Tropical Monster Girls News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]As the game's big Early Access release date is in just 2 days, we thought it would be fun to show off some of the work we've been doing to get ready & tools we've developed to make it happen![/p][p][/p][h2]Upcoming Update + Q&A[/h2][p]If technical breakdowns aren't your sort of thing, we're hosting a Q&A on our 18+ Discord. The answers along with all of the updates we've done for the Early Access release will be posted to Steam when the game comes out![/p][p][/p][p]Join our 18+ Discord (Art, Updates, Chat)[/p][p][/p][h2]Editor Tools We've Developed[/h2][p]It's no secret massive projects like this aren't supposed to be taken on by small teams. But thankfully each one of us has been making video games for years! We knew we'd have to build tools to make ourselves more productive.[/p][p]Over the course of the game, we've made hundreds of systems & tools. We picked a few of the interesting ones to share. If you're already familiar with game development, these won't come as a surprise.[/p][p][/p][h3]Game Tools[/h3][p]NPC Spawning[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This tool lets us sample a part of the map to see where NPCs can and cant spawn. This helps ensure that any spawning logic is working properly.[/p][p][/p][p]Collision & Interaction[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]By default, Unity & most game engines will display collider shapes when you have an object selected. However it helps to write your own tool that displays these shapes constantly. This lets you more easily create & edit collisions for objects. It also lets us define colors so we can tell at a glance what a collider does (Cyan means the player can interact with it).[/p][p][/p][p]Fun fact: Did you notice that the telescope is using 2 cubes for its collisions? This is a common practice in video games from Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, to your favorite indie game. Colliders are created using primitive shapes (Usually Cubes, Spheres, and Capsules). This is a lot less expensive for the physics calculations, especially when there are hundreds or many thousands of objects in the game. This is a big optimization that helps save CPU usage.[/p][p][/p][p]We use lots of common techniques to reduce CPU & GPU usage. The standard ones are LODs, Frustum Culling, Billboards, and more. But we want to talk about our custom tools.[/p][p][/p][p]World Chunker[/p][p]That's our internal name for the tool we built. The technique in game development exists under the broad category "World Streaming" or "Level Streaming".[/p][p]This tool divides the world into a grid. We call each cell of the grid a "chunk". The chunks closest to the player are loaded and the rest of the map is unloaded. The grid contains map objects that we want loaded & unloaded such as bushes, twigs, plant pickups, and more. This helps to reduce CPU & GPU usage by not having to calculate objects outside of the players immediate area.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Lots More[/p][p]Of course, this is just scratching the surface. We thought these were the most visual tools to show off. We'd also love to talk about more but we're busy preparing for release lol.[/p][p]This post is aimed at those who might be new or beginners to game development. Every game, we ask ourselves the question: Would enough people be interested in a really nerdy technical breakdown of the tech & decisions behind the game? The answer we come to is always a satisfying "Maybe". So let us know if this sort of thing interests you.[/p][p][/p][h2]Our tech stack[/h2][p]For those curious, here are the software/tools we use to make games.[/p][p][/p][p]Engine: Unity 6[/p][p]Programming: Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, Notepad++ (For JSON files)[/p][p]Source Control: Unity Version Control (Plastic)[/p][p]3D Modeling & Animating: Blender, ZBrush, Maya[/p][p]Texturing: Substance Painter[/p][p]Texture/Sprite Creation & Editing: Clip Studio Paint, GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) 3, Photoshop, Paint Dot Net[/p][p]Audio: Audacity[/p][p]Notes, Planning & Task Management: Obsidian[/p][p][/p][p]See you on release day![/p][p]~Captain Cake[/p][p][/p][p](Play the demo & wishlist the game!)[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink](Or just wishlist the game!)[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[h2]Localization file fix[/h2]
If you loaded the game & saw text errors like LOC_FILE_NOT_LOADED, restart your game & the issue will be fixed.

[h2]Going outside of demo bounds[/h2]
We made a mistake in uploading the demo build. It did not have the demo boundaries up. So players were able to leave the demo area into the full game map area (which didn't have any content because this is the demo version of the game).

