Nature And Life - Drunk On Nectar News

Butterfly ecstasy fills the air! Dance in the skies with your beautiful mate, procreate, migrate with the seasons, lay eggs and complete the circle of life in Act 3!

Development hereby commences for Butterfly Mating & Reproduction! :)



Easily winning the recent poll with 115 out of 122 votes, the Monarchs will now lay the foundation for the game's Mating & Reproduction systems, much in the same way that they laid the foundation for its growth and lifecycle systems.


Let's talk about the scope of this update. The fivefold pillars of this update include:

1. Finding a partner:
   Having matured into a butterfly, you will explore looking for a suitable partner in the midst of rivals who have the same idea as you. Male and female gameplay will provide unique and different experiences greatly adding to the replay value of the game.
   
   
2. Courtship & Rituals:
   You will use Visual gestures, Sound, Rhythm and other cues along with your partner as the two of you bond, impress, flirt and dance.
   
   The outcome of the mating attempt will be determined by an elaborate gameplay system that will eventually vary from species to species.
   
   This is part I'm most excited about personally and will likely constitute a bulk of the gameplay. Dev update video on this, soon!
   
   
3. Mating:
   If courtship was successful, we proceed onto mating! The male butterfly carries the female soaring through the air as they move from spot to spot, looking for a safe spot to copulate. Eventually you land, interlock with your partner, the male's abdominal claspers pairing with the female female's abdomen as the pair unite.
   
   
4. Migration:
   Depending on the generation and season, the timing of this step will vary. You may be migrating as a non-mated adult to your Winter roost, or you may be migrating back to your Spring grounds, having just mated after diapuse. Generations born in warm seasons may not migrate at all.
   
   Important Note! Migration is considered a stretch goal for this update and so the final format for this is still being worked out. It may be simplified or deferred depending on how complex the previous parts turn out to be.
   
   My ideal vision for migration is to use this opportunity to finally expand the game's Biomes beyond the "Temperate Forest" mould with new maps that are large in size and focus on exploration. No promises yet though... we'll see!
   
   
5. Egg Laying - The Circle Complete!
   
   Having mated and fertilized your eggs, as a female you will set off looking for... Milkweed Plants! Successfully laying your eggs on the leaves you will have ensured the next generation has the same opportunity as you did, to start the cycle all over again.
   
   As noted above in migrations, multi-generational gameplay is desired, though the exact format cannot be committed to just yet, there's plenty of planning and experimentation with the Monarchs to be done first :)
   

Some interesting but unconfirmed aspects of this update include:

1. Trait Selection (Act 4):
   Evolution and trait acquisition over multiple generations was the original intent of adding an XP system to the game last year. The idea was that your character stats would be enhanced over multiple generations and you would also unlock unique traits that you could choose from each new generation to vastly enrich your replay value.
   
   However the game's goals have somewhat changed since then and this part may be skipped entirely for simplicity.
   
   The reason it is mentioned here is Selection of mates, which would be a bit more meaningful if players are able to choose a mate based on the characteristics they will eventually acquire in a future generation.
   
   The simpler option is to just have players mate with any suitable partner and not overwhelm them with the complexity of traits at all. This makes development easier as well. Thoughts on this are welcome!
   
   
2. Multiplayer:
   I would really love to add Multiplayer for this update by converting last year's multiplayer prototype into a production-ready system. Mating with actual butterfly players is obviously an alluring proposition so it will be investigated. A large-scale, persistent world would be truly ideal, but this is just me dreaming out aloud :)
   
   This is definitely the last item in terms of priority and will be dropped if the other pieces of this vast Monarch Act 3 puzzle prove to be more complex than expected. I did want to list it here though, both to elicit your feedback and thoughts and to provide the early vision and fuel for eventually realizing this dream.
   

Thus has been narrated in full, DoN's massive Monarch manifesto!

It's going to be a busy month soaring high in the skies with our beautiful monarchs, so please relay your feedback, thoughts and suggestions right now! :)

This promises to the game's most fun and ambitious update, I hope everyone will greatly enjoy what is to come! :)



Soft orange wings entwine,
Bound together at the waist
Oh red ecstasy divine,
No butterfly's life is chaste
Encircling their bodies, Encircling their wings,
Encircled by Life, They dance, flutter and sing
Through Blue skies, Snowy Peaks and Spring's Green plains,
What was once a Winged Beauty, is now an Egg again :)

With ❤,
🦋Venugopalan Sreedharan 🦋
~ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ☀ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ~
(Developer of Drunk On Nectar - The Nature Simulator)

With new animations, visual bugfixes to the entire game and more intuitive controls, this is the best time to complete your Act 2 playthrough if you haven't yet completed all 9 life stages!

