v0.820: New Challenges Await

I have just uploaded a new version of GearHead Caramel. The big change this time around is the addition of Challenges- a new procedural narrative system that is a further refinement of the Mechanical Tarot, with more opportunities for the player characters to mess around a break stuff. This release also features poison, antidotes, the Ice Wind, more portrait bits, ammo explosions, and more.

Here's the full list of changes:

• Added the Ice Wind mecha family
• Added more portrait bits
• Update trigger automatically updates plots
• Trigger check during campaign construction will no longer cause crash
• Left and right keys may be used to browse memos
• Campaign now has get_memos method
• Challenges can have memos integrated into them
• Fixed so many bugs. How many bugs? Lost track. Lots and lots of bugs.
• Active Challenges are listed in GHNarrativeRequest
• Added Challenges and Resources
• Right clicking on combat radio button will bring up library menu
• Widgets may now be given an "on_right_click" property
• Radio buttons widget now takes dicts to describe the button properties
• Fixed portrait placement bug with lancemate menu item
• Phasing out IgniteAmmo attribute; to be replaced by BurnAttack attribute
• Ammo may now explode if destroyed
• Destruction of important parts will be displayed
• Added Antidote usable item and Cure Poison ability for Medicine skill
• Added Agonize, PoisonAttack attack attributes

As usual, try it out and let me know what you think.

v0.810: Black Market Blues

GHCaramel v0.810 has just been released. A lot of the work this time around was under the hood- things have been refactored and updated to make future development (especially of the scenario generator) easier and less bug-prone. The big visible changes this time around are the new Black Market Blues scenario for DeadZone Drifter, the fact that you can edit your character's appearance, gender, and name any time from the FieldHQ menu, and also the fact that gender is now completely customizable. I will note that Caves of Qud beat me at being the first Roguelike with fully customizable gender by a couple of weeks, but it's kind of neat that we both did it in the same month. If I had known what Brian was planning I would've made a v0.805 release earlier.

Anyhow, try it out and let me know what you think. Here's the complete list of changes:

• Gears may have individual campdata dicts which don't get exported when campaign is finished
• Noncombatants flee from combat
• Added "FAINT" trigger
• Fixed bug in which GearHeadCampaign all_plots method did not return metro plots
• Added automatic update and expiration for plots
• Added automatic rumor/info offer/memo option for plots
• You can now edit your PC's name, portrait, and gender from the FieldHQ
• Gender is now completely customizable

v0.800: Random Encounters and New Portrait Bits

It's been a while since the last release, so here is a new release for you. The big change this time around is that there is now a dedicated world map random encounter handler, meaning that there are a bunch of new events that can happen while traveling from one town to another. Lancemates take a more active role in the party. Some hand painted portrait bits have been added, but I have not finished the entire set yet because earlier this week I dropped a new bottle of 3D printer resin on the spot where my thumb bone attaches to my wrist. I don't think anything is seriously hurt but I won't be arting for a bit.

Here's the complete list of changes:

• Campaign save file compatibility probably broken; character save files are okay
• PlotCreator blueprints now automatically sorted
• You can start a newly compiled scenario without restarting the game
• PlotCreator updated to use campfeatures utilities
• MissionBuilder no longer needs environment parameter, since this info is included in GearHeadArchitecture subclass
• Added some hand-painted portrait bits
• Added ArenaRules scene attribute
• Character tags include the tags of that character's faction
• Lancemates will not rejoin the party if they currently dislike the PC
• Lancemate reaction score will decrease if that lancemate is incapacitated or loses their mecha
• Unfavorable NPCs limit their conversation options
• Added standardized in-town recovery/lance development loader
• Added militia defense if PC attempts to enter an unfavorable town
• Added standardized world map encounter handler
• The Terran Defense Force mission in Wujung can now be rejected, and stops being offered after 20 wins
• Fighting a mission against a faction may make that faction unfavorable to the PC
• Added is_favorable_to_pc, is_unfavorable_to_pc methods to GearHeadCampaign
• Added Campaign go method
• Singletons should return the intended str() value

The next big steps will be to add some new content to DeadZone Drifter which uses these new features, and to revamp the scenario editor so that it is maybe actually usable. Try it out and let me know what you think.

v0.700: Scenario Editor

It's been a while since I've made a release, but that's mostly because the change this time around is pretty big. I've added a GUI scenario creator to the game! You can use this to create your own GearHead adventures with no programming knowledge required. The interface is currently quite basic. I can't guarantee that the error checking with catch all possible errors. But, it's a good start, I think.

I've included an extra zip file below, "PlasticIslandPanic.zip". This contains both the editor blueprint file for the "Plastic Island Panic" scenario and the compiled scenario that you can play. Like the editor, this scenario is pretty basic, but I think it shows the promise of the system. To install it you should extract the zip file in your ghcaramel user dir (the place where all your saved games are stored).

Here's the complete list of changes for v0.700:

• Added PlotCreator scenario editor
• Popup menu can now take custom width and height
• Colors have been added to the SINGLETON_REVERSE dict
• Fixed problems with choose lifepath display
• The map viewer now uses a per-tile message ticker
• Added "View Hotkeys" to combat popup menu
• DZD roadedge plots will stop rumors after the road is cleared
• Added "center on party" to exploration menu
• Fixed crash when prop goes haywire
• Increased threat value of hunter synths

As usual, try it out and let me know what you think.

v0.620: Town Features

I am pleased to announce a new release of GearHead Caramel. There are a lot of changes this time around- as you'd expect from the length of time it took me to release this version. Every town in DeadZone Drifter now has a special feature. The opening scenario for DeadZone Drifter may be different depending on your character's life history. There's a new pilot suit for all body types by LordErin. You can now set combat hotkeys for any weapon or action. Finally, some bugs were fixed and some improvements were made. Try it out and let me know what you think.

