Happy new year!

To wrap up this year I've got an update for The Apothecary's Apprentice!

Overview

• An in-game speedrun timer has been added
• You will now be awarded with medals for achieving a fast time in each of the game's levels
• You best time to complete the entire game is recorded (you can also earn a medal based on how fast your overall time is).

Details

With this update, you can earn a medal on each of the levels by completing them quickly. There are four tiers of medal that you can earn, with better medals being rewarded the faster you can finish each level.

Shiny medals to reward you for beating the levels as fast as you can

Bronze is earned by completing the level, silver is earned by getting a decent time and gold is earned through achieving a great time. The last medal, diamond, requires a near-flawless run of a level to get the absolute fastest time.

To track your time, an in-game speedrun timer has been added. It will begin automatically when you start a level from the level select screen or restart the game from the main menu. The timer is off by default but can be enabled through the options menu by enabling the "Show Speedrun Timer" setting.

The timer appears in the bottom-left corner

You must enable it from the options menu

The timer works as follows:

• It begins when you first load a level
• It will pause during level loads, as some computers will transition between levels faster than others.
• It resumes automatically on the following level
• If you're running the entire game, the timer will stop when you reach the last cutscene.

Starting a level from the Level Select menu will cause the timer to only record your progress on that single level. Once you complete the level, you will be returned to the main menu and your best time will be recorded above the level, along with the medal earned by completing the level with that time.

Medals and best times appear above each level

You can instead choose to speedrun the entire game. The game now records your playtime through the game, regardless of if you have the speedrun timer enabled. You will see your time on the final screen once you beat the game, along with a medal to grade your time. Your best time and medal also appear on the main menu.

Game completion time after you beat the game


Best time shown on the main menu

Restarting the game will not remove any of your best times or medals.

I hope you enjoy these changes! Thanks for all the support so far :)