Dev Diary - 8/21/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hey! Hey. Hey? That's right, time for another development diary for Haulin' Oats and The Dope Game remaster. I must say I am enjoying this bi-monthly update more than the weekly one; and I'll enjoy it more once I stop writing these altogether! Anyhow, let's get down to it, folks.
Haulin' Oats
I've mostly been polishing and added content since last we spoke, as well as tinkering with the multiplayer stuff; like this hideous interface.
There really isn't a whole lot to talk about as it has been code tweaking and most people are pretty disinterested in such things. Especially when there are no shiny pictures to show. However...
The Steam Game Festival is coming back in October, before the launch of Haulin' Oats. So I think the demo for that festival will be the official demo for the game; minus any subsequent bug-fixes and such.
And speaking of, the game is now slated for the end of October. Any later than that and it would have to be delayed until January 2021 because you never want to launch a small, relatively unknown indie game during the holiday seasons.
The Dope Game Remaster
This last chunk of time was getting more stuff ready for the first test build which will be released next Friday (August, 28th). The build will obviously be missing some assets and have a lot of bugs but will give you the chance to see all the changes in action. Speaking of...
You can see here an early version of the character customization screen. I can't remember if I talked about this already but you can change how your character looks and server icons for games. There will be unlockable bonuses for playing other CoaguCo games as well as the ability to purchase new outfits and icons. Purchasing will use an in-game currency which you can exchange your hard-earned drug money for... because fuck real-money micro-transactions for cosmetics, or anything really.
Speaking of hard-earned money, as mentioned a long while ago, once the remaster update is out the game's price will increase slightly. After talking to a bunch of folks about it, it was decided to raise the price instead of making this all a completely new version or a DLC package. Plus, I'm pretty sure everyone who wants the game already has it. I mean, it was two dollars, fam. If you don't, I would get that shit sooner than later.
See you next week for the first test build! There will not be a new dev diary that day but there will be a post talking about what to expect. Til then!
Dev Diary - 8/7/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Oh, hello there, stranger! The time-off has come to and end and here we are... time for another development diary for Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game Remaster. As I mentioned in the previous post, these diaries are being cut down to every other week. And, of course, never again once each project launches. That being said...
Haulin’ Oats
A fair amount of the time after my time-off was spend on The Dope Game’s networking system. However, what work Haulin’ Oats got was divided between setting up music and polish for the next alpha which should be out sometime this month.
To prevent music from getting horribly repetitive throughout a game session, the music will be set up like a radio. One song will play then the “radio” will “scan the channels” looking for the next song; like driving in a big rig. Some tracks have been assembled so far and more are coming. The current ones will be added into the next alpha version so folks can hear them.
The polish phase is almost done and (I hope) most of the bugs have been squashed. I’m going to try to jam in the racing feature before releasing it to the folks who have alpha access but we’ll see how that goes.
Also some accessibility features will be added prior to launch. I have to get in touch with some folks to go over what all needs to be added and then create a plan to add it!
The Dope Game Remaster
Most of the work done around my time-off has been networking. This is actually a drawn-out process; especially when testing it against yourself on a LAN. Nonetheless, the Steamworks integration is going pretty well.
All the lobby stuff, after multiple iterations, is now done. So far all the testing works, thanks to pulling some stuff from other CoaguCo games. Currently I am implementing the multiplayer P2P framework in the game itself so folks can run around and slang together. Well, more against each other.
You will be able to play against six other friends or foes though currently there is no option to join an in-progress game. While it was considered, I think it might be too hard to catch up once a match starts. However, maybe down the road that will get added.
Next update I will talk more about the character and server customization. There will be a decent amount at launch with some add-ons over time.
More on that next time, folks!
Dev Diary - 7/11/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Why hello, sweetlings. It is time for another week of development diary entries for Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game. Also I will be taking the following week off of development to do some real-life stuff instead and will be changing the dev diary schedule to twice a month (every other week). Yes, the applause is deafening but please remain calm… here are this week’s updates.
