Hey friends! It's World Frog Day, which means Mudborne is now officially released!!! :D It's been a long time in the works since the original gamejam entry, and I'm really happy with how it's all ended up! I can't wait for you to all get your slimy green hands on it <3 https://store.steampowered.com/app/2355150/Mudborne_Frog_Management_Sim/ There's a 10% release discount for the next two weeks - plus APICO players who own the game on Steam can use this bundle to also get 10% off, as a thank you for all your support over the years. If you find any nasty tasting bugs, please report them! You can use the Steam forums here, or the feedback form (link is also in the settings menu!) My number 1, 2, and 3 priorities now are making sure you all have the best possible experience, but there's only one of me - so let me know ASAP if you run into any issues and I can start fixing them immediately! If you're enjoying the game, pls leave a review! I need 10 reviews before the Steam algorithm will see this is a Cool GameTM and start showing it to other players <3 If you'd like to chat with other players at the same time to experience the game together, I've setup some new channels in the Discord specifically for Mudborne. Be sure to also check the FAQs for anything else I might have missed here! Finally - a big THANK YOU to everyone who's been so hyped throughout development, I truly appreciate every single one of you. Now, off to the ponds with you! ~ Ell <3

[ 2025-03-20 21:43:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all! Some exciting news today! First off, I can officially announce that Mudborne will be releasing on March 20th, aka World Frog Day!
In just over a month you'll be able to experience the world of Mudborne and uncover it's secrets - however if that's still too far away, I've also released a new demo for Mudborne that you can play right now!
This demo takes you through the first area of the game - the Spawning Pools, and contains all the lovely feedback and QoL changes that came from the playtest (thanks again for everyone who got involved in that!)
Whether you played the old demo or not, there's plenty of fresh content for you to experience. (Playtesters - this is just the first region of what you already played so you're not missing anything!) Be sure to wishlist the game if you haven't already to be notified of release - and I'll see you all at the pond in just under 5 weeks! :D ~ Ell

[ 2025-02-12 14:05:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! Excited to say that the playtest for Mudborne is launching now on Steam! You can request access over on the the store page here, just scroll down a bit to the "Join the Mudborne Playtest" section and click the big button! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2355150/Mudborne/ The playtest will unlock starting this weekend <3
This will be a playtest of the full game, limited to the first 3 regions - Spawning Pools, Central Junction, and Kindergarten. If you've played the demo this will still be quite different, as the demo has it's own map. If you can't wait to play Mudborne this is the time to get a froggy fix!

Why Playtest?

The goal of the playtest is mainly just to see how people find it, both APICO players and new players alike, and check you're all having fun. I have no expectations for anyone who wants to try it out, however there is a feedback form linked in-game that I'd appreciate you filling in when you're done! Any bug reports are also appreciated <3
The playtest is limited to 3 areas and only contains 1/3 of all frogs, mushrooms, and bugs of the full game. I'd say there's maybe 10 hours of content-ish but I genuinely have no clue! If you want to chat with other players, you can use the new shiny channel "mudborne-playtest" channel in the discord to discuss the playtest and help avoid other players getting spoilers.
It's worth noting that playtest saves will NOT be able to be used in the full game, as like the demo they also have their own map.

When Playtest?

I'll be granting access to anyone waiting in the queue starting this weekend! If you're a streamer or content creator it's okay to make streams/videos, just make sure it's clear to your viewers this is part of the playtest not the final release If you're still holding out for release to play everything then 1. I applaud your resolve and 2. you won't have to wait too much longer...

[ 2025-01-22 14:16:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends, and happy new year <3 I hope you all had a lovely break and are ready for the 2025! Here's a little recap of what I've been up to this past year: [hr][/hr]

Personal

2024 was the first year of me doing gamedev full-time, for the whole year! It's certainly different to back when I was making APICO on the side of a full-time job (and later freelance work). I feel a lot more pressure that what I make has to be 'good', and by 'good' I mean good enough to pay the rent.
With a lot of APICO's gameplay, I just did what I personally thought would be fun, and the end result is a weird combination of things but those who get it, love it. With Mudborne I've been trying to do the same thing, but I have a lot more worries about certain mechanics or moments that I wouldn't have if it wasn't tied to keeping the lights on. I can't say I'd ever go back to my old job all the time I can sustain myself making games (the big red date on my whiteboard tells me I have until October 2026 until I run out of money!), but it definitely has been a noticeable change doing art for money instead of hobby.
With APICO done, all the games I'm making are all in my own engine built on top of the LVE framework, and it's made things so much quicker to create. At the time of writing Mudborne is very nearly finished up, and it's taken only 8 months in total working full-time on it. I'd love to get into a place where I can comfortably making a game every year or so, without feeling rushed. I have so many different ideas I'd love to make, and only so much time!
[hr][/hr]

APICO

APICO had it's 3rd and final (sorry) content update, "A Hive Of Industry". This update added a bunch of automation machines, plus a lot of stuff you all asked for, including pets, decoration and a butt-tonne of QoL tweaks.
I've also done a few little bug fix patches here and there which I'm sure gave you all a bit of false hope on new content when the download queued! It was nice to finally 'finish' up APICO - sometimes I wish I never did any of the content updates but I think looking at it now I'm happy with where it ended up, even if it's still a lil janky and bloated and I think all the art looks wack.
I'd love to come back to it one day, in a seperate game. When I drew up the new credit postcards (above) I had fun invisioning a game where you do go to the mainland and help clean up the environment using your bees. I think it'd be nice to take the same APICO gameplay, streamline some of it and make it all fit better (especially the money making side), and then expand the bees to all have functions in restoring nature. However I think that'll need to wait a while as I have 2 game children screaming at me to finish, and a bunch of other ideas I want to get started on! [hr][/hr]

Synthesis

I don't often join gamejams, mostly because of the time limits they have, or I just don't personally have any time - but in 2024 I joined the LVE Jam, for games made with the framework. I was still learning the framework at the time and tinkering with the engine I'd made to create the Snacktorio demo, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to have a break from the APICO stuff that was getting me down at the time, and learn a bit more of the framework.
I was really happy with the end result - 'Synthesis'. I wanted to make a puzzle game with different modules like what you get with old patch synthesisers. As you mess with the different modules it changes the patterns drawn until you eventually come across the combination needed to match the required shape. I also made a point not to ever explain any module's function - you just learn through doing very basic levels and then the rest you just learn overtime by doing. I wanted it to feel very experimenty for the player.
It was really fun to put this together! I had 10 days and pretty much used them all. I also did the music for it because I wanted to start practicing music creation for Mudborne, and was interesting in having the music 'evolve' with the puzzle progress.
I think it'd be cool to revisit one day as a 'full' game, as you could have lots of different module types and interactions, and let players connect modules themselves in different orders which then affects the outcome. If you want to check out the game you can get it over on itch.io here: https://ellraiser.itch.io/synthesis [hr][/hr]

Mudborne

Ah Mudborne, my beloved. I've spent what feels like an eternity working on this game, when it's only been 8 months. I think I've stared at frogs more than I have the real world, but I've enjoyed pretty much every part of it.
It's been an interesting process, first I did like concept art for the rough game, and worked on all the individual mechanics - then I worked on the actual world development and story and tied it all together. After the new demo was finished up, I spent a long time just designing the entire world and how everything connects, then piecing together the story. The writing in this one was definitely a killer as I've never written like a proper big story, let alone one with a few twists and turns.
I wanted something players could piece together themselves, and get clues from all over the place to work out certain things, so there was a lot involved in making sure it all fit together nicely. At the time of writing this I've just finished up all the final dialogue lines, and now it's just a lot of drawing and polish left to go. I'm planning to do a private playtest in the Discord this month for the first time, so I can try and streamline any tutorialisation stuff and see if I've made things a bit _too_ difficult. I'm pretty confident it's a fun game but it's weird how hard it gets to judge that the longer you work on making the game.
Once the playtest is over it'll just be some last little bits to tweak and any changes to make and it'll be ready to release! Crazy to think it'll be my second published game. If you haven't already be sure to give it a wishlist! You can also check out the demo still: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2355150/Mudborne/ [hr][/hr] As for 2025, I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing! The only thing I do know is Mudborne will be released this year, which is very exciting, I just can't say when yet. After that, I'm not sure - I'll need a long break that's for certain. I'd like to start working on Snacktorio proper and get that finished, but it depends on my brothers workload (he still has a 'real' job). He did a lot of the work on the game design of Snacktorio and has a good idea for the levels, so I wouldn't want to really do it without him.
If he is free, then I imagine Snacktorio will get polished off this year, maybe an early 2026 release! If not then I'll just have to work down the list to the next game idea and get started... A big thank you to everyone who played any of my games in 2024, all of the new APICO players, returning players for the 4.0 update, froggy friends excited for mudborne - without all of you I wouldn't be able to do this and I'm extremely grateful. Here's to 2025! ~ Ell

[ 2025-01-02 09:13:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Tis the season! If you havent already, you can jump in-game to experience the mini hivemas event, all the NPCs are joining in!
Bonk the presents that spawn with ur hammer to get lots of fun decor, special pets, and a fancy social + solitary bee! (You can turn this on/off from Settings > Accessibility at any time) This patch is just to add some bug fixes - sorry for the delay on some of these Ive been very sick and then Mudborne was also kicking my ass but here we are! Also this is an engine upgrade so GameMaker might have borked some stuff, so bee sure to let me know if it has. This engine update is the one Ive been waiting on to fix PS/XBOX issues so can finally start work on the 4.0.0 patch for those platforms now, only 500 years later... As always thanks for everyone whos been reporting issues, and hope you all enjoy a lovely holiday! <3 ~ Ell

General Changes

• Updated to GameMaker LTS 2022.03, which should now support MacOS 15.X
• Made debugger 'hints' all lowercase to prevent confusion on correct syntax
• Added more honeycore machines to the machines that will 'work' for industrial bees
• Same for the honeycore machine 'achievement', it now looks for 3 or more from all honeycore machines
• Changed 'breathing space' chapter to make it clear you can change lifespan/productivity multiplyers in the accessibility settings

Multiplayer

• Fixed crash for some clients when entering through the hivemother's door (sc_obelisk1_draw)
• Fixed the sacred bee not appearing for clients if the host already got it themselves
• Fixed social bee repopulation status sometimes not syncing correctly
• Fixed repopulation values being able to occasionally sync 'lower' by clients
• Fixed donator progress not matching host (real progress) for clients, so looked delayed
• Fixed incense burners not syncing the correct scent
• Fixed incense burners not 'visually' working for clients
• Fixed 'Sunny Idol' and 'Lunar Idol' not syncing effects correctly (clear weather and set moon phase)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a crash with centrifuges when unknown items were being produced (sc_centrifuge_add)
• Fixed an issue with the forge not setting the 'type' of liquid in canisters correctly if filling them with an empty tank
• Fixed a visual glitch on ice after hitting a deep water tile where you swim in the ice
• Fixed an issue with sometimes being able to shift-click to a menu that is closed
• Fixed being able to steal shop items on gamepad using R3 (naughty!!!)
• Fixed a zoom override setting remaining when changing out of fullscreen/windowed

[ 2024-12-12 19:25:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy Hallowbeen Beekeepers! You might have noticed a slightly spooky change in the world during this week and the next, as Hallowbeen is here! Bonk any of the grave markers for some unique spooky items including some new decor and dyes, plus a special bee and butterfly you only find during this time of year <3 You can toggle the event off at any time from Settings > Accessibility - you can also use this to force the event whenever you like all year round! The special bee + butterfly are not needed towards finishing the game. ~ Ell

[ 2024-10-28 09:34:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Been a busy bee with Mudborne recently (which had its new demo finally drop last week so you can play that now!) https://store.steampowered.com/app/2355150/Mudborne/ Now thats released heres a few outstanding bugs and multiplayer issues patched up for APICO - thanks again for reporting these to me! <3 ~ Ell

Multiplayer

- Fixed the natural gates not being open in a new session after having unlocked them as a client - Fixed donators placed and used by clients looping endlessly without getting a pet - Fixed butterfly hotels placed by clients not working - Fixed resonators placed by clients not working sometimes

Bug Fixes

- Fixed opening backpack on gamepad while another menu was open left that menu stuck open - Fixed not being able to place the Coral Shovel in the Anvil to repair - Fixed donator taking 5s instead of 120s lol - Fixed percolator working indefinitely after filter breaks - Fixed letters having the wrong tooltip category - Fixed tropic/polar icons being flipped in beebox/beebank filters - Fixed seeing {PLAYER.NAME} in solitary bee letters - Fixed a rare crash with the auto-centrifuge - Fixed beebank output slots being offset from the menu - Fixed getting 2 bees when adding a bee of a different species to current tab in beebank

[ 2024-08-19 16:12:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends - IT'S NEW GAME TIME! Im excited to announce that Mudbornes new demo is out RIGHT NOW on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2355150/Mudborne/ Im also excited to announce that the lovely folks at Future Friends will be helping to publish your new fav froggy game with me. Check out the trailer below for a sneak peak of what you're in for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJq7u9hcAUg&ab_channel=TNgineersOfficial A spiritual successor of sorts to APICO, Mudborne instead focuses on genetic manipulation and generational puzzles to create and discover all sorts of frog species, that act as keys to let you travel between the waking and dreaming worlds - the demo takes you through the main mechanics and creating 8 different species. If you love APICO I think youll love this, theres a lot of stuff Im doing differently but you should still feel right at home. Whether you played the original gamejam version or not youre in for a treat, as this is a completely new game, new art, new mechanics, new music, new engine - the whole works. Im really looking forward to you all getting your slimy green hands on it, I hop you enjoy!! <3 Dampest regards, Ell

[ 2024-08-14 14:04:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hot fix: Fixed beebank output slots being outside the menu

[ 2024-07-16 09:49:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a small update to fix a few outstanding bugs, plus a couple quick QoL changes that are hopefully useful, including the hive tool now having a 2nd use with right-click to replenish frames, some better frame durability, and a proper sort order for hopper distribute targets (distance) :) ~ Ell

Patch Notes

General Changes

• You can now right-click with a Hive Tool to add empty frames to a hive (X/Square on gamepad) - you can still use left-click to gather frames/honeycomb
• Beebank 'tabs' section is now 4 bees wide so its much easier to scroll through all your species
• Tweaked "Breathing Space" quest to remind people the Lifespan+Productivity modifier settings exist for making the bee process faster or slower
• Apicobolt/Mysterious/Netted frames will now have 20 durability instead of 10 (will only apply to new frames)
• Crystal items + automation machines now need 24 bees unlocked instead of 14 bees to access (tools are still 12)
• Hoppers will now prioritise targets by distance (closer wins) instead of seemingly random - they're still first come first served until full
• Chance of honeycore seeds turning into normal crystals or the larger crystal stalagmites is now 50/50

Bug Fixes

• Fixed ploppers leaving 10bl in machines they gather from and not distributing their last 10bl
• Fixed a crash with pickers when there are suddenly no flowers nearby (sc_picker_alarm6)
• Fixed Beewell/Combristle seed packet sprites being swapped
• Fixed music playing multiple times when sleeping for multiple days
• Fixed watering can durability not going down with use
• Fixed being able to put liquid crystal in a bottler
• Fixed radio making it look like there were 12 special tracks added in 4.0 (there's only 11)
• Fixed mossy/checkered fences not connected with wood fences or walls correctly
• Fixed hoppers showing a visual of items moving to 'full' menus

[ 2024-07-15 17:21:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Quick update to fix a crash a few of you have been getting with the picker! Also did a tweak that might help performance, or it might not so lets roll the dice - let me know if you get any weirdness ~ Ell

Patch Notes

General Changes

• Some tweaks under the hood that may or may not help performance (this wont fix the logger/picker/sprinkler lag yet)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the sc_picker_alarm6 crash

[ 2024-06-23 11:21:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Rebuilt textures for a couple graphical bits

[ 2024-06-21 11:32:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Couple leftover bugs that were raised over the last week or so! Thanks for all the reports, and also hello to all the new beekeepers whove joined us from the recent Daily Deal, I hope youre all having a lovely time in Port APICO <3 ~ Ell

Patch Notes

General Changes

• Grey twine should of been double durability instead of red, this has been fixed now for new lures made

Bug Fixes

• Fixed mod workbench not being craftable on steamdeck
• Fixed Fermenter not doing 1 last cycle with 10bl honey and 5bl water left
• Fixed Fermenter/Resonator not retriggering logic with canisters
• Fixed door unlock achievement not retriggering when entering the chamber
• Fixed picker taking flowers from pots
• Fixed NPC dialogue prompts sometimes being not selectable

[ 2024-06-20 16:44:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

fix quick-store crash

[ 2024-05-29 16:37:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Some more fixes, including some bits that were on my backlog while I fixed the more urgent stuff ~ Ell

Patch Notes

General Changes

• Crystal chests are now valid distribution targets for hoppers, this totally won't come back to sting me

Bug Fixes

• Fixed underwater butterfly spawning being affected by the (lack of) weather
• Fixed mods not downloading on Linux/Steamdeck
• Fixed not being able to place down our lord + saviour Sir Sengir
• Fixed resonators showing a placement error when hovering over coral (even tho they could still be placed)
• Fixed ploppers not storing their tank liquid type correctly when saving/reloading leading to being able to make milk
• Fixed using a net on the open Hivemother Door opening the progress menu
• Fixed "ghost" items moving to wrong chests randomly when using quick-store
• Fixed Forge filling with an empty liquid if you drained the forge and then produced more liquid crystal
• Fixed Forge able to continue making crystal when no honeycore is inserted
• Fixed standard boats not showing on map after saving
• Fixed the centrifuge propolis slot not being a valid gather target for hoppers
• Fixed nana's bookshelf crashing if you used the scroll wheel
• Fixed hoppers being able to pull the requirement items infinitely from donators
• Fixed some main menu button layering
• Fixed achievements + quit button not showing on Steamdeck homepage properly
• Fixed not being able to move up from the resonator back to your inventory on gamepad
• Fixed not being able to use the crystal shovel on beehives on consoles
• Fixed "more mods!" button on PC being offscreen slightly

[ 2024-05-29 15:46:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixed radio bug causing game crash on start

[ 2024-05-23 14:12:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just some other fixes and a workaround for people who didnt get the final achievement proc! ~ Ell

Patch Notes

General Changes

• You can now retrigger the credits (+ achievement) by clicking on the obelisks

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a crash post-credits if you pressed a key to continue instead of clicked/gamepad
• Fixed respawning not resetting any sleeping/sitting status
• Fixed Spooky Caterpiller having a cube for a sprite (spooooky)
• Fixed Ploppers+Hoppers not targeting the corner grid squares of their area-of-effect
• Fixed Hoppers not being able to distribute filled + empty filters
• Fixed Hoppers not able to distribute items to Bug Hotels (bee careful what ye wish for)
• Fixed Beebox/Beebank/Buttbox output being a hopper gather target (not intended)
• Fixed Xmas+Halloween tracks not working in music players
• Fixed Anvil not being able to fix spades, pickaxes and crystal tools
• Fixed achievement menu steam function (maybe)

[ 2024-05-23 10:00:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! A few little fixes for the new update, thanks for everyone whos been submitting bug reports! <3 ~ Ell

Patch Notes

General Changes

• Final achievement will now proc before + after credits incase it gets skipped for whatever reason
• Buffed ploppers to move 10bl per cycle instead of 5bl

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Resonance meter always showing jukebox/moth resonance if a jukebox/tapeplayer/gramophone was active
• Fixed Resonators sometimes using the wrong position for Dream + Devland crystals
• Fixed Forge not filling into a canister if you had one in the output
• Fixed Forge having no tank cap when filling allowing it to fill over 2000bl
• Fixed Oracle showing stability + fertility in the wrong order (even tho functionally worked ok)
• Fixed Condenser not merging canisters correctly
• Fixed Ploppers not filling machines to 100% if they can and leaving the last 5bl empty
• Fixed Butterflies not being able to be hoppered into Butterfly Hotels
• Fixed Butterfly Eggs not being able to be hoppered out of Butterfly Hotels
• Fixed larger honeycore items not having correct item sprites when picked up
• Fixed Candice spice not having a name, and causing a crash when trying to view it in the beebook
• Fixed Imposter + Candycane bees having their special produce swapped around
• Fixed quest reward items not showing on Steamdeck + Consoles (Switch will have to wait for lotcheck)
• Fixed menus not redrawing when you crafting something using their contents
• Fixed marble pots being free (it was apico's birthday i guess)
• Fixed Apicobalt Canister tooltip category
• Fixed a crash when creating a brand new world with halloween/xmas enabled
• Fixed a typo in Apicobalt Flooring item name
• Fixed a typo in Imposter Bee's book entry

[ 2024-05-21 12:03:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! The time has come for the final farewell, and with it the final of the three free content updates - A Hive Of Industry! This update introduces a new process for honeycore crystals that allow you to melt them down and reform them into new crystals, which can be used to craft a whole host of new automation machines that'll do a lot of your beesywork for you - to get started check out the new quests in the book, you'll notice a few new ones added just to help new players with the newer content that's been added over the years! Some ideas for you to try with your new arsenal: - gather honeycombs and move to crates (or shipper to sell) using hoppers - auto quick-queen to put offspring back into the same hive using hoppers - auto-gather all seeds clogging up a centrifuge using hoppers - move empty+filled frames between a hive and auto-centrifuge using hoppers - move honey+water to a fermenter and then apicola to bottler using ploppers - sell bottler output automatically using hoppers and shippers - move water from raintanks/desalinator to barrels using ploppers - auto harvest logs + replant trees using loggers - make a steady supply of sawdust bricks using loggers, shredders, and hoppers - supply smokers with flowers automatically using pickers and hoppers - grow any nearby saplings/acorns faster using sprinklers - gather resin from multiple treetaps and move to an infuser using ploppers There's also a whole host of new things: pets, decoration, new tools, more bees, more butts, seasonal events, new music, more quests, a MP server you can host yourself, a new area through the door... There's also lots of things that have been on the backlog or have been requested by you all, I've tried my best to keep a good balance between what I've always wanted the game to bee and what all you bees what to see - check out the patch notes below for more! Hopefully there's a lot of "oh nice!" moments. I'll still be doing bug fixes of course, but for new stuff this is finally goodbye! <3 Speaking of bugs, there's bound to be some introduced in this update - I've spent a lot of time testing everything but there is only one of me, so if you find something please report it and I'll get fixing! Outside of that, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's beeen on this journey, whether it's been from the buggy days of the old HTML build, or just recently popped by because of a sweet sale, I'm extremely grateful to you all. APICO was the first game I ever made and I never really expected anything to happen from it, let alone have it start a full-time gamedev chapter in my life. I've learnt a lot of lessons and made a lot of mistakes but I'm very proud of my messy lil bee game, worts and all. If you can't bear to say farewell to APICO bee sure to keep an eye on Mudborne, as it'll be a spiritual sequel of sorts with some of the stuff you love from APICO - lots of stuff in the works I've yet to really reveal and a new demo later this year, so keep an eye out for that! Otherwise, so long, and thanks for all the bees! :') <3 Ell

Patch Notes

Honeycore Crystals

• Changed Bobbee's stock to sell new items used in making your own crystal machines and tools
• Changed the Forge to finally have a use, allowing you to melt Honeycore into Liquid Crystal
• Added Resonators, which allow you to solidify Liquid Crystal into different forms based on the environment
• Added the Resonance Meter, which can check the resonance of the environment, try exploring different areas and sounds!
• Added sev- I mean six different Crystals that can be created
• Added the Crystal Workbench, sold by Bobbee, which can be used to craft new automation items and crystal tools

Automation Machines

• Changed Auto-sawmill, Auto-centrifuge and Auto-squeezer to now be craftable at the Crystal Workbench (sold by Bobbee)
• Added 8 new automation machines, also crafted at the Crystal Workbench
• Added Hoppers, which let you gather items from output slots and move items to input slots automatically
• Added Shredders, which let you quickly turn logs/planks/sticks into sawdust
• Added Loggers, which let you harvest and replant trees automatically
• Added Pickers, which will automatically gather nearby flowers, leaving 1 of each species to still spread
• Added Sprinklers, which use water to automatically grow nearby saplings and seedlings instantly
• Added Condensers, which let you combine multiple canisters/frames/tools into 1 item with the durability of all items condensed
• Added Ploppers, which let you gather and distribute liquids between machines automatically
• Added Shippers, which let you sell items to the mainland automatically

Crystal Items

• Added Crystal Chests, each type of chest shares its inventory with all other matching chests, no matter where they are!
• Added 5 new late game tools, crafted at the Crystal Workbench:
• Added the Crystal Axe, a powerful axe that can chop multiple trees down at within the same area
• Added the Crystal Hammer, an enhanced hammer that can break the bigger honeycore crystals down to size!
• Added the Crystal Shovel, capable of removing delicate coral beehives, as well as the coral itself once restored
• Added the Tuning Fork, which can skip the current track playing from any Jukebox/Tapeplayer/Gramophone/Radio
• Added the PWNHAMMER, an otherworldly hammer that can break things not meant to be broken...
• Added the Relocator, a strange magical item that allows you to move objects with their contents intact...

Hivemother's Chamber

• The Hivemother Door now has it's own menu similar to gates, and only requires 18 specific bees to open
• After opening the game now lets you go to a new area by clicking on the open door...
• This new area acts as your final checklist to 100% the game!
• If you already 100%ed the game you just need to go up to the door, go through when open, and to the center to get both the new achievements

Pets

• Added Pets! Choose from 16 different critters you can find or buy to be your new BFF
• Added the Donator, sold by Skipper, it lets you donate special produce to the mainland in return for cute pets!
• Added some seasonal pets, found during Hivemas and Hallowbeen (including the competition winner dino!)
• Added the other competition finalists via the Nutcracker's special produce - 4 in total

Bees & Butterflies

• Added the Oracle, crafted at the Crystal Workbench, it lets you foretell the outcome of a queens offspring - with scary accuracy!
• Added Pressurised Hives, crafted at the Crystal Workbench, that allow you to keep deep sea bees above ground!
• Added Netted Frames, bought from Abbee, these fancy frames prevent any seeds from being collected and clogging up your extractors!
• Added Bug Hotels, sold by Sto & Codey, these allow you to use bee produce to attract bugs to eat it, leaving lots of flora for the biome they're in!
• Added the Fragile Bee, found in large honeycore stalagmites, that produces glass shards to let you craft your own bottles (finally free of the skipper monopoly)
• Addeda couple new bees and a butterfly for the seasonal events (see below)
• Added a small indicator to bees with the "beetrice" trait in beeboxes/beebanks
• Added "warnings" to show on beehives if Royal Trumpet or Perpetunia is nearby to explain the effect
• Added a "degrumped" label to the bee tooltip for degrumped bees
• All special produce now has either a special use, or is used for special crafting, solitary bees, bug hotels, fishing, alchemy, or getting pets
• Hovering over a beehive/apiary will now show a mini lifebar UI to quickly see how long a queen has left without opening the menu
• Books now show the exact number you have repopulated for each social bee, solitary bee and butterfly
• Beenjamin now has hints for all main bees, including coral and underwater bees
• Beeboxes and Beebanks now have some basic filtering and sorting for the 6 main traits
• Reef Skipper caterpillers have changed their mind and would now like seaweed instead of seashells, thanks!

Decoration

• Changed dyes to be much more saturated and colorful rather than being a weak tint (far more noticeable on flooring and marble too)
• Added over 50 new decorative items! Who says I don't give ya nuffin
• Added Beetrix's Workshop, sold be Beetrix, it allows you to craft lots of the new decoration items
• Added Abbee's Atelier, sold by Abbee, it allows you to craft even more of the new decoration items
• Added the Hive Wand, a craftable tool at the workbench that lets you turn wooden walls and flooring into honeycomb variants using honeycomb!
• Added Plinths, craftable items that can be used to display any item on a pedestal (crafted at Workbench using walls)
• Added new Marble Pots, sold by Skipper as part of his special items
• Added the number of the dye being currently used by the brush to the paintbrush item slot

Seasonal Events

• You can now celebrate Hivemas and Hallowbeen in the world of APICO, along with the NPCs!
• Hivemas will activate during the whole month of December (in the real world)
• Hallowbeen will activate between October 23rd and November 7th (in the real world)
• You can manually turn these events on and off at any time of the year in the Settings > Accessibility menu
• You can also activate these events for just a single day using the two new Apicolas (one for each season)
• During Hivemas, look out for presents, a new social bee + solitary bee, and 6 new pets!
• During Hallowbeen, look out for grave markers, a new social bee + butterfly, and 2 new pets!
• Added a couple of seasonal-themed hats, try them out at the Dresser!
• Festive bees+butterflies are not required for getting the book overview rewards or final chamber unlocks

Misc. Stuff

• There is a 10% chance that rainstorms will become "honeystorms" (50% when using the rain idol)
• During Honeystorms your luck will increase across all aspects of the game
• Added Apise Carpet, a fancy carpet you can craft at the Workbench that you run faster on!
• Added a smaller variant of the hydroponic pots for aquatic flowers (crafted at a Workbench)
• Added a few Terraria references, there's 8 to find!
• Updated the two bookshelf menus to have fancy designs to display your progress + stats
• Updated the credits and the credit "postcards" to add to the ending story
• You can "shift-click" buy on gamepad by using the quick move button to buy items

Music

• Moth has composed a final farewall to you all for the world of APICO, with 9 new tracks added to the in-game music!
• You can purchase these new "golden" tracks from Mothense during a honeystorm
• There is also a special seasonal song for both Hivemas + Hallowbeen, which you can also get from Moth's specials during a honeystorm
• Added the Radio, a special machine that will play music from all the tracks + tapes you've bought/discovered (crafted at crystal workbench)

Quests

• Added 10 new quests to help cover some of the older content update content as well as new content so things are a bit clearer
• Tweaked some of the rewards for some quests

General Changes

• Renamed "Acclimatiser" to "Adapter" to avoid people thinking it changed the climate bees liked
• Increased amount of pots made when crafting them (now 4 per craft)
• Flowers in pots now have unique sprites so they look nicer and fit better with the pots types
• Added some visual distinctions between different frame types
• Fishing rods now show a small icon for the color of lure you have equipped (if any)
• Increased amount of flora gained from composters a bit (but the new bug hotels are a better source of flora if you need volume)
• Increased smoker burn rates a little bit to help that sawdust go for longer
• If you hold "E" while holding "R" to respawn (L+R with A on gamepad) you'll respawn at Skipper's pier instead of your respawn point (you didn't dismantle that pier, right?)
• Captain's reward boat for completing all the fishing looks... slightly different
• The flower book now explicitly lists the flower's trait buff or the special effect nickname shown on tooltips (if any)
• Reduced the number of seeds got from frames in an extractor/centrifuge/seperators
• The map now shows the other areas, including underwater, geode caves, and the dream, which also fixes issues with crystal hive markers
• Social Bees that need honeycore crystals can now use all size crystals as well as crystal seedlings nearby
• Pots are now under the beekeeping section of the workbench to try and help show why they can be useful (prevent flower spread from bees)
• You can now craft empty bottles and incense bottles using the glass shards produced by the Fragile Bee
• Repopulation targets for Solitary Bees and Butterflies has been reduced from 20/12/5 to 15/10/5, meaning you need 5 less to fully repopulate each
• Couple buy/sell price tweaks here and there, mainly for Codey & Sto's stock
• You can now drop a single item from a stack on gamepad by picking up the stack and pressing Y over an empty slot (X still drops half the stack)
• Added a visual indicator of being blessed by the Hivemother (receiving Grandpa's Axe) in the top left corner
• Added the anvil to the "use with" icon list for tools to remind people it exists
• You can now use watering cans on seaweed/shell piles once you've restored that reef
• You can now use watering cans on algae/kelp that hasn't grown yet (don't think about that too much)
• Watering cans now have durability (so better save your now unlimited fancy watering can from 3.X)
• Reduced the "hunger" of caterpillers a large amount
• Reduced the time it takes for cocoons to hatch into butterflies by a third
• Reduced how long butterflies last for in the butterfly hotels (you can still use Butterfly's Friend to keep it longer for buff usage)
• Expanded the Magazine Rack so that you can fit all social bee mags in one
• Added a small tip on the expanded flower tooltips to mention you can place them on grass walls/hedges
• Having Pepetunia or Royal Trumpets near your beehives will now show a warning in the beehive menu
• Mined honeycore crystals that regrow chance to grow into the "larger" variant during the next full moon
• Having the game completed now makes for a 50% blessed chance permanently (instead of 100% chance before)
• Paintbrush now shows the number of dye currently active in the item slot
• You can now find books in the Lost + Found
• Nerfed candles soz fletch

Achievements

• You can now view achievements from the home screen in a new fancy achievements menu!
• For non-Steam + Switch players you'll need to play a bit to see achievements you already met the criteria for unlocked here
• For Steam players you can click on an achievement you've unlocked to force unlock it in Steam if for some reason it failed to proc
• There's only 2 new achievements, I still wanted to make sure new players got rewarded for some of the new content, but consious of the completionists! (If you already had 104%ed the game then should be easy to get these outstanding ones as you'll just be interacting with the new area and will only need the Fragile Bee from bonking the large crystals)

Modding

• Fixed the crash with Silk Moths + Butterfly boxes
• Fixed not being able to select shop or dialogue for modded NPCs on a gamepad
• The modding menu is now available on the SteamDeck
• Updated to use latest mod.io APIs as old ones were discontinued
• You can specify whether your custom tanks are distribute or gather tanks for Plopper purposes (distrib by default)
• Added api_define_pet() to let you define your own pet item
• Added api_define_preview() to let you override an object placement preview sprite
• api_slot_set now has an additional parameter to specify if you want a menu change triggered (default false to prevent infinite loops)

Accessibility

• Added a new A11Y option to remove the per-species fishing RNG chance, meaning as long as you have the right conditions + lure you'll get the species you expect rather than apicarp/junk
• Added a new A11Y option to manually set the season to Hallobeen, Hivemas, or None. By default these seasons activate to match real-life times

Multiplayer

• Fixed an issue where having a lot of beehives would cause a noticeable lagging every 1s when walking around
• Fixed an issue with beehives offscreen that the host hasn't walked near yet sometimes not ticking down when a client is near them
• Fixed smokers not being tied to the host world properly leading to mismatched smoker properties
• Fixed nurserys + butterfly hotels not syncing visually
• Fixed nurseries setup by clients not updating the butterfly repop counts for all players
• Fixed habitats placed by clients not having the correc biome for the host
• Fixed client map discovery not being saved correctly between sessions
• You can now enter a custom IP address to use for Beenet for people who want to host their own Beenet! The main Beenet server is NOT going down anytime soon so YOU DO NOT NEED A CUSTOM SERVER!
• You can get more info on how to host your own server here and get the source code for the server here
• Using a custom server will not change any multiplayer functionality at all, however there is some setup required

Bug Fixes

• Fixed not being able to get to the dev area when using gamepad/console
• Fixed not being able to use R-stick on gamepad to target above and below for placement when holding L or R to snap
• Fixed special dyes not animating - not sure when this stopped working, I think probably like 2.0 :')
• Fixed pots not showing different flower variants when placing flowers inside until the game was reloaded
• Fixed seeds not showing seedlings correctly sometimes
• Fixed highlight arrow on overworld objects clashing with crate/beehive/tank previews
• Fixed music players playing on the home screen
• Fixed the "degrumped" trait not being stored in beeboxes/beebanks correctly
• Fixed the menu tooltips not showing which told you you can drag them and also use ESC as a close shortcut
• Fixed not being able to place flowers on hedges when using a gamepad
• Fixed slot highlighting not wrapping on the inventory on gamepad
• Fixed golden fishing rod not giving higher shiny chance on caught fish
• Fixed some dropped items not showing the correct item sprite (honeycore, shellpiles, seaweed, algae, etc)
• Fixed Cathemeral bees not lighting up at night
• Fixed banners not sitting on walls or fences properly
• Fixed special flower effect names not being localised (Attractive, Caffienated etc)
• Fixed not being able to replant the swamp trees in the shallow water with acorns
• Fixed Abbee's Staff not planting swamp trees on shallow water
• Fixed not being able to discover fish via the item (mainly noticeable in multiplayer when sharing fishies)
• Fixed Composters not giving correct flora for coral/ocean biomes
• Fixed Shipsbane description having the wrong butterfly name (Reef Skipper instead of Stippled)
• Fixed a crash occuring if you somehow got another item into the coral slot of a coral tank
• Fixed Glitched Bee "crash" text being offset incorrectly
• Fixed deep water critters spawning in the white dream water
• Fixed the issue where modded butterflies would crash the game when put in a butterfly box
• Fixed entering dream achievement not proc'ing when playing in a hosted world
• Fixed Perpetunia seeds not being able to be planted in water
• Fixed clockwork machines not running when loaded offscreen on loading the world for the first time
• Fixed Glowing Dye icon not rendering properly on the Glowing Bee entry
• Fixed tooltip of backpack in backpack slot on gamepad showing wrong button
• Fixed Heater/Cooler climate modifier icons overlapping other icon
• Fixed merchant achievements sometimes not unlocking (pickup a mysterious idol or beebank to retrigger if needed)
• Fixed appearance randomiser not always randomising the hair color correctly
• Fixed starting a new world resetting your SFX/Music settings
• Fixed Heater/Cooler climate modifier icons not showing properly
• Fixed mods with custom books being hidden by the butterfly book if they were the first custom book added (BEI mod)
• Fixed mod crash with infinite loops on slot changes (uranium mod)
• Fixed underwater butterflies not liking the rain (even tho it was lowkey hilarious)
• Fixed workbench craft amount buttons/display not aligning properly until you moved for the first time
• Fixed not being able to use the golden net on the door on gamepad
• Fixed raintanks not filling into any canisters placed inside while it rains
• Fixed being able to sometimes select the moon icon in a random place during the day
• Fixed smokable bee icons in flower book moving after walking and reopning the book
• Fixed flowers being spread by bees when the game is paused
• Fixed solitary bee attraction stats not counting for the bookshelf stat info
• Fixed trait buffs showing in tooltips outside of just queens in hives
• Fixed the titles of some menus + bees being the wrong way round in italian/german/spanish/french
• Fixed being able to highlight beebox/beebank GUI outside the top of the menu
• Fixed Reef Skipper not liking Sea Cauliflower so when it mutated Shipsbane it made itself sad
• Fixed Sunset Butterflies not liking Pondshine so when it mutated Mothlight it also made itself sad
• Fixed getting stacks of honey hives or wax canisters when using Seperators
• Fixed Barnabee being immune to Charmed Incense and not giving you a sweet discount
• Fixed rubber ring sprite showing when walking on ice
• Fixed A11Y bee labels overlapping beebox/beebank output slots
• Fixed recipes with flowers that dont have hybrids not using up flowers when crafting (no more freebees 4 u)
• Potentially fixed an issue where the open inventory menu sometimes became inactive until you reopend it, keep ya keen bug-seeing eyes open!

Crash Fixes

• Fixed a crash that would occur if you scrolled the mouse wheel as soon as the game started (why tho)
• Fixed the "sc_beebank_change local bid not set before reading it" crash in MP
• Fixed the "sc_gui_press" crash that could occur in both SP + MP when using beeboxes/beebanks
• Fixed a crash that would occur when putting modded butterflies into a butterfly box

[ 2024-05-20 13:36:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Today the 4.0 update is here, just in time for World Bee Day (and APICO's 2nd birthday!). Here you can watch a pre-recording stream showing some of the fancy new automation machines and how you can use them!

[ 2024-05-20 07:00:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! APICO is part of Farming Fest, with a 60% discount on the game and all OSTs until May 6th! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1390190/APICO/ Unfortunately because of this event I can't schedule a discount on 20th May when the new 4.0 content drops as it would be too close, so if you've been waiting for a good time to pick up APICO or wanted to wait for a sale to try it with all the content updates - this might be the time! The next sale won't be until Summer later in the year (although I am trying to request a Daily Deal from Steam for 4.0!) Bee sure to check out all the other games in the festival here <3 ~ Ell

[ 2024-04-29 18:39:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! To get you ready for the final content update for APICO, FletchMakes will be streaming the new content along with me, Ell! Tune in here on Steam on Friday 26th April at 5PM BST to see a sneak peak of the new gameplay as well as ask me things about the new content or the game in general Hope to see ya there <3 ~ Ell

[ 2024-04-22 12:51:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Exciting news today, I can reveal that the 3rd and final free content update for APICO, "Hive Of Industry", will be dropping on PC+Switch on May 20th, aka International Bee Day, aka APICO's birthday! This update will bring new honeycore mechanics, automation machines, cute pets, seasonal events, a butt-load of decoration, new music, more bees, more butts, and a whole lot of QoL bits and bobs you've all been after - check out the trailer below for a preview: [previewyoutube=zYjv3aVAavg;full][/previewyoutube] If you still want to know more, you can check out the patch notes for the upcoming content early over on the wiki!. It's a big one (and thats without all the bug fixes!) but should make for a wonderful farewell for us all. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for a few events, including a livestream / AMA type thing, plus the new soundtrack in all it's glory <3 ~ Ell

[ 2024-04-18 13:42:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi friends, hope youre doing well! Its already the beginning of a new month, and you know the drill: its time for a new recap! [hr][/hr]

Celebrating Black History Month

APICO took part in Humble's Exceptional Indie Allies Bundle, along with 6 other amazing games, to celebrate Black History Month and raise money for NPower. Big thanks to everyone who supported the cause - so far youve helped raise over $25,000! (Also if youre quick you can still grab the bundle today!) [hr][/hr]

LVE JAM 2024

Ell took a little week break from finishing APICOs Honeycore Update to join this years LVE game jam with their submission, Synthesis! In Ells own words; [quote=ellraiser]this year the theme was interface so you know I had to! I wanted to make a bit of an abstract puzzle game where the player isn't taught any controls and has to learn through trial and error, and I'm happy with how it all ended up! It was also my first time making music for a game so... enjoy that lol[/quote]
You can try out the jam game over on itch.io here! [hr][/hr]

Whitethorn Winter

Whitethorn Games, APICOs publisher, held a celebration of gaming across all the games in their catalogue through a showcase and Steam event (you can catch the vod here) While we didnt have anything to show, there was some nice sneak peaks at our sibling games, like Magical Delicacy and Botany Manor! [hr][/hr]

Final Countdown

Its been a bit of a slow year so far, with not much to share while Ell plugs away at finishing the final update, however we have got some lovely things planned for the 4.0 launch to look forward to, so be sure to keep an eye out. Well also havs the Steam Spring Sale coming very soon (March 14th!) with the deepest discount to-date for APICO and the soundtracks, so a perfect time to pick up APICO and catch up with everything before the last update [hr][/hr] Aaand that was February at TNgineers! As always, thank you so much for your support <3 Take care! Manon, Ell and Jamie

[ 2024-03-01 18:55:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi friends! A new year is upon us, and its been a bit of a manic start with Ell moving house but were back on track now! [hr][/hr]

APICO Pet Competition

As you may have seen on our socials, pets are coming to APICO along with the final Honeycore update! To celebrate, we held a design-your-own-pet competition (which receieved over 200 submissions!), and narrowed down the cuties to just five finalists, which were put up to a vote by all of you.
Although the dino was the vote winner by a small margin, everyone found it super difficult to pick - and why should they have to? Weve decided that all five designs will be winners, so youll be able to enjoy all of them as pets in the final update - congratulations to all the artists! <3 [hr][/hr]

APICO 4.0 WIPS

Ells been working hard on the Honeycore Update, and you might have seen some bits and bobs on our socials and on Discord!
New cute decor and furniture, light automation, moving crates & beeboxes without emptying them we've been very glad to see your reactions to all the new things weve planned for this last update and cant wait to let you all get your hands on it! [hr][/hr]

APICO Prime!

For those of you who use Amazon Prime Gaming, APICO is currently part of the free Prime games you can claim! You have until February 14th to claim it - once you do itll be added to your library indefinitely! This is the same as the latest Steam / PC release, so you get all of the same nautical goodness. [hr][/hr]

Coming Very Soon

Coming very shortly after this recap, Whitethorn Games (APICOs publisher!) will be having their Whitethorn Winter Showcase! This is a celebration of gaming magic across all the other sister games, so be sure to check it out to see what other new games are coming that might bee off interest to you. Theres also a new Humble Bundle where you can get APICO along with some other fantastic games, all to help celebrate Black History Month and raise money for NPower, so if youre still looking to pick up APICO as well as support a wonderful cause this is your chance! [hr][/hr] And thats it for this first recap of 2024! Big thanks for your amazing support <3 Take care! Manon, Ell and Jamie

[ 2024-02-07 08:50:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey beekeepers! As you might have seen in the last post, the final update for APICO will be adding pets! To celebrate, we had a competition to submit your own pet design - and we had so many (nearly 200!!!) wonderful submissions. Thanks so much for everyone who submitted a design (and shout out to the person who submitted their designs using MINECRAFT as a medium, actually genius) It was really hard because they were all so cute but we've narrowed the submissions down to 5 finalists - so now it's time for all of YOU to vote on your favourite below! The winning design as voted by the hive will be added to the gang along with the other pets coming in 4.0 - (bee, butterfly, bird, bunny, frog, imp, fish, and crab). Please have a look through each of the 5 designs and then vote for your favourite in the form here:

Voting Form!

Voting closes on February 1st, after which we'll announce which cutie won the vote and will be added to the game! <3

[ 2024-01-25 17:00:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So some exciting news - not only will there be little pets to collect in 4.0, but this is your chance to design your own and potentially get it added to the game!
If you'd like to have a chance to see your design chosen by the Hivemother, submit it using the form below before January 25th. I'll select 5 finalists from the submissions and then everyone will be able to vote for their favorite - the winning design will end up in the game along with the other pets :D https://forms.gle/14WLGpbuCqqJzFeCA Your design must be pixel art, and is limited to 10x10 pixels! It's tough but I believe in you! Check the form above for some reference examples you can download as well as some free software you can use to make your design. You can also go old school and get out the graph paper if you'd prefer analogue. Looking forward to seeing all the cute friends that get submitted <3 Good luck, have fun! Ell

[ 2024-01-15 14:43:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! As some of you might know, there is one last content update planned for the game - which will also be the last update for the game! 4.0, AKA, "Hive Of Industry" will see the honeycore process finally expanded, letting you forge your own honeycore crystals and build your own lite automation machines, such as the hopper (move items around), plopper (move liquids around), and forester (tree harvester). There'll be lots of QoL tweaks, useful items, decoration, a few more bees and butts, some seasonal events (hivemas! hallowbeen!), a final OST, and some other lil secrets - it'll also finally let you walk through that mysterious doorway to lead to one final location to wrap everything up story and gameplay-wise...
I'll also be creating a self-hostable version of the Beenet (the multiplayer server) so you'll be able to run your own server. I'll still keep the current Beenet up for as long as I can afford, but just want to make sure there's some future proofing there. So outside of new content this is everyones last chance to submit your 'last orders' for things you'd like added! Obviously I can't add every suggestion no matter how cool it'd be, but if there's been some QoL stuff or tweaks you'd like to see in APICO then this is the last time you'll be able to post them to potentially be added to the game <3 You can post in this thread below, or use the feedback form if you want to do some longer feedback (just ignore the other questions and dump in the last one) ~ Ell P.S. Don't worry about any outstanding bugs as I already have a big old list for that and there'll still be some bug patches after the final update - this is purely just for features!

