HammerHelm News

Today's update includes the Set NPC to Worker feature that was on the test branch along with some updates to the mood system.

Set NPC to Worker
Today's update is a test build for a much requested feature - the ability to set a shopkeeper or other non-worker to be a worker. There is a new button in the Townspeople Manager to do this.



There are some limitations to this system.

• You can't set a Miner, Alchemist, Farmer, Herbalist, or Fisherman back to a Worker.
  
• You can't set an NPC to a Worker who has a quest.
  
• You can't set an NPC to a Worker if they are the only shopkeeper of that type in your town.

Changing an NPC back to a Worker also resets any progression they have made in their previous profession.

New Moods
I've added some more mood modifiers for NPCs. Cooks who have the "Foodie" trait will now get a mood buff after cooking meals. Farmers with the "Green Thumb" mood will get a mood buff after harvesting crops. And Hunters with the "Animal Lover" trait will get a mood debuff after delivering their raw meat resource to the storehouse. These buffs and debuffs last about 3 in-game hours.

Mood debuffs that are set on timers will no longer automatically reset if you change an NPC's job. So if you have a Hunter who got the "I had to kill animals" mood debuff and then switch the Hunter to a different job, that debuff will remain for the 3 hours. The same is true for mood buffs.

Many of the other time based moods have had their timers updated. Some are shorter and some a bit longer.

This update also includes a few fixes:

• Fixed a bug that caused to road placement tool to get off center when using a controller.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the "Sort by Job" toggle to sort in front of the message section of the NPC Management UI.
  
• Updated the bitter bulbs quest to ensure the quest advances properly after cutting the bulbs.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's update is a test build for a much requested feature - the ability to set a shopkeeper or other non-worker to be a worker. There is a new button in the Townspeople Manager to do this.



There are some limitations to this system.

• You can't set a Miner, Alchemist, Farmer, Herbalist, or Fisherman back to a Worker.
  
• You can't set an NPC to a Worker who has a quest.
  
• You can't set an NPC to a Worker if they are the only shopkeeper of that type in your town.

Changing an NPC back to a Worker also resets any progression they have made in their previous profession.

I'm putting this up on the test server first as it turned out to be a really big change to the jobs system. I still need to add controller support for the new button as well.

I'm also working on some updates to the mood system, mostly to add more mood modifiers. For example, right now assigning an NPC with the Animal Lover trait lowers the amount of raw meat they produce, however it doesn't affect their mood. The same is true for a Cook with the Foodie trait - they produce more food with less resources, but there is no positive mood buff for that.

So I'll be adding more mood buffs and debuffs based on professions as part of this update and maybe a few more townspeople related things. More on that once I have added them all.

If you get a chance to play the test build I'd love to get your feedback on the Set NPC To Worker system.


If you would like to check out the new feature, you can get it by doing the following:

1. In the Steam Client Library where it lists all of your games, right click on HammerHelm
2. Click Preferences
3. In the window that opens, select the "Betas" Tab
4. Enter the password to download this build - WorkerTest2021 - and click Check Code
5. You should get a message that the code is correct
6. Click the drop-down box and select BigUpdateTest

Steam should immediately start a new download with the test client. The new game should be called "HammerHelm [bigupdatetest]". Once the download is complete you can launch the game and you should see "1.8.2 Test" in the title screen.

You can use existing saves with this update although I would recommend making a back up of your save if you want to try out the feature.

To get back to the main build:

1. In the Steam Client Library where it lists all of your games, right click on HammerHelm
2. Click Preferences
3. In the window that opens, select the "Betas" Tab
4. Choose “None” from the drop down
5. Steam should then revert back to the main client


-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's build includes the new town quest, Celebration! This quest unlocks after you complete the Stronghold Quest and adds a firework launcher to the house of the NPC how has the quest. Having these fireworks not only adds a mood buff to that NPC (same as the other town quest items) but it also adds a mood buff to the entire town when you use it!



The fireworks can be shot once per evening. Once launched, the mood buff for the town lasts for about half of an in-game day.

This build also includes some localization fixes.

Enjoy the fireworks everyone! ːhh_dwarfː ːhh_flowerː

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's build includes two new town quests. Tick Tock and Birds of a Feather. Help your townspeople find the items they need to add more décor to their homes!





This update also includes some code optimizations and some localization fixes to bugs that I found while testing the new quests.

I'm also still working on the Fireworks quest but want to make the fireworks something you can use (like the telescope) before adding the quest to the game.

These quests unlock after you finish the Stronghold Quest.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Tonight's build includes a fix for the infinite wishing well and a couple of small quality of life improvements related to opening and closing UI based on feedback.

• The Wishing Well will no longer give infinite resources.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the town loading system to create multiple versions of the same house decoration object. This could negatively impact performance and was part of the cause of the Wishing Well bug mentioned above.
  
• The UI message for interacting with furniture will no longer get stuck on the screen if you open the build menu (or any other UI) while the message is present.
  
• You can now close the Build Menu and the Town Manager UI using the same key you used to open them. By default this is P and V respectively, but it will work for any custom keybinds as well.

The art for the new quest decor items is done and I hope to spend some time working on the actual quests this weekend!

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco