The First Men cover
The First Men screenshot
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Genre: Simulator, Strategy, Indie

The First Men

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-10/06/22

Hello everyone, welcome back to another #FeatureFriday!

We are so happy to share that we began the planned Steam Playtest with all of our Discord Champions! Every Friday we will add more testers, and keep collecting feedback and bug reports while doing our best to fix them all. If you want to participate in the playtest, please consider joining TFM's Discord.


This screenshot is taken from one of our Discord Champions: Lexhy. What a lovely settlement!

Changelog



  • Overhauled all of the Traditions and Passions. Added Passion Archetypes.
  • New in-game soundtrack: Dervish's Dream.
  • Added currently playing track name to the pause menu.
  • Overhauled the learn panel to show new additions and changes until the Demo.
  • New Hotkey: Press the "I" key to open or close the Stockpile panel.
  • Buffed all Memoria bosses.
  • New crop: Hemp.
  • New archetypes: Stonesplitter, Woodcutter.
  • New consumables: Chunk of Rock, Stone Block, Tree Trunk, Timber, Fragrant Hemp.
  • New construction: Stonemason's Workshop.
  • New construction for Water carriers: Bathing Hut, with its activity and condition buff.
  • Improved the visuals of stockpile button icons and tradition unlock button.
  • Transferred Rocky Speech Platform from Musician to Entertainer and made it easier to make.
  • Bone Club now grants 3 Rigor and its attacks have a chance to apply Dazed to the target, reducing Wit and Haste.
  • Hermit archetype now also requires an Astrologer along with Philosopher.
  • Plainshrooms now correctly grant bowel movements.
  • Transferred "Scavenger's Kismet" perk to Collector's tab. (also requires Explorer)
  • Removed Slingshot's Industry requirement for casting.
  • Fixed Hood of Nature's prerequisite.
  • Removed the "Skinner" archetype.
  • Ironsmith now has a proper prerequisite.
  • Crafting Workshop now has a proper prerequisite.
  • Buffed Staruax the Fox' Endurance.
  • Oruk's chest gift is randomized.
  • Renamed the "Queststone" consumable to "Lorestone".
  • Lorekeepers can now turn Lorestones into consumables that grant starter passions with a perk called "Passion Keeper", which works if there's anyone in the settlement with a particular starter passion. Only non-infant characters without any passion traits can consume these.
  • Explorers start by scouting the home region.
  • Gatherers now correctly bring plainshrooms to the mound.
  • Field gatherers also gain bonus Prosperity from plainshroom gathering now.
  • Manure Plague lasts 2 suns now and reduces energies more slowly.
  • Musician is now called Bard.
  • Condemner is now the archetype of Soothsayer, instead of Entertainer.
  • Characters can now properly consume Chamomile Cures and Betony Boosters.
  • Seed Collector now shows up as a Gatherer archetype if there's at least one Grower in the settlement.
  • Trapper now shows up as an Explorer archetype if there's a least one Crafter in the settlement.
  • Beekeepers can properly gather Honeycombs now.
  • Laborer passion is gone and its craftables are scattered to appropriate other passions and archetypes.
  • Removed combat area indicator.
  • Added new scroll bar image to entity craft view and character craft view.
  • Added the ability to select the related character when clicking a notification.
  • Added color feedback to the characters panel to show the characters that have their Path used but not selected an outcome yet.
  • Added new log categories.
  • Several changes to the main menu, removed many out-of-date maps, and restructured map details views.
  • Several changes and additions for the Feedback and Bug Reporting Tool.
  • Limiting character detail panel interactions for the players to only interact with their own characters.
  • Fixed an issue that occurred at filling water containers decision.
  • Fixed an issue that causes the Stockpile panel shows previous names of the characters even if they have been changed by the player.
  • Fixed an issue that causes the feedback form to stay under the notifications, now it is placed above all other overlay views.
  • Fixed an issue that causes the soundtrack to pause.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs when a map object production is canceled and the owner can't find it.
  • Fixed an issue that causes water carriers to carry water to the Mudbugs.
  • Fixed Animal Husband not showing up when Fauna is unlocked.
  • Fixed an issue that causes problems at Death's Door notification.
  • Fixed an issue that makes the feedback panel visible in the bug report screenshots.
  • Fixed the issue that makes disbanded group characters move towards haul or loot targets altogether.
  • Refactored localization systems. Crowdin is ready for the upload, waiting for a tooltip overhaul.

Thanks, everyone for reading, and thanks to all of our testers for participating in the Steam Playtest and helping us find bugs, and making our lives easier with their feedback. See you all next Friday!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-03/06/22

Offsprings of the first men welcome back to another #FeatureFriday!