[ 2024-01-03 09:44:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

2023 is almost at an end, and its been a busy ol year looking back! Heres a lil ellraiser/TNgineer wrapped [hr][/hr]
Started the year off strong dropping a demo for Rift Breach, an experimental lil dungeon crawler. This was super fun to make, and helped me get better at scoping small as well as got my out of my usual pixel art comfort zone! [hr][/hr]
Then FletchMakes hosted a 7 day gamejam + I couldnt resist making the APICO but frogs Id always joked about Mudborne was born(e) + I was overwhelmed with how much people loved it. It also showed me just how much I can get done with a super strict scope and detailed plan! [hr][/hr]
APICO had its 1st birthday! From a silly concept made in HTML to now published on all platforms with over 50,000 beekeepers playing - truly never thought it would go anywhere Im forever grateful to everyone whos played and shared this funky bee game [hr][/hr]
At this point trying to keep up with socials for 3 different games was getting far too much and I needed help - enter @mibyledraws who joined as the first official TNgineer! Thank you for all your hard work, wonderful videos, and helping me keep on top of everything <3 [hr][/hr]
I got round to releasing the 2nd free content update for APICO, "What Lies Beeneath, with all sorts of weird and wonderful ocean friends Its been tough to keep working on this mess of a game, but its worth it to see how much people have been enjoying all the new content [hr][/hr]
Decided that I wanted to take the Mudborne concept into a full-game, and started planning out everything along with a new art style and vibe for it (theres only so far a sprite-rip of APICO can go lmao) Its wild to see how far Ive started to come from tiny rectangle trees! [hr][/hr]
Towards the end of the year I left my freelance contract + went full-time gamedev, not quite by choice but it was something I wanted to do for a while Ill now be able to spend all my time on the games, as well as all the other little concepts Ive had bubbling away... [hr][/hr]
I moved from GameMaker to LVE, built a small framework for future games like Snacktorio + Mudborne, and contributed to the engine itself Was the first time actually helping making a substantial contribution to an open-source project and I learnt a lot! [hr][/hr]
After a couple years in + out of development and a last minute engine change to LVE, I finally finished + released the demo for Snacktorio Weve had some amazing feedback and its been so gratifying to finally get it out and see people enjoy it [hr][/hr]
Looking ahead to 2024, itll be my first year as a full-time gamedev (as well as reaching lvl 30!) Im planning to release the final update for APICO, as well as releasing either Mudborne or Snacktorio - might even have to drop some new demos too, as a treat [hr][/hr] Thanks for everyone who has supported me and TNgineers throughout the year. Whether that was playing the demos, buying the games, sharing your progress, joining the discord, posting wholesome reviews, sending me cute bee pics - Im truly grateful to you all <3

[ 2023-12-20 11:41:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi friends! Its almost December, which means its time to recap what happened last month! [hr][/hr]

Snacktorio: Ready To Order!

The demo for our factory-cooking simulator, Snacktorio, has finally been released! Thanks so much to all of you chefs, players and content creators for your support <3 If youd like to get a taste of whats in store you can watch the trailer below, or just go try out the demo on Steam! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIsDeQQokwM [hr][/hr]

Cozy Quest Steam Festival

In the middle of the month we snuggled up and celebrated cozy games through the Cozy Quest Festival hosted on Steam, with APICO and Mudborne!
The organizers, Secret Mode, hosted a lovely stream to try out some of the games and demo taking part in the festival, and played the Mudborne demo while interviewing Ell, which you can watch here. [hr][/hr]

10,000 FROGS

Our little froggy nature-sim reached 10,000 wishlists last month! We are so happy and thankful to each and every single person whos supported Mudborne, played it, and wishlisted it on Steam. Heres all 10,000 of you, live in-game:
[hr][/hr] Aaand thats it for this months recap! Thanks for sticking with us and keeping the soups coming :) Take care! Manon, Ell and Jamie

[ 2023-11-30 15:57:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

I broke divepoints oops sorry

[ 2023-11-01 22:38:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Beeeen a busy bee working on the demo for Snacktorio but now thats finishing up I had some time to work through the backlog of various bugs and some MP fixes - thanks for all your patience!! ~ Ell

Changes

• Updated Steam Achievement descriptions to say 'half' rather than specific numbers as the numbers are now outdated
• Increased the pickup range of dropped items

[hr][/hr]

Crash Fixes

• Fixed "Variable .species(100014, -2147483648) not set before reading it" (sc_beehotel1_change)
• Fixed "Unable to find instance for object index 129284" (sc_slot_shift_click SLOT_LDOWN)
• Fixed "Variable .oid(100032, -2147483648) not set before reading it" (sc_util_get_obj_at HIGHLIGHTER_STEP)

[hr][/hr]

Bug Fixes

• Fixed salinity level of coral tanks being set to the ph level in multiplayer games
• Fixed sludge + coral achievements not unlocking when playing in a friend's game in multiplayer
• Fixed a duplicate boat being made in multiplayer when a client player dived back to the surface near a boat
• Fixed butterfly mutation cuases duplicate flowers
• Fixed Cultivator Bee entry showing the wrong sprite for the required Honeycore item
• Fixed Coral Flower items saying you could place them on grass, the liars
• Fixed Ashthorn not being able to be used to calm Stubborn Bees
• Fixed "Tier 3" label in the flower book overlapping chapter icons
• Fixed a couple of rogue PLAYER.NAMEs in magazines instead of showing your own lovely name
• Fixed Coral Tanks trying to process Prismatic Slivers
• Fixed beehives sometimes keeping the grumpy status after a queen ends its lifecycle
• Fixed time not going back to normal if you click a gate or boat while sleeping/benching (and in MP)
• Fixed being able to open the Butterfly Book by clicking the empty book slot before its unlocked
• Fixed being able to place Ocean Lanterns underwater in the cave walls
• Fixed footstep sound for grass playing when using the rubberring in deep water

[ 2023-11-01 17:21:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi friends! A month passed by since our last newsletter, heres whats been going on! [hr][/hr]

FROG CON

We joined the Frog Con, an online convention for frog lovers that mixes educational panels with creative works, in the middle of the month. Mudborne was one of the froggy games and got played during the convention! For the occasion, we shared more about the game on our socials, as well as some redesign work-in-progress sneak peeks!
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APICO Checklist Tracker

A fellow beekeeper created a checklist tracker & guide spreadsheet for APICO! Its truly an amazing resource, and includes the Ocean Update (3.0) new content.
Thank you so much DeluxeGremlin for this! [hr][/hr]

APICO Community Spotlight

Fellow beekeeper Hazel shared this screenshot of her base in our community discord! Between the rainbow hive garden and the Mothense concert for the NPCs, its a dream place to bee. If you want to share youre own cute pics you should come join us!
In other APICO news, the lovely Chelsea, that you may know as myPotatoGames on Twitter, wrote a very wholesome review of our beekeeping sim! Its always heartwarming to hear such nice feedback <3 [hr][/hr]

Beemoji Mashup!

Last month, our discord bot beebot started sharing a beemoji mashup everyday, and that gave us an idea: what if you could make your own mashup, and beebot could send it to the server?
You can now submit your mashup by filling this form, and itll get added to the bots daily posts! :D [hr][/hr] Thats it for this months recap! Thanks for sticking with us and keeping these hives buzzing, its been a quiet month but we have some exciting stuff coming next time! Take care! Manon, Ell and Jamie

[ 2023-10-31 20:09:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Couple more bug fixes including a bunch of minor stuff I was putting aside in favour of more breaking issues! Thanks again as always to all your reports <3 ~ Ell [hr][/hr]

Changes

• You no longer get sent back to your spawn after the credits, and remain in front of the (now open) door (could this be a setup for the 4.0 update I wonder)
• Updated steam cloud mapping, should now sync the saves+modsfolders between all OSs properly

[hr][/hr]

Bug Fixes

• Fixed SteamDeck not using the full height of the screen
• Fixed new bee produce being disgustingly undervalued by those ungrateful NPCs (x10 sell price)
• Fixed the new idol not being able to be used in the dream shrine
• Fixed the beehive breeding slot not being fully hidden when a queen was inside
• Fixed Filtration Hives filling sludge filters when not underwater
• Fixed lag on beebox/buttbox/beebank with lots of friends inside
• Fixed Filtration Hives filling sludge filters when no sludge tiles were nearby
• Fixed some NPCs getting ahead of themselves and congratulating you on finding all bees/butts early
• Fixed some rogue {PLAYER.NAME}s showing in dialogue instead of your own beeautiful name
• Fixed not being able to pick up flora with most tools (exception being nets on flowers for obvs reasons)
• Fixed being able to set your spawn point with a bed underwater or in caves
• Fixed being able to use the rubbering in the dev/dream areas
• Fixed coral species not generated hives when fully restored
• Fixed fishing then using a gate or divespot causing a weird ghost fishing menu
• Fixed not being able to dive back down a spot on gamepad when no shallow/boat nearvy
• Fixed heater/cooler icons overlapping with the moon icon in the top-left
• Fixed corrupted players.json files causing issues on start-up
• Fixed Shipsbane showing "thorny" butterfly as the req when it's "stippled"
• Fixed some fishing achievements being locked+relocked when changing between saves
• Fixed not being able to open non-beehives with a hivetool equipped
• Fixed being able to use the pencil on a backpack
• Fixed coral restoration not immedietely being detected in some situations
• Fixed coral that was pincered not counting as needing to be restored in that session
• Fixed Golden fishing rod having no tooltip info
• Fixed TDRAW hook being broken with modding

[ 2023-10-09 17:17:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi friends! September is already gone and oh boy, what a month! APICOs second major update came out - What Lies Beeneath :D [hr][/hr]

APICO 3.0 Makes A Splash!

What Lies Beeneath launched on September 26 on PC! Beekeepers can now explore the ocean, restore coral reefs, clean the seabed, fish and, of course, discover all the new bees (including underwater ones!!). You can check out the patch notes here to see all the new stuff added. If youre a console player, no worries! The update will eventually come to you, and well make sure to let you all know when it happens <3 [hr][/hr]

APICO Steam Sale

To celebrate the new update, APICO and its amazing soundtracks (Im not the one who composed it so I can say it) are currently on sale on Steam! The game is 45% off, and the soundtracks are each 50% off until October 10th [hr][/hr]

Bee Butts?!

We experimented a bit with the discord server this month: after a short career in sending cute bee pics, beebot switched to beemojis creation. Some are cuter than others, but its a little surprise everyday! Weve also been very happy to see the players enjoy the update and sharing tips (and bugs) in the server, feel free to stop by! <3 [hr][/hr]

Whats Next?

In October, well join Frog Con, a lovely online convention for frog lovers that raises funds for amphibian conservation. In the middle or froggy cams, the artist alley and educational streams, Mudborne will take part to the con as a froggy game, October 13-23 Be sure to check it out, along with the other amazing froggy games well be alongside! [hr][/hr] And thats a wrap for September! We wish you all a good spooky month! Take care, Manon, Ell & Jamie

[ 2023-10-02 17:44:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Some more bug fixes and a couple a tweaks, hopefully this should be all of the major stuff sorted out! Ill still be doing patches but less frequently now as things have got more stable (especially after the influx of new bees, welcome all!!) If youve been enjoying the new content and want to see more dont forget to leave a nice review for the game! Theres still one last big free content update to come next year - if youre interested in knowing more you can check out the roadmap here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1390190/discussions/0/3414305314950533292/ ~ Ell

General

• Added a check to make sure frosty/fiery beehives get spawned properly
• Changed solitary bee item tooltip to show the beehotel/habitat rather than beehive/hive
• You can now hammer glitched beehives (especially ones that rudely spawn in your beeautiful base)
• Removed "hydrophobic" from prismatic bee's hint as it caused confusion (myself included)

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Crash Fixes

• Fixed selling to Bobbee with JP or CN language set crashing

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Bug Fixes

• Fixed being able to use the shovel underwater
• Fixed coral tanks not being able to go back down to 0% salinity
• Fixed butterfly hotels not picking up nearby algae/kelp preventing sunken admiral usage
• Fixed the beebank being a bit wonky in multiplayer
• Fixed butterfly box setting lifespan to 0 when removed. You can put 0 lifespan butts back in buttbox if you want to reset the lifespan back
• Fixed shell scaffold in calcified bee entry always showing as discovered
• Fixed coral tanks not being able to go down to 0% salinity
• Fixed bug hotels in the caves saying the native flora used was wrong
• Fixed prismatic bee magazine showing "$magazine_prismatic_b" instead of the second paragraph
• Fixed cultivator bee entry in book crashing once you'd discovered Honeyed Root
• Fixed sea cauliflower not applying the +2 lifespan
• Fixed tidewort not applying the +2 stability
• Fixed honey visual on hives not disappearing after using a hivetool
• Fixed tooltip for kelp + algae flora items being the wrong way round and saying they come from shrubs
• Fixed walking near the hivemother's door after opening it retriggering the opening sequence
• Fixed being able to move stuff into an invisible backpack/trash slot on steamdeck when opening another menu
• Fixed being able to see the quick queen button on steamdeck (you just use the r-stick control as displayed to QQ on gamepad)
• Fixed butterfly box UI going weird when removing butterflies on steamdeck/gamepad

[ 2023-10-02 16:25:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Continuing to crush these (not nice) bugs as they come in, keep 'em coming >:) The game goes on sale today at some point for a whole week (valve are being all cool and mysterious and won't tell me what time), so if you've been waiting to grab the game at a nice discount you won't have to wait much longer! ~ Ell

Bug Fixes

• Fixed adding/removing bees to a beebox/beebank not syncing up in multiplayer
• Fixed buttboxes just not working at all in multiplayer
• Fixed buttbox layout for large numbers of butts
• Fixed rehabeelitator not working generally after restoring any of the underwater bees
• Fixed queen lifespan not counting down in a certain golden location
• Fixed Captain just giving away striped walls until he went out of business
• Fixed ocean butterflies not showing a tooltip when highlighting the right panel in the book
• Fixed kelp/algae not showing their discovered sprites for sunken admiral page
• Fixed degrumpifyer drones not potentially passing that onto the queen they make
• Fixed degrumpifyer not using up honey
• Fixed Beenjamin's hints being for the wrong species in the later tiers
• Fixed some of the hotbar bee icons being offset slightly
• Fixed habitats not working for coral/underwater bees
• Fixed habitats not showing correct environment sprites for the new species
• Fixed conditions for Crystalfin being wrong

[ 2023-09-28 12:35:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Few more fixes and tweaks, hope youve been enjoying all the new content so far :D ~ Ell

Balance

• Increases the radius of the lure's grab area
• Decreased the speed of some of the fish slightly

Crashes

• Fixed "variable co_core.working not set before reading it" on some quick-queen hotkey presses
• Fixed "sc_button_press unable to find instance for object index" when closing a pencil re-naming menu
• Fixed game crashing when trying to drop a fish back in deep water with right-click

Modding

• Tweaked api_slot_fill and api_slot_drain to prevent issues
• Fixed NPCs not having the correct slot position to account for the new multiplyer buttons

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Prismatic Fragment item missing a tooltip
• Fixed Coral Scaffold having no lore in the bee book
• Fixed open menus not updating position & GUI after resizing the window until you move

