The Codex has reviewed the post apocalyptic survival rogue-like Neo Scavenger: Some snippets:

Apparently, the world has gone to hell while you slept, and so you must set on a journey to find some answers. Why were you frozen? What's your name? What happened to the world? And where can you find some clothes?

Since you begin the game barefoot, wearing only a hospital gown and a strange necklace, you'll probably want to begin by finding an answer to that last question. NEO Scavenger features a robust survival system that requires you to regularly eat, drink, sleep, protect yourself from the cold, and treat wounds & diseases. The various bars on the left-hand side of the screen indicate your current condition, and you can bet that the body temperature bar will quickly drop if you waltz half-naked across the wastes half-naked during a rainstorm. To survive, you must find clothing, as well as food & water, tools, and weapons with which to defend yourself.

To do so, you'll traverse the map hex by hex, searching for places to scavenge, while hiding from hostile scavengers, mutants and other horrors. The game is turn-based, and on every turn, you can walk a certain distance, determined by your traits (an Athletic character can walk farther, a Feeble one less) and by the terrain. Plains are easier to cross, while traversing forests or hills will likely take a full turn each. The various terrain types have additional characteristics as well – standing on top of a hill allow you to see farther, forests allow you to hide with ease and to collect berries and wood, rivers, lakes and swamps allow you to collect water (that may or not be potable), and the various city locations and ruins offer places for you to scavenge.

There are various types of city locations on the world map, and each will offer a different set of scavenging opportunities. In ruins, you'll find mostly crumbling apartments and offices, which might contain loot, but whose ceilings might also fall down on your head and injure you. In small towns, you'll find abandoned houses, trailers and storage sheds, with less loot but also less danger. Big cities offer a wide variety of scavenging locations, usually in higher quantity.

(...)

In any survival game that seeks to truly maintain tension, permadeath is almost mandatory. The choice between eating some potentially poisonous berries or enduring starvation for a few more turns while searching for safer food is an intense life-and-death dilemma under these circumstances, something that could never be achieved if you could just eat the berries and reload if they proved themselves poisonous. However, if a game is going to enforce such a harsh punishment for death, it should be designed in such a way that deaths are always fair, a result of a bad decision or of an incapability to provide an adequate solution to a challenge.

That's where things get a bit tricky in NEO Scavenger. Surviving battles, diseases, dehydration and starvation is not as straightforward here as in other games, since there's no status screen showing you your exact state. In other RPGs, it’s usually quite easy to stay safe by doing a bit of math – “poison ticks for 5 seconds/turns, each tick for 3 damage, I still have 18 HP so I’m ok” – but NEO Scavenger doesn’t offer that. Some would call this unfair, but I disagree. The game is forthcoming with information - you know you are dying of hypothermia and must find shelter and heat. It just doesn't tell you how many turns you'll last. If you die, it's still due to your failure to provide an adequate solution.

What really make NEO Scavenger unfair are its quests, and the dead ends and instadeath choices that come with them.

The game's main quest is almost as obfuscated as its mechanics and has a heavy S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-like atmosphere. As you travel the wasteland, you'll find old newspapers from which you can try to piece together the events that led to this apocalyptic scenario. And once night falls, your character will see only darkness – except for a glow in the eastern sky, a possible sign of civilization. The world map is huge (though disappointingly empty), and surviving the long walk towards the glow is the first major step in your quest to find out what happened to the world and to yourself.

During this quest you'll face various CYOA-like events, and that's where things get complicated. In tight situations, having the right skills/items and making the correct choices will allow you to survive unharmed – and maybe even get some bonus loot – while a less stellar performance might leave you severely injured, with broken ribs, or even diseased. That's all well and good in a survival game like this. What isn't so good is how making the wrong choices can (and will) outright kill you. For example, at one point midway through the storyline, a character asked me to take one of three trials: Light, Water or Fire. A wrong choice in this event can lead to your death.

Blue Bottle Games released a new patch for Neo Scavenger this week. The new patch will add afw more stability fixes, and allow moddable campaigns to be played.

The major changes to watch out for include:

• Moddable DMC locations.
• Moddable starting date, hex, and climate.
• Smarter item-dropping code (uses campsite if ground is full)
• Improved trackpad/touchscreen support.
• Several stability fixes.

As always, if there are any issues with the new build, let me know on the forums!

BuckGB of GameBanshee published a new review this week for Neo Scavenger.

