Hi

Now that Next Fest is over and I received some useful feedback about the demo I'm finally ready to start making real progress. The first stage of my roadmap before the Early Access Launch is pretty big so I won't be making an update to the demo soon, that's why I decided to start making Developer Diaries like this one, so I can keep you updated and you see that I'm hard at work improving the game.


I'm not just a coder, I also make most of the 3D assets for this game. One of the things I'm doing right now is adding more enemies, props and environments for the game, the tools I use are Blender and Substance Painter.
Most of the props are just decorative but some will have an effect in gameplay, for example sometimes you'll board a ship and the crew will try to make a hyperspace jump to escape, in those cases the mission will have a countdown that will only stop if one of your soldiers disable an HyperDrive Core like this one:



Besides props and environments I'm also taking a look at my current combat units and their customization options. Customization in the game will be limited but combining body types, head types and textures for each soldier should give a good set of starting options for the player.




In order to make gameplay more interesting I'm working in features like:


While this feature won't make much difference in small scenarios, bigger scenarios that require exploring and assaulting rooms will benefit from it. This should also force the player to move more tactically and explore instead of just wait for enemies to come.


Currently the demo only shows a single combat objective: Kill All Hostiles. My idea is that some scenarios will have optional objectives like "Disable Hyperspace Drive", "Capture Bridge" and others will have main objectives like "Capture VIP", "Grab as much loot as you can before reinforcements arrive", etc.
All these objectives should make missions less repetitive and force the player to play less defensively.


This is something that I'll be doing during the whole development of the game but before Launch I'm thinking I can add more behaviours to AI besides shooting, charging or looking for cover. Stuff like using items, grenades and special skills should add more flavor to combat and new defensive and ambush behaviours should keep the player on his/her toes while exploring a ship or installation.


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This is just what I'm working at right now but I have a lot more ideas to improve the game (I mentioned most of them in the Roadmap), I'll be sharing my progress with you during these months before the Early Access Launch (which I still hope should be during September, I'll let you know if that changes).

Please feel free to share your questions, ideas and criticism, any feedback is useful feedback.

Thanks for reading!

Jorge

Today's update adds a Portuguese fan translation by Yuri Nikolai Martinez Laskowski. Thanks for your hard work!

If you have any feedback about the translation (or anything else, really) you can send me an email (zach@zachtronics.com) and we'll get to the bottom of it.

This is a small hotfix to address a couple issues with new leader boards.

First they were set to acceding not descending meaning it kept your lowest score, which is the opposite of what we want this has been fixed.

Second games in sale slots 2 or 3 wouldn't post to leader boards only slot 1, this has also been fixed.

Third Sales were using the rounded versions, they are now using correct values Ie 225 = 225,000.

I believe the boards are working good now, after we get more entries I will enable them to be viewed in game. For now you need to visit your stats / global stats to see the boards.

- Fixed a save breaking bug with the nail/pill boxes
- Fixed a bug with the saw hanging up in the miter box slot

Join us tomorrow, crew, as Maezza and Fiona return to 1920's Chicago!

It will be our last sitdown for the summer. Our goals?
💲 Buy Goldie the Golden Tommy Gun (because she deserves to shoot in style)
👊Take back our rackets lost from our last session.
🐝Be the Queen Bee.

5PM CET at https://twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive

Hello there! This latest build updates the following:

* Updated the interaction icon to appear inside the circles to help make it completely obvious about which thing is being interacted with.



* Added 5 places where the Nanodeck dissolve effect triggers. This is to help reinforce exactly where the player is - being in a Nanodeck.
* Fixed the ambient lighting when inspecting larger items to be less harsh.
* Added a new song to play after a Biotrace.

Let us know if there are any issues or problems: https://discord.gg/ctMSXrwYfU

Thanks,

Larry

🔹(Multiplayer) Multiplayer mode has been unlocked for players of the demo version of the game. Now you can try out multiplayer mode before you buy the game. Play with people who own the full version of the game and people that are just trying out the demo. Look forward to more multiplayer mode updates in the future.




