APICO News

Well here we are everyone, a new shiny demo for #WorldBeeDay!

This is the first time you'll be able to experience the game since it was moved from a custom JavaScript engine to GameMaker Studio 2, and there's just so many new tweaks or QoL changes that it'd be hard to list them all (but Hivemother be damned we're going to try). It's worth noting being a new engine it uses a new save system, so your old demo save will no longer be playable (the save-1.bees file is still there but GameMaker won't read it!!)

If you find any bugs please report them over on our Bug Reports forum, and if you have any feedback we'd love to hear it over on our Guilded Community

We hope you enjoy, we've put a lot of work into this new version and we're really proud of it and can't wait for you to get your hands on it!!


[h2]General[/h2]

• Performance should be noticeably better on old machines and run at a silky smooth 60fps thanks to GameMaker
  
• In general a lot of things should work better with the menus + UIs
  
• You can now customise your characters hair and outfit on starting a new game!
  
• Re-named the in-game currency to RUBEES
  

[h2]Items[/h2]

• YOU CAN FINALLY PLACE STUFF WITHOUT EQUIPPING IT!!! Yes you read that right
  
• You can also pick up tools and use them on stuff with the mouse without equipping them
  
• You can now drop stuff with right-click!!! (high quality features here guys I know)
  
• Items have a much larger pickup radius so you don't have to get as close to them
  
• Items will yeet themselves towards you when you're close to them, magnet style
  

[h2]Cross-breeding & Bees[/h2]

• Fixed various bees to quite working at the right time
  
• The Predictor is easily craftable from the start of the game to help understand the cross-breeding mechanics
  
• Cross-breeding chances are much kinder early on
  
• Each bee species now has a 'conversation status', which is improved the more you breed that species or release those bees back into the wild with a Rehabeelitator
  
• You can now 'ferment' your honey into mead! You can then bottle this mead to sell for a phat profit, or infuse the mead to grant special effects when you drink it (speed up, night vision, etc)
  
• All new bees have a chance to be a 'shiny' variant
  

[h2]Books[/h2]

• A bunch of quests have been made less wordy
  
• Notifications for quests open the quest book and scroll to the right chapter for you
  
• The bee book is introduced earlier so you don't need to get your first hybrid before getting it
  
• The bee book has a bunch of new info, covering conservation status and special produce
  
• There's now a sweet new animation when discovering a new bee! (pls enjoy it took so long)
  
• The Predictor is introduced around the same time to make the first hybrid easier
  

[h2]Saves[/h2]

• Games take much quicker to load and save
  
• Floppy disk save icon is back in-game
• World generation is much quicker in general
  
• Game saves are pre-loaded on game start so if you pick the same save as the preloaded one it'll start the game instantly!
  

[h2]Town[/h2]

• You can hammer all the objects and tiles/walls in the town! Something, something great power great responsibility
  
• You can "pick up" npcs and bring them with you! Try not to lose them eh?
  
• Tweaked the stuff that Skipper sells to cover some of the new features
  

[h2]World[/h2]

• Highlighted objects are shown even behind other objects with a little ghosting effect
  
• Better shore generation around islands
  
• Better lighting in day/night
  
• Added sunrise + sunset glow to dawn/dusk to help emphasise those times
  
• Added water reflections, because shaders are freaking awesome
  
• Flowers now spread as seedlings that grow into flowers - introduces seeds earlier
  
• Flowers now don't spread into yo damn house
  

[h2]Critters[/h2]

• Birbs are no longer horrendously laggy or stupid
  
• Birbs can spawn in shallows now, but as lil seagulls!
  
• Birbs can be scared away by dropping sticks (as promised, finally the guide is no longer lying)
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• You can now spam click slots and it doesn't sometimes magically lose items, what a treat
  
• Removed aspect ratio options - game fully resizes to the window whatever the size
  
• Removed scale options - same as above (displays over 1920 will go to 3x scale instead of 2x automatically, displays over 3000 will go to 4x scale)
  
• Menus now have lil open animations, cute!
  
• You can now preview tank amount when hovering over machines, preview item when hovering over crates, and preview queen when hovering over hives
  
• You can view the contents of a crate without opening it by shift-hovering over it!
  
• Added back the move 'button', as an alternative to the move "bar"
  
• Inventory has number "labels" for the hotbar
  
• A lot better "error" states for the mouse hover or item usage, should be much clearer what you can and can't do (and why)
  
• Control mapping is less buggy
  

[h2]Controls[/h2]

• There's now game controller support! This has been tested with PS4 and Xbox360 official controllers - there is a known issue with Xbox One controllers. Just plug in your controller and it'll switch over, although we recommend having it in before starting the game and avoid switching between gamepad + mouse/keyboard
  
• Using a controller changes the game to "focus" mode - you can't open 100s of menus together but it should be a much more chill and easy experience now when using a gamepad
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Many
  
• So many oh my god every day new bugs
  

[h2]Bug Additions[/h2]

• Lots

Few last little fixes to get everything ready for the updated demo that drops tomorrow for #WorldBeeDay!

