look as similar as possible took a considerable amount of time.



First screenshot again:





For Map 1 I had written several algorithms to automatically generate 2D contour collision meshes for the 3D models used there. While this had saved me tedious work of handcrafting all collision geometry it lead to a bunch of issues with them as well, which especially popped up during the first few weeks and months after launch.
For the purpose of smoother gameplay and less bonks I handcrafted all collision meshes for Map 2. I am doing the same again for Map 3, and given the extra paths and more intricate geometry this is as tedious as it gets - but hopefully worth it.
(If you have ever dabbled into game development you can imagine the time spent on every step, in particular if you accidentally delete/ overwrite progress such as me making the green stems in this case, or realizing oversights such as not being able to tint seeds yellow without extra data.)



That's it for now, back to work.

Yes.

A new map has been in development for quite some time now. The name of the map as well as the title of the update will be revealed at a later point, for now this teaser image shall suffice:



The map is very much in development still. I've started designing it in July 2020 already, as a thing on the side while working on new games (and my own new engine). January 4th I called the block based level editor sketch done as I was happy with it. Ever since I've been working on turning that prototype into an actual polished map, either full time or working on other games every now and then.

The main reason for map 3 being more work than map 1 and map 2 combined is not an absurd length - it is in fact a bit shorter than map 2 - but its core design principle: Multiple routes, long and short.

When you climb the island that is map 3 you choose your own path (at least most of the time). Every segment plays differently and offers a unique challenge, so if you get pogo-stuck try your luck somewhere else. While this new map is rather difficult still, I've tried to enable and allow for "saves" wherever I could. All routes and segments and platforms are as close together as possible without allowing major skips - minor skips are encouraged and have been proactively implemented into the design of the map. As a result, the challenge remains without being as punishing as falls in map 2.

The update will include new unlockables, a bunch of achievements, a new Pogo Legend rank and more. Some things which were originally meant to be included in the map 3 update have been patched into the game already, for example the reworked and improved replay system.
Additional (for now) experimental extra modes for map 3 and an additional outro might be released at a later point, post map 3 launch. The focus for now solely is on getting the new level done. This however can and will take a bunch of time still. I'll let you know more when I have an estimate for a release date.

As before with prior content patches this will again be a free update to the game. I only ask you for your patience, in case you are looking forward to it.