Jan 21, 2024

Over 200 reviews in 48 hours since launch!

Intravenous 2: Mercenarism - sрy

Hey everyone!

It's been two days since Intravenous 2: Mercenarism has been launched, and wow, I am really surprised by the reception so far. I did not expect so many of you to play and leave reviews for the game. I am very grateful for the response so far.

The reviews you guys leave provide invaluable insight into what you think of the game, the troubles you're running into, areas that are potentially in need of extra polish and what you think of the game in general.
This helps us make the game better for everyone, as having as many perspectives in mind when balancing the game and considering new features is very important.
In short - thank you for leaving reviews for the game.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone that has reported issues with the game.
Regardless of how insignificant you might think a certain bug is, reporting them is always welcome. In fact, sometimes what seems like a small bug can lead to finding a chain of bugs. These bugfixes are then carried over to the main game, which means you're also contributing to ensuring a smooth launch of the upcoming full game - Intravenous 2.
In short, with your bug reports you are making the game a better experience for everyone.

If you've personally ran into problems that you wish to see get fixed, do report them either on Steam discussions or by joining the game's Discord community.

Thank you, and I hope you're having a great time with Intravenous 2: Mercenarism!

Jan 21, 2024

Still Alive: Major Game Updates

Faraway Lands: Rise of Yokai - dreamsknight

First off, I sincerely apologize for the silence. This being my first game, I quite underestimated the time and skills needed for game development. The complexity of blending multiple genres in one game, I've learned, is quite challenging for a beginner developer. I've also realized that I tend to get fixated on small details, which, while important, often led me to spend more time than necessary on certain aspects of the game. This sometimes resulted in less productivity than I would have liked.

A significant turning point came a few years back when my game engine, GameMaker Studio, received a major update. This necessitated a complete rewrite of my codebase, which, unsurprisingly, was a bit of a spaghetti mess. It pushed me to dive deeper into the world of programming – I've since been educating myself on game development, learning languages like C++ and C#, and even branching out into Unity. This journey also led me to redo much of the game's art.

In the midst of all this, I had to balance making a living, which naturally took up a considerable amount of my time. I also took on a contract job using my Unity skills, which lasted a few months.

Like many developers before me, I fell into the trap of feature creep. It's a tough lesson that I guess one has to experience firsthand to fully grasp!

Looking back, I see all these experiences as part of the journey. However, the weight of not having released the game after all these years is heavy on me. So, I've made a decision – the game will be released this year. I plan to continue updating and improving it post-launch.

Your patience and support have been invaluable throughout this long development process. It’s your encouragement that has kept me going, especially in times of doubt and challenge. Without it, I might have given up a long time ago.

I have never quit on the game and will never do so. I have always been active on discord and you can always message me there and I will answer you as soon as possible.

Let's move on to the changes I have made!

As there are quite a few, I will now explain them shortly and leave the details to further devlogs, which from now on will be frequent.

Revamped Visuals

I think the new trailer will feature this the best.

Mountain Terrain

One challenge with side-scrollers is the limited building space, which often leads to excessive scrolling. However, I've developed a solution that seems to be working well. The game now unfolds on a mountain or hill, featuring multiple levels. This approach not only makes the game feel larger but also significantly reduces the need for scrolling. Additionally, it cuts down on transportation time between buildings and provides players with more strategic options, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

I have got the idea from the japanese hill-top castles.

Smarter Villagers

I have always enjoyed the atmospheres of classic games like Settlers and Knights and Merchants, where watching villagers go about their daily lives was a joy. In shaping my game, I've aimed to capture that same essence. So as a result you don't control the villagers directly. Instead, you assign them to workplaces—which also serve as their homes—based on their traits, and they live autonomously, which also reduces the micro aspect of the game a little.
Each villager has their own needs, such as hunger, thirst, warmth, and happiness. For instance, when thirsty, they'll head to a nearby well, or they'll visit the market to stock up on food for their homes. They also gather essentials like firewood and clothes from the market. An added touch of realism is that the villagers now sleep each night, further enhancing the dynamic feel of a living, breathing community. I believe this approach adds a layer of realism and allows you to immerse yourself in the self-sustaining community you've helped create.