This week we continued the preparations for the upcoming Steam Playtest. You can find the full changelog down below;



Changelog



  • Several new changes to shepherding activities, Ranch construction, and related decisions.
  • Several design updates on The Vault campaign.
  • New construction for Motherhood characters: Nursery.
  • Characters with Motherhood can now perform a worktime activity to generate Unity in Nursery.
  • New Perks for Motherhood and Guard: Inspirational, Pampering, Graceful, Teaching, Doting, Resourceful, Safeguard, Heedful, Attentive, Potential Aspiring Adventurer, Intimidating.
  • New head and chest items for both exploration and settlement purposes: Seeker's Hat, Hood of Nature, Hat of the Critic, Headgear of Nobility, Oracle's Cowl, Oceanbreeze, Seeker's Vest, Robe of Nature, Tunic of the Critic, Noble's Raiment, Oracle's Dress, Oceanwave.
  • Improvements and balancing on the Frost Giant boss fight mechanics.
  • New perks and 5 new inventory consumables for the Purifier passion: Curer, Virtue Granter, Enlightened, Unifier, Soul-Cleanser, Mender, Ancestral.
  • Updated the stockpile user interface. Fixed issues that cause the character names in this panel hard to click. And fixed an issue that hides tier-stars for the items.
  • Added new icons for notifications.
  • Added new icons for several consumables.
  • Added several new AoE skills.
  • Adjusted assignment icons, activity names, and tooltips.
  • New Trait Triggers: CombatAllyReceivesTrait, CombatAllyReceivesSpecificTrait, CombatEnemyReceivesTrait, CombatEnemyReceivesSpecificTrait.
  • Several new DevMode additions to improve internal test attempts.
  • Several localization-related updates.
  • Refactored interaction point management.
  • Refactored character paths, and added a serializer.
  • Several fixes and adjustments for notifications.
  • Fixed an issue that is related to the energy degeneration and fatal traits logic.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs during spearfishing activity.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs during dismantle assignment.
  • Fixed a stat calculation fraction bug.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs on map object cooldowns.
  • Fixed issues that are related to party movements and party leader movements.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs while a character is retracing from combat.

If you want to participate in the Steam Playtest, you can join TFM's Discord and follow the instructions.

Wishing you all a great weekend, see you next Friday!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-27/05/22

Hello everyone, welcome back to another #FeatureFriday!

Well, the spring is ending and we are entering the summer, so you all must be asking when is the game coming into the Early Access, so let's begin with talking about the state of play and our release plans!

Last November while we were making the gameplay trailer, our plan was to finish the remaining tasks and enter the Early Access before the summer. However, a couple of events and happenings since that day made us decide to push the Early Access release;


  1. Steam Next Festival was a great opportunity to collect feedback from a wide variety of Steam gamers even before the Early Access. Because of that event, we make several iterations in TFM's core systems, and now we have new systems, such as Paths, Crafts, Adaptations, Notifications, and Assignments. Implementing them and making related changes took a lot of time. Good thing is, TFM got much fun and a better game at the end, and right now all of these systems are working.
  2. Even tho the feature lock has happened, we are still dealing with occasional bug-fixing, and adding more content to the game. Yes, we can do this during the Early Access too, however, there are real-life events are happening for us as well: Two members of our small team are gonna be attending mandatory military duty this June.
  3. On top of everything, we really didn't want to risk everything. We are aware of the hype, and see many of you want to get your hands into the game as soon as possible. So as an alternative, we have expanded the options that you can participate in the Steam Playtest. You can learn more by joining our Discord Server. With your help during the playtest, and additional time until the Early Access release, we believe TFM will be much more fun with more content, and fewer bugs.

So, what now? What's next? This image contains a summary of events we have to watch and our goals;



  • We will begin the playtest, and continue playing the game until the release.
  • We should be avoiding the main events of Steam, and summer is the busiest season for those events.
  • Steam doesn't let games attend more than one Next Festivals. Sadly we will not gonna be able to attend the next one, but we are super happy already because we've attended the previous one.
  • We may take a small vacation as a team during the Next Festival since none of us took a break for 3 years. Considering the Early Access will be very busy, it would be a good opportunity to do so.
  • Got the drafts ready for the release trailer! 6 weeks before the Early Access we will release the new trailer, and 4 weeks before we will announce the release date and start streaming gameplay videos.
  • Right now, between the 15th and 19th of August looks like a good release window. But anything may happen or change. Just as said above, we will announce the exact date 4 weeks before it.

Thank you so much for understanding the situation, and for your support, with all of the participants we will make TFM a much better game.