🔹(UI) Overhead healthbar backgrounds are now slightly transparent.

🔹(Multiplayer) Current rotation for dinosaurs is now sent along with the other initial dinosaur data to connecting players.

🔹(Multiplayer) Most animation states for dinosaurs are now sent along with the other initial dinosaur data to connecting players. (More animation state synchronization will be done in the future)




🔹(Music) Our first ambient music track has been added to the game! It has been added to the playlist for the jungle biome.

🔹(Bug fix) Health regeneration is now regenerating the correct amount of health, passively (standing), passively (sitting/sleeping), and per bite of food.

🔹(Bug fix) Getting hungry is now depleting hunger by the correct amount passively and while moving.

🔹(Bug fix) Getting thirsty is now depleting thirst by the correct amount passively.

🔹(Bug fix) Taking bleed damage is now depleting health by the correct amount passively and while moving.

🔹(Bug fix) Taking food poisoning damage is now depleting health by the correct amount while eating.




🔹(Multiplayer) The rest of the animation states have been synchronized for initial dinosaur states for when clients join a server. You'll see dead dinosaurs as actually being dead when you join a server and you'll also see sitting or sleeping dinosaurs as actually sitting or sleeping when you join a server.

This is a little update with two bug fixes and a small adjustment to the menus.

Audio Balance Bug

When I implemented separate sound effect and volume controls in the last update, I accidentally made it so all sound effects play at the same base volume. They were supposed to have different base volumes that Hubol painstakingly set in the GameMaker IDE, so that the sound effects would be more balanced in terms of loudness. However, the last version of the game totally ignored these settings and a bunch of the sound effect volumes were wrong (too loud). Sorry Hubol. It is fixed now.

Dice Bug

There is a quest or puzzle of sorts that involves dice. There was a bug where the reward for this quest would trigger when it wasn't supposed to, letting you cheat a little. This is fixed now, but don't worry, there are still other ways you can cheat.

Menu Emphasis
Now this is a feature that will improve the quality of your life. The menu options in this game are a little verbose and sometimes it's hard to quickly parse what each option does. Now certain keywords in each menu option are emphasized so that it's a bit easier to understand them at a glance.

It has been one month since the game was released. Maybe the game has become pretty stable now and there aren't any more major bugs. Then I can stop updating the game and make other games. I hope everyone is having fun with the game.

I don't know who comes up with those ideas, but there is a random special day every day. Puddings, doubles, left-handers and condoms have their holidays. On the one hand, good to have an excuse to make a 360 day binge. On the other, you would probably prefer us to get back to work. For example, we should transfer a gentleman from an image to a 3D. But it just so happens that today (or actually it was before midnight), it was dog's day in Poland. The perfect occasion to announce that the world of Human Farm, despite being dominated by the pig breed, respects the furry minorities. Celebrate, give love and praise. We'll be working tomorrow, tomorrow is just a journalist's day.

ːlunar2019deadpanpigː ːVolgarrChaliceː

Hi everyone,

Happy July! With a new month ahead, we wanted to update you all on what’s going on with Farm Folks. We are proud to say that the game documents are pushing the 100 pages mark! This fresh foundation is vital for us to ensure quality production and player experience. We have posted 4 pages worth from the Farm Folks GDD (Game Design Document) down below so you can get a sneak peek of developmental work as well as some game features soon to be in development.

Enjoy!

Animals

Husbandry is one of the main activities of Farm Folks and is associated with many other aspects of the game such as farming, crafting, and gathering. Animal husbandry is a generic term to describe the breeding and care of player-owned animals.



Farm Folks has 10 animal breeds, each with different characteristics and animal products. When a new animal is discovered, players can check their farmer's log for information like what type of feed an animal needs and what products they can produce. In the world, you will be able to encounter female or male animals. Each animal breed is subdivided into 3 different categories: small, medium or large.