We knew something was wrong when players said they had mined copper but couldn't do anything with it (The areas where you mine copper aren't supposed to be accessible in the demo lol). The first biome (The Enchanted Forest) is larger than it was in demo v1 & is meant to be the explorable area of the demo.

We've updated the game so if you were out of the demo bounds you'll be teleported back within the demo bounds. Things built outside of demo bounds will be force-unloaded to avoid errors. Sorry for the inconvenience, we fixed this as quickly as possible when we found out.

[h2]Changelog[/h2]

• Fixed player able to go outside of the demo bounds
  
• Fixed error causing the localization file to not load the first time you launch the game without a save file
  
• Fixed soft lock in the tutorial if you craft an axe before being asked to & place it into your hotbar
  
• Decreased the distance the demo walls do their overlay
  
• Added localization to the demo "out of bounds" teleport message
  

~Captain Cake

Join us on 18+ Discord (New art, Updates, Chat) :)

[h3]The Demo[/h3]
(Wishlist the game!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3414600/Tropical_Monster_Girls_Demo?utm_source=DemoV2News

[h2]The Massive Leap Update[/h2]
We are incredibly grateful for the attention the game has gotten so far. This update has been in the works for many months. Many things that weren't included in the demo because they weren't ready yet, many things that have been changed/added based on all the amazing community feedback we've gotten from the demo.

So without too much text, I present to you: The massive 2.0 update!

[h2]Male Character, Jog, Jiggle Physics[/h2]
We didn't think we'd be able to pull it off but we decided to go for it. The mostly commonly requested addition is here: Male option!


You now jog instead of walking for faster movement. Along with jiggle physics for characters & clothes.


[h2]Map Overhaul[/h2]
The biomes have received major reworks with brand new graphics & layouts, while still being the same Tropical Monster Girls you know and love.



[h2]Companion system overhaul[/h2]
Reworked to better match our vision. Many new unique dialogue lines, U.I, and brand new functionality.



[h2]Player Building 2.0 Has Arrived![/h2]

Lots of new things to build & you can now build vertically!


Building your home or base vertically is now supported with changes to the building system. Along with a ton of new buildables such as stairs, floors, updated roof, furniture, decorations, and more!

Added paintings, inspired by the pixel paintings of MineCraft.


Several existing buildables have also received new graphics. Massive changes & improvements to pathfinding across all NPCs. 3D icons now display what companion job is required above them (some may not be available yet).

[h2]New Hostile NPCs & Improved logic/behavior[/h2]
The list of upgrades is long! Almost nothing is the same as it was.



Many brand new enemies have been added featuring their own combat & movement, along with a rework to goblins
Hostiles improvements: New combat behavior. Can now target your companions. Show status icons above their head to let you see at a glance if they are aggro'd or stunned. Spawn further from the player. Added new visual & sound effects, such as stars above their head when stunned. Significant pathfinding and movement improvements such as turn handling, obstacle avoidance, and character avoidance.

[h2]New Item Drops[/h2]
Now with added physics!


[h2]More Highlights[/h2]

• New game trailer on the store page
  
• Added navigation map & minimap
  
• New NSFW System
  
• New loading screen
  
• Most U.I across the game has been updated, polished, given animations, added quality of life improvements to, etc.
  
• Build menu has been made better & also new build categories. In demo v1 it wasn't clear what would go in the 'foundation' category vs 'build'. Now the categories make a lot more sense.
  

[h2]Early Access Release Date[/h2]
The game's release has been set to July 25th. The game was going to release May 30th, and we think it's ready to.

However,
Steam is very picky with their approval process, and have gotten a bit stricter with specifically the approval process for NSFW games. So even though the game is almost ready for release, we just can't get it approved on-time. They also have a rule that you can't change release date within 14 days of release so we had to push it. And because pushing it would land us in June during the NextFest & Summer Sale (which we don't qualify for), we had to push it to July. Every time we submit a game build it's usually 6 days before they can reply, so it can take awhile to get a response and then figure out what else we need to do. We have to do what we're asked, wait a week, do what we're asked, wait a week, etc.

