APICO News

Hey Beekeepers!

Finally I can do a build without having to triple/quadruple check everything multiple times to make sure I don't ruin the spoiler of us adding multiplayer ːsteamfacepalmː

This update has a bunch of fixes for localisation stuff, a few little tweaks, and most importantly Multiplayer turned on!!!



To access Multiplayer simply click the button on the Home screen where you'll be able to either "Host" or "Join". Hosting gives you a code and lets you pick the world you want to host (existing or new). To join your friends game just enter the host code. Player progress is seperate, and when you join a friends world you get made a seperate player. If you need to reset your player progress at anytime you can do it from the Join screen.

Multiplayer pretty much functions as you'd expect, you can interact with things together, use the same menus/machines, throw cute bees you find at each other etc. To pass time only one of you needs to be in bed or on a bench.

There will be a Playtest soon so a bunch more people will be able to join MP (details on that soon) - this will be mainly so I can test server stability at larger scale.

If you come across any bugs, as always let us know, and enjoy!!
[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Now with Multiplayer! To play with a friend simply click Multiplayer > Host and pick a world. Your friend can then join with your host code (showed in-game in the bottom left)
  
• A notification now shows when a book is completed to take you to the overview chapter reward
  
• Crystal bees can be bred near large honeycore now (before was only small crystals)
  
• Keyboard default setting for QWERTY vs AZERTY adding to the settings menu
  
• Added new error messages to show when you don't have Grandpa's Axe but try and interact with hallowed areas
  
• Added all localisation changes for all languages
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed hint text being slightly glitched / overlapping
  
• Fixed claim button on overview pages showing as red even when they're complete
  
• Various text that was still in English updated for other languages
  
• Fixed gifs not moving in the guide book
  
• Fixed bought backpacks crashing the slot rendering of any menu they are put in until a save+reload
  
• Fixed backpacks not opening with right-click (related to above maybe?)
  
• Fixed Overview chapters not being clickable at the top of the page after scrolling and reopening a book
  
• Fixed canisters made by Worker Bees having a count rather than being singular when extracted from frames
  
• Fixed currency symbols in JP not showing correctly
  
• Fixed button text offset in JP
  

[h2]Modding[/h2]

• Updated sc_mod_api_set_devmode() to work in Production for modding
  
• Fixed mod descriptions rendering incorrectly
  
• Fixed quests being able to be handed in with items in slots that are inactive or modded
  
• Fixed sc_mod_api_use_total() picking up items in slots that are inactive or modded
  

Oh hey beekeepers!
If you're reading this it means either Ell accidentally left multiplayer in a build and spoiled the surprise OR we managed to successfully keep everything a secret until the MIX NEXT event in November! Either way, surprise!! We have multiplayer now :D

Check the trailer for more:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

So.... yeah :D
You probably have some questions, so I'll try and answer them here!


[h2]WTF when did you build this?[/h2]
A long long time ago when we first signed with Whitethorn and finished off one of the major updates the whole WT team played a bunch and all gave some really positive feedback for it! At the time Matt (WT CEO) mentioned that adding multiplayer with your friends would definitely be a bonus and they'd support me in any way they could if I wanted to give it a go. As you can imagine like 70% of our feedback has always been the ability to play with a friend so we've always had it there in the back of our minds but never really considered it (because hot damn it's a lot of work and stress).

Speed forward to around August time we had actually finished off the game apart from Localisation (being done by Whitethorn) and the Modding which was still being tested - but in terms of the actual game itself everything was complete! So we had a lot of time left...

There were some content updates I wanted to do for APICO but that was more post-release, so after twiddling my thumbs for a few days I decided what the heck lets give it a try.



After the initial test seemed to be promising I started working on it in more depth, and spent most of August and September tweaking and perfecting both the server and the in-game client stuff whilst updating the modding stuff and doing the LQA fixes.


[h2]What is the actual Multiplayer functionality?[/h2]
APICO Multiplayer is an online multiplayer system where you can "host" your world and have your friend come and join you, using your "host code". Currently this is limited to 2 people per world.

Everything in the normal game you can do with your friend! The person who hosts uses one of their worlds (or can make a new one!), and the person who joins has a seperate player progress tied to that host. Your progress is seperate so you can work away at quests/bees separately, and share the results of any fancy new bees you find.

If consoles approve it, it will also be cross-platform as all builds use the exact same relay server and connection system - so fingers crossed!

We thought about local co-op but realistically our menus do not work to have 2 players on the same screen at the same time.
In future I'll probably add a local LAN connection alternative, and I'm also thinking about releasing the actual relay server we use as OSS - this way people can host their own servers and maybe tinker with it to do some weird stuff, but overall I'm really happy with it and it's super cute!!