[ 2023-09-27 11:25:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Couple quick fixes while you explore the depths, thanks for all the reports!! <3 ~ Ell

Bug Fixes

• Fixed being able to hammer sludge or seaweed underwater (oops)
• Fixed hammer highlight showing when hovering on coral or sludge
• Fixed some 3.0 achievements automatically unlocking (you gotta work for that)
• Fixed Bumblemore item spawning in the lost+found on new 3.0 worlds
• Fixed not being able to place scaffolds on damaged coral near coral beehives
• Fixed Captain just GIVING away lamps, what is this a charity???
• Fixed Sunken Admiral book entry not showing kelp/algae items
• Fixed coral/ocean/geode solbees & butts having wrong background in the books
• Fixed "Lost" Butterfly just saying "lost" (he like me foreal)

[ 2023-09-26 19:15:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Well here we are gang, the 3.0 update, aka What Lies Beeneath, is finally here! Its been a long time planned and lots of things got in the way but here it is! As Ive mentioned before, while the 1.0 is a finished game in its own right there was lots of things I still wanted to do with APICO - one of them was focus on the empty ocean areas, as well as play with the idea of underwater bees! What Lies Beeneath is the second of the three (free) content updates, and covers a whole host of stuff including:

• New NPCs! Skippers Dad, who loves to fish, and Director Bumblemore himself from MPCO arrive!
• Fishing! Make your own fishing flies and fish for 15 different species across the islands!
• Coral Reefs! New coral reef areas with their own bees and butterflies that need to be restored!
• Coral Restoration! Restore the coral through the power of bees and get some awesome rewards from Bumblemore!
• Deep-sea Diving! Head down to the sea-floor to discover a whole host of underwater friends
• Ocean Clean-up! Help Bumblemore clear the seabeds, and discover some forgotten areas in the process
• Butterfly Upgrades! New butterfly related machines so you can hoard to your hearts content!
• More Friends! 11 new social bees, 5 new solitary bees, 10 new butterflies, 15 fish to
• QoL Stuff! Quick store, trash slot, a tool that lets you gather honeycomb/frames without opening menus???
• More Music! The wonderful SEA-sides by Mothense have been added <3
• More decoration! Lots more decoration items, tiles, walls and more!
• More achievements! 15 more achievements to ruin your 100% achievement score!
• Even more freakin bugs because theres just one developer!!! (me) :D

Thats just the high-level stuff, strap in for the changelog below as theres a LOT to cover I cant wait for you to all experience the new content and I hope you enjoy playing as much as I did making it <3 There is a SALE planned from 28th September where the game will be 45% off! I messed up the event start date and now I can't change it, but just for anyone who's waiting for a discount, it'll be live in a few days! N.B.: Same as 2.0, you do NOT need to make a new world to experience all the new content! (Unless you want to!) The new areas and NPCs will be added to existing worlds automagically ~ Ell [hr][/hr]

Moon

• The phase of the moon has been added, and is shown next to the night icon at night (top left)
• Moon phase moves forward 1 phase with each in-game night (I like accuracy but I'm not that mean)
• Added Tom's Pocketwatch, given by the new moon quest, which displays the time, weather forecast (if any), and moon phase
• Tom's Pocketwatch counts as a key item so can also be got from the Lost+Found if you lose it
• You will have better luck generally during a Full Moon
• Lunar Bee now requires a Full Moon to appear Honeycore now only re-grows during a Full Moon (weird I wonder why)
• You'll find other things that rely on a Full Moon too...

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Fishing

• Introducing The Captain, aka, Skipper's Dad, found on his pier to the south-east of Port APICO!
• He'll teach you how to fish and finally chill out for once ya landlubber!
• Added the Fly Workshop, bought from The Captain, this allows you to craft your own fly fishing lures
• Added Fishing Rods, bought from The Captain - use with a lure to fish in deep water!
• Added the Fishing Board, used to keep track of the fish you've discovered, and their bumbly variants
• Birbs can now drop feathers when scared off!

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Coral Reefs

• Introducing Director Bumblemore, head of MPCO & ocean conservationist, found near the Tundra!
• He'll arrive after you've unlocked the Forest and Swamp gates and teach you about coral!
• Added various coral related items, sold by the Director
• You'll now discover 3 different coral reefs scattered around the oceans, in various states of restoration
• Gather fragments of coral and restore them in Coral Tanks
• Use Coral Scaffolding along with nearby bees to help regrow your coral
• Once you restore a coral reef new flora and flowers will grow, letting you attract coral butterflies and solitary bees
• Restore each of the 3 coral reefs to get some very cool items from Bumblemore!

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Ocean Depths

• Speak to Director Bumblemore to learn about ocean diving and all the strange bugs down there...
• Added the Diving Helmet which lets you dive to the ocean depths (can buy from Bumblemore after 1 reef is restored)
• Added three different underwater areas to find and explore! Don't get lost...
• Added Sludge, a strange run-off from the mainland collecting on the ocean floor (gross!)
• Added the Filtration Hive, that allows you to use Filters instead of Frames to clean-up the mess
• Added the Sludge Extractor, that allows you to clean Filters and gather items from the sludge
• Cleaning up Sludge might reveal secrets that have been hidden a long time...

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Bees

• Added 11 new social bees, who make their homes across the reefs and the ocean floor
• Added 5 new solitary bees, who can be found nesting in the reefs and deep underwater
• Added the Hive Tool, a craftable tool that lets you harvest honeycomb + filled frames from beehives without having to open them (ikr!!!)
• Apiaries now have a special visual when the frames inside are filled to save you looking (a throwback to the original concept art for APICO!)
• Added the Degrumpifier, a machine that allows you to remove grumpiness from bees (bought from Bumblemore)
• Bees buzzing around now match the color of the species in the beehive! (so many pretty colours!)
• Beehotels + Habitats will show a bee visiting on the overworld alongside the notice bubble when a visitor is near (for vibes)
• You can now use "R" to quick queen when a hive menu is hovered on PC
• Repopulating a species entirely will spawn some natural beehives of that species in their preferred biome (if you've already repopulated a bunch of species just put a random bee in a rehabeelitator to retrigger all of them)
• There's a couple of new colors of natural beehive that will spawn (you can also use Dye Station to get them - pink, lime, brown)

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Butterflies

• Added 10 new butterflies, who flit about the coral and the sea bed
• This includes the competition butterfly, designed by Holli! (Congratulations again!)
• Added the Butterfly Box, a mass butterfly release machine, sold by Sto (doesnt affect conservation)
• Added the Lepidoterarium, a mass butterfly storage machine like the Beebank, sold by Sto
• If there is no room for new flowers, butterflies in hotels will mutate existing flowers instead
• Hovering a flower with a butterfly with a net now shows a preview of the butterfly species

[hr][/hr]

Flowers

• Added 8 new strange types of flowers, found out to sea as well as deep below
• Variant flowers can now spread and mutate back into their original variants
• If theres no room for new flowers, butterfly hotels will mutate existing flowers instead

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General

• Added 15 new achievements to cover all the new areas of content!
• Added 6 new amazing music tracks - the Sea-Sides! Moths gone and freakin done it again gang
• 3 of these tracks you'll hear as part of the normal day/night cycle, 3 you'll only hear underwater...
• You can now use the quick-store button to the right of your hotbar to move inventory items into nearby crates (you can also press "Q" when not highlighting a menu to do the same thing, or "R3" on a gamepad). Quick-store will move all items in your inventory (not hotbar) into nearby crates as long as the crate has that item (and room)
• When opening your inventory, you now have a separate trash slot and backpack slot, free of charge! (on gamepad, use triangle/Y while highlighting the backpack slot to open it)
• Pressing "Delete" on MKB over an inventory slot will send that item to the trash slot for you
• Added new ocean-themed decor: fishing crates, worn crates, water buoys, water lanterns, new pier tiles, striped wall, and new banners
• Added new critters to the world, not just birds! Frogs, fish, snails, dragonflies - oh my!
• Character Creation & the Dresser now have a Randomise button, get ready for some crazy combinations
• Also added some new hat/hair options to pick from, including your own Skipper Hat!! (check the Dresser!)
• Gates are now visible on the map alongside the boats + NPCs
• On MKB you can now remap the R key (respawn + quick queen hotkey), as well as Y (butterfly book)
• Item stack size has now been increased from 99 to 999 (ur welcome)
• Alchemy Bench now shows a hint in the UI for number of recipes found vs total recipes to find (spoilers, it's 11)
• Banners placed on fence posts now sit slightly higher to look "correct"
• NPC hitboxes have been increased to make them easier to talk to / bonk
• Added beehotel icons to items that can be used in beehotels to help hint at what can be used/saved
• NPCs now have multiplyer buttons above their stock allowing you to quickly buy 1x, 5x, 10x, 20x, 50x and 99x of any stackable item
• You can now shift-click buy items if you have inventory room (for quick buying singular items like frames) - works for gamepad too
• The game will now store a backup save in "/backup" before saving (same root folder as your "/saves")

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Balance

• Basic, treated, and honeycomb frames have an extra use each - now 4, 6, and 3 respectively (this will only apply to newly created frames after updating to 3.0)
• Achievement unlocks for the "3-tier" type achievements have been adjusted to compensate for the new bees/butts
• Flowers and sawdust bricks will now give 80s of time per item in a Smoker (used to be 60s)

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Multiplayer

• Multiplayer has been changed so that when you join a host game you'll be able to pick from all your multiplayer characters. You can make up to 5 different multiplayer characters. (before only one multiplayer character existed per host and you couldn't pick it)
• Revamped the UUID system to fix the issues some people were seeing with not being able to see friends
• Fixed butterfly restoration status not being synced to the client
• Fixed not being able to use the shrine or door in the dream as a client
• NPC dialogue progress should now be saved for clients properly

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Accessibility

• The accessibility menu has been redesigned, with each option having a proper description
• A new accessibility option has been added to help distinguise between similar bee items (Bee Labels). This will add the first 3 letters of the species name to any slot a bee is in.
• A new accessibility option has been added to allow you to modify bee lifespan/productivity values GLOBALLY. This allows you to make all bees live longer/slower or work faster/slower depending on your preference. Remember that if you make bees lifespans extremely short they might not produce anything! (Both these options will be inherited from the host when playing in multiplayer)

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Gamepad

• Made sure PS5/Dualsense controllers can be used with a PC
• Made sure PS4 controllers can be used with a PC
• Fixed "SELECT" button not working as a menu button on PS3 controllers
• Fixed "VIEW" button not working as a menu button on Xbox One controllers
• Fixed using up on the DPAD to open the quest book also moving up 1 chapter (finally)

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Fixes

• Fixed a bunch of butterfly effects not working properly in butterfly hotels (princess, marsh, wtempest, faded)
• Fixed a bunch of typos, and added a bunch of new ones I'm sure! Fixed delay of highlighting GUI elements like time of day or weather icons in top-left
• Fixed using a bed in a certain "special" area setting your spawn position thus softlocking, doomed to be stuck with me forever
• Fixed "Not enough money" error not taking into account any discounts
• Fixed being able to place grass in the devland (sorry)
• Fixed blank/empty/corrupted save files causing the game to never be able to start
• Fixed some button states not updating immedietely after being clicked
• Fixed picking up shiny butterflies not counting as unlocking the shiny butt
• Fixed the messenger bees not being shown flying away when using an altar
• Fixed being able to click on the Hivemother Door through menus/buttons
• Fixed Beenjamin asking for a "Behaviour Behaviour" when really he wanted a "Cathemeral Behaviour" (what a joker)
• Fixed Royal Trumpet not working on beehives that are offscreen
• Fixed the bee book intro chapters having "bee" added the chapter hover tooltip
• Fixed the solitary bee book overview chapter not staying stickied to the top
• Fixed Hivemother Door opening sequence having a yellow bg instead of a grey one
• Fixed a crash caused when trying to drain a raintank with a canister containing any non-water liquid
• Fixed credits not being visible when high contrast text is enabled
• Fixed guidebook scroll not scrolling enough when enough modded quests got added
• Fixed nana's postcard text not being visible when high contrast text is enabled
• Fixed NPC dialogue prompts not showing a visual highlight if you close an NPC menu mid conversation (how rude)
• Fixed slight delay of the "Set Sail" text not showing immedietely on character creator screen
• Fixed beehives that are left during the 5s of breeding and go offscreen not making the queen until they're back on screen
• Fixed not being able to catch Greater Dreamers or Moth(ense) when using a golden net
• Fixed shiny bees not doing their lovely shine animation
• Fixed lanterns not having any shadows
• Fixed "Press ESC to close all windows" showing all the freakin' time
• Pre-emptively fixed the fact that you could equip the rubber ring and then sail a boat through solid land (it was super fun soz)
• Purple dyed beehives in the Dye Station are now actually purple

[ 2023-09-26 12:58:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Tune in here or on the store page to watch a silent playthrough of some of the new content! Update will be out at 2pm BST today <3

[ 2023-09-26 08:00:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! This month I took the plunge into going full-time in gamedev - up until this point I've been doing freelance work for about 50% of each month. This meant I could sit down and properly get stuck into the 3.0 update, and I really did this month as (spoilers) I finished it! This post will contain spoilers of 3.0 content. [hr][/hr]

Engine Tune-Up

So one of the things I ended up finally doing was upgrading the version of GameMaker APICO uses. I haven't updated for a while as the version I used (2022.6) was the last version an older type of Xbox port accepts, any newer versions I'd need to upgrade the multiplayer code to use Playfab (which I didn't fancy doing).
rip XDK it was nice while it lasted However there were a few things starting to cause issues:

• GameMaker support wouldn't fix any issues I had, as the version I was using was too old
• The Steamworks integration for 2022.6 sometimes just crashes on certain Windows machines, and doesn't support older MacOS versions
• Some issues with tiles that were getting annoying to work around, plus the sprite editor having a bug with copy/paste from aseprite (making importing assets a pain)

Also at the time the new long-term support (LTS) version didn't even exist (yes this engine has been around 24 years and only now bothered to add a LTS version don't get me started), so wasn't any point upgrading when everything changed every month with each update. Luckily moving to LTS wasn't that painful, had to make a few tweaks but overall everything worked the same just with better performance! Always a risk having to update mid-development though :') [hr][/hr]

Restore The Reefs

With the engine upgraded I could get back to the actual core 3.0 stuff, namely coral reefs and the underwater areas. Last month I'd added the coral "tiles" and the related machines, but they weren't actually in the world yet!
the red coral reef area in the tile editor To spawn in the coral reefs, I actually "drew" the areas out in the room editor with tiles - this would make it easier to dump the new regions into the game and I could edit the reefs to make sure all the "dying" coral was in range of the natural beehives. Each tile is then read and turned into what it needs to be, tiles, objects, scenery - multiple per tile if needed. This is the same method used to spawn in the town + various NPC areas.
first pass on the ref reef in-game! As I mentioned last month to restore the coral we had a couple of things added:

• A coral tool to allow the player to gather fragments from existing living coral
• Coral tanks that take a fragment and let you adjust salinity + pH to match, when met the fragment then grows into multiple "restored" coral tiles
• Scaffold that can be placed on dying (dark blue) coral, which you then place the "restored" coral in. Nearby beehive action then restores the tile completely

restoring some of the yellow coral reef ft. bumblemore Once you restore a coral reef, Director Bumblemore sells you a special item, 1 restored you get the Diving Helmet (which unlocks underwater areas), 2 you get the Degrumpifier (which allows you to turn grumpy bees normal), and 3 you get the Rubber Ring (which lets you "walk" across deep water when in your inventory). As well as each restoration giving you a nice item, the coral "flowers" and flora will start growing, which means you can then access the solitary bees and butterflies for the reefs if thats something you like doing!
some new lil weirdos I felt like this was a good reward for restoring it, and something a little different gameplay-wise (using your bees to restore the areas), but as it is a little different I definitely worry what people will make of it! Won't be long before I find out I guess haha... [hr][/hr]