I don't play roguelike games very often.  My preference is to play games with enveloping stories and memorable characters and meaningful dialogue, and that's not what roguelikes usually try to deliver.  NEO Scavenger starts out looking like it might be something new, an RPG with a fixed campaign and an otherwise random world, but all-too-quickly the campaign flatlines, and all you're left with are the random elements, which aren't strong enough to make up an entire game on their own.

Still, NEO Scavenger has the kernel of a game inside, it's still being updated, and it's not very expensive.  It also has a demo, so you can try it out for little or no cost and see if the random elements work better for you than they did for me.  But my take is, if you're going to try out a budget title, and if you want something reasonably new, then you're much better off going with Legend of Grimrock II or even Lords of Xulima than NEO Scavenger.

Blue Bottle Games released a new test build for Neo Scavenger this week. The new patch will add more modding enhancements, and fix a bunch of known bugs.

Most of the above are bug fixes and usability/performance enhancements. They should make the game run smoother and with less hassle.

The new modding stuff should allow for some more interesting and deep customization of the game world.

The likelihood that this version of NEO Scavenger will work with previous saves is: likely. As usual, the older the save game version, the less likely it is to work.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

After two weeks off for the holidays Blue Bottle Games posted a new update wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and talks about the games development.

I hope everyone had a good holiday break. It was a much-needed 2 weeks of rest for me, even though I fretted over ignoring the forums and broke down occasionally to visit :)

By all accounts, the NEO Scavenger launch appears to have been a success! I had a few days of strong sales before Steam's Holiday Sale. Once the Holiday Sale kicked in, sales did drop some, but remained healthy during. Plus, sales seem to be holding for now in the Holiday Sale wake. In the past (Beta/Early Access launches), there was more of a tapering off, so this early plateau probably means there is a significant buzz about the game.

And speaking of buzz, I've been contacted by quite a few more reviewers in the past weeks, so we may see some more coverage soon. I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out!

Of course, I can't rest on my laurels just yet. Quite a few bugs were reported since launch, and modders could still use some new toys, so time to roll up them sleeves...

A site by then of the The Lobbi had a chance to interview Neo Scavenger’s developer Daniel Fedo, and ask him a few questions about this game.

I know you worked for BioWare previously, can you tell us a little bit about your career and the games you’ve worked on?

Sure. I think I wanted to get into games as early as junior university, but it took me seven years after that to get the job at BioWare. BioWare was my first gig making games, and that was a tech artist—creating tools that help artists make their assets faster. Towards the end of that career I switched to a producer role because I wanted to get more creatively involved in games. Over the course of that career (at BioWare) I started on Dragon Age: Origins and then that tailed into Dragon Age 2 for a brief time. Then (when I switched to a producer) I moved from Edmonton over to Montreal as they were starting to ramp up that office, and that’s where the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer team was working.

But it was actually a small, experimental project that enticed me into the producer role, and that one never got released. There was also an engine project that was (in development) before Dragon Age, and that’s actually what I was hired for.

I understand that you plan to continue updating Neo Scavenger after you get back from your holiday vacation, but now that Neo Scavenger is released I’m wondering if you’ve given any thought to what you’d like to work on next?

Yes. I have a list of priorities, or likelihoods depending on how you look at it. My first item on that list is probably a tablet edition of Neo Scavenger. I’ve received a lot of requests for iPad or Android version of the game, and I can totally see why. It’s a very slow paced, or at your own pace game, where if you’re just sitting on the bus you can take your time with each turn and walk away whenever you need to. That seems like a good fit, and I’d like to see if that’s possible.

There’s also foreign language (localization), and I’ve received numerous requests and offers for translating the game, so that’s something else I’d like to look into. Although, the sheer volume of text and UI issues just for English has made me a bit nervous about that.

(As far as other games) I’ve had a list ever since I was a kid, and there’s a lot on that list but I doubt most of it will ever get made. I’d like to do more games in the Neo Scavenger universe, direct sequels as well as vignettes and other stories happening around the Neo Scavenger universe.

I think it would be cool to have a detective or gum-shoot story set in Detroit since that’s a pretty big location in the game. I’ve hinted at there being a pre-apocalyptic space economy, and I’d kind of like to explore how that work have developed and evolved as Earth became the mess that it is. So, there’s a lot out there yet to do and I think the hard part will be finding time to do it.

Neo Scavenger is now available on GOG for those who don't want to buy a Steam Copy.

NEO Scavenger, is a game where you must survive in the wasteland long enough to figure out who you are. Each turn, you must decide where to go, how to scavenge for supplies, and how to deal with anything and anyone you encounter. And with each passing minute, the pit in your stomach grows, your dehydration worsens, your muscles tire, and your body temperature drops in the cold autumn air. A mix of sandbox and story play, with random content and character customization ensures each replay is different. The game provides realistic survival simulation, with complex wounds and treatments, illnesses, hunger, thirst, warmth, and carrying capacity. Death is permanent!

Kyrer let us know that Neo Scavenger releases today.  If you'll recall, it's a post-apocalyptic scavenging/survival game with a retro feel.

NEO Scavenger is my first commercially released game, and is a sort of love letter to the pen and paper role-playing games I grew up playing. In it, the player takes on the role of a character who wakes up in a strange facility where the world has experienced some cataclysm. Using their wits and anything they can scavenge from their surroundings, they explore this strange wasteland, piecing together clues about their past.

It's a hard game, where the player must take care to think of everything from dressing appropriately to disinfecting wounds. The story will not come spoon-fed to you, and the game will not hold your hand. But for those who are persistent and clever, rewards and answers await!

More information.

Dan Fedor of Blue Bottle Games did a new audio interview on Infinite Lives.

Dan Fedor once again to talk shop about NEO Scavenger, releasing games, early access, and reading rulebooks.

Blue Bottle Games has released a new build for Neo Scavenger. I know the developer posts a bunch of updates every week, but this one is about end game content.

That's right you can now finish the games campaign. Here the list of changes,

Blue Bottle Games released another Beta build for Neo Scavenger players to test this week, and here is the information straight from the games website.

The biggest update is the new ending. There's a new encounter location on the map, and the plot ending can be reached through it. Some changes have been made to other encounter locations and items, tying them into this new place. Also, I've edited many of the random encounters so they don't imply the player knows more than they should, since the player has amnesia.

Warning: The ending is still fairly experimental, and may have issues. You may want to back up your save file before entering the new location, just in case you encounter a dead-end or other error. Also, I'm interested to hear what you think of it after trying it out!

Furthermore, a handful of new items have been added to the game. Some are mundane, like the humble potato chip bag, while others are more unique or useful, like the roadmap or special keys.

Scavenging got a big update, with each urban hex now guaranteed to have more scavenge choices initially. Forest shacks are once again guaranteed to at least start with one building to search, as well.

AI battle moves have been reprioritized, to make them more consistent and effective. DMC guards should now flag unwitting players less often. Several bugs were fixed, including armor penetration and ATN cannibal warnings. And modders will want to note some of the new features, such as "aThresholds" and the ability to both add and remove map text now.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

Blue Bottle Games released another Beta build for Neo Scavenger players to test this week,and here is the information straight from the games website.

Looks like the game is slowly reaching 1.0 status.

Updates Included in the Test Beta

Test beta 0.9936b includes the following changes:

• Added recipe for lit smudge stick.
• Added code to prevent AI looting important hex objects.
• Changed "Search" move to start weak, and to stack effects over time.
• Changed UVDs to degrade silently.
• Changed "Reveal Self" move to require AI Intelligence, so animals don't do it.
• Changed confiscation box to have more space and arrange items largest-first, to reduce lost items.
• Fixed a bug that caused Blue Rot 2 recursion.
• Fixed a bug that prevented bags from going into travois.
• Fixed a bug in Creature.DropItem that re-added same object instead of remainder.
• Fixed a bug that caused overflowing item stacks to sometimes be missing overflow item sprite.
• Fixed typos in Merga Wraith/Realm encounters.

Most of these changes were to stabilize issues found in the most recent build. In particular, infinite Blue Rot 2 and hiding/searching taking too many turns to work. These changes should hopefully smooth out that roughness.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

Blue Bottle Games released another Beta build for Neo Scavenger players to test this week,and here is the information from the games website.

Updates Included in the Test Beta

Test beta 0.9934b includes the following changes:

• Fixed a bug that caused RTG power cell to be replaced by other battery type.
• Fixed a bug that caused campsites to double-count stats from stacked items.
• Fixed a bug that caused blisters to increase movement instead of decrease.
• Fixed a bug that caused resolution-switching to mess up when switching between 4:3 and Small GUI.
• Fixed a bug that caused head slot container space to be visible in top left corner.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

Blue Bottle Games has a few more updates for Neo Scavenger. I found the following one the most important one this week as the developer updates his blog daily.