The demo is limited in content (same as it's always been with just the starting island only, no other NPCs outside of Skipper, limited bees/flowers etc), but now that we're in GameMaker I spent some time fiddling the project so both builds can come from the same 'core' build, meaning if a bug is fixed for the demo it's fixed for the Alpha and vice-versa - saves a lot of maintenance going forward.

• Updated small + large pot sprites
  
• Added a bunch more gamepad GIF 'variants' for the quest book when using a gamepad
  

• Fixed pots not being able to accept other flowers
  
• Fixed pots duplicate flowers on save + reload
  
• Fixed infuser not carrying on where it left off after saving and reloading
  
• Fixed some issues with recipe discovery not saving properly
  
• Fixed your hair going WILD when using a bench
  
• Fixed extractor error always showing regardless of how full it is after being run
  
• Fixed bee particles without an origin not getting removed correctly
  
• Fixed pickaxe sounds not playing when mining stone
  
• Fixed issue with tapper from preloaded save (sc_tapper_alarm0)
  
• Fixed map showing a highlighted hair sprite on the player icon
  
• Fixed using "Select" twice locking out movement in gamepad mode
  
• Fixed being able to change selection to inventory/hive when on the discover species menu in gamepad mode
  

Mostly bug fixes and tweaks here - still working on the GIFs for gamepad mode but it doesn't effect gameplay!

• (Maybe) fixed an issue with sc_gui_draw script
  
• Fixed an issue with tappers crashing the game (sc_tapper_alarm1)
  
• Fixed an issue in gamepad mode when opening a beehive (sc_beehive1_gamepad)
  
• Maybe fixed an issue with ob_bee's losing not being able to get home :'(
  
• Fixed an issue in gamepad mode where the predictor crashes
  
• Fixed an issue with a game crash when clicking the discover button
  
• Fixed an issue where using X on a slot in gamepad mode on the inventory when just the inventory is open yeets the item into the void forever
  
• Updated keyboard shortcuts to controller shortcuts in NPC dialogue
  
• Fixed fermenter GUI rendered off-pixel in fullscreen mode
  
• Fixed mouse middle click / controller right stick "pickup as many as I can" function not working
  
• Fixed menus not updating properly in controller mode when using X to move an item in/out an input/output slot
  
• Fixed discovery popup softlocking the game on controller as you can't press the button
  
• Fixed Beekeeper's Delight not getting discovered
  
• Fixed various menu GUI elements not being rounded correctly
  
• Fixed Flower Book showing text way darker for undiscovered flowers
  
• Added try-catch to stat logger to prevent it failing if the server is down (co_core_Other_62)
  
• Added fix for menu sometimes failing on "instance_exists()"
  
• Fixed screens at 1920x1080 exactly not using 3x scaling
  
• Fixed some issues with saves corrupted after GM error windows (maybe?)
  
• Fixed opening an NPC in gamepad mode buying the item of the day
  
• Fixed tooltip for placement to snap to grid missing on gamepad mode
  

So a few little changes and tweaks, including a true fullscreen mode!

I've also taken the first stab at controller/gamepad support - this completely changes the controls of the game and how a bunch of stuff works, like there's no multiple menu system and instead there's a "focus" mode.
If you've got any sort of controller for the PC I'd really appreciate your feedback on this one, I think I've got a good starting point but would love to know where we can take it.

Note - if you are testing with a gamepad you'll notice there's a bunch of GIFs missing from the guide, I still need to draw all the "gamepad" GIF equivilents so there's better examples for controller users.

• Added controller support!
  
• Added two more beautiful tracks thanks to @Brodux
  
• Added missing lore for the new 6 bees
  
• Added more splashscreen messages (rly important updates u kno)
  
• Game now starts in true fullscreen - you can go back to windowed mode from the settings menu
  
• Increased amount of resin needed per item in the infuser from 5bl to 10bl (bee-litres, obviously)
  
• Tweaked hybrid flower seed spawn chance
  
• Tweaked bee mutation chances now that stability trait buffs apply
  
• Updated undiscovered bee chapters to have the text faded to be clearer
  

• Fixed beehives crashing the game sometimes when bee particles got deleted off-screen
  
• Fixed predictor showing wrong icon for undiscovered bee species
  
• Fixed quest book showing wrong icon tooltip for rewards when opening the book via notification
  
• Fixed infuser being able to start with less than the needed amount of resin
  
• Fixed tappers not showing the "empty" status when reloading a game
  
• Fixed the game crashing when trying to read the shift tooltip of a bee
  
• Fixed stats not resetting when creating a new world
  
• Fixed Windows having a stretching issue the first time you run windowed fullscreen
  
• Added missing clicks to character customisation buttons
  
• Fixed rollover sound spamming on mechanism use
  
• Fixed library book icons being off by 1 pixel on large displays
  
• Fixed books opening when writing in signs
  
• Fixed some chapter hitboxes going funky when opening via notification
  

Well here we are gang! About a month later from when we first let you loose with the new Alpha, we're here with the first of 3 major content updates - the Frosty Update.