[h2]Will it cost anything?[/h2]
Yes you'll need to pay me 999 jars of honey every month to be able to use it >:D

Jokes aside, no, it won't cost you anything! If you own the game you'll be able to host your world or join someone else's world. The only exception to this may be on consoles, as I believe that under the Switch guidelines they may require players to have a switch online membership to access online functionality (even though it's our own server, thanks Nintendo)

Server costs will obviously get offset by sales (hopefully), and we'll probably run it for a good while before then letting people just host their own by making the relay server open source (as mentioned above).


[h2]Can I play it now / will there be a playtest?[/h2]
Yes we will be doing another playtest!! This to help iron out some of the quirks that we might of missed in multiplayer, but is mainly to allow me to test the server infrastructure at a high amount of connections.

I did some stress testing early on but it's not the same as being able to have lots of actual real busy bees playing!

I'll post an update when we know how we'll be doing this playtest but it'll be the same thing, apply on Steam and you'll get added randomly as we add more people.


[h2]How does it work?[/h2]
As some of you might know I'm a full-time software dev and have worked on a lot of boring SaaS stuff, so I've built some pretty gnarly shit before but I've never had to touch multiplayer so this was an absolute trek (will be posting devlogs for Multiplayer over the next few weeks!).

The main thing was that I wanted to check ways we could get it working before even potentially mentioning it - the last thing I want to do is promise something that turns out to not be possible/practical (and even now announcing this keeps me up at night), but after a lot of messing around I managed to make a system using a relay server that turned out to work pretty well.

Using a node relay (suitably dubbed "BeeNet") and the built-in GMS socket connection stuff I built out a sync system that let two people play together and keep track of each others movements and actions!



For the nerds; I didn't want to do UDP hole punching as it isn't 100% reliable, I didn't want to do direct IP connection (a la Minecraft) as having to open ports is a nightmare to explain to people (especially console!), and I didn't want a fully fledged server where worlds are hosted cos ya boys broke - so relay seemed the best option and the most reliable!

As mentioned, I'll be doing some deep-dives in the devlogs soon so keep an eye out for that if thats your sort of thing!

I think that covers most things but if you have any other questions let me know!
I'm super excited (and terrified) for you all to give it a try and just be able to be vibin' with your friends and the bees ~ Ell

Hey Beekeepers!

It's been a hot minute! We've been working on a bunch of stuff behind the scenes, along with working with the localisation team to fix any language problems. Languages are in this build but there's still a bunch of LQA to be added, so please don't send us any locale related bugs just yet!

This update has a lot of the backlog stuff also, QoL stuff I didn't want to prioritise for 1.0 but would chuck it in if we had time during the cert process - stuff like Beenjamin now letting you pick what species you want a hint for (rather than always using the next undiscovered bee) or a quick keybind for AZERTY keyboards.

There's also a bunch of modding updates as I've been working on my own mod that adds Hoppers - nothing like dogfooding to help find missing stuff!

[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Added all language localisations for French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portugese, and Japanese (still being worked on pls dont submit locale based bugs!)
  
• You can now specify which species you want a hint for from Beenjamin rather than him always telling you the hint for "next" bee you haven't discovered
  
• Updated controls image for when using a Playstation brand controller
  
• Remapping keys will now show in icons in the book, i.e. changing WSAD to ZQSD for AZERTY will show those controls in the guide instead of still showing WSAD
  
• Added an option in controls to quickly default to QWERTY or AZERTY controls (you can still customise keys after picking one)
  
• You can now view the bee book panel tooltips using LT/L2 and RT/R2 on gamepad
  
• Carpentry 101 GIF updated to show planks being sawn into sticks as well as logs > planks
  
• You can now use B/O on gamepad to get out of the boat you are in to make it easier to escape your nautical nightmare
  
• Added visual buttons to show the above change when a boat is highlighted on gamepad
  
• Quick queen button is no longer visible on gamepad mode, as you can just press R stick to quick queen
  
• 
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed not being able to use dpad for moving around slots + menus on gamepad
  
• Fixed the extremely important mead "shine" missing from infused meads
  
• Fixed not being able to see bee trait cards on gamepad
  
• Fixed target/move buttons being yeeted into the sun when starting the game in gamepad mode and switching to MKB
  
• Fixed mod descriptions not showing correctly when clicking a mod button
  
• Fixed mod download failing on Linux
  
• Fixed missing space between NPC names and their pronouns
  
• Fixed crashing issue when clicking on quest notifications (sorry sto
• Fixed Infuser not starting infusing when you have input items added, empty tank, then add a canister to fill
  
• Fixed Magazine Rack not accepted any items (sorry sto again lol)
  
• Fixed player showing underneath gates when the gate is still locked on gamepad mode
  
• Fixed some issues with the in-game console "machine"
  

[h2]Modding[/h2]

• Added api_library_add_book() which lets you add a book to the bottom library bar with custom click action (book implementation sold seperately, see Sample Mod for example book)
  
• Gamepad mode now correctly ignores "inactive" slots from selection
  
• Using api_define_gui() should now correctly add that GUI to the gamepad selection list so it's highlightable on gamepad
  