The post has infomation about a new test build, and more bug fixes.

New Test Build 0.9931b: Fixes and Balance Patch

I've just finished uploading new test beta 0.9931b, which fixes and balances several of the issues found in the most recent major update (v0.993b).

Updates Included in the Test Beta

Test beta 0.9931b includes the following changes:

    Added new item property 88 to ignore subgroups when stacking items. (e.g. like recipes and headlines)
    Added code to make chance of disease transfer in battle depend on ratio of current range to transfer range.
    Changed creature spawning rates to be weighted by new "fWeight" field in game data.
    Changed creature spawning rates to reduce skewing towards creatures with variants (e.g. Blue Frogs).
    Fixed Blue Rot, Smallpox, Pneumonia, and Hepatitis from stacking multiple stages on same creature.
    Fixed a bug that caused override data to be ignored when applied to template-based items (e.g. camps, data).
    Fixed a bug that caused craft confirm button tooltip on non-crafting pages sometimes.
    Fixed a bug that caused crafted output items to be missing software sometimes.
    Fixed a bug that caused "SetImmunity" to ignore ID namespaces in mods.
    Fixed a bug that caused return to Zom Zom's to delete confiscated items.
    Fixed a bug that caused confiscate to throw null pointer error if used a second time during a play session. (e.g. Zom Zom's stuck bug)
    Fixed typo in Zom Zom's.
    Fixed a bug that caused gas mask cartridges to not fit on ground.

Most of these are fixes for improved stability, though a few should make modding more effective. The rest are primarily balance tweaks.

Blue Rot was becoming a bit too common and lethal, so I reduced the chances of transmitting it in battle. That, and I also adjusted creature spawn rates so we saw more regionally-significant creatures, instead of seeing more creatures simply because they had lots of variants to choose from.

A small website by the name of No Crisis Yet posted a new podcast for Neo Scavenger.

Ben wheels and deals across the Caribbean in Black Flag while Jon explores overgrown, apocalyptic Michigan. A computer almost melts through the floor and Wario strikes back.

Blue Bottle Games has a few more updates for Neo Scavenger. I found the following two the most important ones this week so let's get started with the updates.

The first update is about the new Beta Update.

 Beta Build Now 0.9922b

Since it has been relatively stable, I've just finished updating the default builds to 0.9922b on all sites. The "test" links are no longer necessary, and have been removed for now. The major changes to watch out for include:

• Loot frequency changes.
• New t-shirt design winners and duffle bag items.
• New item sound effects.
• New Game Over screen.
• ATN now more strict with its services.
• Mod-merging is supported (see included readme.txt and modding forum)
• Several bug fixes in both modding system and vanilla game.

As always, if there are any issues with the new build, let me know on the forums!

The second update is about gas masks, immunity, poison, and sound effects.

I've already mentioned gas masks, and I finally got those working today. One of the trickier things about gas masks is that they don't take electricity or other discrete items as charges. Rather, they slowly wear down a charge over time and use. I.e. their filters get worn out, and eventually need replacing.

This required a change to the discharge system, so I added a new charge profile field called "bDegrade." Items using a charge profile with this set to true will deduct item durability from the charges, rather than whole charges. Hence, the air filters in the gas mask will gradually approach 0%, and once they do, the gas mask stops providing benefit.

Related to this feature is the concept of immunity. For the gas mask to be useful, it needs to stop certain conditions from being applied. This is pretty easy to simulate in encounters, but almost impossible in regular gameplay. Since exploring hostile environments can be done on the map, and combat may include disease or toxins, I needed to add a special way to block conditions.

This turned out to be pretty easy, fortunately. I just added a new creature field called "SetImmunity," and conditions can add/remove IDs to the list the creature should be immune to. For example, the nanorobotic medkit not only removes gastroenteritis, but it can prevent the virus from incubating while the dosage is still active.

I also started working on another hazard which ties together the new gas mask with the existing Great Black Swamp area. Since the swamp is meant to be doused in toxic exfoliant, it makes sense that areas of that region should have dangerous atmospheric conditions. I'm hoping to make the gas mask useful in these cases, as well as in protecting against airborne diseases (which some creatures may be carrying in the future).

