Village Monsters Alpha 1.02 Demo – Out Now!
Happy Waning Gibbous, Y'all
No full moon? Big deal! I can release a new demo whenever I want, and that's exactly what I've done!
Ok, so this is just Alpha 1.02 which still contains the core features of Alpha 1, but it also includes some much-needed bugfixing, polish, and even a few new features!
As with Alpha 1, it comes with the usual warnings: there's plenty of missing content, placeholder features, bugs, and more.
If you haven't heard yet, there is a Kickstarter coming for Village Monsters tomorrow, September 12th. As such, this very well might be the last public pre-release demo. All Kickstarter backers at a certain tier will continue to get these free demos every couple months, but if that's not for you, don't fret - a final public demo will be released before the game in October 2018!
Alpha 1.02 Changes
This is patch release for the main Alpha 1 release. For full notes related to Alpha 1, head to that section below
- MAJOR: Added a skeletal version of the quests system and added the first quest to meet all the villagers
- Find the quests system in the Log tab of the Compendium
- MAJOR: Added potion-like effects to several food items
- Fixed an issue with the abandoned house registering as "indoors"
- Fixed some weird interior tiles
- Fixed an issue where some picket fences lack collision
- Fixed an issue where menus would popup while submitting feedback via the mailbox
- Fixed a rare crash related to selling an item
- Added indoor lighting to some houses that lacked it. Sorry for leaving you in the dark, villagers!
- Made the raft inaccessible as it was causing more issues than it was worth
- Adjusted several collision boxes to make more sense
- Adjusted draw radius to be a bit less aggressive
- Improved UI to for the Home Customizer and Cooking Tools
- Added a better cooldown to the cooking pot to prevent re-opening it immediately afterward
- Even more new critters
- Even more new furniture
- Lots of mischievousness bug fixes
Alpha 1.01 Changes
This is patch release for the main Alpha 1 release. For full notes related to Alpha 1, head to that section below
- Fixed a common crash bug related to thunderstorms
Alpha 1.00 Changes
Village & Outskirts
Village
- Major: Much of the village has been rearranged or changed to accommodate new features
- Four new houses have been added to the residential district
- A new shop, the General Store run by Bottes, has been added to the village
- The still-unnamed Treasure Chest merchant has been changed to only sell furniture
- Stapes & Saley finally turned that weird old skull into a proper house
- New decorations - like new rocks, trees and flowers - have been added about the village
- Benches have also been added throughout the village
- A new town plaza has been added near the Historical Society
- Graves have been added to the church. It's creeping everybody out
- More lightning has been added around town
Lake
- A mysterious old tower has been added to the Lake west of town
Forest
- A new forest has been added to the west of town
Beach
- A new area, the Beach, has been added south of town. Enjoy watching dancing palm trees and kick a beach ball around
- The villager Pots has decided to move to the Driftwood House at the Beach
- You can go fishing in the ocean
- A whoopie pie truck has been spotted at the beach. I bet it sells whoopie pies!
Overlook
- A new area, the Overlook, has been added east of town
The Ruins of Soon
- An in-game record of future features has been added to the game. It's called the Ruins of Soon
Other
- The player no longer auto-enters closed doors (like when trying to enter a house from the outside)
- Instead, press A to open it up - assuming it's unlocked
- All interiors have had shadows added to give them a better feel
Villagers
- Major: Most villagers now have additional things to say after the 1st day passes
- More dialog will be added in an upcoming patch
- New collisions have been added to each villager
Villagers
- The following new villagers have moved in:
- Rainboy, the Elemental
- Bavarian, the Blob Chef
- Serin, the Tree inside Overflow
- Lucy, the Artistic Golem
- New dialog and portraits have been added for each new villager
Merchants
- You can now sell items at Bottes' store (the General Store)
- Many new items and furniture are now available to buy
Creatures
Critters
- MAJOR: A new behavior for ground critters has been added
- MAJOR: Critters may flee for good if you scare them too much
- Several new critters have been created
- Dusty
- Capricious Cumulus
- *hearts
- Many more
- Stop reading this! Go find them!