We now know moving forward it means that we should start getting our builds approved a couple of months in-advance of release.

We apologize for the delay.

[h2]Backwards Compatibility[/h2]
Save files from demo v1 aren't compatible with demo v2. The reason being we had to change how saving/loading worked in key areas to make the system more robust for all the new systems we've added. Save files made from this point forward (demo v2) WILL be compatible with Early Access.

If you played demo v1, you don't need to worry about manually deleting your save file. You'll be able to just press "Start New Game" when you launch demo v2.

I've added a Steam branch you can opt into if you want to play the old version of the demo. Might be fun to compare how things have changed. Just make sure to back up your save data first when switching between branches.

[h2]Map Before & Afters[/h2]
Right click & open image in a new tab for a larger view.


[h2]Hundreds of quality polishes & changes[/h2]
We've meticulously written down everything we've done that wasn't in demo v1 as we've done it so we could make this post. But that changelog was over 100,000 characters long. So here are just a few more highlights that I wanted to mention:

• NPC Pathfinding has received a big overhaul with better performance and better avoidance of obstacles & characters
  
• Upgraded the engine to Unity 6
  
• The player gets hungry 50% slower
  
• Added new items like the fire arrow & gel
  
• Bosses have received big updates including an intro cinematic and improved behavior
  
• Added vfx to pickups, harvesting, projectile impacts, destroying buildings, player footsteps, and more
  
• Game cursor improvements & better visuals
  
• Interact text fading
  
• Chests now have open/close animations
  
• Added auto save notifications (which can be turned on & off in the settings)
  
• Polished the tutorial & game intro
  
• Added a couple of easter eggs
  
• Lots of game text was rewritten to be more immersive
  
• Big improvements to the saving/loading system
  
• New UI Sounds
  
• Extended the demo boundary
  
• Literally hundreds of other changes, bug fixes, optimizations, and additions
  

And with that, we hope you have fun!
~Captain Cake

Join us on 18+ Discord (New art, Updates, Chat) :)

[h3]The Demo[/h3]
(Wishlist the game!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3414600/Tropical_Monster_Girls_Demo?utm_source=DemoV2News

[h2]Sneak Peek[/h2]
As we work on bigger updates for the demo's 2nd launch, we've been sending screenshots & previews in Discord. So we thought it would be fun to make a post showing off everything we've posted so far & some extras!

[h2]Jog & Jiggle Physics[/h2]


[h2]New Item Drops[/h2]
Old pickups were just a closed crate:


I wanted to show you what was inside a pickup before you walked up to them. We don't have a 3D model of every item in the game but every item does have an icon. So I came up with this new design! Along with some sparkling vfx.


As commonly requested, pickups now also have physics!


[h2]New loading screen in-progress[/h2]
We're working on redesigning the loading screen and have a new illustration in the works for it


[h2]UI - Character Creator[/h2]
Old

New


[h2]UI - New Settings Menu[/h2]
This had been in the works the longest, even before the demo went public, and is finally ready!
Old

New (Showing gameplay tab)

New (Showing controls tab, which is now integrated into the menu & not a separate popup)


[h2]UI - Auto Save Text[/h2]
Added text popup letting you know when the game is about to auto-save. Also making this a setting you can turn on/off.


[h2]UI - Dropdowns[/h2]
Dropdowns in the menu used to use a plain white background & black text, they've now been updated to match the Tropical design
Old

New


[h2]UI - Pause Menu[/h2]
Old

New

*This one is a bit more subtle. But the buttons are larger for easier clicking, Discord button has been added, the frame/background have been made consistent w/ the rest of the new menus, and the header now has a fun see-saw animation. The dimming of the game world when opening now also happens smoothly instead of instantly.

[h2]Very cool[/h2]
Some of these were in-progress prior to the launch of demo v1 but weren't yet ready for play. Many are thanks to everyone's feedback as we continue to work & improve the game.