I think I've got the toxic fume effects figured out, and I've started codifying them. As part of this change, I separated the abdominal pains from poisoning so that other conditions could share the symptom. And as a result, poison is now a hidden condition. Players can still see the visible symptoms (abdominal pains, diarrhea), but it won't say "you have poison stage 2" anymore. Similarly, this new airborne toxin is likely to cause variable symptoms, but won't warn the player "you have exfoliant poisoning." The player will have to recognize that the headaches, vomiting, and other symptoms are an issue.

Finally, I took inventory of the remaining sound effects that were missing on items today, and organized that for Paul. He recently sent a new batch of sounds for some plastic items, berries, mushrooms, and such, and I hope to have those hooked up soon.

Blue Bottle Games posted a new update for Neo Scavenger with information on new faction tech, more mod fixes, and the next Beta update.

New Faction Tech, Mod Fixes, Upcoming Beta

Hey Folks! Hope everyone had a good weekend. Our internet's still pretty flaky, so I'm going to type my news offline, and hope for a brief window to upload it.

First of all, v0.9922b seems like it might be good enough to replace v0.987b, so I'm going to try to do that this week. There are a few issues with it (there always are!), but I think the net package is an improvement over 0.987b.

For anyone worried about old v0.987b mods, you might be able to still use them with v0.9922b. I posted a sticky in the forums which explains how one can install new and old mods, in case your favorite mod hasn't been updated yet.

Obviously, with the internet connection unreliable, updates are going to be hard to do. I have a service tech coming from Shaw, but they won't get here until Friday. So I'll be limited in my internet until then.

Also, tomorrow (july 1st) is Canada day, so I won't be working. I should be back on Wednesday (July 2nd), however.

Finally, what did I do today? Well, I fixed a few bugs, for one thing. The "run" button had a few bugs that needed fixing, including extra fatigue penalties when in combat. So I took care of those.

There were also a couple mod-related bugs, which prevented certain mod content from working. Namely, battle moves were missing condition info, and recipes were sometimes breaking when overriding base recipes with mod ingredients. These have been fixed locally, and should make the next build (v0.993b and later).

I've also been working on some new code to support items that wear out other items when discharging. Most discharging items subtract whole items from their contents (like electric charges from batteries, or bullets from guns). However, some items wear down their charges instead (e.g. air filters in gas masks).

Since my new faction involves airborne toxins, I want to see if I can make gas masks more meaningful than just decorations. It would also let me add some more challenge to the Great Black Swamp, and open up the possibility of disease and airborne toxins. (Something I'm sure modders would use!)

So far, it's a bit flaky, though, so I need to work on it a bit more. If successful, I think it'll add another source of challenge and an interesting dimension to map travel/scavenging. More on this later.

Blue Bottle Games released another Beta build for Neo Scavenger players to test this week. Here is the information from the games website.

New Test Build 0.991b: More Modding Fixes, and OOO Monday

I've just finished uploading new test beta 0.991b, which fixes several additional issues found in the mod-loading system, as well as a few minor "vanilla game" bugs.

Updates Included in the Test Beta

Test beta 0.991b includes the following changes:

• Changed LoseRandomItem to accept property ID instead of nGroupID (to support mods better).
• Changed Add/Remove skill and trait conditions to be "Effect" type instead of "Field" type. To support modding IDs.
• Changed remapper to handle mod-sensitive IDs within condition effects.
• Fixed a bug that caused recipe loading to choose an out-of-index value. (Occasional stall during game load.)
• Fixed a bug that caused encounters to ignore new mod encounters as outcomes.
• Fixed a bug that caused items to be destroyed during crafting if inside containers that were destroyed.

The big updates here are some additional fixes to the mod-loading and ID remapping system. Some IDs (e.g. within condition effects, encounters) were not being properly remapped in mods. Some of those conditions have also been updated to be more compatible with modding IDs. (Eye augs, in particular.)

I also found and fixed two minor issues in the vanilla game involving game-loading crashes and crafting items disappearing.

Lastly, I will be out of the office Monday, and back on Tuesday. I'll be checking-in periodically, however, in case there are any problems over the weekend.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

Blue Bottle Games is getting close to finishing Neo Scavenger, and released beta build 0.989b for players to test yesterday. Here is the information from the games website.

