Apr 25, 2019

Streets of Rogue - Madguy

For the first time in years, my list of bugs and balance fixes that I need to make is actually running fairly low! I’m still waiting on the console certification process to finish up before I can announce a 1.0 release date.

That doesn’t mean I have any shortage of things to do! For example, I spent a bunch of time this week working on a proper level editor for the game. I’m still not 100% sure that this will be available as a modding tool (though it’s something I’ll be considering), but at the very least it’ll allow me to create new buildings more rapidly post-launch.

For more info on the current state of development, check out my "What’s Being Worked On" post on the forums.

This update’s Fortnight Discussion: The "Endless" mutator. I've been wanting to add an increasing challenge to Endless mode for awhile, so if you've got suggestions I'd like to hear them.

Beta 75

Graphics

Secret Shapeshifter NPCs have red eyes
Fix for custom Werewolf sometimes having the wrong body color after transforming
Fix for Diminutive graphical effect remaining after player switches levels with New Character Every Level mutator

UI / Controls

Right-hand side of the character creation screen displays the number of items a player will be bringing with them, ex. “Grenade (3)”
Lighting Type setting changes properly without resetting the game when the player makes this change while on the title screen
Certain changes to gamepad configuration will work properly without resetting the game
Fix for trackpad mode not working properly with charges and lunges
Changes to feedback form input field
Fix for issues receiving missions from NPCs who are sitting or sleeping
Fix for “Disable damage numbers” setting not functioning properly
Fix for Game Over screen not appearing if a game ends while one of the players is standing at the very edge of the map as a ghost

Playfield Objects

Fix for error when Alarm Button is destroyed by explosions from falling bombs
Fix for explosions not destroying all object if the player is not nearby when the explosion takes place

Items

Food and Ammo Processors have limits again (I had forgotten why I had them in the first place, but then… I remembered). However, it’s a limit of 20 instead of the original 10. Also, limits are removed with the No Limits mutator.
Soldier in the Mall can sell weapon modifications like Silencer
Items can be purchased from Upper-Cruster in the Mall

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

Water damages Cop Bots and Killer Robot, including projectiles, bodies of water, and puddles
Fix for not all types of water projectiles refilling water cannon
Fix for Fire Extinguisher projectiles refilling water cannon
Low-Cost Jobs cancels Antisocial in character creation, and vice-versa
Kill Healthenizer and Bloodlust cannot activate after the player has died
Fix for player being able to mess with Jock's Charge ability by spamming buttons
Player can't begin hacking objects that are too far away to hack and would result in immediate cancellation
Fix for custom Werewolf having negative traits restored when transforming back to human form, after they had been removed in the Augmentation Booth
Fix for Diminutive not being removed properly on host’s end when client removes it using Augmentation Booth
Friend of the Family, Friend of the Common Folk, and Cool with Cannibals will carry over when you possess someone
Fix for Friend of the Family and Cool with Cannibals not always working properly with rioters
Player can possess quest-related NPCs who have died and been Zombified
Fix for custom Shapeshifter with traits like Sausage Fingers being able to possess someone with a weapon and keep using their weapon after depossessing
Player will not lose Above the Law when depossessing, so long as they are not Wanted
Werewolf A-Were-Ness is not triggered by werewolves who become zombies
Fix for player not receiving all the benefits of Diminutive when New Character Every Level mutator is active
Fix for all NPCs getting annoyed with a Malodorous player who depossesses
DNA Connection cannot be given to NPCs who are already zombies
Fix for Blaster Master not resulting in all types of objects being destroyed by explosions
Fix for Shop Drops not triggering when an enslaved Shopkeeper dies from their Slave Helmet exploding

Combat

Water projectiles will destroy fire projectiles
In split-screen, mouse player cannot command NPCs to attack other NPCs in other players' windows
Fix for internal error sometimes occurring on Slave death

Sound

Sound effect for switching weapons will still play if an error somehow occurs while switching weapons

Stats / Unlocks

Vampires will receive “Kill (Rival)” points for killing Werewolves and vice versa

Big Quests

Stricter requirements for completing Investment Banker's Big Quest

Mutators

Player levels up a bit more quickly during Quick Games
Cost to purchase items and services is slightly lower during Quick Games

Level Generation

Fix for doors being made of steel or having detonators varying when using the same seed
Fix for cases where game would be in slow motion at the beginning of a level
When playing as a Gangster, rival gang is more likely to appear in Uptown