Flavor Creatures
- A new bird, the Sparrow, has been added to the skies
- A new bird, the Fat Chicken, has been added to the ground
- A strange 'bird' has also been added to the skies
Hobbies
- There is now a confirmation dialogue before donating items to the Historical Society
Critter Collection
- MAJOR: Captured critters can now be tamed into pets via the Pet Bowl furniture item
- Pets can be fed to reduce their wildness and make them more friendly
- SFX plays when the net is swung
Botany
- MAJOR: A new hobby, Botany, has been added to the game
- Plant fruit at various dirt mounds to grow fruit trees
- Water planted trees each day to ensure they grow
- Once they reach full maturity, fruit trees can produce additional fruit
Cooking
- MAJOR: A new hobby, Cooking, has been added to the game
- It's quite basic, but bring 3 food items to the cooking put inside your home to whip something up
Player House
Customization
- MAJOR: Furniture placement has been completely overhauled
- Press and hold C (Keyboard) or Y (Gamepad) to turn on Customization Mode
- While in Customization Mode, walk up to a furniture and press Z (Keyboard) or A (Gamepad) to move it around
- You may move furniture with the arrow keys, mouse, or right analog stick
- C (Keyboard) or Y (Gamepad) again to turn off Customization Mode
- Placing a furniture (that you bought at the store) now places you in Customizing Mode automatically
- Helper text has been added to make it easier to navigate customizer mode
Furniture
- Many, many new furniture items have been added to both the store and villager homes
Other
- A new player-specific mailbox has been added in front of the player's shack
- On occasion, the player may receive mail. The mailbox indicates new mail
- A morning news program has been added to the television
- Tune in to hear random headlines from the village and elsewhere
Systems
Weather
- A new weather type, Hail, has been added
- A new particle effect was added to represent hail on the ground
- MAJOR: A new system, Mail, has been added to the game
- New UI (letterhead) has been added to support letters
- On occasion, the player will receive mail from villagers
- The player will also receiver mail from the mayor before a special event
- Players may go to the red mailbox near town hall to submit game feedback via the mail system
- Mail sent via this system will be actually emailed to me, so make use of it!
Items
- The bounding box that detects item interaction has been made easier to hit
- Some items have been renamed
Food
- Many new fruits have been added to eat
Potions
- MAJOR: A new type of item, Potions, have been added to the game
- Potions can have major or silly effects to the player and game systems when consumed
- Potion of Transparency: Makes you transparent and prevents critters from fleeing from you
- Potion of Tepid Torpality: Time progresses slower for awhile
- Potion of Posthaste Passage: Time progresses faster for awhile
- Potion of Fast Feet: You move quicker for awhile
- Potion of Fewer Features: You temporarily become a silhouette
Treasures
- New ore and treasures have been created and seeded around town. Happy hunting!
User Interface
- Major: A new screen is now displayed at the end of each day. It displays some flavor text and a tip for getting the most out of the game
- Major: A new title screen is now displayed at game start
- All fonts in the game have been replaced by Peepo, a pixel-font
- Using a pixel font means that this is now officially an indie game
Dialogue
- MAJOR: Dialogues may now have choices which triggers branching dialogue and other actions
Inventory
- MAJOR: Item Cards have been added for each item to display vital information
- Item cards contain sprites, type, descriptions, and flavor text
- Some item contain stories, and you can flip the card to view it
- A new row has been added to the inventory for mail management
Compendium
- A new page, the Village Map, has been added to the Compendium
- The player's current location should be properly reflected on the map...but no promises
- A new page, the World Map, has been added to the Compendium
- A new page, the Log, has been added to the Compendium
- A new page, the Calendar, has been added to the Compendium
- The Calendar tracks the current day, elapsed days, and marks upcoming events
- The Calendar is otherwise very basic
System Menu
- A new system menu has been added when Escape is pressed
- The game will no longer close immediately after hitting Escape
- The system menu can be controlled via the keyboard even when in Gamepad mode
- You can now toggle the music on / off from the System Menu
Other
- Months have been renamed and updated where appropriate
Improvements
Village & Outskirts
- New interior tilesets have been created to create better variation
- Grass has been added to the base of trees to make them more...uh...natural?
