[h1]This is a copy of our v022b release post for early adopters over on Itch and GOG.[/h1] Welcome explorers! Yeah I know, dev times for this “micro patch” were f’n brutal. We sincerely apologize to those expecting a quicker turnaround. We had a lot happen during this patch, stuff like lead staff leaving and new staff coming in, moving houses, funerals, etc. Sometimes real life just kicks you in the gonads. However, the dev part of the patch also threw us into a loop, the proposed timeframe for updating the doll system to its final form was 2-3 weeks. In the end, that whole process, including the debugging and tweaking took 3 months. [h2]Time Well Spent[/h2] So why did it take so long? The older doll system was pretty unique, for one sex pose - let's take doggy in this example - required a start/intro, a slow, medium, and fast core loop, a finisher, and post-finisher animations for each pose, for each participant. The game using its tracking and needs data for each NPC would then choose which animations to play based on their stamina, their lust, etc. It was stupidly complicated and created a lot of tech debt and jank. Mons would not be synced correctly, or they would not animate long enough for player discovery. Instead, we ripped all that away (including the NPC needs), and built the sex system off the back of the Smart Object system. Now when a monster spawns, she is given 3 tasks, she seeks one out and does it. If someone enters a sex Smart Object, another mon is pushed to seek out and join, and voila, the sex magically works, jank-free. The removal of the old system required a lot of cleaning, and the new system needed a lot of tweaking. Some interesting examples we had to contend with during development include: [list] [*] Too many girls wanted to get some fuckywucky and it made the world very underpopulated. [*] Too many girls are obsessed with coming over and over. [*] The bees are too horny and ruining threesomes by overcrowding. [*] Girls sliding around the world jerking off. [*] Girls gain the power of flight after they cum. [/list] 17 unique sex animations are being added to the game which include Female x Female, Futa x Female/Futa, and Futa x Tiny (bee). It is worth pointing out that while we do support the removal of all Futa content from the game your play experience will be vastly different from the intended design. For the best results please use Medium or High Futa spawn rates. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/9648d9619586727036254bb0a0acc9f2c673d88c.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/774bf4b2f515122ba5669d1267252b78b96f374f.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/83f1bbd11c234896c759590f36125d9d27fd213d.png[/img] It is also far from being completed as well, we made the unfortunate discovery that because our generic animation rig is too different from what the monster girls look like, every animation is off by like 10 centimeters, so penetrations are not what we intend for them to be. The solution for this is to redo all the animations with a monster girl-sized animation rig instead, so that will be pushed into the next patch. [h2]New Features for v022b[/h2] After all the doll system overhaul, there is a lot more added to the game that is worth discussing. The first big addition is the new fluid cum system. Now when the ladies goo they actually goo! Naturally, we have a few different ways this can impact the performance of your computer as it is a fluid simulation that mathematically sticks to models - very difficult to build that - it will shoot from the right place, cover whatever it lands on, combine, and stick to models. If you turn off the fluids to save GPU power you will instead get a sprite spray which, won’t stick to much, but it still looks nice. Especially the Bee girl, she can get absolutely covered in batter. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/1ffb69d8862352838cd9b25a4407681b2bfdfbba.jpg[/img] We also fixed the floating hand jerk-off issue as well using an IK system which directs the tip of dongs into the right holes/hands. However, because model sizes are slightly different the actual execution will vary. We plan to normalize all the models going forward so these slight deviations won't be an issue. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/1956896318d653feef65ccfe46a30f066eb20337.png[/img] Grass now dynamically flattens around sex acts in the game, we might need to come back to this as it can look a little wonky at times when you zoom in from a distance but the flattening is very useful for taking clearer shots when you’re on the same level as your subjects. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/4b983c02a0ae534dc5d290a8f7406b37c007d7d5.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/4c9d501a95934dfbaf08ac2432bff42c619c5249.jpg[/img] Sex now has sound! Plaps, slaps, penetrations, and ejaculations are now dynamically added to the audio soundscapes, you will be able to find sex happening around you just by keeping your ears open. We have also added a temp vocal track to the sex as well, which is mostly used to give us an idea of what exactly needs to be recorded via actresses as it is also a dynamic system. Plus a bunch more smaller fixes! [list] [*] Jamie has a brand new locomotion which makes her far more feminine. [*] Monster Girls will not be aware of the player's presence while they are asleep, they will wake up if you make noise or startle another girl. [*] Upgraded the engine to Unreal v5.4.2. [*] Corrected a boatload of shapekey errors for Monster Girl faces. [*] Updated lighting models to improve nighttime visibility. [*] Map light sources and props have been overhauled. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39700782/134c9f49b643a068f2657567e04d603c9a84213f.jpg[/img] And that about sums up everything in this “micro patch”. Our next focus should include a lot more interesting gameplay mechanics as we will be turning our attention to the Predator AI system and how that flows into the current gameplay. Here is a short list of our next patch goals. [list] [*] Mating tab for Monpedia for all species. [*] Predator AI system. [*] Predator spawning system. [*] Predator capture and animation system. [*] Failure state for capture. [*] Torn clothing system and dripping fluids. [*] Temp action on wardrobe to replace torn clothing. [*] Implement tentacle plant capture and penetration animations along with bee and activation AI. [/list] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1526900/Sapphire_Safari/ I hope you all enjoy the patch! Be sure to send in feedback if ya got it!