New Test Build 0.989b: Bug Fixes and Gameplay Balancing

I've just finished uploading new test beta 0.989b, which includes the fix for save/load issues found in 0.988b, as well as several other fixes and gameplay balancing.

Updates Included in the Test Beta

Test beta 0.989b includes the following changes:

• Added Paul's new audio for spears, bows, plastic bottles, rifles, tarps, shards, and arrows.
• Added code to limit usage ATN food and healing services.
• Added "wait" battle move, to help new players see they can skip combat turns (especially when recovering and AI demands surrender).
• Changed shirt loot table so fur tunics and 3-dog-man t-shirts more rare.
• Changed container loot table so backpack, duffle, and first aid kit more rare.
• Changed junk loot table so sleds, carts, and painkillers more rare, and rubble/glass more common.
• Changed loot tables so drugs are more rare.
• Fixed a bug that caused save/load process to fail while loading games.
• Fixed a bug that caused Zom Zom's entrance to be missing after talking to Stoat.
• Fixed a bug that caused DMC map to zoom incorrectly when "Stretch" option was enabled.
• Fixed a bug that caused ATN store items to be unidentified.
• Fixed missing sounds in menu take/drop mode.
• Fixed temperature/comfort bar calibration.
• Fixed context menu size when in 4:3 mode.
• Fixed talisman conversation with ATN warrior if player already visited ATN.

The big update here is the fix for the save/load bug, which was preventing some games from loading. This was a bug in the mod-merging code I added, which caused newspapers to gradually shift their IDs until reaching an invalid number. Games should load correctly again in 0.989b.

I also made quite a few adjustments to game balance, especially loot frequency. This was based on both feedback and personal observation, and we'll see how the new rates feel. The ATN should also be a bit more strict now with free food and healthcare.

Combat now has a "wait turn" move always available, to help remind new players that they can skip turns rather than choosing from limited, undesireable moves.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

Blue Bottle Games has released a new demo build for Neo Scavenger.

New Demo Build: Updated Options, UI, Sprites, & AI

I've just finished uploading new demo build 0.987d, which includes all of the fixes and non-content updates from the past five months. Highlights include AI improvements, options screen, GUI enhancements, equipment-based sprites, and NPC conversations.

The build is available at bluebottlegames.com, or on Desura and Steam.

Updates Included in the Demo

The specific list of updates includes hundreds of changes and additions since the last demo update in December, so I won't list them all here. Highlights include:

• Added new options screen.
• Added new help screen.
• Added improved graphics options (including 4:3 layout mode).
• Added Exit button to title screen.
• Added custom sprite images based on equipment.
• Added several GUI Improvements (Combat, Crafting, Weather, etc.).
• Added AI conversations w/wandering NPCs.
• Fixed several game balance issues.
• Fixed several AI bugs.
• Fixed several bugs and stability issues.

The demo still has the same limitations as before: limited area, crafting, items, and creatures, and no saves nor music. However, this new demo should still have some new tricks and surprises, and should feel more stable and balanced, overall.

As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if you notice any issues with the new build!

Infinite Lives has an audio interview with Dan Fedor of Blue Bottle Games about his game Neo Scavenger, and other various RPG topics.

Dan P interviews Dan Fedor from Blue Bottle Games, aka the creator of NEO Scavenger. They talk about gaming histories, arcades, SEGA, Rifts, DnD, MinMaxing, Bioware, Physics, the Wild West, and of course the addicting NEO Scavenger.

Blue Bottle Games has a few more updates for Neo Scavenger. I found the following two to be the most interesting out of the whole pile of updates this week.

The Great Triage of 2014, and Plot

Apart from the contest announced yesterday, the past two days have mostly been four things:

1. Plot Writing Collaboration
2. Bug/Feature Triage
3. Bug Fixes
4. Fighting Spambots

Harald continues to produce some excellent work on the new encounter, and has started the draft of the final text. The outlines and background info so far seem very cool.

While he's working on that, I've been trying to wrest control of the massive bug and feature wishlist. Paul's PCDMS system has helped get them all into one place for sorting, prioritization, etc. However, I still need to look at each one, to gauge priority, add notes, and decide if it's necessary for the final release or not.

As mentioned earlier, this list is easily 500+ items. And given their average estimated effort, I probably only have time for a fraction of them.

