A Lonesome Tale News

Hello, all my Fine People!

A Lonesome Tale is making steady progress and has reached yet another fabulous version! While my goal was to have the game out for STEAM NextFest (Which has come and gone), we're moving on to a new goal and a new timeline! With so much more needed to be done in order for the game to qualify (in my own mind) as ready for Early Access, I'm pushing the date further off into the future and, instead, releasing an official Closed Playtest of the game!

If you would like to be included in the Playtest, you can find out more detailed info on my Patreon Page! Those who get involved will have a direct line to provide feedback, ideas and improvements to me throughout the process of what I am calling 'Phase 2'!

With that said, let's get on with the Changelog!

[h3]v0.20.68a (Cave Cricket) --> v.0.21.79a (Cave Cricket)[/h3]

Features

• Alert Box! It pops up to tell you important things, then slowly fades back into obscurity!
  

Changes

• Updated the King's Letter I
  
• Added crafting feedback
  
• Put Calvin in bedroll at night & assigned some variables to NPCs in general for AI differences in day vs. night
  
• Added Alerts for Levelup, Taking Items and Receiving/Completing Quests
  

Fixes

• Enemies will now walk over other enemy bodies to chase hero/explore
  
• Quests have some issues displaying entire text options
  
• Made sure corpses and blood are destroyed between dungeon levels and visits
  
• Fixed damage feedback (i.e. the numbers that pop up when you successfully hit something!)
  
• Updated Save System to work with new traits and quests etc
  
• Removed 'Missing-A-Thumb' from level up options and created a separate traits array for things you only acquire at character creation
  

That's all for now!

It's been some time since I've provided you all an update and, for that, I humbly apologize! Steady progress is being made, however, an October release is just not going to happen. I would love to get this puppy out the door and into all of your loving, testing hands, but it's just not there yet. However, I do have a slew of updates to share with you all as we move into v0.20.68a!

[h3]v0.15.44a (Cave Cricket) --> v.0.20.68a (Cave Cricket)[/h3]

Features

• A NEW Adventure Log has been added to the Book UI! Now you'll be able to look back on all your hero's past accomplishments and missteps!
  
• Added Treasure Chests and filled them with loot! Each dungeon level has a chance to have a handful of treasure chests!
  
• Added a new 'Quest' System! Now you'll have a goal vs just aimlessly adventuring around!
  
• Changed 'buildable' system to a stationary 'blueprint/quest' system. Honestly, the buildable system was just a headache. Basically, I took away the ability for player's to dictate where major buildings will go when built. Yes, I know, I'm a damn animal.
  
• Added Foraging! Hungry? Well, find yourself a bush!
  

Changes

• Made it so NPC's turn to Right/Left depending on where Hero is when conversation is originated.
  
• Added new Adventure Log entry types
  
• Replaced old torchlight with a better/smoother looking one
  
• Added new path sprite leading into the settlement area.
  
• Added new dialogue options for Calvin and programmed in a dialogue tree to make it easier to do the same for other NPCs
  
• Added 'Fire/Encampment!' Quest
  
• Added flowers!
  
• Added Overworld Water Tiles!
  
• Started to add trees to fill out the Overland map
  
• Added 'Food!' Quest
  
• Added bedroll for Calvin
  
• Added blueberries and barberries
  

Fixes

• Made sure NPC Shoppe slots are reset to -1 when closed/exited. This was causing an issue where items were not re-appearing on subsequent shopping trips.
  
• Unset 'Sold By' variable on newly created items to fix them appearing in NPC Shoppes accidentally.
  
• Tweaked door so it doesn't ragdoll on destruction
  
• Set hero's previous x and y as soon as entering dungeon to avoid pinging off into space
  
• Error in Enemy AI (I used a greater than vs a lesser than when calculating next tile)
  
• Fix error where chests were spawning ANY item vs ones tagged 'findable'
  
• Page number inconsistencies/links not working as they should
  
• Added +1 to mod to array.width that controls Traits to make sure only avail. traits appear and no new traits can be picked if all have been picked
  
• Added stat_base value to hero to fix addition when adding stat_mod values
  
• Fixed blood splatters to be more badass when enemies die
  
• Fixed stick spawns to only be south of trees
  
• Added blueberries and barberries
  
• Fixed quest system to deal appropriately with stackable items
  

Anyway, I'm going to get back to it! Make sure you check out my Patreon page (if you haven't already)!