Let's continue with this week's additions and celebrate our #FeatureFriday once again!


Changelog



  • Several new passion traits for the characters; Mystic, Tutor, Herbalist, Hermit, Brickmason, Stonemason, Potter, Glazier, Ironsmith, Iron Miner, Miller, Beekeeper, Baker, Shepherd, Dairyserf, Herdgroom, Magician, Philosopher, Painter, Bard, Actor, Sculptor, Skinner, Leatherworker, Tailor, Ritualist, Fowler, Pathfinder, Zookeeper, Druid, Acrobat, Clown, Game Designer, Gladiator, Juggler, Tavernkeeper, Fermenter, Steelsmith, Silversmith, Goldsmith, Blacksmith, Gardener, Vineyard Keeper, Silkfarmer, Bookbinder, Writer, Keeper, Sorcerer, Physician, Cobbler, Glovemaker, Jewelsmith, Woodcarver, Architect, Surgeon, Shaman, Alchemist, Poisonmaker, Botanist, Weaver, Metallurgist, Adamantium Miner, Adamantium Smith, Artificer, Engineer, Evoker, Beautifier.
  • Several new consumables the critters are dropped.
  • Several new changes in Traditions.
  • Changes to Gathering Fruit to make it grant instant Path reward for a chosen character.
  • Gathering Mound is now called Prosperity Mound & Scavenging Mound is now called Industry Mound.
  • Personality trait tooltip overhaul.
  • New dungeons for The Vault campaign map.
  • Additions, changes, and improvements for The Last Stand custom map.
  • New prerequisites for activities; CharacterHasItem, CharacterHasNotItem.
  • Refactored character assignments.
  • The endurance bar does not contain a text of the current endurance anymore.
  • Fixed an issue where characters with "Cruel" personality were spamming their activity.
  • Fixed several errors that are related to the notifications.
  • Fixed an issue while a chosen path is attempting to give an instant reward.
  • Fixed an issue while demolishing a construction.
  • Stock and Stock all options of the character context menu are not available anymore while the character is out of the home region.
  • Fixed an error that occurs when a character dies while assigned a crafting order.



Wishing you all a great weekend, see you next Friday!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-20/05/22

Welcome back everyone to another #FeatureFriday.

We have completed the user interface overhaul for the new Paths and Crafts panels and started doing internal tests. Right now the game is fully playable again, however, there are bugs popping up and we are doing our best efforts to fix them one by one. Additionally, we continue to add more content, you can see the full list down below in the changelog.



Changelog



  • User Interface overhaul for Crafts panel, Stockpile panel, and the top UI bar.
  • Updated tab buttons for the Paths panel.
  • Balancing works with several traits and activities.
  • Updates for trappers, fishers, scavengers, and hunters.
  • Infants now want to Feed, Learn, Rumble, Bathe and Play. Characters with the "Motherhood" passion will try to fulfill these needs in order to prevent them from getting quirks or fatal traits.
  • New Race: Field Rat.
  • New Chainmail armor outfits.
  • New Plate armor outfits.
  • New consumables.
  • New Wall doodads.
  • New SFX for notifications.
  • New Campaign Map: The Vault.
  • New Custom Map: The Last Stand.
  • The Demoria campaign is now called Memoria.
  • Refactored character items and related save systems.
  • Refactored game time systems.
  • Fixed several issues that are related to skill effect areas.
  • Fixed issues of scaling characters and objects.
  • Fixed an issue that causes characters to show different colors for their character circles.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs while Kelek of Memoria is demanding tribute.
  • Fixed an issue that creates an infinite animation loop after a production assignment is canceled.
  • Fixed an issue that causes notification spam while a character is in danger.
  • Fixed an issue that causes characters to end their activities suddenly
  • Fixed an issue that occurs while characters attempt to loot doodads




Wishing you all a great weekend, see you next Friday!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-13/05/22

Offsprings of the first men welcome back to another #FeatureFriday.

We are almost ready for another Steam Playtest run with our Discord Champions - only the User Interface of the new paths panel is missing right now, after adding the remaining parts we hope to begin the playtest next week!



Additionally, we've overhauled the Discord channels, to maintain a clear communication platform for our growing community! If you want to participate in the beta testing before the Early Access begins, consider joining TFM Discord.

