The After Hours: Office Predators
The Endless Workday Update [0.2.0]
The Endless Workday Update [0.2.0]
Alright, furries and furry layers, this is the big one we've been working towards. Core systems planned from the start – meta progression, Android support and status effects – are now live, fundamentally shifting the game into the roguelite experience we always intended.
Major Changes:
- Meta Progression Has Arrived: This is the big one. We're officially leaning into the roguelite structure. Your daily grind now yields actual results (beyond existential dread). You'll earn a paycheck after each workday, which you can invest in "Personal Growth" courses via your home computer. Unfortunately, these upgrades only apply in the dream sequences. Reality remains stubbornly resistant to self-improvement “Super-Sigma-Male” courses bought online.
- Status Effects Activated: Those elemental attacks finally have more bite than just different damage numbers. Apply status effects and see what each one does! Beware of conflicting status effects, though!
- Now on Android! The game is now officially available on Android devices! Take the thrilling highs and crushing lows of office life and dream combat with you wherever you go (but probably not in public). On-screen controls are enabled by default on Android, but can be toggled off for gamepad users. These controls can also be enabled on PC (kinky but you do you) or Web (the only way to play on iOS?) versions.
Scenes:
- New H-Scene: There is now a new h-scene that unlocks upon losing a fight to Shrimpie. Currently exclusive for our Patrons (any tier!).
Combat Tuning & Rebalancing:
- General Mob Rebalance.
- Lady Fin & Shrimpie: Both bosses have had their stats and attack patterns adjusted. Attack telegraphing should be clearer, too.
- Major Shrimpie Overhaul: Speaking of Shrimpie, she's been hitting the gym (or something). She's got a whole new attitude and a moveset to match. No longer just a punching bag with delusions of grandeur – she will Shrimp Stamp you into oblivion if you're not careful. Consider this fair warning. Fin's turn is coming...
- New Mob - The Orca: Say hello to the newest member of the nightmare crew: the Orca. She's big, she's tough, she hits like a freight train, and she really doesn't like you messing with her smaller, squishier friends. Good luck.
- Room Rebalance: We've stirred the pot in the dream realm. Expect different faces (and different numbers of faces wanting to bash yours in) in familiar places. Adapt or perish, minnow.
- Primary Attack Sequence: Rebalanced. Again. We're still tweaking it. Let us know how it feels.
- AoE Rework: Area-of-Effect attacks now serve a more distinct purpose. Damage output is generally lower than primary attacks, but the area covered is much larger, and they're more effective at applying Status Effects. Good for crowd control and spreading misery.
- Dash Adjustments: The dash mechanic has been fixed and tweaked. We've also finally added some proper visual effects.
- Stun Reduction: Player stun from most enemy attacks has been removed. Stripping you of control is now a special privilege. (Of course the privilege is granted to the Shark mommy).
- Dodge Chance: Added a passive Dodge stat. You now have a small base chance to automatically evade incoming attacks. This can be increased through meta progression and other means.
Quality of Life & Fixes:
- Sound Design Overhaul
- Camera System Overhaul
- VN System QoL Improvements
- See Through Walls: Tired of getting ambushed by things hiding behind pillars? We were too. Characters and projectiles now have a fancy see-through-walls effect when obscured. No more excuses.
- Better Death Screen: Dying is still a failure, but now it's a cinematic failure. Enjoy your new death animation.
- Writing Fixes & Adjustments: Dusted off the script and threw some new stuff in. Also splashed some new paint (artwork) on older scenes. Keeping things fresh-ish.
- "Wake Up" Option: Added the ability to prematurely end a dream run from the pause menu if things are going poorly.
- Freeze Bug Fix: Squashed a particularly nasty bug that occasionally turned your endless workday into an actually endless frozen screen. You're welcome.
- Pause-Related Bug Fixes: Fixed some weirdness that happened when you tried to pause the existential dread. Pausing should now function as intended (i.e., pausing the game).
- AoE Spam Fix: Corrected an issue that would sometimes allow you to spam AoE attacks.
- Attack Collision Fix: Addressed multiple instances of attacks passing through walls and other geometry.
- "Life Spring" Exploit Fixed: Removed the ability to gain excessive health by repeatedly re-entering the game with the "Life Spring" boon active.
- AI Improvements: Fixed several bugs related to enemy AI, including enemies getting stuck in hit-stun states or having targeting issues.
- Tons of other things too small to mention on their own.
Meta:
- Pretty Pages: We cleaned up our room! The itch.io page and loading screen are now 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂.