Numerous improvements to gameplay, camera and controls also come with this patch, making it the definitive edition of the Jumping Spider lifecycle in particular and Drunk On Nectar in general.

Enough with words! As this is a visual update, may bright and colorful imagery fill your screens below!



Some written text is also necessary to do justice to the vast number of improvements this patch brings :)

Better Locomotion:
• Smooth Locomotion Animation: Creatures now turn and walk smoothly even across abrupt transitions! Previously this was visually abrupt.
  
• Climbing system added for Jumping Spider! Flip under/over a leaf to see the climbing animations in action.
  
• New Jumping Spider animations: Sneaking, Sprinting, Flip Over, Toppled over
  
  
  Cleaner Confrontations:
• Animations for grappling and consumption reworked and fixed (all creatures, all life stage permutations). It's all far more convincing now!
  
• Ants now properly root to the floor surface after being thrown off by a rival
  
• Wings folding: Fallen prey with wings such as a Dragonflies now properly fold their wings relative to the ground. Looks far more convincing now!
  
  
  Misc:
• Animation speed variety: Animals of the same species now animate at slightly different / staggered play rates for variety :)
  

An original music piece entitled The Song Of Lifecycles Act 2 has been added to the game :)

This is the longest music track in the game and perhaps the most lively one too. Drunk On Nectar now features a total of 12 unique music tracks written exclusively for the game. More music shall trumpet forth in the days to come!

Visit Extras -> Music of DoN to give it a listen!

Silk Tent
• Silk Tent camera/controls greatly improved to prevent wild movement while brushing against the sides. You can now also flip over from in or outside the tent.
  
• Silk Tent construction visuals improved: The base is now clearly visible regarldess of external lighting; previously it was difficult to see during bright sunshine
  
  
  Controls:
• Mouse Y is no longer inverted by default for walking creatures. As many players are unaware of the ability to change this in Settings the default now caters to the behavior that most players expect.
  
  
  Gamepad:
• All gamepad issues fixed. Act 2 is fully playable with a gamepad now.
  
• With default inversion fixed camera controls on gamepad should be far more intuitive now
  
• Gamepad camera reset feature added: Press LT + RT. This will reset camera direction or camera zoom depending on whether zoom is active.
  
  
  Camera
• Camera does not penetrate through floor for Jumping Spider anymore.
  
• Camera distance for climbing your mother in Act 1 improved
  
  
  Gameplay
• Long jumping for Instars greatly improved - far more reliable now
  
• Visual, color and audio cues also added to tell you whether your jump is going to succeed
  
• Grasshoppers no longer make you fall down after crushing you with their legs (unless you're in mid-air). Players no longer need to climb all the way back up as a result.
  
• Narration no longer freezes player controls; you're now free to roam around while reading the narration :) For sensitive quests (final instar/spoiler) the game is still paused.
  
  
  Anatomy Combat:
• Rebalanced all attack and critical hit stats. Combat now focuses on fun and quick encounters. It should be a lot more engaging now!
  
• Counterattack made easy: Players can now very easily counterattaack by just blocking around the same time you get attacked. Much easier now.
  
• Counterattack (Reversal) input hint improved to encourage players to use it
  
• Anatomy Combat Z target min distance reduced for AI. This makes it slightly harder for tiny instars to just squat under their larger opponent landing strikes from below :)
  
  
  Benchmarking
• Benchmark warning added reminding players to close other heavy applications.
  
• Benchmarks can now be retaken from Extras -> Benchmark
  
  
  Chem Trails
• Ladybug chem trails brightness partially restored. As a side-effect of Act 2 (which made chem trails faint) the Ladybug was having a hard time in the "Curious Triad" Creature Quest.
  
• Chem trails reworked (origin and destination height adjusted) to make them easier to see
  
  
  Misc
• Act 2 victory screen message revised (Act 3 ETA made flexible)
  
• Quest Tiger Beetle now disbanded after night to ensure player doesn't end up in an unplanned handicap match with 2 Tiger Beetles the next morning
  
• "Zooming Out" quest now locks player input to prevent players from roaming without completing the quest
  
• "Zooming out" quest ensures HUD cannot be hidden to ensure players see the input cues
  

Major Locomotion Bugfixes:
• Stuttering movements, hovering above the floor, getting stuck in places have all been fixed! This should significantly improve your experience of the game.
  