Haulin’ Oats
This week was all about getting that multiplayer up and running. As you can see below, something that was visible in the current alpha (I think) is the hosting settings. These are now functional.
All of the lobby set-up functionality as well as server list functionality is now in the next alpha build. In-lobby chat also works. Still tinkering with kicking players from the lobby though. Avatars should show up next to each player too.
Now the focus is shifting to making the game playable. Luckily there were hooks already for bots / remote players, so it’s just all about adding in the client-server functions to talk to these.
When the next alpha version hits, this should all be ready to go. Expect that, probably, in August at some point.
The Dope Game Remaster
Combat was the name of the game this week. And a lot of changes were made since the last version, like armor, multiple enemies, better healing, etc.
So yes, armor is now a thing. It will be depleted before health except on criticals. It can be purchased from Pinky or the Shady Merchant.
You can also now heal your crew in combat from the heal menu. This will hopefully keep them in better shape during rough fights. And speaking of rough fights, NPCs can now call in allies; there can be up to five different opponents in one fight.
There were also some minor tweaks to rewards, how buttons are laid out (no more accidental surrender), and more.
That’s it for now. More in two weeks!
Dev Diary - 7/3/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hello, friends! We are gathered here today for yet another development diary for Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game remaster. No time to dally, let’s get into it.
Haulin’ Oats
This week not a whole lot of exciting stuff got done for Haulin’ Oats. Mostly worked on improving things under the hood as well as completing more cards for the game; given there are currently 75 cards per deck planned.
Despite all the art still needed, my goal is to move ahead and get the multiplayer functional for alpha v0.0.3 then backtrack to the issues list and get those ironed out.
Oh, and per last post, here is something for the quickest of you who actually reads these things (IZJ7A-XNJVG-0B8ZB). There will be three more popping up in randomly places. Or maybe they are actually in this dev diary entry but different in the other places it is officially posted? Hmm.
The Dope Game Remaster
The Dope Game got a lot of love this week. More restructuring of the underlying code happened to make things more efficient. Basically gutting the whole system. This ended up happening because of a few more features added to the game from The Dope Game 2, as tests.
Like you’ll notice in this screenshot. You can actually donate a few “unneeded” organs to make some cash; some with unintended side-effects. You can also now treat conditions, primarily the one you get when the old lady on the bus sticks a syringe into your neck. Additionally you can now heal your crew members at the hospital.
There are some other new features that will be covered next week along with related screenshots to really give you a visual of what is new. Lastly the Russian version of the game may be delayed a bit longer due to the new script not being complete and getting those changes in place. However, it shouldn’t be delayed too much.
Well, that’s it for this week. More coming soon!
Dev Diary - 6/26/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hey, my dearest reader. The Steam Game Festival is now over and the Steam summer sale is upon us. With a week off from dev diaries there is a bit to talk about, but it’ll be short and sweet.
Haulin’ Oats
A big thanks to all the folks who checked out the demo during the Steam Game Festival. I got some decent feedback and glad people enjoyed it. The demo will reappear closer to the full release this fall.
Armed with new details, the next alpha version should be out in early July. I’m aiming to have achievements functional as well as stats and some more glitches ironed out. Maybe, if we’re lucky, have multiplayer functional too.
Also I will be giving out four (4) beta keys to some folks during the Steam Summer Sale starting this coming Monday. Keep an eye out on the CoaguCo Twitter account, the CoaguCo Steam group, and the Haulin’ Oats community page.
The Dope Game Remaster
Now that the Steam Game Festival is over, work has resumed on The Dope Game’s remastered version. As you can see below, all the characters are looking pretty for the new version.
More assets are being drawn every day and I’m trying not to chuck in any more features from The Dope Game 2. Though the idea is to have a few just to test how they will work for the sequel. Working on the game again at this level has been fun. Hopefully the beta version will be out in July at some point; probably near the end of the month.
I’ve also been trying to get feedback on how to approach the remaster version; things like:
Make it a new app?