What Lies Beeneath

Finally, months later after starting the concept drawings for 3.0, it was time to see what lies beeneath, and add in the actual main event! At first I was trying to spawn the new areas in by using the same method that I generate islands with, however the main issue was I just couldn't get the sort of interesting shapes that I wanted for the caves, as I wanted 3 distinct ones and a bit more winding corridor areas.
underwater caves using the world generation "blobs" What I ended up doing was the same as I'd done for coral + NPC areas and just made up a special room to draw out the 3 underwater caves.
one of the underwater caves This let me have much more interesting designs for the areas. I've long since stepped away from having proc. gen for the worlds, as although the island generation is randomised per world (which might be news to you!), everything else is roughly the same place, and the different island shapes bring very little to the game as a whole. I'd much rather a more hand-crafted experience, especially when it comes to these new areas underwater where I wanted a very specific look and feel!
another underwater area in the room editor With these done I could make sure that we had 3 underwater areas spawned into the space below the map, and got to work adding all the new objects and tiles (the "sludge") that I needed. Then I played around with a few ideas on lighting and shaders to try and give the background a bit more of an underwater feel without getting in the way with the player + menu object interactions.
To do this I actually reused the same wobbly effect that the devland uses, but only applied it to the background + tile layers - leaving the player, flowers, bees etc all unaffected. Alongside the new underwater sounds it's definitely made it feel very different from the normal biomes!
along with some special scenery items! I then needed to add the new machines that would allow the player to start cleaning up the sludge, with the process as follows:

• Using "Filter Hives", the player can use underwater bees and special "Filter" frames like they would a normal hive but near sludge
• When filling these frames, the bees also clear out some of the sludge, which can then be removed from the filter in a Seperator (which acts like your Extractor but produces sludge not honey)
• The sludge can be further refined at a Percolator, a special machine Bumblemore has that let's you dredge the sludge for any special items you might have missed
• Clearing the sludge from one of the 3 underwater caves uncovers a divepoint to an even deeper cave...

sludge cleaning in action I thought this would be a nice mechanic to introduce to act as a parallel to the coral reefs, using bees to restore coral and then using bees to clean up the sludge (what CANT they do). The deeper dive spots uncovered each lead to a special geode cave - I won't spoil them too much but each one has it's own special thing to discover!
emissary bees you say... [hr][/hr]

Salted Butter

While I was adding in plenty of new butterflies this update (including some strange underwater butts), I also got around to added a couple new machines! The first of which was a butterfly "box", allowing you to store as many butterflies as you like in one place! When I added butterflies in 2.0 I didn't realise just how much people like to hoard them, so now you can really go crazy!
Another thing that came out of 2.0 feedback was a way to mass release butterflies, so I added a small machine that acts like a rehabilitator - only difference is it won't affect restoration as thats still only when you create new butterflies in a nursery. It's just there to make it easier to release all those speckleds you kept picking up! While I was there I also tweaked some of the butterfly spawning, fixed some of the butterfly effects not working, and made sure butterflies could mutate flowers even when there was no room (a common gripe!) [hr][/hr]

Quality Of Life

By now the end was in sight, however I still had a few last things I wanted to add in this update that were just general quality of life stuff and not specific to the new ocean updates. First up was adding a Hive Tool, a craftable tool that lets you bonk beehives or hives to collect any honeycomb or frames without having to open the menu!
honestly why have we not always had this im so dumb Next was probably the most asked feature, a quick store button. Pressing this (or hotkey Q) will move any items from your main inventory (not hotbar) into nearby crates if that crate has the same item.
thanks terraria! While I was added inventory upgrades you can see I also added two new slots to the inventory, a trash slot for quick deletions, as well as a backpack slot to free up a slot. On gamepad the backpack slot also lets you open the backpack without having to "equip" it, which was always a bit cumbersome. Finally I increased the stack size of items from 99 to 999 (cos why not), and added some multiplyers to NPC shops so you could bulk buy.
only 34655 rubbees, what a steal! It might not always seem like it as I'm not exactly the most active dev online but I do read every single one of peoples comments and posts and reviews, and keep a big ol' sheet with all the complaints and suggestions and issues - these were all things very commonly asked for that I had on the list to get round to! Outside of the community feedback I also upgraded the accessibility menu so that it had actual descriptions for each one, and just generally made it all a bit clearer! This also includes 2 new options that let you modify the overall productivity and lifespan values for all bees, so if you've always felt the game is too slow or too fast for your tastes, you can change it to go at your own pace <3
also cute little icons for each one [hr][/hr] So errr, yeah, guess when I have no job and can work on the game full-time I get a lot done huh? At the time of writing this localisation is nearly done, QA is well underway with the final build, and we have settled on a release date! By the time this devlog releases to the public we'll be very close to announcing the date, so you won't have to wait very long now to get your hands on all the new stuff! Time for me to sleep now I think... ~ Ell [This post was released early for KoFi Supporters]

[ 2023-09-12 09:24:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! August came and went, my first month technically doing gamedev full-time! Both exciting and terrifying :'D [hr][/hr]

APICO 3.0 Coming Soon

Unless youve been living in a pineapple under the sea, youve probably seen that the APICO 3.0 update, aka, What Lies Beeneath has been announced as coming soon! Bee sure to check out the new trailer! If youre a content creator or streamer interested in trying out the new content you can also fill in our creator preview form. [hr][/hr]

MibyleDraws Joins The Gang

Pleased to say that the lovely Manon (also known as MibyleDraws) will be joining us as our PR & CM! If you've been enjoying anything posted on socials this last month (like all the new cute tiktoks), then you have Manon to thank for it! [hr][/hr]

G.Round Playtesting

G.Round is a playtesting platform where you can get your hands on a bunch of different indie games and feedback directly to the developers! Currently you can playtest both Mudborne and Rift Breach, and give us feedback as well as chat with other players in the G.Round discord! [hr][/hr]

Socials Consolidation

Now that weve got 4 different games being juggled about, its impossible to manage 6 different accounts on each platform (we know, weve tried) Weve now combined all games into a single TNgineers account on each platform, so be sure to follow to not miss anything! (Tiktok, Twitter, Instagram, Steam) [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on August, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie & Manon

[ 2023-09-02 13:48:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Unless you've been living under the ocean, you've probably seen that the 3.0 update, aka, "What Lies Beeneath", will be coming soon to PC! https://steamcommunity.com/games/1390190/announcements/detail/3653036045491628305 As part of this, we're looking for content creators who are interested in trying out the new update! If this sounds like your cup of Apicola, and you want to stream or let's play the new update early, please fill out this form below: https://forms.gle/FBmvJU7gdhNsP87W9 ~ Ell

[ 2023-09-01 14:32:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey beekeepers! Excited to announce that APICO 3.0, aka "What Lies Beeneath" will be coming soon to PC! You can look forward to:

• New areas: Dive deep down to the bottom of the ocean and discover a new bee-ome with new areas to explore that include deep-sea flora and fauna, a coral reef system, and more!
• New Bees: Discover, collect, build homes and breed new species of bees found only at the furthest depths of the ocean, and collect their resources for craftables and quests.
• New Quests: Harness the help of your newfound bee friends to restore the damaged coral reef system and clean up underwater pollution to help the bee-cosystem and its inhabitants thrive.
• New Fishing Mechanic: Skippers dad, Captain, arrives at the archipelago to teach you the ins and outs of a new mechanic fishing!
• And More: New quality-of-life improvements, including inventory trash can, backpack slot, quick store to nearby chests, quick gathering from hives, new a11y options and more!

Plus plenty more! Check out the trailer for a glimpse of what's to come: [previewyoutube=kgUb2TUuSFA;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2023-08-24 13:30:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! Some good progress on the 3.0 this month, finally taking a huge bite out of all the coral related mechanics (wouldn't recommend, tastes awful) This post will contain spoilers of 3.0 content. [hr][/hr]

Night On The Tiles

So where we'd left off we had finished fishing and added Captain, Skipper's dad, along with a bunch of cute fishing themed decoration items. This meant it was time to move onto 2nd of the three areas of this update - coral reefs. I had already sketched out a lot of the coral stuff a long time ago, but it was time for a quick refresher on what was needed and to get my head into the zone for the new mechanics.
the scaffolds are used to regrow dead coral regions First up was getting the coral into the game - my quick dirty hack idea was to make them into floor tiles (like the wood tiles you can place). This would mean they could act like pier tiles for object placement, and tie in nicely with a lot of other tile based stuff that already existed.
captain peepin The dark blue tiles are "dying" coral which needs to be restored. Restoring all the dying coral restores the reef, and flowers/flora bloom allowing you access to the butterflies and solitary bees that make their home in the reefs. [hr][/hr]

Personal Chemistry

First you need to collect coral slithers (gently), which you can then put in a coral tank where you control the environment to make sure the coral is comfortable and can grow big and strong. This uses acid+alkali (first bought from bumblemore, then later from bee products), and salt!
yea now there's a chemistry lesson to go with the biology ones fight me Once you've grown your new coral pieces, you can place scaffolds for them to sit in. The action of nearby coral bees will slowly help the new coral grow and restore the dying coral underneath it.
sped up for GIF purposes! It's a slow process overall, as it's meant to be something you do alongside your usual bee-related schenanigans - but once you've restored a reef it's done, and you have access to not only the new bees/butterflies attracted to the bloomed flowers. Plus, Bumblemore gives you some pretty sweet items for each of the three reefs... [hr][/hr]

Setting The Scene

Bumblemore himself can be found out in the Tundra, I wanted a bit more of a fancier setpiece given his importance in the gameplay, and took the opportunity to update poor Skipper's piece of crap that hasn't been updated since the original alpha in 2020 - especially now there were a few more lore additions in this update that meant it'd make sense to match the two ships.
whats that weird little black box I wonder... Once I was happy with that the only thing left was to add all the new bees and butterflies, and damn it's actually been so long since I added a social bee I forgot how much was involved... Luckily past me had drawn a bunch of the coral bees already, so I only needed to draw two new ones, but loading in all the assets and all the correct dictionary entries took ages!
some new friends to discover out on the high seas! With all that loaded in I could test all the new mechanics fully. All that remains now is to actually spawn in the coral reefs automatically when the world loads (like how Sto + Codey pop into existence), and check I don't break things massively, but not too worried on that as it uses the same system as the 2.0 NPC areas, and we have way more open ocean to play with. With that done and the new set-piece in I can add Bumblemore and all the goodies he sells, including all the sweet diving equipment - but thats for next month! [hr][/hr] So not bad for a couple weeks work this month! We had a bit of crunch as well trying to get all the new writing and text ready to give to the localisation team early as they have quite a long lead time at the moment, but next month I should be able to finally make a stab on the last, and arguably most exciting part of the update (deep sea diving), and get a finished build over to QA! Also, welcome to all newbees who've started their adventure thanks to the Wholesome Games sale! If you've been enjoying this silly lil bee game pls give it a nice review on Steam - it helps us massively and keeps me motivated through some of the gnarlier parts of these content updates <3 ~ Ell [This post was released early for KoFi Supporters]

[ 2023-08-07 15:55:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! Another month flies by, it feels like I was only just writing the June recap! Here's whats been going on. [hr][/hr]

APICO Wholesome Games Sale!

The lovely people at Wholesome Games have organised a Steam Sale thats host to all sorts of cosy games, with some sweet discounts on offer! As part of the sale, APICO will be 40% off until 7th August, with both OSTs 50% off as well. [hr][/hr]

APICO at /r/place

For the redditors among you, you might have heard of a little thing called /r/place - a community canvas where everyone can get involved. Thanks to the help of the community, we were able to get APICO immortalised in a small section with a bunch of other indies you might know! [hr][/hr]

Itch.io Selects

We were lucky enough to have APICO selected for the Itch.io Summer Selects Bundle, a special bundle containing APICO and 5 other cool indies! Thanks to everyone who bought the bundle and supported us, we hope you enjoy all your new sweet games <3 [hr][/hr]

APICO 2.2.3 for Xbox/Playstation

For our console friends, 2.2.3 is now live on Xbox / Playstation. This was a small update but contained some important fixes and means the consoles are now in-line with PC! Unfortunately Nintendo wasnt as kind with approval and still wont let the patch through, however youre not missing out on anything major! [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on July, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie

[ 2023-07-31 20:49:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! Was a bit busy with Rift Breach and Snacktorio this month, but managed to polish off the rest of the fishing related stuff! This post will contain spoilers of 3.0 content. [hr][/hr]

Gone Fishing

So continuing where I left off I finished up the rest of the fishing minigame.
gotta be quick! I'm still not sold on it 100%, but I just wanted something a bit more visually interesting than the usual "click and wait and click again" type fishing we're all used to. I also properly fleshed out all of the fish and their spawning conditions, biome, time etc. Doing this made me realise there were some "missing" biomes that needed some fish too so I drew a couple of new fish to even things out at a nice round 15.
so many new friends to discover! With that done I did some testing with the different lure types and then that was fishing done! [hr][/hr]

Captain Cabinets

With that done I needed the fishing NPC, Skipper's Dad, so that I could then introduce him, fishing concepts, plus some different fishing themed items and decor.
look at all these new goodies! I wanted to add a few different things that people could add near their docks, as well as a new type of pier tile to mix things up a bit. Alongside the new fishing board + lure workshop I felt like it made for some cute seaside building!
bird? what bird? After giving him his own spawn area / base, the only thing left is the writing for the Captain himself, but I'll be giving Jamie all the writing in one go as it helps make everything a bit more consistent with each other [hr][/hr] With the fishing done and the Captain added, it means I can get stuck into the coral reef and diving stuff next, which is the majority of the 3.0 content but I had to add a lot of "new" systems to get the fishing working which held me up a lot. ~ Ell [This post was released early for KoFi Supporters]

[ 2023-07-12 07:24:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! We're now halfway through the year, which is a scary thought given all the things I still want to get done in 2023... better get to it! [hr][/hr]

APICO releases on Xbox!

So after a very long time, APICO has finally released on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. This is the latest version of the game, and includes all the beeautiful butterfly content! We hope all the new beekeepers enjoy their stay at Port APICO <3 [hr][/hr]

Rift Breach at NextFest

Rift Breach got a bunch of new updates, and the demo was re-released for Steams Nextfest, which you can still try out! Unfortunately it didnt really gather any response or interest, so itll be going into cold storage for a bit while we work on the other games. [hr][/hr]

Mudborne Indie Cup Nominee

Mudborne got nominated for the Rising Star award in the 2023 UK Indie Cup! We didnt win in the end, but the fact that a little 1 week froggy demo managed to get a nomination is still amazing to see! [hr][/hr]

Hello Snacktorio

Feed The Beasts is now Snacktorio! We had to change the name for legal reasons and we asked the Factorio team as a joke, but they said yes. Its weird having to call it something different after 3 years but here we are - you can find us in all the same places just a different name and logo. [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on June, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie

[ 2023-07-02 09:32:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! A slow but steady start made this month into the 3.0 content, with a bunch of little tweaks to get us started! This post will contain spoilers of 3.0 content. [hr][/hr]

Birthday Bee!