• Fixed issues with the save/load methods
  
• Fixed issue with api_get_menu_objects() not returning a menu_id value for the menu object instances
  
• Updated Sample Mod to include an example of using save/load to decide if it's the first time the mod has been loaded for the player or not
  
• Added api_remove_gui() which lets you remove a GUI you created with api_define_gui()
  
• Added api_get_mouse_inst() which returns the mouse instance (which is basically like a slot)
  
• Added api_add_slot_to_menu() which lets you move the contents of a slot to a given menu (any leftover that doesn't fit remains in the original slot)
  
• Added api_slot_validate() which lets you check if a given slot can accept a given item based on its definition (note this just checks if it's valid for an input slot, you have to check amounts yourself)
  
• Fixed api_slot_set() not using the stats you pass to it for frames / canisters
  

[h2]Modding Docs[/h2]

• Updated api_save_data() example to show ev parameter will be "SAVE" on save triggered async events
  
• Added the wiki docs page as a Github repo (https://github.com/APICO-Modders/APICO-API-Docs)
  

Hey Beekeepers!

Oh wow no Beeta no more?? That's right I changed a small string in the project file which magically means we are no longer in the Beeta!

I actually didn't want to do a patch yet, but unfortunately I needed to make a few changes for the Steam build so it could get approved, so that Steam will let us release the OST which isn't allowed to be made available until the related game build has been reviewed and past (why u need this I don't know)

Anyway this build is midway through the locale being added so you'll notice a few slight changes like the books are bigger as it's in prep for the LQA testing from the locale team! Overall shouldn't be much different from the last version you had :D

[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Added the Lost&Found box on Skipper's pier, which will hold any key items you somehow manage to lose! (new world only)
  
• Increased book height to help with longer languages
  
• Magazine Rack no longer has fixed slot requirements to keep magazines ordered, do what you want you rascals
  
• Added a "high contrast slot" accessibility option
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed Honeycore machine tooltip showing wrong tank values for charge on squeezer+centrifuge
  
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_mod_check "open file limit" crash on multiple save+quits
  
• Fixed Noticeboard constantly notifying you a quest is ready to hand in when menus get opened
  
• Fixed being able to interact with the Noticeboard underneath the quest popup
  

Hey Beekeepers!

One last update for the Beeta I think before we move you over to the release build! This is a few balance things brought in from QA as well as a few QoL stuff we added in based on various feedback and more QA.

There's a lot of bug fixes too, with a bunch of stuff I picked up in the NextFest streams, and then some little tweaks for modders.

I'm actually moving house this weekend and won't have internet until 12th, so if there's anything absolutely breaking please let me know before Friday otherwise it'll have to wait!

Enjoy
[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Changed Swamp Gate to need the Worker Bee instead of Stubborn
  
• Changed Hallowed Gate to need the Crystal Bee instead of Chaotic
  
• Changed Climate quest to be after Smoker quest to match the order you can unlock/buy those related machines
  
• Added some additional Linux libs to the game to prevent issues for some Linux users who didn't have these libs installed
  
• Wall placement is move forgiving with menu objects, i.e. you can now place walls on tiles next to Gates (before it was blocked)
  
• You can now hold Backspace in Signs, wow such quality updates right
  
• You can now correctly shift-click bees out of Beeboxes/Beebanks
  
• Jurassic beehive now spawns on ice to make it easier to find
  
• You can now hold mouse / gamepad A to buy multiple items from shops
  
• You can now place down stone on the ground back as rocks, what a treat
  
• BroduxBlue is now Mothense!

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed Debugger2 not having input blacklisted while typing
  
• Fixed Honeycore Shovel selling for $50 instead of $10
  
• Fixed incorrect dye recipes
  
• Fixed Smoker extra storage not working (again)
  
• Fixed QQ button not working in Advanced Apiaries
  
• Fixed Tapped tree health bar not reducing when chopped (still chopped down but HP just stayed the same)
  
• Fixed canisters not showing up in crate preview tooltips
  
• Fixed mead canisters showing as pink cubes in in crate preview tooltips
  
• Fixed Rehab released bees now showing with their cute lil heart
  
• Fixed Combristle not applying -1 lifespan buff
  
• Fixed Honeydrop not applying +1 stability buff
  
• Fixed book overview chapter text being 1px off
  
• Fixed bee book overview saying /34 instead of /35
  
• Clamped player light while skidding on ice to prevent juddering
  
• Fixed Name screen showing characters pressed while on the home page, if any
  
• Fixed QQ button not working on natural beehives
  
• Fixed "New Discovery" text sometimes getting cut off
  

[h2]Modding[/h2]

• You can now pass an optional "draw_script" argument to the menu define function that acts like the object define one
  
• Fixed not being able to specify "singular" for menu objects
  
• Fixed the draw_script runtime error for defining menu objects
  
• Fixed menu objects always setting as key items regardless of what you set in the definition
  
• Fixed modded objects in crates showing as pink cubes until picked up (apparently, I don't remember fixing this lol)