- The Future...? Curious about what fresh hell awaits? We've added a 'What's Next' section in-game. To view those outside of the game (and to help keep the lights on/buy us more instant ramen), check out our Patreon, we’ve doubled it all in dedicated posts! And, well, even the free tier gets stuff there, so you might want to follow as well.
Comments
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transformational? this piques my interest. if it has transformations I'd quite like this game.
Hey, finally got a chance to sit down and play.
First of all, great job on the "what's next/planned section"! It answered a bunch of questions and helps explain the grand plan.
I do have a few questions that weren't answered, so I'll start with them:
Will realms have unique/exclusive upgrades?
The way the game works now, you beat Shrimpie, the waking world progresses. Then you need to beat Shrimpie, then Ms Fin to progress again.
So, when the next realm is added, will it work similarity? EG: Beat new realm boss, progress, then beat new realm boss, then +versions of Shrimpie and Ms Fin, then progress.
Is a training room/dojo planned? It could be part of the in-game web, a "dream simulator" website.
Writing: Not much new to write about here, but the exchange with Fin, Minnow, and the Italian wolf lady was fun. It would be interesting to see Shrimpie show up afterwards to talk to Minnow about what happened, or even it revealed she eavesdropped on the situation?
Roman Empire is a great idea for enemies/level design, especially if it's got a daylight colour scheme.
Gameplay:
The Jam version has kind of distorted my view of what I remember 0.11 to exactly be like.
I'll split this up into further subgroups
Player Control:
The player's basic M1 attack is still a bit off IMO. The forward momentum from the combo makes a bit of sense, but the player is stuck a bit too long on the third hit, which kind of makes me start going for 2 hit strings rather that completing them (this also made me wonder if you plan on any type of alternating combo strings, like "click, click, wait 1 second, click 'different finishing string', ect).
The actual swinging animations of the katana also make it a bit hard to gauge the reach of each part of the string. I get that Minnow is supposed to be swinging widely like an anime character, but it looks a bit visually cluttered. I won't harp on this though, since you plan on adding additional weapons (I assume the secondary attack will change with the weapons as well?)
Another thing needed is a hit confirmation sound that the player has connected with the enemy. Enemies do react with sound when hit, but IMO this doesn't negate the need for a sound produced by the sword, as the player will likely be listening for other sounds.
The AOE is much improved this time around, if mainly by the addition of elemental damage. It now feels like a solid feature rather than the afterthought it felt in the Jam/0.11 version.
I still am not a total fan of it, though, and hope that additional options for the katana, as well as other weapons having different secondary attacks.
NPC/Bosses:
The NPCs have gained some improvements since 0.11. Pufferfish are much more functional, and enemies feel more threatening, if a bit on the annoying side at times.
The way enemies react to hits with knockback is a step in the right direction, but right now feels a bit too floaty IMO and seems kind of like they're on ice.
The Orca Tank is a solid addition to the roster, though depending on the player's build it could seem a bit underpowered, like it needs another attack option, like slightly ranged jab perhaps.
Enemies popping into reality is also something that might need a visual additional to counter. Like them either walking through the map gateways, or appearing through a cloud of bubbles.
Pathfinding is also a bit odd, with it being obvious that a lot of enemies are tracking Minnow through the level tiles, rather than attempting to follow a set path to him. I think the tracking makes sense when the player is in the open, but not so much when they shouldn't be able to clearly see him.
Stairs are kind of weird still, but still better than they were in the Jam version.
Boss-wise. I think Shrimpie is a MAJOR improvement over both Jam and 0.11, though I think she's still a bit too easy to bully. Though honestly with the plus videos of the dungeons coming I don't think any major additions are needed for the base version.
https://streamable.com/jrdqmb
Here is a fight I recorded with her, just to give some visual rep.
Fin is still a bit odd to me. It feels like it's very hard to justify fighting her without resorting to hit and run tactics. Though the ice elemental is pretty helpful with her (though it did mess up my timing of the trident throw for me later!)
https://streamable.com/zta604
My main gripe is her tail sweep attack at 24-25 seconds in this video. I have no idea if that's a bug, but I swear that always happens whenever I try to fight her more head-on. I feel like I'm getting the dodge timing correct, but I still get hit from very far away!
https://streamable.com/jm6vyc
This is just the second half of a run after Shrimpie. Not my best one, lol, but I think it does a good job at showcasing a lot of minor stuff with the NPCs mods, plus another Fin fight at the end.
