From June 9 - June 24, Steam is hosting the Season of Pride event presented by MidBoss which features over 50 LGBTQ+ inclusive games at up to 80% off, along with a bevy of special streaming engagements.
In addition, all through July, seasonofpride.tv will be featuring a special Twitch schedule highlighting a fantastic collection of inclusive games played by amazing members of the LGBTQ+ streamers and raising money for The Trevor Project, Trans Lifeline, and GaymerX. Visit the calendar to follow these individuals on Twitch and stay tuned for the start of this worthwhile fundraiser at the beginning of July.
Through the promotion, ASM is 75% off and SAM is 40% off. In addition to these discounts, we've updated Sometimes Always Monsters with a special Pride event, available only through June.
The World's Smallest Pride Parade
In celebration of Pride and the LGBTQ+ community, a special event has been added to the game. While exploring the main street of Gator Bay, players can come across a group waiting to see the town's official (albeit tiny) Pride parade. This burgeoning parade is very small, but it represents a phenomenal shift in the town's attitude and politics toward the LGBTQ+ communities.
Players can converse with returning character(s) Morgan/Morrigan from Always Sometimes Monsters and either come to reconciliation, awareness, or comprehension of the change since their transition after first meeting them in Beaton. The parade itself is a short, but joyous spectacle, and should not be missed.
This content is timelocked and can only be accessed while playing in June.
Other Stuff in the Update
Changed some dialogue with the developer characters
Implemented naughty polaroid easter egg for some import players
Updated idle author system and animations
Fixed some typos
See the rest of the games, discounts, special events, and more right here:
Win $250 in the ASM Special Edition Art Contest
Hello Vagabond Artists! In the coming months, Vagabond Dog will begin production on a Special Edition of Always Sometimes Monsters. This physical release is being designed for collectors and fans alike, and we want to make it extra nice with some unique bonuses for all to enjoy.
To this end, we are hosting a Special Edition Art Contest for all the talented members of our community who would like their work featured in this release. We’ve gathered some fabulous prizes for winners, including a cash award and featured placement in the package for First Prize.
We are looking forward to seeing all the creative, clever and expressive artwork that you create as we prepare this Special Edition release of Always Sometimes Monsters.
Submissions will be accepted until July 31, 2021.
You can find all the details and rules for the contest on the submission portal: forms.gle/Et3aFoLw3NKuppju9
It's been a little while since we've written one of these update notices, but rest assured this is a good one. While we've been off releasing The Stonks Market, releasing Always Sometimes Monsters on Nintendo Switch, and prepping our studio for the next big project, we've been slowly adding small improvements and new content to Sometimes Always Monsters.
While, as mentioned, the studio is getting ready to step into production on its next major production, we remain commited and eager to continue improving SAM and adding new content to the game. More new updates will continue to come in future months, though more periodically than they have previously been.
Stay tuned to the Vagabond Dog Twitch Channel for day-to-day developments, join the Discord Server to request content, and stay tuned here to see all the latest updates.
Desdemona's Starlust
On the beaches of Gator Bay, you catch the eye of an attractive young woman. She takes interest in you and one thing leading to another can lead to another and again. It's wise to keep your wits about you though, as eager hearts are often too hasty and intentions can be very hard to read.
Also, you're still married. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Quickstarter
The Quickstarter co-op working space is now open for business in Slab Town. The shared office is available to players for $80 per day and provides a comfortable desk outside of the bus where they can finish their book. Such a comfortable work environment is sure to boost your productivity. In addition, there's a variety of included ameneties.
Inside the office, you'll find two young game developers with some anxiety issues about their projects. They're in a competition of sorts, and you may be asked to provide advice, or take a role spying for one.
Additional New NPCs
Some additional characters have appeared in Slab Town, including a rather bizarre individual named Fenrir who seems to have hit his head rather hard, and a writer named Serge who is suffering from some depth of writer's block. Upon encountering either of these individuals, you can help their predicament to some degree with a friendly conversation. Serge can be found in the coffee shop, and Fenrir can be found pacing around the main square.
Karen's Friend, Joyce
Karen's meek but beloved friend, Joyce has made an appearence at the CellBlock Mobile shop in Gator Bay. She's been there a really long time, waiting for a technician to help her with her phone. It doesn't seem to work after she clicked a link for a free cruise.
