Research Blog

This release features several new mod API features requested by modders in the Discord server.

Also, we have our first user created transformation mod — check out the new Pig TF and Pig King mods by Luxious if you like weight gain stuff!

Details:

• Monster mods can now cause the player to transform into a custom species. To do this, instead of specifying an integer for ‘bodyType’, specify the string ID of what to TF into.  See Pig King for an example.
• Most game objects that you can get via functions will have a .type that indicate their type, ie: “Player”, “Entity”, “Species”, “Clothing”.
• Added new clothing functions, so you can get a clothing item worn in a particular slot, or get clothing-specific information about it. See the Pants Enthusiast sample.
• Custom entity spawning — By setting an ‘id’ parameter on a mod, you can now spawn entities, clothing, and monsters via LUA script by way of Entity.Generate().  You can spawn both custom and non-custom creations this way.
  • See Vending Machine for an example of spawning entities.
  • See Monster Machine for an example of spawning monsters.
• Logging cleanup so as to not spam during normal gameplay if new LUA entities are spawned.
• Multiple custom monsters can now be loaded and run at the same time.  Debug Mod Control Panel will still nuke the previous monster, but generated custom monsters via Entity.Generate() will stick around forever.
• Renamed Debug Monster Control Panel -> Debug Mod Control Panel.
• Fix for error loading Kitsune / monsters that don’t cause TFs.

Next up, I’ll most likely be looking at custom map support for mods (which will allow you to place all your mods in interesting scenarios / levels).  If you want to get started on that, the tools are already available — check out the excellent Trizbort software.

I have recorded a video tutorial on how to setup, compile, and run LUA programs on Windows machines.

If you were previously having trouble, it’s likely due to b64’s tendancy to include line break characters.  I’ve demonstrated a new method in the tutorial and on the wiki page that uses a different program instead.

Bunch of updates today:

r24 is released with Transformation Mods!  Create your own species to transform into, including the exact method of transforming into it.  Check out this wiki page to learn how to make your very own transformations.

New login system is also included in the r24 build.  Full details in the previous post, but the big feature is that android users will no longer need to type their password in each time they want to access save/load.

Giraffe TF is the first transformation mod, check it out here if you like giraffes or just want to see how to make a TF mod.

February 1 patrons have been processed and should now have access to the game.  A few people didn’t have their account linked, so check your Patreon inboxes for next steps.

The business model of the game has been updated as per the last couple posts.  BMT payment options have been updated along with Patreon reward tiers.  If you hadn’t seen those posts yet, please take a look for the details.

Thanks to everyone who filled out last week’s survey.  The majority of people polled thought it would be fair for the game to move to a monthly payment model instead of a fixed price, with the leading suggestion being $10.  So, I will be making this change at the end of the week after the Patreon pledges for Feb 1 go through.

I’m appreciative for everyone who supported this plan — as the base game content wraps up, I think this is the simplest and fairest way to support ongoing releases.  I think 10 is the right balance between making it accessible, but also being large enough to support the game as the game’s focus is extremely niche and only appeals to a small number of people.

As a reminder, this doesn’t change anything for people who already bought the game (or buys before Feb 1) — you’ll still have access to updates to the base game as always.  This is only affecting new purchasers, as well as people who want to get DLC later on.

After Patreon finishes the Feb 1 pledges, I’ll be changing the tiers as indicated in the previous blog to reflect the monthly system.  I’ll also be releasing the new private build at that point (so probably Thursday or Friday).

In addition to Transformation Mods, the new build will also have a new login system that can remember your login credentials between sessions — no more constantly typing your password for android players!  Since it’s all automated now, the login screen is now the start-up screen for private build players.  Ideally you won’t even notice this since your credentials are already stored.  If you’re offline, it shouldn’t break anything as long as you’ve previously played online sometime within the last month.  Hopefully this new system will make playing the game a lot more seamless, especially for mobile players.  When the game eventually switches off of Flash, this system will be useful for desktop players as well.

First – transformation mods are coming along well and should be available in a new release in the coming week or so. At least initially, it’ll require LUA coding to make new transformations, but maybe in the future there will be a WYSIWYG editor for it if there’s requests.

Second – there’s only a couple more chapters until the game’s storyline is complete and I can start in on some of the DLC chapter ideas people have suggested. This has gotten me thinking about how these DLC would be priced. As I started thinking more about having to manage a whole set of individual DLC packages, or come up with some sort of ‘Season Pass’ sort of thing, I came to conclusion it would be simpler to just offer everything (base game + dlc) as a monthly Patreon tier (and via BMT subscription also). Even now, I still get comments from people who assume that we’re already on a monthly business model since we have a Patreon.  So it seems simpler and fairer to just have one price and you get everything.

As for what that price point is… it’s TBD and I’m taking input. Please check out the survey and feel free to leave longform comments here also. I’m leaning to $10/month for this, although I think there are compelling arguments for both $5 and $15 as price points, too (I do want it to be accessible to everyone, but I also know that the game’s focus is extremely niche and only appeals to a small number of people. So in order to be able to spend more time on making game updates, a higher price point than average would be necessary).

If this change happens, there’d be no effect to existing purchasers or anyone in the upcoming Patreon cycle for Feb 1 — you would still have access to updates to the base game as always. This is affecting new purchasers, as well as people who want to get DLC whenever that happens.

Also, I’m thinking of removing the custom clothing + cameo tiers from Patreon. Now that modding is available, they’re a bit redundant since you can do it yourself for free.

Your feedback in the survey link above and in the comments below is welcome!