NEW Every opponent now wears a body of its own. The Virus holds a wall of the very microbes it throws, the Regenerator a single purple row, the Shooter a rank of upright bacilli, the Colony an uneven clump of cells, and The Thing wears its own portrait across the middle. Each fires its rockets in its own colours. Contact: kry.sup@proton.me

FIXED Pausing an online match now really stops it. A pause could be lifted by the other player resuming, and the ball kept flying under the pause screen while the match went on. Contact: kry.sup@proton.me

THE SOLO LADDER Five opponents, each with its own way of staying alive, and three difficulties for every one of them. The game tells you how hard each really is — the rating is measured, not promised. LIVES AND RULES A match is played in lives now, and a new Rules screen names every drop: what it does, and how often it falls. YOUR MEMBRANE HOLDS LONGER Healing and Growth reach you more often, and Growth gives more cells back. ALSO Play on straight from the result screen, back to the opponent you just fought. New portraits for all five rivals. Cleaner sound on impacts. FIXED Two drops from one hit no longer land as a single icon. A tapped Game Center invitation opens the match instead of nothing. Contact: kry.sup@proton.me

Matches are played in lives now — you start with five, and the rules screen has a table that explains them. Every match is counted: both players see their head-to-head record before the serve. Online play moved to a new networking engine — the ball travels smoothly and the two sides stay in step. New "Network stats" setting shows your ping next to the score (off by default). Bonuses behave the same on both devices, and a bonus you caught stays caught. When two players are on different versions, the game now says exactly that.