Artificial Intelligence

Questgivers and people that you rescue for quests are less likely to become hostile toward you
Assassins cannot go invisible after they have been enslaved by the player
Fix for former arsonist Zombies being able to throw Molotov Cocktails
NPCs will not become annoyed at the player for Biting, Cannibalizing or Chloroforming if they are Hostile or Annoyed toward the victim
Fix for NPCs sometimes getting annoyed at the player for Biting or Cannibalizing if they were not within hearing range and the player was not in their line of sight
Player cannot tell jokes to NPCs in prison
Serving cocktails with positive status effects will cause the NPC to like you more
Fix for NPCs getting spooked by invisible players who are chasing them
Fix for Mall NPCs not always having the correct reaction to Suspicious/Malodorous players
NPCs will not pick up projectile weapons when participating in a challenge from the Wrestler
Fix for NPCs not always attacking you if you try to pickpocket them from the wrong angle

Text

New font used when Polish setting is turned on in user-created localizations

Performance

Various small fixes

Multiplayer

Fix for Attributes not always being tracked properly between host and clients
Potential fix for walls being destroyed from client not actually appearing destroyed
Fix for water pistol projectiles not appearing on clients if client enters the game while the other player already has the weapon equipped

Saved Games

Demo version and full version now use separate folders to store data

Internal

Began work on level editor (quoting what I posted above: I’m still not 100% sure that this will be available as a modding tool (though it’s something I’ll be considering), but at the very least it’ll allow me to create new buildings more rapidly post-launch.)

Beta 75b (April 26)

Fix for player making noise when chloroforming

Beta 75c

Fix for error occurring when multiplayer clients with Art of the Deal interact with NPCs

Beta 75d (April 29)

Fix for hang when door detonator reaches 0

Apr 25, 2019

Meet the hero: Jim

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics - Ragnar

It's time to talk about the key characters of our story. And today we will tell you about one of the two star pilots who caught the distress signal from an unknown planet. Meet space ranger Jim.

Jim

Jim recently joined the rangers, and he has yet to earn the respect of his associates. He grew up in an educated and wealthy family, so even after joining the services he did not lose his good manners. Jim believes in justice and trustworthiness of the command, and will follow any orders ... If they do not contradict his high ideals.

Assault rifle. Еffective at medium distances, large ammunition. Burst: dense rifle fire, causing increased damage, but spending more ammo.

Since the boy’s youth passed in comfort, surrounded by his father's books, the constitution of the young soldier leaves much to be desired. Jim is thin and does not possess outstanding physical data, but he compensates this with agility and quick reflexes. To the surprise of his colleagues, he is a good shot and has a not bad handle on cold arms, especially one-handed swords. Perhaps, due to the plasma sword fighting lessons, which are mandatory for all the students of private schools.

One-handed sword. Used in melee, causes great damage from behind.

Jim is the perfect scout, relying on his speed in combat. A large reserve of action points allows him to actively maneuver and even engage in the melee with the enemy. He is also able to make medium distance dashes, so, for example, he can strike an enemy from the back and cause additional damage. In ranged combat Jim relies on an assault rifle, which has a large ammunition and the ability to fire bursts.

Ability. Dash

The ability to quickly get close to the enemy or avoid encirclement.

Ability. Mine

A small anti-personnel surprise, invisible to the enemy.

Don't forget to add Spaceland to your wishlist. ;)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021070/Spaceland/

Apr 25, 2019

Update 20 :: Success Chance

Mercury Fallen - Nitrous Butterfly

I’m happy to say that Update 20 is now available! Updates generally take longer than I would prefer, but this one has been in the oven for a bit now.

Thank you all for your patience.

As you may or may not know my father had a heart attack a couple of months ago and required a quadruple bypass. It’s been a long road to recovery, but he is doing much better now.

Job Management

Colonists can now be assigned up to three jobs. Job order also determines their job priority.

The colonist management screen has been completely overhauled. Colonist cards are an easy way to assign jobs, equipment and see how your colonists are doing.

Colonist Success Chance

Job actions now have a success chance. Hovering over an assigned job will show the success chance, which is based on the job level and that colonist’s attributes. Different jobs are affected by attributes differently.

Every time a colonist fails at an action, they have a small chance to critically fail. Critically failing at a job action may result in an ailment, injury or lost materials, depending on the action.

Success chance will increase as colonists gain more levels in that job or have their attributes increased via equipment items.

All jobs now require certain minimum attributes in order to be assigned. This means that not all colonists are capable of doing all jobs. Attributes can be modified, however, by using equipment items. When starting a new game there is always one colonist capable of all jobs to ensure you are able to progress.