- Trees now have a cooldown before you can shake them again
- Shadows have been added to every building, decoration, and entity in the village
- Collision boxes for each building have been adjusted
Village
- The town tavern, Overflow, has been completely redone and improved
- This includes an actual interior complete with bar & kegs
- Skunkwork's treasure chest merchant shop has been recolored and redesigned to be a bit less garish
Historical Society
- You can now donate treasure-based items again at each pedestal
Crossroads
- The crossroads has been improved and rearranged to accommodate new areas
- Signs have been added to the Crossroads to make it easier to navigate
Player & Dog
- A new SFX has been added for indoor footsteps
- A new walk speed, called "Walk" has been added for keyboard users
- Toggle it with Control
Dog
- You may now interact with the dog like all the other villagers
- The dog's portrait has been fixed
- The dog sprite has been improved. It should no longer look like she's wearing lipstick
Creatures
- Generally, ground-based creatures should no longer spawn in the middle of water
- They still might want to go for an occasional dip, though
Critters
- Full animations have been added to the Coldsteel Hedgehog
- Full animations have been added to the Pocket Horse
- Full animations have been added to the Beholden
- Critters now properly collide when indoors
- (no promises for outdoors)
- The Sap Fly now have a proper behavior
- The Sun Fly has been renamed the Watt Fly
- The gnome now has a shadow and animation
Flavor Creatures
- All flying flavor creatures have been completely redone to be less ugly
Hobbies
- Hobby tools now have proper "use" animations
- Hotkeys have been added to each tool to quickly bring up via the keyboard
- 1 = Bug Net, 2 = Shovel, etc.
Fishing
- MAJOR: The fish system, including line strength and fish stamina, has been completely reworked and improved
- Fishing has also been rebalanced to be a bit easier
- Labels and values have been added to the line strength and fish stamina bars
- While a fish is hooked, you may be prompted to move the rod to the left or right
- Success in following the prompt gives you a bonus to line strength, while failure gives you a penalty
- Fish now fade in over time, and properly fade out at random intervals
- The fish has been improved, though you probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't said anything
Whistle
- The player no longer moves while the Whistle is in use
Watering Can
- A new tool, the Watering Can, has been added
Player House
Furniture
- The initial player home has been changed to include some new furniture items
- Furniture now has a basic hierarchy: Toppers (like lamps, flowers) may now be placed on Surfaces (tables, shelves) or the floor.
- The rug has been made a proper object and no longer is scaled weird
- It's no longer possible to move furniture by mouse - it was only annoying people
Systems
- MAJOR: All systems have been migrated to the "Director" model, allowing for far more robust and interesting interactions with the player, the world, and each other
Weather
- Temperature now has more granularity, and changes with weather instead of with time
- Weather particle effects have been optimized and more evenly distributed around the player
- Weather changes only occur when there's a new weather type (as opposed to every time the time changes)
- This prevents issues where it briefly stops raining only to start raining again
Time
- Time change effects now occur via events
- The player automatically warps back to their house when the day is over
Music & Sound Effects
- Music is now properly refreshed as time and days progress
- All weather sound effects now play inside at a muted volume
- Thunder now plays even while indoors
- A new sound effect plays for the Hail weather type
- The ocean has special ambient ocean sounds
- The village will now experience the occasional random birdsong
- Birds that fly overhead will also now occasional chirp if the player is close enough
Items
- All items have improved descriptions, flavor text, icons, and story
- The lantern has been adjusted to display correctly
Food
- Fruits have been turned into cubular shapes. I don't know why.