• Added pilot suit portrait bits by LordErin
• Added some more opening scenarios
• Fixed bug when running ghcaramel from a different directory
• Combat hotkeys can be set by pressing Alt + Key when using desired action, or by editing config file
• Combat popup menu added if right mouse button clicked
• Alert will now return the event that ended the alert display
• MissionBuilder mission now checks scene environment for legal mecha
• Added a local feature to each village in DeadZone Drifter
• Increased size of standard dungeon level to 65x65
• SceneConnectors now take narrative request as first parameter
• Fixed fullscreen lockup on Linux
• Added DuckTerrain, duck_dict option for TerrainSet
• Robot NPCs from GH1 will be Metal, not Meat
• Lancemates from previous adventures may show up in DeadZone Drifter

v0.612: Quick Service, New Mecha

This is a quick fix release to correct a problem with the GH1 character import. Also, I've added the CNA-15 Century mecha from GH1 and GH2. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

v0.611: New Year, Newer Release

There was a problem with the binary for the previous release on Windows, so I switched from PyInstaller to cx_Freeze. The only difference that users should notice is that instead of a single file executable, the game now comes with all of its support files in separate folders. Thanks to everyone on Twitter and Discord who helped me fix the issue.

The big change this time around is the scenario menu. Instead of just placing your character directly into the default scenario, you can choose which one you want to play. And when you're finished with one scenario your character can move on to another one. There are only two scenarios for now, but let me tell you about another great new feature: GHC can now dynamically load content from the user folder. This means that players can create their own scenarios and content.
Try it out and let me know what you think.

• Added a description for DeadZone Drifter and updated the README.md for the first time in forever
• Packaging system changed from PyInstaller to cx_Freeze, fixed Windows NumPy issue
• Added Adventure Module selection menu
• Moved faction score from a Character property to an Egg property
• Color menu will recognize identical colors now
• Reworked the way scatter damage scatters
• Added Eggzaminer to dev mode
• Fixed Egg ejection bug
• Fixed a lot of GH1 import bugs
• Fixed a problem with asynchronous IO and menus
• Lancemates and major NPCs should be imported correctly from GH1
• Cybertech skill imported correctly from GH1
• Vadel's hover jets are now bigger and integral
• Zerosaiko mass driver improved
• Changed the formula for armor damage absorption
• Reduced chemthrower chem usage
• Scene viewer may now get postfx function called after normal map rendering
• Fixed bug with LancematePrep cutscene element
• PC can bring mecha, stash with them between adventures
• Updated the Winter Mocha scenario
• Python scripts in user content folder will be loaded at startup

v0.610: New Year, New Packager

Turns out I forgot to add a description for DeadZone Drifter in v0.610. So, I immediately went and released v0.611. Please ignore the release behind the curtain.

v0.600: Completely Completeable

I'm happy to announce a new release of GearHead Caramel. The biggest change in this update is that the DeadZone Drifter scenario is now completeable- after clearing the highway to the distant town, there's one more task that will require your attention. In addition, you can now buy consumable items like quick fix pills and duct tape. Plus, skill trainers have been added to relieve you of all that extra cash you've been lugging around.

Here is the complete list of changes:

• DeadZone Drifter scenario now has a conclusion
• Monsters may get a different number of actions per round
• Fixed serious CharacterMover bug
• Mecha scale beings have their Mobility calculated correctly
• Burst fire bonus applied to accuracy, not to hit roll
• XP for destroying enemy is capped at 500
• Added skill trainers
• CharacterMover will not move NPC back to original scene if NPC gets moved away from dest scene to another scene first
• Haywire now correctly works on human-scale robots
• Added consumable items
• Added more cyberware from GH1, GH2
• Combatants who are out of visual range and don't know where to go next will deactivate
• Lancemates moved by CharacterMover will be removed from party and re-added if possible at end of plot
• Potential lancemates can tell you a little bit about their skills
• Most random lancemates will start with lower renown, but may have extra skills
• Added merit badges for GH1 PCs who defeated Cetus, Ladon
• Shops without a defined faction will use the faction of the town they're in

v0.560: Kerberos Attacks!

It's been a busy month, but I just finished a new release of GearHead Caramel. This one comes with some graphics upgrades, balance tweaks, and the ability to (finally!) retreat from combat... which you might need if you wander into the new Kerberos scenario.

Here's the list of changes:

• Added Kerberos storyline to DeadZone Drifter
• Can now load same image in transparent and non-transparent versions
• Monsters can power their own weapons
• Can now flee from combat by using an exit
• Attackers will move a bit so you can tell who's attacking
• Added AttackInvocation
• Added COMBATROUND script trigger
• Added error message to gear loader if unknown command encountered
• Activated the BioCorp biotech hunting mission
• Added missing formatting for many tarot memos
• Nerf Charge Attack, which was incorrectly not rescaled during the previous health and damage scale adjustment in 0.542.

As usual, try it out and let me know what you think.