Machine Durability

Durability drains as a machine remains in operation or is operated by a colonist. If the durability drops below 5%, the machine breaks and will require repair.

The new technician job role is responsible for repairing machines. Craft-able repair kits have been added that can speed up machine repairs.

The durability meter has been removed from objects that are not applicable.

Storage Coloring

Storage containers now show a visible capacity meter and can be assigned a custom color.

Tech Tree

The tech tree has been visually updated. New research projects have been added for repair kits and tier II equipment items.

There are a lot of tweaks, changes and additions in this update. Be sure to check out the release notes below.

Existing save games from Update 19 are expected to function correctly in Update 20. Job roles will need to be re-assigned.

Follow Mercury Fallen development on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mercuryfall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercfall/
Website: http://www.mercuryfallen.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/WdndeXx

Release Notes

Colonists

Added failure chance to various job actions. Colonists have a small chance to also critically fail and cause various undesired results.
Colonists can now only have three jobs assigned at a time
Colonists are now incapable of some jobs depending on their attributes
Updated selection audio for robots
Robot starting attributes now randomized when activating an inactive robot
Robots are now randomly assigned attributes when constructed. Points are no longer used to assign attribute points. New construction system in development for a later update.
Changed age of starting robots
Added new technician job role. The technician is responsible for repairing machines and installing object/vehicle equipment items.
Colonists will now restore a little bit of health when sleeping in a bed
Robots will restore a little bit of health while recharging
Increased duration of various ailments
New colonist visual/audio effect when taking damage
New visual effect when patient is being healed
Updated colonist death notifications.
Updated colonist attribute calculations for improved performance
Decreased amount of time before colonist starvation
Starting robot is now inactive instead of walking around by default
Colonist now automatically selected after opening a stasis capsule or activating an inactive robot

Mining UI info now shows progress meter and updated resource info
Colonist management interface completely overhauled with new colonist cards
Smarts/Muscles/Athletics attributes no longer show a max value in tooltip
Removed jobs tab from colonist info panel
Added job selection section to primary tab of colonist info panel
Objects now show more detailed information on why it is not getting power/water
Buildable objects that require research no longer show in the object build list
Changed look of object build menu items and item header
Tech tree visual update
Color selection window now highlights currently selected color

Graphics

Storage containers, fridge and food dispenser can now be assigned a custom color
Storage containers, fridge and food dispenser now have a capacity meter
Updated look of frying pan graphic at cook station
Updated look of water/power conduits view mode
Updated look of thermal vents
Improved overall graphics performance
Robot assembler has new construction effect
Mineable dirt/ore now has visible effect while being mined
Added particle effect to deep mining animation
Aeroponics farm graphical update to show occasional water mist effect

Misc.

Object and machine durability now functional. Machines will break down when below 5% durability.
Reduced robot construction times
Increased robot construction materials as points are no longer used to assign attributes
Removed research projects that unlock robot construction points
Added Repair Tech I and Repair Tech II research projects
Tier 2 equipment items now unlocked under new research projects
Equipment item research now comes after tech printer research
Reduced range of various colonist action sounds
Mining no longer based on durability of tile, but a separate work amount value.
Reduced amount of structure resin received from mining wall debris
Crop fields now slow movement when walked over
Colonists will avoid walking over crop fields if possible
Added sound effect to cook station
Added colonist equipment to boost smarts
Improved performance when in water/power conduits view mode
Updated in game guide content to reflect new mechanics

Fixes

Fixed: Colonist stuck if unable to find a path to an eating table
Fixed: Colonist stuck if unable to find a path to a crop field/aeroponics farm
Fixed: Damage not being applied from ailments
Fixed: Nutrition from food not being applied correctly
Fixed: Nutrition effect not displaying correctly under colonists stats tab
Fixed: Possible game crash when deconstructing power generators
Fixed: Mods from Steam Workshop not loading when reopening the game
Fixed: Game freeze if not running Steam client
Fixed: Colonist action text not showing correctly for idle action in hover tooltip info
Fixed: Robot assembler drop down not showing robot names
Fixed: Colonists not properly avoiding objects marked with avoid tiles
Fixed: Missing language string for Vehicle Assembly header
Fixed: Missing language string for Equipment header
Fixed: Missing language string for population counts in colonist management interface
Fixed: Missing language string for change rate in attribute tooltip
Fixed: Missing language string for attribute effect target in colonist stats and tooltips
Fixed: Missing language string for Quirk tooltip