Changelog



  • Bragging Rights are now called Adaptations.
  • New passion: Grower. Seeds now can only be planted by Growers and their default worktime is to tend planted crops, speeding up their progress growth.
  • New passion: Tailor. All cloth armor crafts are linked to Tailors.
  • New passion: Leatherworker. All Hide and Leather armor crafts are linked to Leatherworkers.
  • New passion: Butcher. Butchers can slaughter a domesticated chicken to produce a stack of Raw Bird meat.
  • Animal Husband is now called Henkeeper. Henkeepers can now craft "Rooster Fertilizing Baitbag"s. Dropping these on the ground will cause domesticated Roosters to approach and consume them, getting the "Ready to Fertilize" condition. It'll make them fertilize the nearest chick, so it can spawn Fertilized Chicken Egg instead of normal ones.
  • New passion perks for Gatherer, Seed Collected, Grower, Scavenger.
  • New crops: Tobacco and Cotton.
  • Banana, Potato, and Olive can now be learned through Wild paths.
  • Watercarriers can now properly pull water from wells.
  • Weight overhaul to gathering activities.
  • Several new leather armors.
  • Several new hide armors.
  • Several new cloth armors.
  • Updated Options panel slider value labels.
  • New icons for all notifications.
  • A New Stockpile icon was added to the top UI bar.
  • Icon changes for traditions.
  • Chicken Coop Table interaction point is now called Butchering Table.
  • Carpentry crafts are converted from the old system for Carpenters to craft.
  • Refactored character activities.
  • Several new additions for the localization systems, testing Turkish and Chinese translations.
  • Updated character assignment icon sizes.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs at character movements.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs while an attempt of a doodad loot.
  • Fixed an issue when settlement characters are defending and forgetting their current assignments.
  • Fixed some issues occur during the haul assignment.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs during calculating trait trigger chances.
  • Fixed existing notification control issue for the character at danger notifications.
  • Removed duplicate passions.
  • Removed unnecessary construction crafts from the DB.

Have a great weekend, see you next week!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-29/04/22

Offsprings of the first men welcome back to another #FeatureFriday. We are happy to finish adding all of the features for the Early Access this week! After a small break next week for a nationwide holiday, we will finish the user interface overhaul and start the playtest of these new features using Steam's Playtest feature - if you want to join the playtest you can join our discord and check the minigame.



Changelog



  • New passion; Motherhood. Trying new ways for pregnancy.
  • Several new fist weapons.
  • Several new dagger weapons.
  • Several new spear weapons.
  • Several new firearm weapons.
  • Several new wand weapons.
  • Several new staff weapons.
  • Added new notifications.
  • Updated the logic of the user interface buttons. They can now function as a toggle to open and close the panels from the same place.
  • We now list all of the available characters in the Crafts panel after selecting a construction, doodad, or item to craft.
  • Added right-click function for the Stockpile icon on the top panel. Right-clicking the stockpile moves the camera to the home construction.
  • Fixed an error while hovering over the character assignments.
  • Fixed an error on character death.
  • Fixed an issue that occurs while showing path costs.
  • Fixed issues at attack, haul, and interact assignments for drafted characters.
  • Fixed an issue that makes the map object panel appears out of nowhere.
  • Fixed several issues that are occurring while characters are picking assignments.
  • Fixed being able to cancel worktime and downtime assignments.

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-22/04/22

Welcome back adventurers to another #FeatureFriday!



This week we continued adding more stuff for the new crafts panel, and fixed issues that occurred on the new character assignments, the new crafting orders, and the new paths with the new tab layout.



Changelog



  • New Crafts panel for the entity. The player can either select a character to give a craft order or choose this entity operation to select an order first and select an available character that can perform the task.
  • New assignment for the characters that are given a craft order.
  • New assignment for the characters for dismantling a construction.
  • Added tooltips for the character assignments.
  • Completion of the EntityInventory transformation to Stockpile.
  • The stockpile panel's button position is moved to the middle of the top UI bar.
  • Added color and icon mappings for notification types.
  • Added path cost refund flow after the related assignment is canceled.
  • Refunding and canceling all character assignments on character death!
  • Removed stack count info from character items.
  • Removed stack count from map object path rewards.
  • Converted (or deleted) all old "CreateDoodadOnEntityInventory" action nodes to consumable items that allow craftables through the new panel.
  • Converted all old "SpawnInventoryDoodad" and "SpawnInventoryConstruction effect outputs to consumable items that allow craftables through the new panel.
  • Refactored EntityInventory.
  • Refactored decision nodes.
  • LVM process serialization.
  • Several new items, mostly weapons such as axes, maces, bows, and swords.
  • Several new skills.
  • Several new wild path outcomes.
  • Several issues are fixed that occurred while testing the new systems; Crafts, Paths, Assignments, Stockpile, and Notifications. They are almost ready for the implementation of their user interface changes.


See you all next Friday, have a great weekend!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-15/04/22

Offsprings of the first men welcome back to another #FeatureFriday!

