Sapphire Safari News

​Sapphire Safari has turned 2 years old! She has come leaps and bounds since we started building our game! To celebrate this fantastic happening, and the two years of labor we've poured into the game we have a 50% off sale running for the next four weeks. Get in while you can!
As for a look back, the earliest stuff we have is quite cringy but I figured I would contrast it with the progression of work so you can all see how we started and where we have ended up.
First, let's look at our mascot for the game, our lovely bunny girl!



Originally we wanted a Lola Bunny-type look, but realised it was... erm... not... great. And moved more toward a cuter type of mascot.

The characters in the game swapped around considerably as well, mostly due to our experimentations with the art pipeline and attempting to find a perfect balance so our small team could build all the important things we needed.

The next reference piece is our our game looked and felt overall over the past 18 iterations of releases.

​

​We quickly found our desired look, but the mechanics grew and changed a whole lot.

Sapphire Safari started as an on-rails shooter, moved to a semi-open world on-rails shooter, then became an open-world voxel-based exploration game, moved onto a small semi-open-world shooter, then finally a fully open-world shooter with a focus on calendar events and quests.

The current iteration has found a perfect spot for our team, both in what we can build, and what we want this game to ultimately become. We still have a lot to decide on, specifically around how the end game feels. For now, the motions the player goes through, the overall focus, and the goals the players will have have all been found. I want to thank our lovely community for giving us this chance to experiment and find Sapphire Safari in all our experiments. We hope you'll join us for the final push to a full game!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1526900/Sapphire_Safari/

Much love!
Kinky

Salutations explorers! Welcome to our next patch for Sapphire Safari! Version 017, just a few days after our massive v016 release.

So unlike our other patches, this one will be short and sweet, so here we go.

[h2]AI Eyes and Sightlines[/h2]
In the last patch, we had to turn off the eyesight for the roaming monster girls on the island, which in turn disabled the stealth mechanics of the game. It added a lot of computation requirements to the game leading to stuttering and just making it unplayable. So this patch includes our new system (instead of using the standing Unreal Engine tech).


Each girl will see roughly 20 meters in front of them, if you hide behind objects they won’t be able to spot you. Making noise like running, stepping on noise makers like twigs and branches, or jumping into vegetation like bushes while near the AI will cause them to look around, if they spot you during this time they will react, and then flee.

[h2]No Beacon left behind[/h2]
We have unlocked and lightly developed the missing area of the plains, which previously held a radio beacon you couldn’t access. This is now available to explore and the beacon can now be activated.


This patch also includes several fixes to AI and UX. Overhauls some of the problems the save system was encountering holding onto map discovery and such. But here is the full changelog.

• new vision system for girls
  
• new area on previously locked-off radio beacon
  
• clipping removed on some rocks in the plains
  
• wind animation added back to some foliage in the plains
  
• river barriers now do not block throwable tools
  
• save system bugs related to the FOW and Map not loading in are fixed
  
• save system bugs related to beacon activations not loading in are fixed
  
• bounty computer UI navigation tweaked
  
• notifications for entering and leaving radio beacon zones added
  
• photo capture flow bug related to the submission system deactivating on scoring has been fixed
  

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1526900/Sapphire_Safari/

I hope this patch finds you well! We would love for your continued feedback.

Hello explorers! As the development team breathes a sigh of relief at the final build of v016 has been completed the task now turns to me to write this - what will likely be a massive - release post.

So three and a half months of development time, what exactly did we accomplish? The game you all knew as Sapphire Safari has drastically changed. Gone are the small islands, the core loop map building, and the tiny user flow. In its place is a fully-fledged open-world photography game!

[h3]The Island[/h3]
Floating in a currently unannounced area of remote ocean is Sapphire Island, home to a whopping 6 surface-level biomes that the player can (in the entire completed version of the game that is) explore at their leisure. Our focus from now, until our Early Access launch on Steam is the first area—the Plains. Rolling green hills, broken up with a spattering of rocky cairns, home to 9 total species of Monster Girl. The Plains are roughly 1km x .5km in size, offering a decent variety of landscapes and backdrops for photo opportunities.



Some notable areas within the plains are:

The flower fields - primarily this will be a spawn location for Monster Girl known as the Bee (released in a future patch). Flowers dominate this area, offering a very colorful backdrop for photos and the like.



The marshlands - another primary area for a water-based predator known as the Crocodile (released in a future patch). The marsh offers a unique place for plains creatures of all sizes to play in the water and bathe.



The wading pools - tucked away in a corner of the Plains biome is the wading pools, a cool and relaxing place to offer a chance of relaxation for the locals.