Here's what else is in the update:
Fixed a typo for DeMarcus' entry in the phone agenda
Created agenda notifications for Pancha's Plancha dinner date
Agenda notifications are now character mode compliant
Phone functions are now character mode compliant
Fixed name reference for players with the SameName bug (old ASM imports)
Added animation to pill consumption
Stocked all Shoppers locations with additional food options (curry, ramen, etc)
Put a trash can on the bus, beneath Hermes' calendar
Removed some traffic from Portsmith to decrease player accidents
Prevented dogs from eating painkillers
Pharmacies will now accept prescriptions for extra painkillers
Allowed painkillers to be thrown in the trash
Added increased alcohol, food, and drink tolerances to painkiller consumption
Increased psych effects of painkiller consumption
Fixed portrait display issue for Yasi in Kinder Select
Assured that player sprite will appear in bed when sleeping with spouse
Repositioned one Indie Heroz figure in Slab Town
Removed rogue heart emoji when spouse is inviting you to dinner date
Updated the icon for newspapers
Increased homeless population in Slab Town
Pathed additional move routes for Slab Town homeless population
Added new character sprites for homeless person variety
Fixed an issue where spouse could be brought to your affair
Prevented player from remaining sitting after transporting maps
Wrote custom dialogue if you get drunk before confronting Rival at the warehouse
Changed sleeping dialogues to character mode compliant
Destroyed rogue Jake / Justin clones in the Slab Town coffee shop
Allowed players to trash all of an item type at once
It's been a tremendous year since Sometimes Always Monsters released, and we're happy to continue supporting the game for all of you who love the game.
Thanks for playing, and we'll see you in the next update!
The Stonks Market is Now Available
How's your portfolio doing?
Today we're pleased to release The Stonks Market, right here on Steam. It's a simple trading simulator with a funny story about a rather clueless guy who gets into all kinds of trouble through the stock market.
You'll get access to a basic trading terminal, a stimulus check, and enough time to risk it all gambling on bad plays you've barely researched. All of this while you contend with a frustrated wife, too many know-it-all advisors, and the crippling fear of losing it all in an instant. Kinda like real-life, huh?
Whether you're an avid stock bro, a crayon-eating monkey, or never touched a trading app in your life, The Stonks Market is worth a few laughs. We hope you enjoy all its wild characters and bizarre scenarios.
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The game is available right now with a 25% Launch Discount:
Happy Halloween, everyone! We've got a very special update for those of you who want a little extra spooky with your Monsters.
In addition to some fun content that's only available if you play the game on Halloween (or change your system time to match), the entire series is also on sale for the weekend. You can catch both Sometimes Always Monsters and Always Sometimes Monsters as part of Steam's Halloween Spooktacular.
Players who are in their home, either by reaching the epilogue or never going on the tour, can enjoy a fun Halloween experience if they play the game on October 31st.
Speaking to your spouse while your computer's clock reads 10/31 will have them recognize the holiday and give you some special candies before they head out to visit a friend. If you're divorced in your epilogue, you'll have a special phone call fulfilling the same purpose.
In the evening on this day, you'll be visited by a string of children who've come for trick-or-treating and expect to be given candy. If you placate their demands, nothing untoward will happen, but messing with them or (heaven forbid) eating all the candy yourself may result in some rather nasty pranks being played.
Music Display
We've expanded the Music app on the player's phone to now display album artwork, song titles, and the band name through an overlay across the top portion of the screen. This comes alongside a renovation to the application that will allow us to continue expanding the musical selection hereafter.
NPC Cameo: Napostriouf
There's a new character on the beach of Gator Bay. He's chilling on the far east side, having a little picnic with some random street cats that have taken to his company. Be wary though, as engaging as his lengthy (partially French) conversation may be, there's definitely something off about him and his cats.
Here's what else is in the update:
Fixed music resuming after players quit the Box Mover arcade game
Added cooking oil, flour, and sugar guarantees to the home pantry
Removed depricated script for displaying item collection
Sleeping or napping at home now shows resting player animation
Fixed an issue when trying to give the Desert Hermit more than 10 chickadees at once
Hid some surprises in the epilogue house for divorced players
Added two new World Fate statuses
Fixed a looping conversation triggered by Sheena or Yasi with the Ash NPC in Slab Town
Fixed sitting with Superfan to allow exit if player gets stuck
Added real-time clock awareness
Added two new songs to the Music app
6 Month Celebration - SAM/ASM Saga Sale
Wow. The calendar just kind of melted away, huh? It feels like yesterday we were prepping for launch, and now we're officially 6 months past release. To celebrate, SAM is 30% off, and ASM is 70% off until October 12.
A lot has happened in that time (both in-game, and out), but it's been a great ride so far.
Needless to say, the game has changed a lot since launch, and will continue to evolve as we casually work on it. We still love adding things, improving the experience, and expanding the world players can explore with each subsequent playthrough. Thanks to its success, we have runway to continue doing this for the foreseeable future, and appreciate all of the feedback we've been given from the community.
We've also just released a new patch (Build #464).