We continued working on the new Paths and Crafts panels this week and additionally overhauled all other systems related to them such as the Character Assignments, and Notifications.




Changelog



  • New character assignments; the player can now queue certain assignments to the characters who are doing their worktime and downtime activities automatically in the settlement, such as giving Path Activities from Paths Panel, giving Craft Activities from Crafts Panel, Attack assignment by right-clicking an enemy, Haul assignment by right-clicking an item, and Interact assignment by right-clicking a doodad.
  • New notification system and UI block.
  • New tabs selections for the Paths panel.
  • New wild trait triggers, effects, and paths for Adventurers.
  • Several new icons. (we now have over 1350 colored icons in TFM so far!)
  • Stock All and Stock context menu options added for character inventory item's right-click action.
  • Content overhaul for the old path prerequisites. Demoria's starting characters now begin with 100 Path Points.
  • Refactored character paths.
  • Refactored notifications.
  • Refactored decisions.
  • Adaptation of decisions to the LVM library changes.
  • Fixed issues related to the character skill triggers and skill casts.
  • Removed create party button from the interface.


Additionally, our recent soundtrack "The Herdsman" is here - dedicated to all shepherds!

Wishing you all a great weekend, see you next Friday!

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-25/03/22

Welcome back, adventurer!

We've completed our tasks about the translation systems and were able to get the first file of all texts! After uploading the original texts to a proper tool, we will begin the translations and get the game ready for many languages rather than English.



We also started working on the changes planned on Paths and Crafts systems yesterday.

We will let you know about the progress, looking forward to running another playtest with you all! To join the playtest please consider joining the TFM Discord server.

Additions



  • Localization import and export features have been implemented.
  • Localization-related updates for all player operations and user interface.
  • Several new combat feats.
  • Several new trait icons.
  • New race; Raptor.
  • Testing a new campaign map; The Vault.


Fixes



  • Refactoring paths, removing unused files of previous iterations.
  • Refactoring skills.
  • Refactoring character skill selection and casting.
  • Refactoring validates data flow.
  • Refactoring entity tech definitions.
  • Refactoring auto-attack flow.
  • An issue that occurs when you zoom in while using the decision-maker screen.
  • A problem where a removed trait would lock the project due to localization.
  • An issue occurs when you target an unconscious character with skills.


Have a great weekend you all.

TFM Weekly Update 📜 #FeatureFriday-18/03/22

Offsprings of the first men welcome back to another #FeatureFriday - the whole week we’ve continued our efforts to finish the translations systems for the game while the design of the new notification system and paths/crafts overhaul is completed.



You can find the additions and fixes down below. Wishing you all a great weekend!

Additions



  • New localization definitions all around the game.
  • New localization file exporter.
  • New swords for crafting, related skills, and traits favor Tactician characters.
  • New races: Gronn, Hogman, Monkey, Elephant, Vulture.
  • Necromancy skills and traits.
  • New Injury traits; Pulled Hamstring, Ruptured Leg, Ankle Fracture, Knee Dislocation, Broken Leg, Chestpain, Hemothorax, Sternal Fracture, Rib Fracture, Broken Ribs, Brain Damage, Burst Lobe, Brain Herniation, Spinal Fracture, Cerebral Laceration, Black Eyed, Punctured Eardrum, Cervical Fracture, Brain Trauma, Cracked Skull, Ruptured Biceps, Elbow Fracture, Humerus Fracture, Dislocated Arm, Broken Hip, Broken Finger, Wrist Fracture, Fractured Pelvis, Shattered Clavicle, Dislocated Shoulder, Punctured Tongue, Lacerated Esophagus, Avulsed Stomach, Wounded Small Intestines, Eviscerated Large Intestines, Bludgeoned Liver, Scratched Pancreas, Blistered Nasals, Splintered Larynx, Concussed Lungs, Damaged Heart, Clogged Veins, Sensitive Nerves, Slipped Tendons, Displaced Glands, Broken Joints, Hemorrhaged Bladder, Pulled Muscles, Alarming Arteries, Sprained Kidneys, Shaking, Fatigued, Nauseated, Numbed, Shattered.
  • New tooltip functionalities for trait effect outputs.
  • The groundwork for 41 new combat feats for Fighter, Tactician, Hunter, Sentinel, and Scoundrel classes.


Fixes



  • Refactoring combat instances.
  • Refactoring party states.
  • Refactoring decision-maker screen hierarchy.
  • An issue that occurs in the party-state button when combat is ending.
  • An issue that occurs while the character-maker is exporting.
  • An issue that occurs in some cases while using the selection box.
  • An issue that occurs when unconscious characters die while there are allied character groups in combat.