These are still in-progress along with a ton of other changes. We just wanted to show off the flashier ones we've done so far. These will be made available with the game's 2nd demo launch, which will be sometime between now & Early Access.

Thanks & sincerely,
~Captain Cake
Join us on 18+ Discord (New art, Updates, Chat) :)

[h3]The Demo[/h3]
(Wishlist the game!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3414600/Tropical_Monster_Girls_Demo?utm_source=NewsSneakPeekJog

Game Version: 0.7.300
[h2]The Feedback[/h2]
We have gotten a ton of feedback. And we've taken it to heart. In fact, I have read every single Discord message, Review, Steam Discussion, etc.

We're super happy with how this demo has gone. We did not expect to get this much attention. And it seems like most people really like where the game is going & want a few major points addressed. So, lets hop right into what we've done to improve things!

[h2]Stamina[/h2]
We hear you! This was the number one point brought up by players, so we were happy to take a stab at it. We tried out many solutions, balancing combat & exploration & combat. Ultimately we landed on a few big changes that make things feel much much better.

• Massively raised the player's max stamina, this lets you do all stamina actions much more without running out (Such as fighting, chopping, etc.)
  
• You can now run for 43% longer.
  
• Increased player walk speed by 16%.
  
• Slightly increased player run speed.
  
• Player now starts recovering stamina 33% faster.
  

[h2]New Goblin Behavior[/h2]
One of the big feedbacks is how aggressive the goblins were. We completely agree! So we decided to change their NPC behavior, and it has ended up making them more interesting & less punishing.

How it used to work:
Goblins would frequently spawn & immediately go attack the player. At night, they would spawn more frequently & in larger numbers.

Now how it works:
Goblins during the day now use a patrol system to wander around the forest. These day-time patrolling goblins no longer immediately know where the player is. At night, they become more aggressive & will seek the player, except if the player is inside their house.

The result of this change is that goblin attacks during the day are far less frequent & you don't get attacked like clockwork. You also have the opportunity to see them in-advance. Goblins during the day are more alive rather than just wave spawning. This makes combat encounters during the day happen a lot less.

Since they still remain aggressive at night, this makes night dangerous to venture around the island, rather than all of the time. Although even at night, they're still less aggressive than they were before. It'll be mentioned later in the notes but you can now also sleep a couple of hours earlier than night starts & sleep in beds that are being used by companions.

To put a fine point on it
The old system was "They spawn waves like clockwork, and spawn more at night.". The new system is a more peaceful day with patrols & then aggressive at night which makes the game more interesting, fun, and less frustrating. Also keep in mind all of the other changes in this update that improve this experience.

[h2]More Cool Enemy Changes[/h2]

• +All of these changes mentioned in 'New Goblin Behavior'
  
• Goblins now drop loot (50% Leather, 10% Bowl, 70% Bone). Yes, bone. More on that later.
  
• Goblins during day & night now spawn on average 2x further away from the player.
  
• Enemy raid/hunt cooldown timer is now paused for 50 seconds when the player dies.
  
• The game no longer destroys old enemies as aggressively (They used to get cleaned up like a single hill distance away from you).
  
• In the Enchanted Forest (the first biome), every cooldown, the game used to spawn 1~4 goblin groups at night. Cooldown now spawns 1~2 groups.
  

[h2]NEW: Bones![/h2]
As mentioned, goblins now drop loot. Including a new game item: Bone!
Bone has a max stack of 30, is now used to create farm plots, and can be used to craft another new item: Bone arrow. Bone arrows deal the same damage as stone arrows and are meant as another resource choice for making arrows if you prefer to gather slain goblins rather than rocks.

[h2]Sleeping & Beds[/h2]

• You can now sleep in a bed even if a companion is assigned to it.
  
• Beds now let you sleep a couple of hours before night starts instead of having to wait for night exactly.
  
• You can now use the bed menu even if a companion is sleeping in the bed. This lets you initiate fun time or sleep in the bed, even if it's already occupied. (Note: A bed can't be reassigned if someone is currently sleeping in it).
  
• You can now call over companions who are sleeping to initiate fun time.
  