Here's what's in the update:
Flashlight batteries will now drain during Hassan's vent scene
Assured your spouse will only want to go on a date once
Library interactives now use character mode
Voodoo shop interactives now use character mode
Changed the map in Gator Bay to allow easier access to the beach right-side
Improved the beach artwork with greater detail and pebbling
Added some inconspicuous trashbags behind the Con-Mart in Gator Bay
ATM now uses character mode
Beef Heaven interactives now use character mode
Kinder Select interactives now use character mode
Improved a dangling consequential conversation with your spouse in Kinder Select
Removed some debug text from the Kinder Select door
Removed a debug NPC from a secret scene
Ensured BF names are properly set before Burger Conversations
Fixed a sticky portrait with card players
Alien artifacts now use character mode
Lover now has comments for the alien artifact comms device
Finale prompter and interactives now use character mode
Water coolers now use character mode
Prevented duplicate access to finale teleprompter if fate is accepted
Swapped Pablo-centric dialog in tents for player commentary
Fixed relevance control for homeless interactions in Slab Town
Repositioned some of the Indie Heroz figures to be easier to find
Edited a typo in the Save Faker
Fixed an error in Save Faker if you enter no name for MC or Spouse
Fixed an error in the save faker if you need to correct a character's name
Added new names to the secret Bugsmashers list
On top of the updates, we managed to drop some Hot DLC, release Karen: An Outrage Simulator to rave reviews (our highest rated game ever), complete two game jams with our community, start preliminary work on our next major project, and maintain a routine streaming schedule.
It's been a wild half-year, and we couldn't be happier with all that's happened. Despite the world being so turbulent, our community has been incredibly supportive of our efforts, and we can't thank y'all enough. This has been one of the most productive periods in our company's history, and we've got your motivation to thank for it.
Take care, and we'll see you at the next update!
- VD
Fake Saves & Soap Suds - Build Update #458
We've had a pretty busy month since the last update...
Atop all that, we've not forgotten our commitment to continually improving the Sometimes Always Monsters, and have thus prepared another juicy update since the release of the Author Outfit DLC Pack.
Although we're only working about 3 days per week on new SAM content as we expand into new projects, we'll be keeping a maintainable schedule as the months roll on. Our hope is to keep adding new free content for all of you to enjoy, as long as we can manage it on the calendars. We truly love this game, and appreciate the amazing reception to these regular updates.
Save Faker
Long requested (even before the release), we've finally created a system by which players can fake their Always Sometimes Monsters save files if they're unable to locate their originals. This will be a big help to anyone whose file wasn't stored in the Steam cloud, or for anyone who first played ASM on mobile or PlayStation.
The process begins when you select New Game, and involves a short, spoiler-filled questionaire about your experience in ASM. From that, it'll make a new save state with an approximate replication of your prior reality. Please be mindful that because it is an approximation of your save and the whole data does not persist, several elements may not be exact.
While we may still change how and where the questionairre is presented, we hope those of you who've been waiting for this feature now have the entry point you desire. As an added bonus, those of you who've already played Sometimes Always Monsters can now more easily replay the game with a new variation on the entrance continuity.
NPC Cameo: Karen
Thanks to a reward redeemed on our Twitch Channel, we've included another small NPC cameo. Though, this time it's not for the lead of our brand new game, Karen: An Outrage Simulator.
You can find Karen in the New Creole book store, where she is discussing the return policy in regards to a particular book she'd like exchanged. Be careful how you approach, as once she gets fired up, she'll blow right past you and any companion you've brought along.
Indie Heroz
Another feature returning from ASM is the ability to find and collect a series of figurines that feature characters from other great indie games. On your next playthrough, you'll be able to scour the cities for a bunch of hidden collectibles that'll show up in their own category within your inventory. See how many you can find, and how many of their games you can recognize!
Lockdown Ends
After 6 long months of being shut to the public, the Vagabond Dog office in Slab Town is finally reopened. You can pop into the space, see what the developers are up to, explore their workspace, and get opinions from any companion you bring in there.
Please be mindful not to bother the team too much. They're hard at work on their latest projects.
NPC Cameo: Concert Photographer
Another reward redeemed through the Twitch Channel has added a new character to the Gator Bay club scene. You'll be able to meet a concert photographer named Carles who'll talk to you about Darkeff or Viper, get your opinion on music, and possibly take your photo.
Soap Suds
Do you hate nudity? Would you prefer a more coy shower experience? Well, now when you use soap while washing there will be some tastefully placed bubbles to occlude the the view of your naughty bits.
It's a dumb feature that pretty much nobody asked for, but whatever. It's in the game now.