Hugs and Smooches,

Sam

Welp, we're making steady progress!

Today's patch brings us one step closer to release day (either for the demo, the EA or both!)
Mostly, it's a lot of small fixes and patches, as well as another pass at reducing the amount of code and unused assets!

[h3]v0.15.27a (Cave Cricket) --> v.0.15.44a (Cave Cricket)[/h3]

Changes

• Change: Added an attribute_mods value to each hero's attribute in order to differentiate between the base roll and the gained modifiers.
  
• Change: Combined the update_hero_hp_bar and update_bonus_rolls functions to one update_hero function.
  
• Change: Added hidden luck attribute back in and applied to battle collisions
  
• Change: Added is_broken variable to projectiles and a new animation if they hit a wall vs. destroying the object altogether
  
• Change: Added door destruction animation
  
• Change: Changed the way mouse-over text is displayed for attributes
  
• Change: Improved on the Traits system by adding the traits to an array for tracking already picked traits for each hero
  
• Change: Game now allows multiple 'level-ups' to be stored and used when a player wants to use them.
  

FIxes

• Fix: Fixed mouseover text for afflictions - was showing the same description for all afflictions
  
• Fix: Bug fixed where you could keep adding attribute points on level up, even if the 'add' buttons were invisible.
  
• Fix: Fixed a bug that had Level UP Icons present at all times, even when Character sheet was invisible
  
• Fix: Fixed bug where armor values were added twice upon game start for starting gear
  
• Fix: Added initial x and y values to door's previous x and y so it doesn't fling off into another dimension when it's hit by hero.
  
• Fix: Added variable to differentiate between newly dead enemies and past dead enemies to prevent death animation from replaying for all enemies every time one died.
  
• Fix: Reworked collision systems entirely, as well as damage systems, to fit the new UI changes and Traits mechanics
  
• Fix: Changed the formula for the HP Bar fill to match the new width of the HP bar on the Character Screen.
  
• Fix: If a ranged weapon is not equipped, show "N/A" for the damage on character screen
  

Good morning everyone!

A Lonesome Tale is seeing great progress! However, moving into October, I have to make the real decision whether to release into EA right away, or start with a playable Demo/more testing before an EA release. I think I'll know more by the end of this week, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here's what's new!

[h3]v0.11.16a (Cave Cricket) --> v0.15.27a (Cave Cricket)[/h3]

• Fixed damage bug where enemies & heroes would stay colored red
  
• Added poison mechanics
  
• Fixed small bug where items that were dropped weren't picked up after first pass
  
• Removed east/west doors in dungeon on account of how bad they looked.
  
• Removed unnecessary assets & code
  
• Added new Trainer/Debug Tool UI and abilities
  
• Added Level Up Mechanics
  
• Added 2 new mouse cursors, 1 for normal & another tied to Debug Mode
  
• Moved Gold Icon to Equipment section and added Gold sprite
  
• Created a new Traits System
  
• Created a new Afflictions System
  
• More general code cleanup
  
• Added 7 New Traits: Swordsman, Lumberjack, Daggerwund, Hunter, Bodybuilder, Wanderer, Missing-A-Thumb
  
• Updated icons with hor/ver blur vs hand-altering sprites (MAY NEED TO REVISIT THIS FOR ALL SPRITES)
  
• Updated descriptions for various mouseovers
  

Happy afternoon, all my rogues and roguettes!

Today brings even more progress in both polishing and adding new game mechanics. Especially noteworthy is the introduction of a 'ragdoll'-esque mechanic when heroes and enemies meet their maker. Other than that, the process of adding new enemies and items has begun.

XOXO,

Sam

[h3]v0.10.7a (Cave Cricket) --> v0.11.16a (Cave Cricket)[/h3]

• added enemy and hero bleeding & simulated ragdoll mechanics
  
• fixed bug where enemy could collide with other dead enemies
  
• changed blood droplets to randomize size and opacity
  
• added new resources: spider's fangs, skitter legs
  
• added new food: grilled skitter legs
  
• changed item drops to enemy corpse final location
  
• added new enemy variables to dictate where they appear/in what dungeon or location
  
• added new enemies: skitter
  
• added feature to change blood color depending on enemy species
  
• general code cleanup