The Dope Game News

Hey there, happy fall! And with the change of the seasons we are back from a lengthy vacation to update you on where and when various games will see the light of day. For fun, this will be in chronological order.

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So the Brewmaster expansion won't be around until, probably, Q3 2022; however, the game will be getting a large update very soon for the upcoming Steam Tabletop Fest. Yeah, this month... in about two weeks. That soon.



What's in it? The game's version of Godot will be updated to 3.3.4; maybe 3.4 if that comes out before the update. Tons of code has been updated under the hood in preparation for Brewmaster, including the networking which has all be ported over to Steam instead of Godot's internal networking. This will make all the multiplayer stuff much more smooth.

In addition to these, there are a few graphical upgrades and animation changes. Menu layouts have been altered too. The old "embiggen" mode was pulled temporarily to be replaced with better accessibility modes in the Brewmaster update. The native resolution is now 1440p, up from 1080p. And, naturally, a bunch more tiny tweaks that will be outlined in the change log when it launches.

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Our next big release will be out in Q1 2022. Haulin' Oats is currently undergoing networking re-writes and various graphical upgrades for the last beta version. Trust me, all those graphical assets take a long time to draw and implement.



Along with these updates for the beta will be the Haulin' Oats rule book which will be available for download so you can read about each square during, prior, or post game-play. The rule book is also part of the possible physical version of the game that you can play at home with friends... if you have them. More on the possibility of this physical version will be talked about after the official Steam launch.

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Probably the most asked about, The Dope Game missed its original remaster release window of May 2021. Too many asset changes, code changes, and covid dragged the process out. However, considering we are closer to the end now, the release day can pretty reliably be set at May 30th, 2022.



There have been a bunch of weird, new features added to the game since the last update and the next beta update should be pretty juicy. It may or may not show up as an Xmas present for you all.

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The oldest of our games and one that started as a joke a long time ago, is getting one final update which will add a graphical version. This was teased earlier in the year and, well, let's tease it again.



While there is no hard date, the One Way To Die: Final Cut version should be out in Summer 2022. It hasn't been decided yet if the fully text version will be removed or not. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

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Last and very much least, a game I personally hated working on, is Raise Your Own Clone. Between design and release, much was lost and development felt like a drag. To fix all that, the game is getting a re-imagining and new life in Q4 2022.



None of the actual story content will change; however, the presentation will change greatly. If you remember your way through each story, it'll make playing the new version that much easier. And, finally, we will have a version of the game that we can feel good about.

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That's it for now. More updates will follow as each of these game's updates come out or get closer. Stay tuned!

Hey long-haul trucks, dope fiends, and death seekers! There has been some silence as things are being worked on so here is a post to address all three games and their update statuses for the summer; including vague release windows. As it is the year of delays in games, films, and what-not, these three are no different. We will start at the top of the list and work our way down.

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If you've visited the Haulin' Oats Steam store page lately you'd notice the release date has been changed to "Ready When Ready" from the tentative June 2021 date. That being said, in the last update I believe it was mentioned the game as going to be released sometime in the summer and that June was a just a holding date.


Since real-life takes importance over development-life and there is a lot more polish I'd like to put on the game before releasing it, summer might still be a valid target but the game may not see the light of day until fall. The next beta update will be the multiplayer test update and there will be posts about it right before it happens.

Nonetheless, various things have been upgraded since the last test update: art, code, shader effects, etc. Things are shaping up and calmly walking towards a final build but not just yet.

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Second on our list is The Dope Game Remaster, which was due out on May 30th, 2021; the five-year anniversary. However, it won't be making that date but that is because of all the love this remaster is getting.


Seriously. All of the art has been redone, multiplayer has been added (which goes into test soon), every system and interface has been upgrade and expanded, a new area to deal in, new NPC, armor, organ harvesting, stuff to spend your money on, etc. Most of the new stuff is borrowed from The Dope Game 2 as a test so I know what to work on and what to avoid before that starts full development.

While we will miss the May 30th release, the remaster will be out sometime after that and before summer ends. To avoid another delay post, there will not be a hard date set. However, there will be posts when the multiplayer test is ready and the final release should be shortly after that... with the appropriate post shortly beforehand.

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Lastly and least-ly, One Way To Die is getting it's final (yes, final) update. The original final update contained some code changes, minor polish, an opt-out for multiplayer, and an engine upgrade. However, since this game is over 12 years old now, I figured I'd give the old girl a better send-off.


The game that started out a joke and has had a lot of revisions and updates over those years will finally make one last pivot into a graphical version. Yes, all you folks who hate reading can finally play it as a graphical adventure. It is something that has been mulled over for a while now and is finally happening.