Production Chains

Another updated feature is the production chains, reminiscent of the detailed economic mechanics in those classic titles. For instance, you can see the transformation of raw materials into essential goods: logs are turned into lumber, rice is brewed into sake, and so forth.

Better Japanese Roots

When I first released the demo, I received feedback that some elements, like the mountains in the background and certain buildings & units, had a more Chinese appearance. This prompted me to delve deeper into Japanese culture and history, leading to several enhancements in the game. While my goal is to maintain a fantasy setting, I still want the game to reflect Japanese cultural elements more accurately.

To address this, I've updated the background and building sprites to better match the Japanese aesthetic. The monks have been transformed into Onmyoji, reflecting a more authentic aspect of Japanese lore. I've removed the crossbowman unit, now making it a unique mercenary that players can hire. Additionally, I've introduced small details such as animations for praying at a Shinto shrine, among other updates. These changes are part of my ongoing effort to create a game world that, while fantastical, still resonates with the rich tapestry of Japanese culture.

A Lively Environment

A key focus in developing the game has been to create a more vibrant and lively environment. To achieve this, I've introduced distinct sprites for male and female villagers, adding diversity and realism to the village life. Children have also been added, and they can be seen engaging in various activities around the village, further enhancing the dynamic nature of the game world. The addition of animals like dogs, birds, and deer brings an extra layer of life and movement. Moreover, I've included a giant waterfall and an array of colorful flowers, enriching the game's visual appeal and making the environment feel truly alive and bustling.

Dynamic Weather System

Additionally, I've implemented a dynamic weather system in the game. Not only does it enhance the visual appeal of the environment – which I personally find quite stunning – but it also introduces various effects that you, as the player, will experience. This system brings the game world to life, requiring you to adapt to changing weather conditions that directly impact your strategy and interactions within the game.

Better Code & Quality of Life Features

I've made several enhancements to improve your gameplay experience. Now, you can scale the game's UI to your preference, ensuring better accessibility and comfort. I've also introduced multiple zoom levels with a smooth zoom function, providing a more seamless and detailed view of the game world. Additionally, the game now supports 1440p resolution, offering sharper and clearer visuals. I've unlocked the frame rate for a smoother gameplay experience and have fixed numerous bugs. Along with these fixes, I've implemented a variety of quality-of-life features to enrich your overall gaming experience.

A lot New Features such as Lords & Artifax, Tax Mechanic and much more...

There are a lot of things that have been changed but it's already a wall of text so I will explain those in the upcoming devlogs.

Additionally, I've updated our Steam store page with a new trailer and fresh screenshots, along with a detailed, gif-enhanced description now available in 8 languages. Look forward to an extra gameplay trailer in a couple of months!

Upcoming Steam Next Festival

I will be attending the upcoming Steam Next Festival with a demo which will begin at 5th of February so you can try out the update demo then.

Thank you for your patience, have a great day.

Jan 21, 2024

Update v0.97.1 released!

DinoSystem - Daniel (dev)

This update IS compatible with savegames from previous v0.96.0+!

---> FULL CHANGELOG <---

A NOTE FROM THE DEV:

This is a relatively small update to address some major issues, as well as delivering a few changes.

Here's the changelog, with the important stuff highlighted in bold:

GRAPHICS:

- Several minor improvements to blood/vomit decals.
- [Survival] Improved actions animation fluidity when the character is tired.

AUDIO:

- Thatch sound from wind will now promptly stop when the Thatch is destroyed, instead of finishing.