With a lot more to discover, the basics for the Plains are all in. Future patches will see content growing out of what we’ve already built, and those looking closely at the environment will be able to spot some “exciting” developments for the game.



[h3]The Locals[/h3]
As mentioned above the first biome will be home to a total of 9 species of Monster Girl, v016 however will only feature 6 with three more coming in future updates.



Fox (medium classification)
A generally sly predator found within the plains biome, they are most active during the night where they use the night as a cover to find their targets.

Snake (medium classification)
A predator known for devouring their Prey found within the plains biome. They are most active during the day when the sun's rays warm their blood making them more active.

Deer (medium classification)
A species found plentiful in the plains biome of Sapphire Island, normally roaming around other deer, they are easy to startle but tend to be less weary of repeated human contact.

Sheep (medium classification)
A unique species, which can be found sporting a large variety of fur designs and colors. They have a herd mentality, sticking close to other sheep to protect themselves from predators.

Bat (small classification)
Found primarily at night feasting on fruits. The bat can be found all over the island, while winged, they cannot sustain flight.

Rabbit (small classification)
A creature of boundless energy, curiosity, and lust. The rabbit can be seen in many varieties across the island.

[h2]The Systems[/h2]
[h3]Photo Submission[/h3]
This is our biggest change from the previous system, now you will need to submit your photos for judging as you fill-up the photo inventory. Just hit “X” at any time you’re within range of a Radio Beacon and the submission process will begin.



Each photo that qualifies for the Species Encyclopedia, Bounties, Main/Side Quests, or Events will be shown with the option to submit that photo once for whatever category it fits into. In some cases you’ll need to decide which result better suits your needs. This system will be expanded upon in the next coming patches with the Encyclopedia (formally known as Monpedia) upgrades.

[h3]Bounties[/h3]
For this patch, the AI is quite limited and won’t offer many opportunities for cataloging their behaviors. So for this patch, we have turned off Monpedia and focused our energy on turning on V1 of the bounty system.



Found within one of the tents in the Campsite is the bounty computer which will offer the player a chance to find and take randomly generated photo quests. These can be submitted via the photo submission tool and the rewards claimed back at the same terminal.



[h3]Tutorials[/h3]
A massively requested feature, we have taken the time to enable our tutorial system in Sapphire Safari. Hitting particular zones or doing things in the game will sometimes pop up tutorials. These can always be reread in the Escape Pause Menu.



[h3]Radio Beacons[/h3]
Radio towers are our new gameplay system. The goal here is to extend a network to allow you to upload photos further and further away from your base Campsite. In future versions unmasking new areas of the map will also unveil activities and unexplored sites of interest you’ll be able to visit.



[h3]Sex and Observers[/h3]
Currently, the only way to activate the sex system in Sapphire Safari is to throw the lust bomb into monster girls on the island. To do this, hit “Q” to equip the lust bomb (it looks like a pink ball) and use Mouse 1 to enter aiming mode.



Releasing the button will throw the bomb and instantly activate the sex mode on affected monster girls. Here the new system will be shown, It will take pairings of Futa x Female, Futa x Futa, and Female x Female along with allowing other monster girls to observe the sex happening in front of them. Participants can join and leave as they like, and observers once they are stimulated enough will throw themselves into the orgy happening before them.



The animation loops we are using currently are only a second or two long, and we have more Futa-enabled animations than Female ones, so please keep that in mind. For the best results, you will need to enable a good amount of Futa spawns in your game.

[h3]Day/Night Cycle[/h3]
Sapphire Safari now has a fully functional day and night cycle on the island. The entire process takes 1 real-life hour to go from Dawn to Dusk, however, within the Campsite you will have a tool to help skip to your desired time of day.



Right now, the time has no effect on monster spawns or the events around the island. That will change in future patches.

[h3]Early Narrative Tools[/h3]
There is now a brand new introduction and character selection cutscene, this intro shows the player being dropped off on the island and shows off the new hologram communication device that will feature in Sapphire Safar along with just a smidge of context for the reasons you’re here right now.



Naturally, more narrative is coming, in fact, the entire script for the first biome is 95% done!

[h2]The Fixes[/h2]
There are so many changes and additions to v016 that it would be pointless to list them all, but for those who don’t wanna read the small novel above here is the TLDR.

Additions:

• New island map: Content locked to plains biome.
  
• Fox monster girl added
  
• Sheep monster girl added
  
• Snake monster girl added
  
• Tutorial system added
  
• Holowatch system added
  
• Bounty system added
  
• 80+ general actions added to the plains biome.
  