Animals are divided into:
Animals that provide various resources of animal origin
Animals that the player can ride
Animals as pets that will keep the player company

Appearance of Animals on the Player's Farm

There are several ways to obtain animals:
- Buy them in the shop in the town of Port Merida (not all species will be available here)
- Breed animals and help care for their babies
- Receive animals as a reward for quests from NPCs
- Receive animals from other players
- Tame animals in the wild

Animal Habitats

The main habitat of pets is considered to be a corral. A corral is a fenced-in area. It should be noted that the fence may be broken by a hurricane, which can lead to animals being displaced around the neighborhood. If the animals that have been scattered are not returned to the pen within three days, they become “feral” and need to be tamed again.

Feeding

Each animal has its own preferences for food (main food and delicacy), but there is a general rule: animals provide resources only if you feed them the main food. If the animal was fed on that day, then at 6:00 am (the following day) the player can collect a resource. For example, milk from cows or wool from sheep.

The basis for animal feed is crop production.

Unfed animals have a question mark above their heads, which is seen from far away when the animal itself is seen. If unfed, animals will not produce any resources.

A treat is needed to increase the state of happiness in your animals.

Animal Care

In addition to feeding animals, you can also pet your animal, comb their hair, and wash them.

This is implemented through the USE function.

In order to pet an animal, you do not need any special devices. It is enough to approach them.

In order to comb, you must use a comb.

In order to wash, you must use a brush, water, and soap.

Each of these actions, performed once a day, increases the animal's happiness by 1 level. If actions are performed several times a day, then they do not increase the level of happiness by more than 1.

The State of Happiness and the "Golden Bonus"

The state of happiness directly affects the bonus capabilities of animals.

In a regular state, the animal has 1% change to produce an additional "gold" resource in addition to the regular one. At 6:00am in the morning of a new day, this takes into account the level of happiness of the animal for the previous day.

With an increase in the level of happiness by 1 unit, the chance to get a "golden" resource increases by 1%. So the maximum possible chance = 5%.

Fatigue and Sleep

All animals have a STAMINA level similar to the player, but in most cases this level is not needed for game mechanics. Animals spend their energy during the day in order to sleep at night. During sleep, the animals do not go anywhere but the sleep animation takes place (i.e. slow movements). Birds, in particular, spend the night in poultry houses.

In bad weather (rain or hurricane), animals try to hide for the night in a barn, if it is built by the player.
If the player does not have a barn or there are not enough places in it for all the animals, then after a cold night the level of happiness in animals drops by 1, which means that the chance of a gold resource falls.

The exception is a mounting animal, for which the STAMINA level is the most important. Those animals use it as they ride with the player on their back. As soon as the level drops to a minimum, the player must get off the animal (or it happens automatically) and the animal stops to rest. During rest, it will follow the player at his pace.

Mounts are divided into several types:
- Lightweight (can only drag the player and his inventory)
- Heavy (can drag the player and reinforced inventory)
- Draft (can also be harnessed)

Taming Wild Animals

Some of the wild animals that live on Softshoal Island can be tamed, but each of them should be approached.

Some of the animals will live in a strictly defined area, some will go out only at night, or vice versa - only at dawn. Some of them will be shy and, in order to tame the animal, you need to track it down and establish a snare into which this animal will fall. Others, on the contrary, will be gullible and the player will only have to treat them with their favorite snack.

Size

Animals are divided into three sizes: small, medium and large. Generally, the larger the animal, the more resources it consumes and generates. Animals can be kept on the farm.

The diagram below shows how small, medium, and large animals differ.



By the end of this month, we hope to select the new Farm Folks developer so that we can see this text and vision truly come to life. We have narrowed the candidates down to 3 developers who are currently designing prototypes for our final review. Stay tuned!

Thank you all for your continued patience, kindness, and understanding. It’s not an ideal situation for any game, publisher, or player, but we do love a good underdog story. We’re grateful that you are a part of it.

🦎 Crytivo Team

https://store.steampowered.com/app/895160/Farm_Folks/