Here's what else is in the update:
Fixed reference IDs for phone styles (black, green, and orange phones were mixed up)
Added additional phone colorways
Changed Hung Chan's invitation text to variate if you've already been to the museum with him
Improved dialogue flow when bailing on Hassan during his quest
Updated the Saucy Porkchops recipe to require pork instead of steak
Fixed the door hinge on the dryer at home so that it closes properly now
Shortened the sound effect for washing dishes to an appropriate length
Swapped some portrait calls for Viper / Darkeff in Gator Bay
Updated the chairs outside Pancha's Plancha to properly display legs
Expanded Character Mode dialogue across several game systems
Removed a single red pixel from the map in Slab Town
Edited a couple of typos
If there's anything in particular you'd like to see added or updated, leave us a comment below.
Don't forget you can always see what we're working on via the Twitch Channel, where we broadcast our development almost every day from 1PM - 5PM EST.
Karen: An Outrage Simulator - Available Now!
Attention gamers, Our new title, Karen: An Outrage Simulator has officially released. It is now available for your gaming pleasure!
Grab a copy and enjoy the thrill of becoming the ultimate Karen, arguing your way to the top, and crush the underpaid souls of the customer service employees in a bid to get everything you deserve!
Available now with a 15% Discount during its launch!
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Author Outfits & NPCs - Build Update #457
If it's been a little while since your first time through Sometimes Always Monsters, we've got a hot new update that's makes it a great time to re-enter for another tour across the country with your writer pals.
In addition to a stack of new content that's been added since launch (and more in this patch), we've also added the Author Outfits DLC to add some fresh styles to your fellow author companions. It's available right now for only $1.99, or even cheaper with the 25% launch discount until August 11.
In addition to the amazing new outfits, we've got a bunch of new stuff that's slowly been added to the game over the past month.
Character Selector
Players who want to select which main character they'll play in Sometimes Always Monsters can now talk to the Dir. Nona character in the break room during the intro (while still controlling Shelly). There will be a conversation there that'll allow you to choose which player character you'd like to use.
Mobile DLC Control
We've added a new button to the phone that will allow players to control their DLC options remotely, rather than having to be on the bus. This means you can change any of the author outfits, or the party dogs at any point during the game.
Hop on the Party Bus
After everything is said and done with the finale sequence, players will now have the option to join a fun party on the bus where they'll have an opportunity to read their (now preserved) novel to the other authors, hear their takes on your chapters, and talk a little about the journey you've shared before you all head back home.
New Fan: Iago
Sometime during your stop in Sequoia, you many encounter a new NPC named Iago. He's a bit of an odd person, some might even call him creepy. You'll have a conversation about your book, the intent with your work, and his interpretation of it. The responses you give may lead to an unfortunate situation.
New NPC: Amy
There's a woman in Sequoia with a very old profession. Players can interact with her, and given a little covert language (and some funds) can spend the night off the bus having a little fun. Just pray that your spouse doesn't find out where you've been.
NPC Cameos
Several active viewers on our Twitch channel have unlocked the ultimate reward via their stream points, earning themselves a brief NPC cameo in the game. You can find the characters integrated throughout the various cities, and their interactions have significant variation if you bring their favourite of the author companions with you. Want more details? Join our Discord, or catch one of the Twitch streams.
Here's what else is in the update:
Improvements to flow for Hassan's quest in Slab Town
Fixed a bug with Alexa talking about games in the arcade
Edited a typo with the self-defense instructor
Added tutorial explanations for the treadmill mechanics
Improved mechanics for the treadmill, exiting and going faster
Updated flow for Pablo's quest in Slab Town
Pablo's quest can now be completed if you make too many sandwiches
Blocked player from entering Quarry Bar with Pablo while on-quest
Added graphics for DLC character portraits and animations
Removed the cellphone theft from the interaction with Aaron
Added the ability to buy cellphones from Cellblock Mobile
Using the cellphone hokey will no longer bring up the cellphone interface
Updated some achievement unlocking for Pablo's quest to make it easier to get
Calling authors on the phone will now reactivate their quest triggers if possible
Fixed quest triggering with the authors for all unusual party acquisitions
Edited some typos in the finale
Added some new variants to the finale
Pablo is now required for the player to give out lunches
New option for players using controllers who want to type their titles still (see menu)
Confirmed global permanence for the options, instead of per save file
Fixed gym membership acquired through Stalker Media
Updated Stalker Media with Character Mode content
Updated several NPC interactions with Character Mode content
Updated several object interactions with Character Mode content
As stated earlier, it's a great time to replay the game if you've only given it the once through, and we'll continue updating with new content in the near future. Don't forget to check our Discord and Twitch streams to see all the latest, and leave your feedback on what we should add next.