• Day/Night cycle added
  
• Fog of War added
  
• Map system added
  
• GPS system added
  
• Radio beacon towers added
  
• Climbing system added
  
• Futa physics and growth system added
  
• Stealth system added
  
• Sound and noise systems added
  
• 15+ monster girl reactions added
  
• Hip-bound camera physics system added
  
• Fast travel system added
  
• Save system and respawn system enabled
  

Changes:

• Rebindings menu bugs fixed
  
• Throwing animations and camera control fixed
  
• Player model blurry fov fixed
  
• Camera ads stutter and shift fixed
  
• Photo scoring adjusted
  
• Photo submission v2 added
  
• Doll system v5 added
  
• Re-added player hat to 3rd person camera
  
• Social buttons reconfigured
  
• ADS screen adjusted
  
• Research level and familiarity popups added
  
• Camera autofocus adjusted to fix constant blurriness
  
• Focus finder attached to monster girl head correctly
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]
A massive patch like v016 won't be without its own issues, Here is a list of currently known bugs that will likely affect some players.

• Player characters have bone alignment issues.
  
• Monster girls will not react to the player, due to their sight tech being turned off for stability.
  
• Monster girls will sometimes unload themselves from the world, they will basically pop out of existence.
  
• The camera focus during sex scenes is hard to control.
  

Both issues will be fixed in the next few patches.

[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Man, what a massive patch this ended up being. Going forward we won’t be doing something so ‘intense’ anymore. The strain it put on us, and the wait time all our supporters had to endure was not something we wanted to take on. Since we are getting closer to our eventual Steam Early Access launch the next few patches will throw away the concept of “one a month” Instead we will be launching patches the moment new content is ready. So a lot of them will be small upgrades to things, and some might be the inclusion of one new system.

The results will bring more time to get feedback on the new stuff faster, and you all will get the content on a higher frequency.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1526900/Sapphire_Safari/

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy v016. A lot of sleepless nights went into this one. Please be sure to send us your feedback! We are eager to know what everyone thinks!

Cheers,
Kinky

Hello explorers! Man, what a month, our projections had put us releasing v016 much earlier in August than we initially believed. The TLDR is that we are still working on implementing the overhaul of the sex system we are introducing. The reason is a lot of code debt, meaning we have revised the system too many times, it needed to be cleaned out of the game before it caused issues in the future.

We are close. Really close. I would not want you all to wait any longer without any updates from us regarding the progress.

Those of you on our Discord might have already seen more on this system, but it is something we are quite proud of. We had a huge task ahead of us, making an open-world game that captures the feeling of exploration without relying on combat systems to fill the gaps. We have a couple of methods we are building for Sapphire Safari.

[h2]Activating Radio Towers[/h2]
Yeah, this is a take from early Far Cry games, the system is great for our needs, so we have unashamedly taken cues from it. As you explore Sapphire Island your ability to upload photos are limited by the radio beacon coverage you’ve activated. Turning on a tower means climbing a natural formation of Rock and Tree, mixed with a quickly erected man-made support structure. The tools you’ll need to scale these towers will come from the shop after some progress has been made on your research level. For version 016 you’ll just be able to climb and activate them as we have yet to build the shop system out.


Also unveiling the map, showing off all the unexplored POIs in the new region. Progress!


[h2]Narrative Tools and Loot[/h2]
The narrative for Sapphire Safari is broken down into two areas. Main Quests and Loot Crates. Quests are easy, you follow a breadcrumb system looking for clues on the whereabouts of the original science team that has gone missing. The quests are the present, the story is relayed with a mixture of in-person conversations and hologram phone calls.


The second narrative option is the Loot Crates, these give the player a couple of things, currency, some give costumes for the players, but all will give the player an audio log, that once all collected tell the story of how each member of the science team ended up lost in the first place. We are working with a very highly regarded author to create the full narrative experience in Sapphire Safari and our goal is to have everything voiced. Here is a sample of one of the audio logs.

• Sarah (matter of fact): So, this particular site I have been investigating paints a more interesting picture of the natives. As I guessed before, they have a language. From my personal observations, I believe I have discovered their word for 'dick'. They repeat it over and over near this rock.
  
• Sarah (curious): I wonder what significance this site has in their culture? And since they have culture, how does the culture differentiate from species to species? Do the other species on the island have sites of religious significance too? Do they all speak the same language, or are there distinct dialects among different groups?
  
• Sarah (sheepish): ...Yeah, sorry. I tend to ramble a bit. I just have so many questions.
  
• (A sound of Sarah fumbling with the recorder. There is a noticeable thud in the audio as she catches it before it hits the ground.)
  