• Movement transitions from Leaf to Stalk and Stalk to Leaf transitions fixed; they no longer cause the Jumping Spider to bump into the surface endlessly
  
• Leafhopper flight fixed! This creature now properly flies around as an adult and lands on a leaf to feed. It's a lot of fun watching them grow from tiny helpless creatures to winged aviators that can go where they please ;)
  
• "Exhausted" animation no longer gets stuck
  
• Stamina cost for walking is now applied correctly after a player darts (previously this would stay constant after darting)
  
• Sneaking inside silk tent does not reset speed
  
• Prey no longer reverts to stale floor (previous location) after being dropped
  
  
  Predation:
• Prey no longer dangle in mid-air after being dropped
  
• Predator no longer dangles in mid-air if the prey escaped via long jump just-in-time
  
• Tiger Beetle walk anim no longer plays while you're holding the prey and standing still
  
• Tiger Beetle now flees as expected from smaller Jumping Spider if the latter (player) has successfully beaten it
  
  
  Gameplay:
• Nocturnal Wasp: Parasitization sequence made more reliable; Wasp now finds its way back to its nest properly even if it bumps into something along the way
  
• Nocturnal Wasp: Sleep till morning cue now goes away after a wasp or other predator subdues you
  
• Grasshopper prey outline no longer gets stuck after it kicks you and escapes
  
  
  Misc:
• A possible crash for some players upon approaching a new swarm has been fixed
  
• Save Games can now be migrated between computers (as originally envisioned). Previously it would crash while searching for an associated screenshot.
  

QA for this patch has been particularly challenging due its broad nature and scope. Please let me know in case you run into any issues! If you see any glaring visual issues or bugs at this point it is quite likely that it is an accidental bug that needs immediate attention.

So please report any oddities! :)

~ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ☀ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ~


With the solid foundation of recent patches now in place, it is finally time to usher in that exciting phase of setting a new milestone for the game!

There are many options to choose from, with the Monarch Butterfly reproduction being the most obvious and likely choice at this point. There are some ambitious plans brewing for this update, but more on that later :)

A recent Google poll (hosted on the game's Google Search page) has produced overwhelming and unanimous results in favor of "Butterfly Reproduction", so that one is going to be hard to ignore :)

In any case please do make your suggestions known in the meantime!

So it's time for a new adventure in the woods again! :)

With ❤,
Venugopalan Sreedharan
~ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ☀ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ~

(Developer of Drunk On Nectar - The Nature Simulator)

Whether you missed the action or are having difficulty in completing all 9 instars, please watch these quick walkthrough / speedrun videos showing one possible approach to completing Act 2.

These videos provide rare insight into how I (as the game's developer) approach the game and also reveal hidden techniques like "Grapple-Plummet" (jump off from a height while grappling for rapid subdual) which even advanced players may not have been aware of.

Do take a look! :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6dMIo1NIqM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-zwrzg0tdY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGb-3eAaHI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWHuYyWvaE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiqoQZ5Gs38


With recent patches Act 2 is now a much shorter, leaner experience than before.

2-3 hours should be sufficient for most players to complete Act 2 now and all overly long predator encounters have been greatly simplified to avoid fatigue in players.


Patch 3 will release soonish and will focus on fixing visual glitches and on improving gamplay experience as well.

Beyond that there's a myriad exciting possibilities :)

You're welcome to vote in advance for any particular feature or overall direction you're excited about!

With ❤,
Venugopalan Sreedharan
~ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ☀ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ~

Please try Act 2 again if you were having any difficulty completing it at all :) This patch rebalances the game and adds critical bugfixes for camera, controls, gameplay and many more.

If you haven't played this update yet, please look at the image below to view an example of the stunning procedurally generated vistas Act 2 can offer for you. Each playthrough generates a new procedural map!

Roots Above, Branches Below, Nature.

Ballooning is a phenomenon that gained widespread mainstream attention in recent years after millions of spiders were found flying above Australia :)

Before we take a closer look at the patch itself, I want to highlight an AI change that makes co-ballooning encounters far more likely! This is still entirely subject to chance, but chances are good that most players will find at least a few siblings ballooning with them ;)



Balancing:

• Predator cooldown increased giving you a better chance of reaching your silk nest for safety.
  
• Player grappling strength increased
  
• Stamina drain rate for players decreased
  
• Anatomy Combat hit absorption reduced for players
  
• Quest predators now give up after 3 attempts now to avoid tiring out players. This does not affect simulation-driven (regular) predators.
  
• Quest predators now give up tracking much sooner instead of persistently hovering about the player.
  
• Quest Tiger Beetles no longer return back after the player has formally completed the relevant quest. This was causing unplanned encounters of potentially high difficulty.
  
• Cinematic predators in "Pollinator Hunt" quest are now forced to leave the scene after their cine sequence is over; this eliminates random, unplanned encounters with players
  
• Ballooning quest now allows you to walk all the way and still win.
  
• Intro Ballooning sequence now allows you to manually stop (via spacebar) after 60 seconds (if the game was not able to find a suitable landing place for you on its own)
  

"Ladder Climbing" - New Camera Controls for Plant Stalks!

• You can now climb plants just like you'd climb a ladder in any other game! Just press Up to climb up the stalk and Down to climb down. Look freely around with the camera while you do this!
  
• Camera transition from Stalk to Leaf is finally seamless! No more camera headaches on plant stalks hopefully :)
  
• Plant Stalk hitbox massively improved!
  
• ^ 1 mm accuray: Now even a 3rd instar can believably place its feet (claws/tarsi) on the stalk surface. Truly a micro-world experience at last!
  
• ^ Movement/collision annoyances on plant stalks are all completely fixed!
  

New Features:

• Co-Ballooning (see above)
  
• Zoom reset (MMB) now uses smooth transition for cinematic effect
  

Bugfixes:

• Floating in mid-air after escaping from a Dragonfly now fixed! This was a pretty old bug in the game that had been tricky to track. Now finally fixed! :)
  
• Snatching fallen prey no longer teleports you back to the prey's last location
  
• Sleeping input next to a prey no longer causes you to snatch the prey before sleeping.\
  
• Some AI siblings no longer stay back permanently in the mother's nest
  
• "Pollinator Hunt" Quest - Final Dragonfly now leaves properly exits the map after its part is over instead of persistently lingering (this was a bug).
  
• Camera angle fixed for when a parasitic wasp lays an egg on you
  
• "Tackled tricky prey" text typo fixed for Pollinator Hunt quest XP gain
  

Other improvements: Anatomy Combat (Tiger Beetle confrontations)
AI intelligence significantly improved
AI navigatges and follows the player correctly now across stalks/leaves/etc
AI launching "heavy strike" correctly orients to face the player now before doing so
Combat poses (orientation towards combatant) improved for both players and AI. This significantly changes the way you need to fight compared to previous setup.
Player ZTargeting no longer behaves unpredictably if the AI moves rapidly between flora or if it moves under a leaf
Player close-range attack orientation corrected. Previously you'd be oriented the wrong way and end up missing a strike that you should have gained.

Misc
Chem trails reworked so they aren't super-bright for adults but are still clearly visible for lower instars
Brief stutter while leaving the egg sac now fixed. There is still a brief occassional stutter due to Autosave though (to be improved later)
Moss Pushing effect improved for smaller instars walking on moss; more improvements here are planned!

UI
Immersive mode (H key) is now more reliable; Hud elements no longer randomly turn on in some cases.
Silk Tent Construction UI improved
UI simplification: Pollen grain interaction cues are only shown the 1st time now. Similar changes to reduce UI clutter will follow.



While this patch focused on gameplay, the next patch will focus on visual improvements. I'm keenly aware of certain inadequacies in Act 2's visual representation. Many liberties were taken to get the release out last month but now that the gameplay is hopefully stable (Please do shout if it is not! :)), visual flaws will be gradually addressed, both for Act 2 as well as for the entire game.

Animations will be an important focus point along with things like preventing clipping of characters across each other, etc.


A multi-part video walkthrough of Act 2's 4-6 hour long journey will be uploaded soon!

If you have a youtube channel please consider recording an Act 2 video of your own as well! For the amusement of others and for spreading the word about Act 2! :)

That's it for this patch, more goodies are on the way as always.

With ❤,
Venugopalan Sreedharan

~ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ☀ ~⚘~⚘~⚘~ ~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AO38wsPk8k
Celebrating the release of "Lifecycles Act 2" here is the official release video along with a brand new OST aptly entitled "The Song Of Lifecycles Act 2"!

Condensing 4-6 hours of unique gameplay into 6 minutes as a musical arrangement, be sure to watch the entire trailer above! :)


Act 2's release resulted in a 300% increase in peak players for DoN while also boosting its average play duration on Steam and bringing a 16% increase in reviews post release. All this has brought in a new generation of players for the game with more continuing to arrive! :)


For this final quarter of 2018, the game's roadmap is still being worked out. With Act 2's release finally achieved the roadmap is actually quite flexible at this point and will be revealed in the coming weeks!


For the next 2-3 weeks the game will go through a bugfix, cleanup and polishing phase. Some compromises were intentionally made (mainly to visuals) in a bid to get Act 2 out last month and these shortcomings will first be addressed before moving on to new content.

If there's any class of bugs or issues you're particularly interested in seeing fixed do report it now, because this bugfixing sprint is an ideal time to get such issues fixed.

~

Lots of interesting directions for the game to go in from here. Stay tuned for more on that! :)

With ❤,
Venugopalan Sreedharan