May was a special month as it's the birthday month for APICO having been released a year ago on World Bee Day (20th May)! We had a lot of different sales + deals to celebrate, leading to DOUBLE the amount of players we'd had up until that point in one week.
(To all the new bees - welcome! I hope you enjoy this silly lil bee game <3) Safe to say I was pretty busy running around putting out fires and answering a million questions all over the place - but I did manage to still get some development work done eventually! [hr][/hr]

Where To Beegin

One problem I have with gamedev in general is getting p. overwhelmed with how much there is todo - you've seen the list of stuff planned for 3.0 and when broken down into dev work it's even longer!
here's just some misc + fishing stuff broken down - not even the coral or ocean stuff yet!! What I try to do is break it down into smaller sections, and then start with the "quick wins" to try and make a dent in the list first so as to not get too demoralised. When there's only one developer it's definitely a LOT (let alone the fact I have 2 other games on the go at the same time) I started out working through some quick fixes and changes though, like adding the moon, moon phases, and a cute little pocketwatch to give more details on the top-left GUI icons you always see.
I also did some stuff like creating new natural beehives when you repopulate a species (to add to the feeling of actually impacting the world), updating some of the logic with butterflies + flowers, and adding in some new hairstyles - basically just lots of little things to help settle back into the codebase.
this one looks weirdly familiar... With that I was starting to feel a bit more warmed up and more used to how APICO does things, so I added the first new machine for 3.0 - the fly workshop! [hr][/hr]

Fly Fishing

I've wanted to add fishing to the game for a while, as I think it's a nice "time-waster" to fill in the gaps between waiting for certain things in APICO, but didn't give much thought outside of the general concept. When I sat down to look at it properly I thought fly fishing would be the best route, as needing to craft little lures seemed like the perfect vibe for APICO. Crafting lures would also let me give some of the special bee produce a use, as it would effect the overall lure "luck" and the player always has plenty of them.
about time we had a new mechanism huh? The fly workshop takes hoops, twine, glue and feathers (dropped from birbs!), along with your special produce to make a little lure - the stats decided by the materials you use. Once you have your lures you'd be able to use them along with a rod to cast into any deep water to start the fishing minigame! I spent a bunch of time deciding the best way to do this, and what I settled on was a two-parter, first cast the lure out, and then wait for fish to appear and get within "range" to grab 'em.
grab radius is based on how close you cast to the center yellow "goal" It also took me far too long getting a nice "arc" for the lure when cast, and I wanted a nice back and forth animation to mimic the way fly fishers actually cast their lures.
i hate maths so much With that I had the actual grab minigame todo, which will involve the little fishies coming near and attempting to eat your delicious honey flavour lure - unless you grab them in-time, which then catches you a fish! Different conditions/biomes/weather will affect the fish caught (as you'd expect from APICO), and ultimately it'll just be an optional collect-them-all - although you will get some new special items for doing so...
I'm taking my time on the minigame as I want to get it right - and there's nothing quite like it in APICO so it's a challenge trying to make something fit correctly with what players are used to! [hr][/hr] Once I've finished off the fishing i'll be adding Skipper's Dad, and then fishing will be done for now and we can move onto Coral Reefs! I've got to go back to Rift Breach for a bit next month for NextFest but have set aside some time for another chunk of 3.0 goodies. ~ Ell [This post was released early for Supporters]

[ 2023-06-09 09:27:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! May has flown by, and it's an important anniversary month for both APICO and myself personally, marking the start of me making games 3 years ago. Here's whats been going on: [hr][/hr]

APICOs Birthday

May 20th was APICOs birthday! We had lots of deals and sales to celebrate - dont worry if you missed out though as we have an Itch.io one still to come! The hive doubled in size in just a week, so thank you to all the newbees that have joined us - we hope you enjoy <3 [hr][/hr]

Butterfly Design Winner

Voting has now ended for the Design A Butterfly competition, and the winner was @Hollibees Sunset Butterfly Everyone had such a difficult time deciding, thank you for all the artists for their wonderful entries! [hr][/hr]

APICO On Xbox

So its been confirmed APICO will be coming to Xbox soon, stay tuned next month for some date announcements! Xbox initial release will include the 2.0 butterfly update by default <3 [hr][/hr]

APICO 3.0 Beegins

The groundwork for 3.0, aka What Lies Beeneath has started, with a hefty devlog you can read over on Ko-Fi or Steam! No dates to announce yet but were still aiming for Q3/Q4 this year <3 [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on May, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie

[ 2023-05-31 12:07:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! It's World Bee Day tomorrow, which means it's APICO's birthday too! To celebrate, there'll be a Daily Deal from 20th May - 27th May for APICO + the OSTs (50% off!) There'll also be some free key giveaways over on the APICO Twitter account throughout the day <3 [hr][/hr] 3 years ago I was stuck in lockdown, and drew the first sketch that would become APICO - I had no idea where it would end up...
[table] [tr] [td]The first sketch for APICO (Twitter)[/td] [/tr] [/table] 2 years ago I rewrote the first demo (written in HTML + vanilla Javascript!) into GameMaker and released it properly to the world, and was shocked to find so many other people loved this silly bee game!
[table] [tr] [td]The first design for the beehive menu![/td] [/tr] [/table] 1 year ago on May 20th the full game released, and it's wild to think how far it's come and I'm forever grateful for all the people who've played APICO and sent me such lovely messages about how much it meant to them. I never expected it to be much more than a fun side project but it's opened a door to letting me keep making silly games and expand APICO in ways I'd never thought I'd have been able to!
[table] [tr] [td]The multiple menu system is tested...[/td] [/tr] [/table] Tomorrow I've been lucky enough to get a Daily Deal with Steam, and APICO (along with Moth's wonderful OSTs!) will be 50% off for a whole week!! If you or your friends have been waiting for a big discount, this is the one! (This would also bee the perfect time for a nice review if you haven't got round to it, as a little birthday gift for your fav bee game wink wink nudge nudge :D)
[table] [tr] [td]APICO as we know it now starts to take shape...[/td] [/tr] [/table] Thanks again so much to all of you, whether you've beeen here since the janky alpha days, or only recently stumbled upon the game through the butterfly update! There's still lot's more for us all to look forward to in the world of APICO and I appreciate all of you for beeing on this journey - I can't wait to see where it takes us all! <3 ~ Ell

[ 2023-05-19 10:52:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a quick one to say the "Design A Butterfly" competition has now ended, and it's voting time! Please check out all the final designs + choose your favourite here: https://forms.gle/pCtF4HWZz262i3uZ6 The winning design will be added into the next major update - YOU have the POWER ~ Ell

[ 2023-05-16 08:04:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! Last month was mostly uneventful, mainly due to me being ill for a good chunk of it, however I did still manage to take some time to draw out a whole host of the new stuff for the 3.0 - so let's get into it! General heads-up that this post will contain spoilers of 3.0 content - if you're wanting to go in completely blind I totally understand but if so you might wanna skip this one! [hr][/hr]

Planning

From the last devlog I had planned out most of the general concepts I wanted to cover in the 3.0, however a lot of them were just rough ideas. What I wanted to do now was plan them out in more detail, and I'm a very visual person so really it was time to start sketching stuff out!
The only major difference I'd say between those plans in February is I'll no longer be doing the bug hotel stuff - as you're about to see the 3 main areas of fishing, coral reefs, and deep-sea diving cover a LOT of ground, so I don't want to give myself too much work over a "nice-to-have"! (RIP ladybugs) [hr][/hr]

Fishing

So first up is fishing - I'd already decided I wanted to do fly fishing, as I think the lure crafting side of things is very APICO, and I thought it would lead to some neat minigame ideas of luring the fish rather than straight up hooking them. To start off I drew a bunch of fish! At this point I was still a bit sick so I thought this would be a nice way to ease into things. Fishing would just be a nice little time waster, so I just wanted some cute collectibles and a fun shiny "bee" variant for each.
puffer is the indisputable king here To craft lures we'd need a crafting bench of sorts, and it's been a while since we had a mechanism so I felt like this would be a good place for it as we could re-create the winding of twine on the hooks in-game. The idea is you'll use lures, twine, glue, random bee produce, and a feather (dropped by scaring birbs) to form a lure - each lure has various stats based on the items that were used when it was created, i.e. luck, durability
the lure workshop! Once you have your lures you'll be able to cast them out with a fishing rod and start a small fishing minigame. I'm thinking of two parts, first a casting "click when meter is in yellow" classic, and then I'm thinking that you'll be greeted with a sort of menu that shows your lure and various fishy friends around it, and you'll have to try and net them when they get close enough.
altho items with no outlines? blasphemy I was originally thinking a sort of "red light green light" type reel in minigame, but think that would get annoying having to do that each time, and I think a little underwater scene would be cuter. Finally for the fishing mechanics I wanted one place where you could view your progress without creating yet another book - plus it wouldn't make sense to have a whole book for what is quite a small part of the game. My idea is to have a noticeboard-style menu that would give you hints and show progress.
who's that FISH! As part of this update I want to revamp both the bookshelves in a similar way, so I thought this would be a good way to reinforce the concept of these sort of menus as with the bookshelves there'd then be 4 of these types of info machines. Finally we have Skipper's Dad, a new character who you'll meet that will introduce you to fishing and crafting lures!
HOH HOH [hr][/hr]

Sea-Sides

On a related note, as part of the 3.0 update, Mothense will be returning to create 6 new tracks as part of the APICO "Sea-sides". Like the "Bee-sides" these will be additional tracks added in-game, 3 while you fish, and 3 while you explore the ocean depths! You also might be able to find some in-game playable versions of them through exploring the new areas too...
old and crusty, but still works - like me! :D [hr][/hr]

Coral Reefs

With the coral side of things, I spent a lot of time trying to work out how I wanted things to fit together. I wanted a focus on restoring the coral, but I didn't want it to get annoying. I also needed to make sure it still related to bees and also gave a decent reward for doing so - lots to juggle! Before I got completely overwhelmed I drew the different coral reefs and their flora/fauna/friends
the three different types of coral The idea is that there'll be 3 sets of coral in three different areas - each coral has a specific water quality it prefers (more on that later). At the start there'll only be small patches of bright coral, the rest will be the darker "dead" patches you see on the far left of the above image. You'll be able to scrape bits of coral off for samples, which you can then grow in tanks to turn into full coral - using different pH and salinity levels to match the requirements of the coral.
mudborne influence you say? i dont know what you mean Once you have grown coral, you'll be able to place it in sort of empty frames on top of the dead coral patches. The activity of beehives on the coral areas will then help grow the patch until it becomes a full coral tile. The idea will be that by growing patches you can link up all the seperate coral areas through the dead patches, until everything is connected. Once a coral reef is fully connected and restored, the flowers and flora will start forming/blooming, and then you'll have access to the butterflies and solitary bees that like coral but the habitat wasn't restored enough.
some new pastel friends I think this way it should feel like a nice side project to work on restoring the reefs, using your coral bees to help you - and then as a reward you can unlock a host of new flowers, butterflies, and solitary bee friends. As part of these new areas, as well as the ocean diving, you'll meet Director Bumblemore - a familiar name I'm sure to those who've been restoring their solitary bee populations!
what if Beenjamin, but not an asshole? Although he's the general director for MPCO he specialises in ocean conservation, so he'll introduce all the coral reef and deep-sea diving stuff. As part of the coral mechanics you'll be using acid / alkali / salt to manage your pH levels - at the start you can get this from Bumblemore but as you'll always come to find in the world of APICO the bees usually have an alternative solution. When it comes to salt, I wanted to solve another issue players often feedback which is wanting to remove grumpiness from bees. As a result, I present to you, the Degrumpifier:
yes the bees are grumpy becos their literally salty [hr][/hr]

What Lies Beeneath?

As part of the final of the three main sections, we then have the deep-sea diving, as the update name implies! For this section I had a rough idea on what you'd do and what it would look like, but it took me a while to decide on a purpose for the player while down there outside of "explore and collect some bees". The general idea is at a certain point Bumblemore will give you a diving helmet, which can be used on specific deeper parts of the ocean to travel to the ocean floor - a new biome that covers all the deep water of the world (basically the inverse of the map)
Down here you'll find some new, very strange looking bees, as well as a whole host of treasures to discover and new flora/flowers to find. You'll also find sludge - an unfortunate collection of goop that has formed from Mainland runoff. Using a special type of beehive, you'll be able to swap out your standard hive frames for hive filters - a special type of frame that stores the goop as bees get to work, and lets you clean up the patches of sludge over time.
a little twist on something you already know very well! Once filled you can extract these filters like you do your frames, but instead of honey you get less delicious sludge to be disposed off, plus any other little treasures the bees picked up!
maybe dont turn that stuff into mead While working on cleaning up the seabed, you'll be able to discover some new species of bees, some odd little solitary bees, and a couple of strange aquatic butterflies that appear to thrive down in the depths. Once you've cleaned up the sludge patches, you might even find the entrance to something even deeper below...
[hr][/hr]

Other Stuff

Outside of these 3 main areas there'll be a bunch of other QoL stuff too, some new a11y options, some better sorting for beeboxes, quick stacking to nearby chests, better storage options for butterflies - basically all the general feedback thats built up since 2.0!
unlimited butts!!! As mentioned I'll also be revamping the bookshelves to have a more interesting interface than just a ream of text, plus a few other tweaks here and there! [hr][/hr] Now that pretty much everything is drawn it's a lot easier for me to see how it'll all fit together, and in May I'll be sitting down to spend some time working through all the new mechanics, so hopefully come next month we should be able to see some of these pretty screenshots come to life! ~ Ell [This post was released early for Supporters over on Ko-Fi]

[ 2023-05-08 10:02:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! April has been and gone, finally bringing some sunshine and bumblebees to the garden! Here's what we've been up to: [hr][/hr]

2.0 Update For Consoles

In case you missed it, a release date for consoles for the 2.0 Butterfly Update has now been announced! I Cant Beelieve Its Not Butter(flies) will be fluttering over to Nintendo Switch & Playstation on May 11th - save the date! [hr][/hr]

Butterfly Competition

The Design A Butterfly competition has now ended! Thanks so much to everyone who took part. Well setup a post soon for voting to let you all decide your favourite that will be added into the 3.0 update! [hr][/hr]

Mudborne

Mudborne has now already reached over 1000 wishlists! Thanks so much to everyone whos checked out the demo - well absolutely be coming back to this one later in the year, and start planning a full game! <3 [hr][/hr]

Family Gaming DB

Were super happy to say that the Family Gaming DB gave APICO the family gaming award + recommendation for 2022 Weve spent a lot of time making sure APICO is enjoyable for all ages, so it means a lot to be given this! [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on April, bee safe and well see you next month! Love,Ell & Jamie

[ 2023-05-01 09:09:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a few fixes to get out the way so I can focus on the 3.0 build! Ive mentioned it before but really appreciate all the peeps who let me know issues in the bug report form, and a big shout out to the beekeeper who gave me some super detailed steps on the infinite item dupe in MP that helped me put some fixes in place for it <3 ~ Ell

Multiplayer

• Finally found the cause of the infinite item duplication that would occur with dropped items on certain frames (wahoo!)
• Fixed nurseries not seeming to incr. pop levels for butterflies for clients (again?)
• Fixed canisters duping when moving input/output canisters in barrels rapidly
• Fixed when clients bought multiple backpacks at the same time some of those backpacks no longer worked - this will not fix existing bugged backpacks im afraid :(
• Added some changes to make sure players get a valid UUID when playing online if the server has gone down

Crashes

• Fixed the "sc_slot_uncache: unable to find instance for object index" crash
• Fixed the "sc_world_add_missing_bees: index out of range" crash that occured rarely during worldgen

Bugs

• Fixed dropping butterflies on gamepad just dropping the item rather than releasing them
• Fixed pinned menus staying pinned for gamepad players
• Fixed backpack item in the slot not visually updating to be open when clicked initially
• Fixed placeable items being placed when equipped and clicking the close buttons of menus (finally)
• Fixed Candlemaker menu help popup labelling the beeswax + log slots wrong
• Fixed NPC shops not showing slots for a second when opening them sometimes

Modding

• Fixed modded recipes that use flowers not using up any flowers when crafting at the mod workbench
• BDRAW hook added which is the counterpart to PDRAW, BDRAW is drawn right before the player itself, then PDRAW is drawn ontop

[ 2023-04-24 18:51:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! March has flown by, and with it the weather has slowly turned from wet and rainy to... well still wet and rainy cos it's the UK baby!!!! Here's what's been going on [hr][/hr]

Mudborne

Another friend joins the gang! Ell took part in a week long game-jam, and the result was Mudborne, an APICO-like focused around frogs + mushrooms. You can read more about the development of the game over the 7 days, or just try the demo out for yourself on itch.io or Steam! [hr][/hr]

Beenus

Speaking of friends joining the gang, we have a new TNgineer! Some of you might recognise StarVenus/Beenus from Discord or /r/APICO, were delighted to announce shell be joining us as a social + community manager! Its getting a bit hectic managing 3 (now 4) games, so reinforcements were needed, and have arrived! [hr][/hr]

FTBS Steam Page!