This will also significantly overhaul how the multiplayer / sabotage mode works. Choose and Random modes will finally be retired with Story mode being revamped as the solo text-only mode. There is release date set for this but probably fall, if I had to guess.

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There is a bunch of other stuff happening in the shadows with Into Oblivion and Raise Your Own Clone as well as some unnamed projects but we won't get into that until 2022. And while it is quiet right now, there will be a lot of updates and releases coming soon. Talk to you then!

Hey there! It's that time of year, again, so here's your annual reminder that the seasonal X-Mas events have become active in The Dope Game, Into Oblivion, and One Way To Die.



The events will run from today (December 15th) until January 3rd; granted you can always change your computer's clock to extend it. Each game has it's own variety of holiday additions. For those of you new to any of the games, or just don't remember, here is what you can expect.

The Dope Game
All the outside environments get a fresh coating of snow and the NPC's don their holiday apparel. A short mini-game of smash the snowmen is active; this will also net you a special achievement when completed. All the drugs get festive nicknames and can be gifted to NPC's, depending on their personal tastes. Gifting everyone also unlocks an achievement.

Into Oblivion
It is time for the Krampus. He is a bot you can drink against and, like other bots, beating him will give you access to some new skins and a new arena. There are also some special holiday drinks you can mix up. Mix them all and unlock an X-Mas achievement.

One Way To Die
Last and actually least, there are 10 holiday-specific death events that should be available. Collecting all X-Mas deaths will pop the related achievement.

That's it for now and have a happy holiday or the rough equivalent!

Hey there, dope fiends! The horrendous US election period has somewhat passed and we're all still balls-deep in covid so what better time to drop the final release date and information about The Dope Game Remaster?



The remaster will be released on May 30th, 2021, which is the five-year anniversary for the game. This will give ample time to squash any weird bugs, put on more polish, get the Russian localization fixed up, and make sure everything else is updated and ready to go on day one instead of staggering releases.

For existing owners, it will upgrade the current version of the game. Existing owners will also be able to test out beta builds of the remaster leading up to the release. There is currently a "beta" branch that has the WIP version.

For new players, as per some conversations with the community, the game's price will be increased on May 30th, 2021 to $4.99. So if you are interested in getting it on the cheap, now is the time. Or any big sale after the Remaster's release since the on-going discount structure will stay in place.

Here is the final list of new features for the Remaster version:

• Classic Edition as a separate exe which can be started from main menu
  
• Multiplayer up to 8 people running around the streets of Starkham
  
• Customizable characters
  
• Complete graphical overhaul
  
• New engine and re-written code-base
  
• New area - The Starkham Docks
  
• New NPC - Jenkins; he sells various items to boost your game-play
  
• New sub-area - The Bootleg Shack
  
• Hospital allows healing your crew and you can sell organs
  
• Old Lady's drug fluctuations have been corrected, improved
  
• Brand-new police HEAT system
  
• Armor can be purchased, found, worn
  
• Upgraded API system to allow more drop/find with community
  
• Accessibility features
  
• All interfaces (HUD, inventory, Stashware, etc.) have been re-worked
  
• Various community suggestions have been added in
  

I'm sure there are a few other things I have forgotten to mention too.

[h3]The Stash DLC[/h3]
The Stash will get a bunch of new updates; basically everything in there:

• Big addition to the artbook; containing new art and some comparisons
  
• Updated Android Edition to Remaster version as well as Classic version
  
• Face-lift for the thank-you note
  
• New wallpapers and updates to existing wallpapers, plus multiple sizes
  
• Old school terminal game is getting updates too
  

The only thing not getting an update in The Stash is the soundtrack. Speaking of...

[h3]The Dope Game OST[/h3]
A brand-new official soundtrack will also hit the scene for $1.99. It will contain a liner note PDF as well as some new tracks that will be present in the remaster. All proceeds from the OST will go directly to Macabre Gandhi himself.

[h3]Beyond That[/h3]
Other than all this, sometime in the Summer of 2021, I hope to get Steam Workshop enabled. Primarily for letting the community create their own localization versions, but to also allow customizing other aspects of the game such as backgrounds and character skins.

That is all for now. I will have more news as we march into 2021 and will roll out a few more test builds before the final release. Stay tuned!

Hey there, dope fiends! It is that time of the year again to drop your drugs and pick up candy in the annual Dope Game Halloween Event. This year, like every year, all the NPC's don their costumes and the streets of Starkham get a little spooky.



From now until November 3rd at midnight, The Dope Game Halloween event is active. Get out there and slang some candy. Don't forget to give the NPC's a little to earn a snazzy holiday achievement.