• Beds can now be placed a bit closer together (5->4m)
  

[h2]Food, Hunger, Cooking[/h2]

• Most food items have had their max stack increased from 10 to 20. Crafted food items like soups remain at 10 max stack.
  
• All crafted food items now provide the player some health. This means food now also serves a healing purpose instead of just relieving hunger.
  
• Bowls now only require 1 wood to craft instead of 4, but some food recipes now require more raw ingredients (i.e 3 onions instead of 2 for soup).
  
• It was never explained to the player, if you have low food you no longer regenerate health. There is now a line & indicator on the hunger bar showing the player where they will stop regenerating health if they get too hungry.
  
• Added bowl x3 recipe to more quickly craft soups.
  
• Raw meat hurts less to eat, dealing 14 damage instead of 20.
  

[h2]Quality Of Life[/h2]

• You can now build multiple objects with the build hammer without needing to open the build menu again. It will only stop you from building if you don't have enough materials.
  
• Dialogue now instant-completes instead of skipping if you click while it's still appearing.
  
• Added 3 new settings to the game: Mouse Sensitivity X, Mouse Sensitivity Y, Invert Look Y.
  
• The settings screen has been made larger & now features scrollbars to allow room for more settings.
  

[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

• Added a text popup when it becomes night.
  
• Fixed the player's hair clipping into your forehead when running.
  
• Decreased fiber needed to craft leaf chest armor (15->12)
  
• Decreased fiber needed to craft leaf head armor (7->6)
  
• Made so the player now has to be a little bit closer to the demo border for the screen overlay to show up letting them know.
  
• Updated gatherer loot tables. Higher levels now gain items rather than just adjusting percentages. So for example, level 2 gatherer may start gathering an ore. Then a level 3 gatherer will gather that ore + the next one, etc. Higher level gatherers are also no longer excluded from gathering common items (For example a level 3 used to never gather a stack of twigs or fiber even though you might want them to). The thinking here is that I'd rather my companions be able to handle gathering common items so I don't need to focus on it, but still also able to get rare items like ore.
  
• Fixed a rare bug where companion would stay in 'sleep state' if the player forcefully interrupted it (Like calling them for fun time while they were already asleep).
  
• Created a new UI texture for the hunger & health bar, which reduces stretching & also looks better.
  

[h2]The Future[/h2]
Thanks for all of the support & letting us know what direction you want us to take the game in. We've read everything anyone has said that we could get our hands on. Its blown our minds how much attention we ended up getting.

I wanted to let you guys know some cool long-term things we're looking to work on to make the game even better.

A lot of players want different playstyles. Some want a more survival experience & some want a more chill/relaxed atmosphere. (For example, you don't lose anything when you die which was done because we didn't want the game to be too punishing). I think this update goes a long way towards that. But in the future, I think adding world settings with a few presets like "Peaceful, Survival, Hardcore" might help provide players with something more suited to them that they can enjoy. That's a more long-term feature to work out but it's something I definitely want to get to.

We're also working on adding a lot more to the base building. We are looking into adding a jog like Valheim but since that requires new animations & stat rebalancing (How this effects hunting/combat/etc.) that's also a more long-term goal.

We're a very small team but everyone here is super passionate at what they do.

After this update, we're going to discuss more what we want future updates to look like. This nextfest demo will be closed in a couple of weeks or so from now. (We don't have a date right now but we'll let you know in-advance). So we're also considering a 2nd demo, like a 2-week demo launch to do another round of testing. Also once the game goes into Early Access, we'll make the demo permanently live. It's a lot of questions up in the air right now as we work on something bigger than any of us have ever attempted before, but I'm confident we're going to make great stuff.

Many people really enjoyed the game, and there have been a few good points that we have addressed.

Thank you everyone and we're really looking forward to hearing what you think about these changes, play the game, and give us your feedback!

Sincerely,
~Captain Cake
Join us on 18+ Discord (New art, Updates, Chat) :)

[h3]The Demo[/h3]
(Wishlist the game!)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3414600/Tropical_Monster_Girls_Demo?utm_source=Nxt300News