Controls
- Keyboard controls have been massively improved
- Movement is handed via the arrow keys
User Interface
- Player movement and time passage are now paused when menus are open
Dialogue
- The portrait name is now properly centered
Inventory
- MAJOR: The inventory has been completely revamped in style and function
- You may now hold many more items than before
- Upon using an item, the item 'cursor' will automatically move to the next available item
- The graphical look of the inventory has been vastly improved
- The inventory can be toggled off via the Cancel action
- The inventory is automatically closed when an item is used
- Context-sensitive buttons are now displayed in each item card
- A new inventory mode, Pick Mode, has been added, and is used when prompt to select an item
- A new inventory mode, Sell Mode, has been added, and is used when items are being sold
- By default, the Bits (currency) counter is hidden until the inventory is toggled
- The Bits counter is also temporarily displayed whenever you add or remove Bits
- It is no longer possible to "Use" items without first opening the inventory (it was too annoying)
- Using an item is now handled via the Z key or A button
- The image speed of sprites should be a lot less weird
Notifications
- Item descriptions have been removed from notifications, as it was very dumb of me to leave them there
- Notifications have been resized and improved
- Notifications have an animation when created
- Notifications time out based on rarity of event (rare notices take longer to disappear)
- New notifications always stay in the same place as old notifications rotate out
- A notification is created upon meeting a villager for the first time
New Area Notice
- The new area graphic has been replaced by a wooden motif
- The new area notice now animate
Compendium
- Each section has a new label identifying it
Clock / Calendar
- New icons have been added for each weather type
- The calendar icon has been improved
- Drawing of the clock and calendar have been generally optimized
Technical
Camera
- The camera surface properly resizes and refresh with each new room
- A new dynamic camera has been added to make things feel smoother and more relaxed
Collision
- A new, faster collision system has been implemented
- Many collisions for objects have been adjusted
Debug
- The version number is now always displayed in the top left corner
Other
- A custom sprite scaling function has been added to scale sprites in a less goofy way
- A number of unused sprites have been removed fromt he game
Bug Fixes
- MAJOR: A common crash related to critter spawning has been fixed
- MAJOR: Many crashes related to "Using" some items has now been fixed
- MAJOR: A crash related to speaking with some villagers twice has now been fixed
- A rare crash related to the furniture balloon has been fixed
- A rare crash related to fishing has been fixed
- It is no longer possible to place furniture outside (whoops)
- It is no longer possible to place furniture inside other houses (haha, my bad again)
- Movement during room transitions have been fixed
- Trees should no longer trap you in an eternal leafy embrace
- Trying to use an item without a use no longer closes the inventory
- The bug net will no longer catch bugs if it's not being swung (don't ask)
- Rooms properly fade in on load
- The Capsule machine should be a lot less crashy
- Issues related to weather changing have been resolved
- Weather particles better track the player on map edges
- Lightning no longer occurs indoors
- A slight delay has been added to opening or closing the inventory to prevent weird behavior
- Fish should no longer 'escape' the fishing UI element
- Items in the inventory will now properly clear out if you use multiple of the same item
- Crashes related to picking up some gatherable items has been fixed
- The dog ball (and fetching) should work once again
- Sunflower layering has been fixed
- General layering issues have also mostly been fixed
- The Ornamental Beetle should no longer look like a total weirdo when spawned on trees
- Town lights should now turn on properly even when you aren't in town
Files
Get Village Monsters
Village Monsters
Escape to a carefree and colorful village where the monsters are your friends.
Status | In development |
Author | Josh Bossie |
Genre | Simulation |
Tags | Exploration, Fishing, Life Simulation, monster-love, Nonlinear, Pixel Art, Relaxing, Sandbox, Slice Of Life, Story Rich |
Languages | English |
More posts
- Villagers Monsters v1.11 + Steam Autumn Sale (Already???)Nov 22, 2023
- Update on Apple version + Patch v1.11Nov 19, 2023
- Major Update & 66% Off: Village Monsters v1.1Nov 06, 2023
- State of the Village, vol. 5 - Holiday HarborNov 25, 2022
- State of the Village, vol. 4 - Backed Up & RunningSep 22, 2022
- State of the Village, vol. 3 - Precious Little SleepAug 19, 2022
- State of the Village, vol. 2May 02, 2022
- Village Monsters v1.06Apr 06, 2022
- State of the VillageMar 29, 2022
- Village Monsters v1.05 + A Quick NoteMar 27, 2022
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