Make it a full update for the main game but with a new, higher price?
Make it a full update for the main game but at the same price?
Make it a DLC?
Time yet to figure it out. Feel free to throw in your 2 cents!
Until next time!
Dev Diary - 6/12/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Why hello. I see you are here for yet another development diary for Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game remaster. Well, no reason to waste any time, please sit down.
Haulin’ Oats
Have we discussed this before? The Steam Game Festival? Surely we did. Either way, it starts next Tuesdays and the demo will be available during that week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMj2xHauVeM
As you can see here, the gameplay trailer for the store page is live! Speaking of, the store page is also active currently. You can go over and check out all the details and wishlist if it you so choose.
This week was spent polishing up both the demo and alpha v0.0.2 for the masses. Which reminds me, if you are in the cast, crew, a guest, or an early adopter, your Steam keys are now available in Itch.io! While you can redeem them now, you will have to wait until Monday night to get a hold of the new alpha version.
If you are none of these people, you can just download the very limited demo on Tuesday!
The Dope Game Remaster
Sidelined yet again, The Dope Game remaster saw very little work this week. However, things will resume to normal after the Steam Game Festival is over.
In the meantime, here is a screenshot of the new bus map. It shows off the new location: the Starkham Docks. It includes a new NPC and sub-location: Jenkins, from One Way To Die and Into Oblivon, and The Bootleg Distillery.
Both are a tie-in to Into Oblivion’s upcoming DLC: The Brewmaster. More on that later this year though.
Well, that’s it for now. It’ll be radio silence next week due to the SGF but I’ll be over there doing stuff!
Dev Diary - 6/5/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hey there, cool cats and cats. Another week has come, ushering in another brief update on what’s going on with Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game remaster. Here we go.
Haulin’ Oats
So the Steam Game Festival has been pushed back to June 16th - June 22nd. That’s a whole other week of additional polish for the demo and whatnot.
[previewyoutube="W7fCtCodlrQ;full"]
As you can see above, the trailer for the Steam Game Festival is already live. It is a spoof on old Wilford Brimley Quaker Oats commercials. A huge shout-out to Stephen Knowles for his awesome narration in the trailer. Also a huge shout-out to El Castor for the music track in the background (which is used in the game too).
The game’s Steam store page will be active this weekend after a few tweaks. Since the game is still in alpha, it will probably change a few times before release.
Despite the Steam Game Festival being pushed back, the next alpha will be out next week and keys will go out. The demo will still be locked until the 16th.
The Dope Game Remaster
As mentioned last week, there is very little news about The Dope Game as all time was focused on getting Haulin’ Oats ready. That being said, a little more work was done on the underlying systems and doing a few play-tests on the upcoming beta version.
Next week there will be more Dope Game news and even more Haulin’ Oats news. Stay tuned!
Dev Diary - 5/29/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hey there. Gnash your teeth and weep for joy because it’s time for yet another dev diary update for both Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game remaster. First up…
Haulin’ Oats
This week was pretty much checking some small things off my list like updates to the HUD. Mostly for spacing of objects (status effects, items, etc) and tweaking the behavior of said object changes. Tweening sprites and whatnot.
Most of this “polish” is for the Steam Game Festival demo and soon to be available alpha v0.0.2. I know, I know, it has been mentioned a few times and it is close at hand but not quite yet. And, as I mentioned, not quite with multiplayer.
The card drawing system (Encounters, Resources, and Incidents) also got some love. Mostly cosmetic but also functional. Rebuilt the deck notification system and how cards are stored by the user; which also helps with how they are used in the game.
All in all, nothing dreadfully exciting.
The Dope Game Remaster
Prepare yourself… the update will not be ready tomorrow. In fact, I am postponing the remaster release until the end of summer. Why, you ask? I’m further behind than I expected and have more polish to add. Plus I’d like to have more time for the beta testing as well as time to get The Stash DLC up to snuff too.