This has quite a lot of new bits and bobs, the main focus being around the new "polar" climate and climate control. There's also the beginnings of the character customisation system so you can finally play as yourself instead of me! (if you have any requests for hairstyles let us know :D)

This update also introduces fermentation, which lets you take water + honey to make mead, which can be further infused with spices to give it special properties, like making you able to run faster or see better at night!

There's also some more bees (of course) - in this update we introduce some special species you only find in certain places rather than through cross-breeding. This will lead to a few different things in future, like species NPCs give you, special quest reward bees, seasonal bees etc. We've also tried rebalancing the items you can sell to give more focus to bee produce + honey/mead.

Not much has changed with the NPCs as the next major content update is focused around NPCs and questing, but we have updated the shops!

As always, let us know any Bugs you find in our Bug Reports forum (over on Guilded), but otherwise we hope you enjoy! I'd recommend a new world if you can part ways with your old one, as a lot of content needs a fresh world!

• Added character customisation! You can now change your look and hair style and overall colours and all that good stuff when starting a new game (hell yeah!!!)
  
• Added the polar regions! This harsh frozen landscape is home to some very hardy bees..
  
• Added "snowing" weather in the polar regions, leaving a layer of snow you can gather with a spade
  
• Added 6 new bees! Some of these are "one-off" species not found by cross-breeding but by exploring (requires a new world)
  
• Added a "New Discovery" animation sequence when you find/breed a new species (who's that... bee!!!)
  
• Added 2 new flowers for the polar regions (no new flower mutations this update!)
  
• Added the Heater, an object that warms up the surrounding area to make it feel like a warmer climate - bought from Beenjamin
  
• Added the Cooler, an object that cools down the surrounding area to make it feel like a colder climate - bought from Beenjamin
  
• Added Rain Tanks, these store rainwater when it's raining, which you'll need to make mead!
  
• Added the Fermenter, which let's you combine all that golden honey you've been hoarding with water to make mead!
  
• Added the Bottler which let's you bottle mead, optionally infusing the mead with spices! Spiced mead has special effcts when drunk, different spices do different things! - bought from Skipper
  
• Added 3 different spices, each can be produce by a specific bee species, or bought from Skipper's specials item!
  
• Added 5 new quests to cover new mechanics - rain tanks, fermentation+bottling, heaters, coolers, and polar islands
  
• Added an introduction chapter to the flower book that explains cross pollination in more detail
  
• Added another type of light source, the Lamp, which can now be crafted
  

• Beetrix now sells sawdust and sawdust bricks
  
• Updated snowing icon, "polar" icon, and matching icons in the microscope
  
• Added an AoE circle to smokers so you can see what hives will be affected by it
  
• Hives now hide the second bee input slot when a queen is in the first bee input slot to try and aid in confusion of what is needed in a hive
  
• Added a tooltip on empty crate 'eye' slots to explain what they do
  
• Added boats to the map so you can see where ya left em!
  
• You can now hold and drag the mouse while holding shift to move items between menus (rather than having to click each time)
  
• Added a small 'E' icon next to the inventory to show you can toggle it
  
• Added slot numbers to the highlighted hotbar slot
  
• You can now hammer the Sir Sengir statue and move it where you want! (Will leave a glitched invisible solid block on old worlds but still works)
  

• Fixed flower buffs not applying correctly
  
• Fixed flower buffs not displaying on active queen trait cards
  
• Updated tooltip delay so the tooltip doesn't flicker when moving the mouse over the same thing
  
• Added missing flower 'placeholder' icon to the smoker flower input slot
  
• Fixed the "Hold 'Control' To Snap To Grid" tooltip being replaced with floor/carpet tooltips when placing on those things
  
• Fixed the smoker not automatically refuelling itself when the game is loaded
  
• Fixed smokers not actually having an area of effect and smoking every hive in the world
  
• Fixed input/output slots not having awhite "input/output" title in the tooltip
  
• Fixed NPCs not appearing on the map when the game loads if they're too far away
  
• Fixed issue with walls not showing the correct variant in some layouts
  
• Fixed canisters sometimes not resetting to "empty" when filling certain tanks
  
• Fixed there being no beehive at Beenjamins place
  
• Fixed not seeing an "out of reach" error on far away walls + tiles
  
• Fixed Nana not sitting on a bench and instead rising above the ground (ASCEND)
  
• Fixed missing @ symbol in "Picture Perfect" quest dialogue
  
• Fixed rain carrying over to a new world if it was raining in the last game you played
  
• Fixed tree taps having the wrong sprite in the swamps
  
• Fixed deep tiles not showing the correct tile sometimes
  
• Fixed the smoker quest missing a GIF