Aquaria is open source, and a fan by the name of False Genesis did some updates to the game. Open Source Edition v1.001 adds the following:

- SDL2 is now used on all platforms! This adds rumble support for controllers that support it.
- Fixed rotating oil drops (I messed this up in the last update, oops)
- Better stereo separation and distance attenuation for all sounds effects
- The mod downloader is even more shiny thanks to new icons made by FrancesF
- Do not allow rolling while riding
- Better/Faster pathfinding for entities (this has no influence on combat behavior)
- Slightly faster startup
- AnimationEditor: Fix possible out-of-memory crash
- AnimationEditor/SceneEditor: Warn if saving map/animation/... failed
- SceneEditor: Fixed some crashes and quirks
- Fixed memory leak when singing
- Fixed problems and weird behavior with mods/patches, in package files and on the filesystem. Too complicated to explain.
- Fixed possible crash related to missing textures
- Fixed lost health refill at save points (instead, the game would restore the health as it was before saving when loading the savefile)
- No more separate developer build -- this is now a setting in usersettings.xml
- Windows build: Fixed possible crash on exit (windowed mode + close window with [X])
- Many many more things, mostly relevant for our in-progress sequel mod and modding in general

This update is not officially known nor supported by GOG as of this writing. Here is the link to False Genesis's thread for the patch. Have fun. :)

Aquaria - Unofficial Update v1.001

Thank you for this :)
I've never played the game : should I play it directly with this unofficial update ? It doesn't change anything concerning the game experience ?

I am curious about this as well. As a first time player, is this mod recommended?

Judging by the changelog, the unofficial update is focused on what is under the hood. Aside from making the game faster, the main value of the update is that it makes the game more suitable for modding. Anyhow, the last unofficial update release was in 2014 - if GOG did any changes to Aquaria, it might not play nice with the unofficial update.

In my opinion, the update is for power users. Unless you have speed issues with Aquaria or a desire to play a mod, it might be best to ignore the unofficial update.

Okay ! I'll do my first playthrough without it so !
Thank you very much for the explanations :)

I would recommend it, yes.

It allows you to set higher screen resolutions, improves support for input devices, fixes some bugs, improves performance, and subtly improves the quality of visual and audio effects.

Also (at least on Linux) it adds the ability to ALT-tab out of the game, which is useful in case you want to consult walkthroughs or guides while playing.

And on top of that, it adds an excellent mod downloader that you can reach from the main menu. There are some mods that even first-time players might find useful, such as localized subtitles.

I finished the game once before the updatepack was available, and then replayed it with the updatepack, and haven't encountered any downsides - only improvements. So I'd say go for it!

Thank you for the information! Has it been verified that the patch works with the GOG version? Does it cause any issues with Galaxy?

I used it with the Humble Bundle version of the game, but I assume it's compatible with the GOG version too.
If it's isn't, you'll find out soon enough though if you try it... :P

As for Galaxy, I have no idea what it does to modded installations.
Maybe copy the game folder to a different place and apply the update pack there so that Galaxy can't over-write it?

It works with Galaxy.
Just fyi for anyone that encounters this thread. :P

I urge everybody to install it as it improves controller support. I could bind my XBOX360 D-Pad Directional Buttons after it.

The default binding overall is still crap, but unlike some other games *cough* dust elysian tail *cough* you can fix that. I did it like so:

Keep in mind to keep "Button 0" and "Button 1" ("A" and "B") bound to "Left Mouse Equiv" and "Right Mouse Equiv" bindings (the first two lines) as these do the heavy lifting (meaning: multiple actions for single button) in this game.

"Roll" Y
"Revert" D-Pad Up
"World Map/Recipes" RB
"Menu/Escape" Start
"Prev Page" D-Pad Left
"Next Page" D-Pad Right
"Food Menu Cook" Back
"Food Drop" D-Pad Down
"Look" X
"Help" LB
Bind all other lines to "Button 5" which is the big xbox button in the middle as a way to unbind the line as the game has no way to unbind keys.

You still can't zoom the map but given what you have to work with, this is the best you can do and now you can do anything in the game conveniently. Enjoy!

1. Is there a mod that removes shots from off screen and makes all enemies react if shot from far away?

2. Is there one that makes either ingredients or health drops more common, so you don't fight a bigger enemy and get nothing?

3. Is there one that places the fish form sooner in the game?

bit-blot.com appears to be dead, only throwing a PHP error. Was this mirrored somewhere else?

I remembered that the OSE update pack was also hosted at
https: fg.wzff.de pub aquaria updatepacks
(and other mods are in the mods and oldstuff directories on the same server).
I'm not allowed to post links, apparently, so you'll have to fill in the slashes in the line above.

Also on GitHub. Search for Aquaria