That being said, here is an updated version of the inventory. This new layout offers more interaction with crew, drugs, and equipment. Also note that armor is now a thing.
I spent some time overhauling the API system and the drop / find system. You can now drop armor, weapons, drugs, and cash in any quantity and everything gets stored in the database for you or others to find. Previously you could only lose one of each type and, if it wasn’t found before you lost another, it would overwrite the previous one. Now there will be a smorgasbord of things to find. Also, they are linked to the area of town they are lost. Meaning that they can only be found there instead of randomly anywhere.
That’s about it for now. Next update will be just before the Steam Game Festival so expect more Haulin’ Oats news and a bit less about The Dope Game. See you then!
Dev Diary - 5/22/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hey there, scallywags! Another week, another development diary, another trickle of information during crunch time.
Haulin’ Oats
This week was more polish and more preparation for the Steam Game Festival. The demo, thankfully, was approved and is ready to go.
Since it has a separate repository from the main game, all of the changes I am making have to be ported over. That sucked up a lot more time than I expected really; even though each each activity / interface is its own scene in Godot. The cards being the biggest pain in the ass, which required rewriting some underlying systems.
That being said, the next alpha should be out around the same time as the Steam Game Festival (early June). Steam keys have been procured and will be distributed that week.
The Dope Game Remaster
Tried to crank out the last remaining environment assets this week. They seem to take about a day a piece actually. By that math, I didn’t get many of them done.
In between assets, I went in to check some things off my list. Kind of a double-check before pushing things to the beta branch. If I am still going to hit my May 30th deadline (which is about a week from today), the beta branch will probably end up with a very small window.
That being said, multiplayer will probably end up being patched in after May 30th. Most of my time has been sucked up revamping the main portion of the game itself and multiplayer still requires a lot of additional testing and functionality before it is ready for prime-time.
That’s about it for now, next week will hopefully be news on the imminent release of some things!
Dev Diary - 5/15/20 - Haulin’ Oats And The Dope Game Remaster
Hey there, fellers! It is that time again, you know the one; development diaries for both Haulin’ Oats and The Dope Game remaster. I’ll keep them brief, as is tradition.
Haulin’ Oats
This week was a crunch to get the demo submitted for the Steam Game Festival and, by the skin of my ass, I made it. The demo is based on the alpha version 0.0.2 build that you early adopters will get access to soon (and on Steam, no less); more on that a little later.
The demo will be available at the start of the Steam Game Festival for the public to try. It limits you to just singleplayer, with only the basic five drivers, co-pilots, and pets. Encounter, Resource, and Incident cards are limited to the first 10. Everything else should function as normal. Oh, except you only get one lap before the demo ends; however, you can replay it over and over to get a taste of the whole board.
This demo will also be updated as alpha testing and beta testing continue. It will also turn into the game’s official demo at release.
Back to the next alpha build, I am currently doing one more big polish and bug pass before uploading it to Steam. I don’t have an exact date but I’d say very soon. Once that gets uploaded, the Steam keys for cast, crew, early adopters, and some other folks will be passed out. The bulk will be available through the Itch.io links you were given previously or in your Itch.io account. The small remainder will be e-mail individually.
A little bit down the road is alpha version 0.0.3 which will have multiplayer and Steam achievements. Hopefully this will also be the last alpha version before moving into beta as all the systems will be in place and just need tweaked.
Oh, and a trailer is being worked on too...
The Dope Game Remaster
Honestly, not a lot happened with The Dope Game this week as almost all the time was spent getting Haulin’ Oats’ demo ready. Nonetheless, there was some work done though it was mostly bug-hunting.
Here is a screenshot of the main menu now. You know, for shits and giggles.
I was going to upload the new store graphics and Steam assets, as well as new achievement icons but after getting everything in place it just seemed a bit confusing. You know, considering it doesn’t match the current version that’s available.
That being said, the beta branch should get some love soon. Still hoping to hit the May 30th deadline and 4-year anniversary of the game’s launch, so I should get back to it.