Fortunately, this triage exercise has whittled down the list a bit. Over the past several days (and with help from Kaaven and Scavenger!), I was able to close about 120 of those as either duplicates of other issues, or "will not fix." Some things are just not realistically going to happen, so it's worth getting them off the list now, and marking them "v2" for future reference.

New Audio Samples

A little while ago, Paul Csapo contacted me, offering to host a bug-tracking system for NEO Scavenger. A lot of my triage/prioritization work has been going on in that system, and it's helped to get a good view of remaining issues.

And on top of that, he dabbles in audio design, so he offered to put some sound samples together for use in the game. What you see above is the first batch of audio, hooked up to relevant items.

So far, I'm pretty impressed! It's definitely an improvement over the painfully repetitive harp sound. And if we can get enough of these created and hooked up, I think it'll lend some nice immersion and atmosphere to the game!

Blue Bottle Games has released a new beta build ready for testing for Neo Scavenger. The current build will allow users to help the developer test out modding.

New Test Beta: Modding!

I've just finished uploading new test beta 0.987b, which now supports modding! It also has a handful of fixes to issues discovered in the last build. I've also promoted the previous 0.986b test build to default build status.

Blue Bottle Games has a few more updates for Neo Scavenger. I found the following two the most important ones this week so let's get started with the updates.

The first update is about a new Beta version available for testing.

I've just finished uploading new test beta 0.986b, which includes new options and help screens, increased creature spawns, gameplay tweaks, and several fixes and UI enhancements. I've also promoted the previous 0.985b test build to default build status.

The build is available to anyone who owns the beta at bluebottlegames.com, or on Desura and Steam. Desura (and therefore, Groupees) users can use Desura Connect to gain access here, or even get their Steam keys and try it on Steam.

The second post is a review of current build of the game.

With 0.986b making the rounds, I've decided to take stock of my situation, and see what needs the most attention next. I'm pretty sure more story will feature in the next build, so I'm mostly looking at what else might need work.

For most of the day, I was triaging my bug/feature list. There are some 500 items on it, and so far, there's an average effort of about 3-6 hours of work for each. There are about 60 work days between now and mid July (my target finish date), or 480-600 working hours, depending on whether I work 8 or 10-hour days.

Doing the math, that probably means I only have time for 100-200 items on that list. Or roughly 1 in every 4.

This doesn't account for any time spent working on story, which based on past experience, is about 1-2 weeks per major encounter (like the ATN). It also doesn't account for time spent working on new bugs that arise, answering emails and forum posts, and administrivia (contracts, vendors, build uploads).

This is purely back-of-the-napkin math, but we may be looking at more like 50-100 items from that list, if I want to do 2 more major encounters. In other words, I may be entering a mode now where I have to realistically ignore 80-90% of remaining wishlist items and bugs. I'm going to have to get pretty selective.

Blue Bottle Games has a new post on the Neo Scavenger webpage with information, and a recap on a recent AMA on Reddit for anyone that missed it a few days ago.

Reddit AMA

Hey Folks!

I've teamed up with some other indie and open source devs for a reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything):

We are the game developers of Anodyne, Defender's Quest, Incredipede, and NEO Scavenger, and the developers of open-source game tools Haxe/OpenFL. Ask Us Anything.

If you're interested, swing on by!

Update: AMA is Mostly Done Now

Well, it was a pretty successful AMA, if you ask me. A couple hundred comments, lots of exposure for both games and open source tools, and even a boost in bundle sales. A pretty good day!

Pretty exhausting, too. It's funny, but sitting and typing answers to questions actually took quite a bit of energy. I guess it's the constant "on" state of the brain or something. Always searching memory, tabbing into different screens, referencing stuff, and trying to put it all together into comprehensive answers. I guess it was kinda like being at a conference booth.

Anyway, most of the day was spent fielding questions, and coordinating with the other devs.

I did manage to sneak in two small changes today, though.

First, I found and fixed a null pointer bug in the new volume control stuff I added yesterday. There was a case where volume was being adjusted before the music object was initialized.

The second change was something I meant to do much sooner, but forgot until today. Namely, some sort of contextual clue when the player goes from sleeping into combat. A lot of folks get confused when this happens, claiming that combat happens "at random."

Now, when the player is sleeping and a creature approaches, there will first be an encuonter screen that says, "Something approaches as you slumber!" with a question mark creature icon. Then, combat starts, with the same question mark icon where the target creature is.