• Sarah (shocked): Shit, nearly dropped the recorder!
  
• (Several cries from the bunbuns as they run away)
  
• Sarah (annoyed): God damn it, I spooked them! Why do I have to be so damn clumsy?!
  
• Sarah (defeated): Oh well... Guess I can come back later.
  

The loot and 95% of the narrative will come in a later patch for the game. But v016 will have a new “temp” intro that will show off some of the new dialogue tech the game has.

[h2]Spawning Systems and Stealth[/h2]
The new system for monster spawning is finally inside Sapphire Safari, monster girls are spread out across the plains with Prey being far more regular than Predators. The girls are far more attentive to their surroundings, but also their AI has been softened to allow more of a chance to react to them. The new Stealth system also reinforces this, running around, and generally making noise will get them to stop what they are doing and search for the sound. If they visually spot you, they do a reaction and then move away from you. In the full version, you can follow them if you like as they shouldn’t disappear from view unless you leave the area they are in. Crouching will not alert any girls around you unless you step on a branch or something of the like.


[h2]Sex System Overhaul[/h2]
Our white whale it turns out is this blasted sex system. We had a lot of issues getting our (on paper) amazing system off the ground without issues. It either worked and was not that appealing, or it was appealing and didn’t fit into the system we wanted. The new one is a little more focused on what we want to achieve while also being much easier to build amazing sex animations for.


Basically, it flows like this: Monster gets horny enough to start masturbating > creatures around get curious and begin to watch/masturbate themselves > one of the observers joins in and plaps away > others also join in (up to five participants) > as they orgasm they leave.



Previously we would have attempted to make transition animations and try to make the task of adding another monster to the mix look natural, now we just puff some smoke and choose one of the animations that match the sizes of participants and the number of participants. Version 016 will only go as high as threesomes though, we will have like 20ish animations for the system that are simple loops. These will be expanded on later.

[h2]Bugs and Fixes[/h2]
Naturally, there were a lot of old bugs and such we have fixed since moving over to v016 and half the team has a bit more time to focus on fixing these things. Stuff like, blurry characters in the locomotion, the camera being blurry when you’re not focusing on monster girls, girls disappearing, etc.

We also had a bit of time to work on UI presentation and giving the player better throwing animations, along with a camera hip holster and such.


[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
We are still working very hard on all of this, it is a massive sweeping patch, that changes just about everything about Sapphire Safari. It is worth pointing out now, that version 016 will have some things missing until we get to focus on those systems again. The major one is the Monpedia, in its place, will be a system we are calling bounties. Monpedia will be back, we just need more time to correctly implement the system along with a testing environment to make sure there are no unexpected behaviors.

As a final treat, I have included the next official collection of screenshots we will be using after v016 drops. I hope you all enjoy the sneak peek of what we have going on!



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1526900/Sapphire_Safari/

Wassup explorers! Welcome to another Sapphire Documents Issue! Today we are talking all about the progress our team has made, along with a long-requested feature!

[h2]The angle of the dangle[/h2]
Yes, you’ve guessed it, the team has created flaccid penis assets for our models. We have been putting off this long-requested feature for a while, as it was never essential. With the open-world rework, we decided “why not” and threw in the tech needed to arouse and unarouse?



The mobs will determine when they grow, normally when they enter sex poses, but we could have a system that shows how toey a monster girl is by the size of their erection. I mean. That just makes sense…

The full erection sizes won’t change as it will make our sex system complicated, however, we have a nice way to randomize the flaccid penis size. The system will spawn a dong size between our largest and smallest possible sizes. They all grow to the same length, but it will offer a nice diverse selection of futaness.



And yes, physics is a thing…



Speaking of physics, the first pass for our new models for physics is up and running, here is a look at our lovely fox, with her floppy ears and bouncy assets.



[h2]Dialogue and Holocalls[/h2]
On the back of an open-world move, we had to develop our own conversation system. There will be about 6-8 human NPCs and some more intelligent monster girls you can converse with in the game so building a system that allows for unique conversations is important. Couple this with our dynamic facial animation system we have quite a nice system in place. We can configure close-ups or wide shots, over-the-shoulder shots, etc depending on the dialogue used and how many participants in the conversation there are.

Two examples here are talking to NPCs in person and taking a Holocall (our version of a phone call).



[h2]Sapphire Island gets more tweaks[/h2]
Surprising no one we continue to build upon the island to get it ready for her launch in v016. Here are some money shots to keep you all excited!



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1526900/Sapphire_Safari/

Hope you all enjoyed this brief look at what we’ve been working on! More to come soon!