Update 2.0b Changelog [new stages, the Shop, and more!]

Hey everyone! It's been a bit, but the second beta version of Coin Rush Redux is here! I won't waste anyone's time- here's the full patch notes:

[FEATURED ADDITIONS]

- Added the Shop, where you can spend coins you've collected to unlock new colors and decals. There are only a few of each so far, but more will be added!

- Added the option to apply the aforementioned customizations to your icon before a game starts (for now, they are purely cosmetic; it is undecided whether this will remain the case)

- New original stage: "Speedway". It's the most complex one yet; your skills will be tested!

- Added three "Retro" stages from the original Coin Rush. Get 3 stars on each of them for a special reward!

- All original stages now have unique backgrounds

[INTERFACE]

- Replaced the boring tutorial in the main menu with much snappier gamemode-specific overviews after you select a mode

- Can now assign custom names to players on the controller setup screen

- Added missing button icons to mode select screen, so it feels just a bit more lively now

- Added quit button to mode select screen in downloaded versions of the game

- Full game credits and the Records screen are now available in the Extras menu

- Music and SFX are now independently toggleable from game settings

[GAMEPLAY]

- Player physics adjusted: you now get up to speed much quicker, which makes the controls smoother and closer to how the original game worked. Max player speed also slightly increased

- Added Restart option to pause menu

- Combo counter no longer has a cap. This change is purely visual, as the multiplier for increasing the Frenzy meter still caps at combo 8

- Combos are no longer prevented while a Frenzy is active, but the combo counter still only responds to coins that were not spawned from the Frenzy itself

- Color difference for Frenzy-spawned coins now takes effect even if the Particle Effects setting is also turned on

- Coins now have a drop shadow to make them easier to see against certain backgrounds

- Time bonuses now disappear if not collected for a certain number of seconds (calculated as [23 - bonus amount], with the lowest being an 8-second lifetime for a 15-second time pickup)

- Boost panels and bounce pads now flash and make a sound effect when a player uses them (their actual behavior is not affected)

- Once used, boost panels now deactivate until the player using one exits its hitbox, patching an exploit where a player could trap another player using a boost panel

- Players under the effect of a boost panel now leave a sparkle trail behind them

-Hazards now fade away when they hit a wall instead of awkwardly vanishing

- Added sound effect when earning stars in Rush mode

- Updated the "GAME!" text that appears at the end of the round

[OTHER]

- Added automatic update checker (runs in the background at startup if you're connected to the Internet, via a HTTP request)

- Added measures to safely free stray nodes when exiting game scenes (that's nerd for "getting rid of stuff the game doesn't need anymore") to reduce chance of memory leaks

- If no save file is found, the game now warns before creating a new one

- Updated itch.io page

There are a couple of new bugs I'm aware of as well as a new music track for the tutorials that I couldn't implement in time because I would need to re-export everything, but it's gonna be a bit longer before I can deal with those things, so I decided to push out the update now. You can expect version 2.1b to follow relatively soon, but in the meantime, the game should still be playable just fine!