I'm hoping that this smooths the otherwise jarring transition from sleep into combat, making what happened a bit clearer.

Tomorrow, it's back to the grindstone. Have a good night, all!

Blue Bottle Games has a new update on the Neo Scavenger webpage with news the game is now on sale as part of a new Humble Open Source Bundle.

NEO Scavenger in the Humble Open Source Bundle!

Good news! NEO Scavenger's just become available in the Humble Weekly Bundle: Celebrating Open Source!

If you've been waiting on buying NEO Scavenger, your time has arrived! You can now get a copy of NEO Scavenger by purchasing the Humble Weekly Bundle: Celebrating Open Source!

Blue Bottle Games has a new update on the Neo Scavenger webpage about a new beta build ready for testing. Here is some information on what is changed.

Hex Art, New Faction & Encounter, AI Fixes, and More

One of the highlights in this update is the new faction. You'll find a new location in the wilderness, which is home to a new faction of wandering creatures. It also has some information to discover, and services in which to partake.

Furthermore, many of the special hex encounters how have their own hex art. And Haggerty Health clinic now features an illustration by Max Antonov.

0.985b should also include a fix to the AI standings bug we saw in 0.984b. In particular, DMC guards shouldn't attack the player without provocation any more. Quite a few other improvements were made to the AI, too. And there were some specific changes to the DMC guard and Merga Wraith AI. Guards can now call on sniper support when needed, and the Merga Wraith will appear and disappear more accurately based on the player and talisman. It will also focus solely on the player when possible.

Overall, another big batch of fixes, and quite a bit of content, too! As always, let me know what you think of the changes, and if any new bugs arise!

Blue Bottle Games has a new update on the Neo Scavenger webpage about a new beta bulid ready for public testing.

New Test Beta: Non-Hostile NPCs, Factions, Armor, and Clothing

I've just finished uploading new beta test build 0.983b, which includes non-hostile NPC interactions, dynamic factions, armor, and new creature sprites. There are now two violent gangs roaming the map, DMC guards patrolling the sprawl, and looters caught in the middle. What's more, all of them are "strangers" until they do something that identifies them as friend or foe.

The build is available to anyone who owns the beta at bluebottlegames.com, or on Desura and Steam. Desura (and therefore, Groupees) users can use Desura Connect to gain access here, or even get their Steam keys and try it on Steam.

To access the test build on the official site, simply visit the beta page, and click any of the download links below the usual Windows, Mac, and Linux buttons.

D22 Zone has posted a preview of the post-apocalyptic RPG Neo Scavenger.

There’s such depth here that the demo can only ever offer a glimpse into what the full game offers, and given that the full game is an Early Access title the demo gets further away from the final product every day. That said the game is extremely playable; only a few less than obvious UI issues stand in your way of yet another “Oh god I died again” title.

Rock,  Paper, Shotgun takes a look at the post-apocalyptic RPG Neo Scavenger

Neo Scavenger has a large and generous demo. I’ll be hugely offended if you decide to go and play with that instead of reading all of these words but I’ll be sure to remind you of its existence at the end.

Unlike a reality television star, I mostly die from exposure rather than a lack of it*. Every playthrough of Neo Scavenger begins the same way – you awake, confused and afraid, in a small room within a medical facility. There’s a monster clawing at the other side of the door. Far from being a metaphorical depiction of terminal illness or the deadly price of health insurance, the monster is a bipedal canine. The claws that it is using to claw at the door also fail to be metaphors. Neo Scavenger has only just begun and already, something wants to eat you.

Your tissue-thin garment won’t protect you. It doesn’t even protect your dignity, being one of those bum-revealing tissue-thin gowns that cause me to childishly giggle at even the bleakest hospital-set dramas or apocalyptic horror-shows. Neo Scavenger explains the dire situation with a couple of paragraphs of text and a couple of images, and then it leaves you to make the first choice of many.

How will you survive?

Steam is now offereing NEO Scavenger for Early Access. Developer Blue Bottle Games also has a demo for you to try.

NEO Scavenger is a game where you must survive in the wasteland long enough to figure out who you are. Each turn, you must decide where to go, how to scavenge for supplies, and how to deal with anything and anyone you encounter. And with each passing minute, the pit in your stomach grows, your dehydration worsens, your muscles tire, and your body temperature drops in the cold autumn air. Choose your starting abilities carefully, because they and your wit are the only tools you have in the apocalypse!