INTERFACE:

- Removed references to animal biological sex in the animal inspect panel-> action (like "guarding her/his" nest) to prevent the player from discovering the sex without having the required Zoology skill.
- [Survival] While Fishing, mouse-hover text automatically shows fish population.
- [Survival] Improved Fishing hints text and logic.
- [Survival] Fishing hint is disabled as soon as the player manages to catch a fish.
- [Survival] Removed "not edible" from the Pine Cone gathering tooltip.
- [Survival] Added a new hint during light fire action (is disabled when a fire is lit).
- Added a UI notification when taking an island snapshot with F11.
- Added fire maximum energy (if contained) in mouse-hover when inspected.
- Minor UI improvements.

SURVIVAL:

- Additional rework of bleeding mechanic:
...... Bleeding now triggers every 3 seconds instead of 10.
...... Bleeding damage now partially scales with maximum Health (instead of be fixed 1).
...... Chance of bleeding to drop is now proportionally higher, since the timer is faster.

- Most actions speed is now faster (+60% in Normal & +20% in Realistic+, meaning in Normal actions 33% faster than Realistic+).
- Auto-zoom speed and magnitude tweaked for some actions to be more gradual.
- Added a subtle auto-zoom also for sprinting, stumbling and vomiting.
- Muscle Soreness decay rate from inactivity/sleep increased by ~33%.
- Body Muscle decay rate from high Soreness reduced (at 100% Soreness) from 8x to 3x.
- Light fire progress/chance calculation accumulates more reliably over time, although at a slower rate (this means success is easier to achieve if you keep trying).
- Aim mode is now possible during "eat", "drink", "dry up" and other actions, along with "trying to sleep" (but sleep chance will not increase during aim mode).
- Pine nuts protein content nearly doubled.

GOD TOOLS:

- Weather sliders lock function is now permanent, instead of resetting when switching to Survival mode or when hiding the UI.

ANIMALS:

- Additional rework of bleeding mechanics (same of the player).
- Much smaller animals won't flee from being "trapped!" under their parent.

WEATHER & SEASONS:

- Seasonal, noctural and weather temperature calculation revisited to get much more realistic values.
-[Survival] Perceived temperature impact from wetness and wind exposure tweaked to prevent reaching negative temp in summer (and otther similiar inconsistencies).

TUTORIAL & MANUAL:

- In the manual page about Muscle Soreness it's now explained that Toughness skill increases Soreness decay rate.

FIXES:

- Fixed a random game freeze happening occasionally during autosave (at dawn) or normal save.
- Fixed T-Rex and Troodons parents NOT regurgitating food to their offspring as supposed to.
- Fixed F10 not taking a game screenshot.
- Fixed Landmarks texts being hard to read (regression v0.97.0).
-[Survival] Fixed a serious bug preventing seasonal temperature and humidity to fluctuate as supposed to in Survival mode, causing climate to be static over long game sessions, and producing heat in winter, snow in summer, etc (regression v0.97.0).
- Fixed animals Health compromised in games created before v0.97.0 and updated to it, which caused adult animals to reduce their Health to 15 (even T-Rexes lol).
- Fixed fire in Fire Pit not being actually contained and going over Fire Pit threshold, causing unexpected arson (regression v0.97.0).
-[Survival] Fixed temperature bar mouse-hover factors not being consistant with their supposed sum (perceived temp) + Removed the humidity factor (incorporeated in "air").
-[Survival] Fixed Fishing chance refreshing faster when the character is also faster in other actions.
-[Survival] Fixed Thatch blueprint not being coherent with its built counterpart (showing optimal placement where it is actually not supported).
-[Survival] Fixed some minor inconsistencies with building blueprints.
-[Survival] Fixed wielded weapon/held item positioning on top of character hand after closing the player info screen.
-[Survival] Fixed auto-zoom resetting zoom if entering aim mode while auto-repeating an action.
-[Survival] Fixed fire sound stopping in aim-mode when aiming far away.
-[Survival] Fixed mouse-hover on Fullness showing the solid/liquid percentage incorrectly.
- Fixed "heat mirage" effect being extreme when playing with low resolution.
- Fixed few minor issues.

Daniel