If I had to give a sum up of things I think need work, it would simply be: Slight rework of attack strings/hit confirmation sounds NPC Mobs reaction to hits/Knockback look, ect
NPC Mobs Pathfinding
Look into Fin's attacks/hitboxes.
I also think the webstore is a great feature, though it's a bit limited right now with the upgrades, so I can't comment on it much.
Final Thoughts:
As a few others have said, It would be interesting if we can later interact with the characters outside of dreams, like taking them out on a date. Obviously you might have your own plans on how this progresses with the story, but it'll be nice to see how that goes.
Game is steadily improving, and I can't wait to see where it goes!
Woah, thanks for all the feedback! That's a lot to unpack and surely was a lot to reflect on and put into words, so, sincerely, thanks a ton for such commitment! I will try to answer all of it to the best of my ability.
> Will realms have unique/exclusive upgrades?
Yep, I was thinking on maybe creating a menu that opens before going to sleep that affects what goes to the pill slot. E.g. we beat Lupina (or, rather, her mini-boss), she gives us the puppy plushie IRL (ignore the nonsense, I'm making those examples up as I go), now the options are to take a pill or to fall sleep hugging a plushie. That probably means that those items won't give you a plain second life, but will each have their own quirks. This idea isn't carved in strone, though, like any that I speculate on but haven't had time to test in the actual game, obviously the ideas that end up not working well gameplay-wise won't get included.
> Is a training room/dojo planned? It could be part of the in-game web, a "dream simulator" website.
Yep, we have a slightly different idea on how exactly that will work, but we do have a very clear idea of what the dojo is going to be like. It will come with different weapon options, though (I mean, 90% of what it does is lets you get the feel of a new moveset), which is not coming terribly soon.
Thanks for the feedback on the Lupina into scene, as you can see it currently cuts halfway, so yep, we will see where that same day goes. We most likely need to introduce Lupina's miniboss in the same "day".
>The player's basic M1 attack is still a bit off IMO...
Never considered alternating sequences and it's probably a little too confusing, but I do agree that stripping away the control for too long is annoying. We might lower the time of that, but the third hit deals x1.5 damage (applied after boons, stacks), so I believe there is still an incentive to use that, you just have to keep in mind that it is very committing (eg don't use on Fin or the Orca since you can't interrupt their attacks, do use it against the Shrimp since you wan't the largest damage per hit and she knockback is huge on her anyway).
Yep, AoE is also weapon-dependent.
I agree that the moan does not replace the smack, we need to add that.
When additional weapons are introduced the katana's AOE might end up migrating to a different weapon and in this case katana would get a different one.
> The way enemies react to hits with knockback is a step in the right direction, but right now feels a bit too floaty IMO and seems kind of like they're on ice.
Yep, I feel like the knockback was too choppy before and now it's a little too smooth. Have to balance that.
A second attack for an orca sounds very interesting, never considered that.
>Enemies popping into reality is also something that might need a visual additional to counter. Like them either walking through the map gateways, or appearing through a cloud of bubbles.
Yep, you can even see an attempt at that, but it doesn't do the main thing (consealing the moment of spawning) as it's been in this fetal state since the jam version. I feel like I do have a vision of how it should be, though, so it just needs time.
We probably should tweak the visibility, yeah. I went super generous on their vision since the previous versions since it was a little too easy to pick them out one-by-one, but sure the balance is yet to be found here as well.
Thanks for the gameplay recording! Sort of my experience with Shrimpie too, the main concern previously was that she could be no-skill shoved in a corner and brutalized there, now both my experience and your recording sort of just shows a player that plays well against an easy early-game boss and wins, which, yep, sounds right.
Fin's moveset is definitely to be changed as significantly as Shrimpie's was. The current idea is stupidly simple: tail swing = run away, not perpendicularly, trident throw = run perpendicularly, not away. I mean, I did see many people panic and try to run away from the tridents, but sure, the gameplay is super simple compared to the current incarnation of Shrimpie.
Thanks for the tail swing recording, it does look like the tail swing reaches a little too far and for too long, this will get fixed.
>As a few others have said, It would be interesting if we can later interact with the characters outside of dreams, like taking them out on a date. Obviously you might have your own plans on how this progresses with the story, but it'll be nice to see how that goes.
One thing I will confirm is that the office is planned to become a playable location but that is probably the furthest of the plans discussed in this exchange.
Once again, huge thanks for a thorough overview, lots of superficial reviews are very important for a more general understanding of what more-works-than-not, but they can't replace a super deep dive like that!