Feed The Beasts finally has a steam page, so you can get those wishlists in and follow us for updates on the progress of the game! Were slowly edging towards a demo release, and cant wait to share it with you all! [hr][/hr]

Butterfly Competition!

Some of you may remember our Design A Bee competition back before the butterfly update - well were doing another one, and this time its for designing your own butterfly! The winning design will be added to the game, plus the designer will win a bunch of prizes too - check the announcement post for more info! [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on March, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie (AND BEENUS) <3

[ 2023-03-30 12:21:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! An APICO devlog? That can only mean one thing - new content! However don't get too excited as this month's devlog was mostly just planning :') Saying that, there's a couple of pretty pictures at least, hope you enjoy! https://ko-fi.com/Post/APICO--February-Devlog-2023-Y8Y6J5L5U ~ Ell

[ 2023-03-10 08:57:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! February has been and gone - I know it's the shortest month but damn that was quick! Here's what's been going on: [hr][/hr]

Moth Symphony

Our favourite moth composer released their debut album, Moth Symphony! Moth is currently three for three on composing TNgineer game music so might as well be one the family and they deserve the shoutout! If youre a fan of APICOs music then youll very much enjoy this, you can grab it on Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music. [hr][/hr]

Ocean Views

As you might have seen, weve started planning out the next major content update for APICO - What Lies Beeneath! This update will cover fishing, deep sea diving, coral reefs, more bugs (and actual bugs), and a whole lot more! Follow along on Ko-Fi for the February devlog thatll be out in the next week or so to find out what were up to <3 [hr][/hr]

Toktik???

God help us all Ive only gone and make some Tiktok accounts! But fret not, for next month well be introducing our first new TNgineer to join the team wholl be taking over our social media + community management and will be at least 40% less cringe than me* If you want to get in early you can follow APICO, FTBS, and Rift Breach over there RIGHT NOW [hr][/hr]

Achievement Unlocked!

This month we also applied for the Xbox Dev programme and got accepted! Were still signing some paperwork but once settled it means well have our own Xbox DevKit, Hivemother help us all We got accepted from proposing Rift Breach (so guess thats happening now) - but should also help us sort out APICOs Xbox build, which has been in limbo for a hot minute/hour/day/year/century [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on February, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie <3 *thats a big ask I know

[ 2023-03-01 22:09:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Some more small fixes and a few multiplayer tweaks - thanks to the people who reported these! Ill be off on a short break with my partner for the next week, so catch ya soon <3 ~ Ell

Multiplayer

• Fixed some issues with beehives offscreen of the host acting up for the client
• Fixed host Rehabeelitators sometimes clearing client slots before the client recieved the repopulation points
• Fixed an issue with nurseries not always giving the client the repopulation points
• Fixed clients not getting "beetrice" points from the offspring of host hives

Bug Fixes

• Fixed camera issue still ocurring at the bottom of worlds when not in a boat
• Fixed some tooltip transparency issues
• Added a check to respawn jurassic hive if RNG of the worldgen somehow missed it

[ 2023-02-07 21:29:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello friends, A new year has begun! Id like to say I eased back into things slowly after having Christmas off but I literally started the month by releasing a new game lol. Heres what weve been up to: [hr][/hr]

Butterfly Charity Donations

With the butterfly update for APICO we had a new influx of players beeing introduced to the wonderful world of bees! This also meant we could make a new batch of donations to various conservation, pollinator and butterfly charities. New donations included Pollinator Partnership, Regional Science Consortium, and Butterfly Conservation! You can view all the donations made from APICO sales here. [hr][/hr]

Lunar New Year

To celebrate the Lunar New Year on 15th January, we finally released a Simplified Chinese localisation for APICO! This had been a long time coming and we can thank Whitethorn Games for helping arrange this. You can check out this language option in version Papilio 2.2.0+ [hr][/hr]

Rift Breach

So like I mentioned, a new game is here! Sadly not Feed The Beasts just yet (although thats well on its way!). I wanted to work on a much smaller scope game to help me creatively, and the result was a small player-cedural sci-fi dungeon crawler called Rift Breach that I made in 3 weeks. You can read more about the thinking behind the game as well as the development here, and you can go play the demo over on Steam now! [hr][/hr]

New Website

Well I say new, but truth be told weve never had a website for TNgineers, only APICO! Now that we have 3 games to keep on top of I wanted to make a one-stop shop for all things TN to try and keep on top of things. You can check it out over on tngineers.com, which has some general information as well as links + presskits for all 3 games! [hr][/hr] So thats a wrap on January, bee safe and well see you next month! Love, Ell & Jamie <3

[ 2023-01-30 12:20:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a few small fixes for the last update, including the weird camera bugs at worlds end! ~ Ell

Bug Fixes

• Fixed inventory highlight not updating when scrolling the mouse wheel
• Fixed the weird camera shenanigans when at the edge of the world
• Fixed predictor/beebox/beebank card chars overlapping too much in Chinese

[ 2023-01-27 12:00:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! A small update to celebrate the Lunar New Year by (finally) adding Chinese as a new language option to the game!
Plus a few little fixes while I was there (as a treat) ! ~ Ell

Changes

• Added Chinese! <3
• Various performance tweaks, mainly for consoles, but PC should also benefit
• Moved shop button on NPCs to be more gamepad friendly

Crash Fixes

• Fixed the "Unable to find instance sc_butterfly_despawn" crash

Multiplayer

• Fixed changing a habitat's species not syncing with other players

Bug Fixes

• Fixed not being able to use the net on the computer when using a gamepad
• Fixed not being able to interact with Moth(ense) when using a gamepad
• Fixed not being able to use the net on the Hivemother's door when using a gamepad (r u sensing a theme)
• Fixed pinned menus still using their pinned position if you switch to a gamepad

Modding

• Fixed custom menu change event not firing on standard change event triggers

[ 2023-01-22 11:01:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Hope you had a wonderful holidays, and happy new year to you all! This is just a small update to address a few bugs and MP issues - theres another patch on the way for some other MP issues and a few steamdeck related bugs. ~ Ell

Changes

• Productivity values have been changed so that "sluggish" - "normal" (1) (4) bees take a little bit more time to fill a frame
• Added a warning to natural beehives when breeding two different bees to make sure it's clear these will not crossbreed
• Nearby or active Jukeboxs & Tape Players will now show on the map so you can hunt them down and silence them
• Reduced the speed of NPC dialogue menus

Crash Fixes

• Fixed crash "sc_button_press variable .unlocked cannot be resolved"

Multiplayer

• Fixed a multiplayer bug where a player joining for the first time couldn't use the butterfly/solitary bee books without crashing
• Fixed a multiplayer bug where the backpacks created by the client could merge/override with player backpacks
• Fixed a multiplayer bug where the joining player couldn't click on anything (but could still move) until you interacted with a menu
• Fixed a multiplayer bug where the controls/accessibility menu GUI moved with the player

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with beehives not onscreen when the game loaded not getting their flower list set properly
• Fixed an issue with Royal Trumpet effect only working once for beehives offscreen
• Fixed clicking a gate marker triggering a mouse click in the place the marker was before you teleport
• Fixed Nana not remembering what you talked to her about when you speak to her in the dream (bless her)
• Fixed Hermit Bee not being calmed by the flowers that say they calm it in the flower book
• Fixed Glitched Bee counting to total for Barnabee/Beenjamin dialogue options
• Fixed Cargo Boat going invisible when sailing far enough away from it's own menu
• Fixed typo with Royal Trumpet

Modding

• Fixed crash when using the player menu as a target for api_add_slot_to_menu()
• Fixed api_get_zoid_from_inst() and api_get_inst_from_zoid() giving an error when trying to use them

[ 2023-01-04 15:07:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a small patch to cover a few little bugs in advance of any new players who might pick up the game over Hivemas, as a little butterfly did tell me that the game + OSTs will be on sale over Xmas! <3 ~ Ell

Crash Fixes

• Fixed corrupted butterfly items causing a "gml_Script_sc_butthotel_alarm0" crash when used in hotels

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Lunar Magazine not being in the dictionary so not spawning
• Fixed Sto's location being wrong in the Full-Beetal Alchemist quest
• Fixed the last two butterflies' "flowers" staying blackin the butterfly book when discovered
• Fixed a certain bee not showing any special produce info or having a completed heart post-it
• Fixed Frostips not showing their special effect in the tooltip
• Fixed seeing "ghost" butterfly icons on lilypads (icon but no butterfly)
• Fixed some non-flower butterfly spawning issues

Modding

• api_add_slot_to_menu() and api_use_item() should now trigger the menu's change event

[ 2022-12-18 16:03:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

HF1: Fixed lunar bee letter missing from dictionary

[ 2022-12-03 10:52:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! We're super excited to announce that Mothense's OST Bee-sides are now available on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2230810/APICO_OST_Beesides/ The Bee-sides are tracks that started as concepts that didn't make the cut for the original soundtrack. These concepts were then later developed and mastered into beeautiful tracks in their own right. You may recognise some of them already, as they were also added in the 2.0 Butterfly Update! We hope you enjoy these wonderful tracks - all proceeds from both the OST + Bee-sides goes directly to Moth, so you'll be supporting the artist directly by buying it <3 ~ Ell

[ 2022-12-02 17:55:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just one last update to polish off some remaining bits and bobs! Thanks again to everyone whos been reporting bugs as well as giving us all the lovely feedback on the butterfly update, its so wonderful to hear how much youve all been enjoying the new content! Things will be winding down now a bit for Christmas, Ive got some optimisation stuff to do for the Switch builds, and our other game Feed The Beasts is feeling a bit left out, so there wont be any new patches aside from breaking stuff for a while now! Then in the new year I can start working on the plans for the next content update - What Lies Beeneath >:) ~ Ell

Changes

• Magazines should show in the Lost+Found if they're lost / never spawned correctly
• Updated the bee hotel explanation quest pics to show the shrub cuttings IN the hotel
• Bee hotel input slots will now show the biome-specific flora needed (rather than showing generic flora icon)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed not being able to use the magnifying glass on a solitary bee in bee hotels/habitats on gamepad/deck
• Fixed not being able to fully move the mouse to the left of the home screen after starting the game in fullscreen
• Fixed chapter highlight tooltips in the solitary book not having a name
• Fixed some of Sto/Codey dialogue being available before actually talking to them for the first time
• Fixed running making a new world in the same slot as one you just deleted visually showing the same chapter completion badges
• Fixed Mothlight flowers not producing light as their description implies
• Fixed Pondshine in hydroponic pots and Mothlight in normal pots not lighting up
• Fixed Candles in Workbench not showing the correct sprite
• Misc. locale changes

Modding

• You can now pass an optional "title" key in your menu definition for the title bar text - if not specified will be blank
• Fixed not being able to use customX: slots with other validations or other customX: slots

[ 2022-12-02 17:34:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

HF1: Fix for modded NPCs crashing when loaded/spoken to

[ 2022-11-24 19:38:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Well here we are 2 weeks in from the butterfly update, and things are mostly stable (as stable as a game about bugs can be anyway!) As things calmed down I had a chance to start working on the Modding API, and so this update adds in a whole host of new modding methods that you can use to interact with the new content - hopefully we can all look forward to seeing some new mods that bring us all new butterflies, solitary bees, and incense! Theres also a few different fixes and some minor stuff I was putting off until there was literally nothing left on my TODO list, plus a couple tweaks. As a side-note, not sure whats happened but recently theres been a large influx of reviews and theyve been so wonderful to read - thanks so much to everyone whos been taking to time to write such lovely things about bee game! It really does mean a lot. <3 ~ Ell

Changes

• Reduced general net durability (when buying new nets)
• You can now pick up lilypads regardless of whether you have tools equipped (like flowers can be)
• If you didn't get a magazine for Lunar Bee when conserving it, one should now spawn when you load the world (maybe)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed butterflies in butterfly hotels visiting all flowers, rather than the ones they like (also led to weird cross-mutation)
• Fixed butterflies in butterfly hotels visually not visiting the flower accurately
• Fixed butterflies in butterfly hotels not matching the range shown by the hotel
• Fixed achievement for getting all bee-sides not unlocking
• Fixed Dreamshards selling for honeycore instead of rubees
• Fixed Pots, Compost Bin, Altar, and Shrine having missing input tooltip item icons
• Fixed butterfly nets not losing durability when catching butterflies
• Fixed axes losing durability when used on things that can be picked by hand
• Fixed incense7 (yellow-green) not having a name
• Fixed /gimme butterfly crashing when not specifying a species
• Fixed mined honeycore regrowing offset from it's original position
• Fixed chrysalis slots staying "locked" for clients during multiplayer when the butterfly hatches (hopefully)
• Fixed some languages having NAME BUTTERFLY instead of BUTTERFLY NAME
• Fixed new flowers not showing their effect name in the tooltip
• Fixed Beenjamin having the jurassic prompt before you find the species if you found enough bees
• Fixed plushie items not having a tooltip title
• Fixed NPCs not updating their "!" when you clear their dialogue but close using ESC
• Fixed clients not getting solitary bee repopulation updates (also hopefully)

Modding

• Fixed api_get_menu_objects() not respecting no co-ordinate being passed in (was supposed to default to player if none given)
• Added two methods that use "zoids", unique ids that are used to identify objects across games in multiplayer. By using zoids you can avoid the issue of instance ids changing every session and store links to zoids to get the correct instances back on reboot.
• Added api_get_zoid_from_inst(), which returns a unique id value (zoid) for the given instance id
• Added api_get_inst_from_zoid(), which returns the instance id for a given zoid, both these methods allow you to store
• Added api_define_solitary(), which lets you define your own solitary bee for people to discover in bee hotels
• Added api_define_butterfly(), which lets you define your own butterflies for people to catch
• Added api_describe_butterflies(), which will get the metadata for all butterflies
• Added api_define_incense(), which lets you setup a new incense and alchemy recipe (you need to implement the effect yourself though!)
• Added api_has_incense(), which will check if a specific scent is affecting a given position
• Added api_create_butterfly(), which lets you manually spawn a butterfly inst onto an object (flower, generic obj, menu_obj...)
• Added api_get_progress() method that returns the players current progress (i.e. bees found, butterflies repopulated etc)
• Added api_define_npc2() method that takes into account new menu sprite changes and new dialogue changes for NPCs - you can still use api_define_npc() but you should upgrade when you can!
• Added api_define_menu_object2() method that takes into account the menu sprite changes (you now only need 2 frames and dont need to add the tab title) - same as above RE the old method
• Added api_game_state() method that returns various game state bools (paused, game loading, world loading etc)
• Added basic _field values to the destroy hook when a menu object is destroyed (limited to basic datatypes)

Ill be updating the modding documentation shortly, please bear with!

[ 2022-11-24 18:12:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! I hope you've all been enjoying your time with the butterflies and new bees! It's that time of year where Steam opens up it's Award Nominations!
Every year Steam has a bunch of different categories, "GOTY", "Labour of Love" etc, and as players you can nominate your favourite game for the category that fits it best! There's lots of different categories but our suggestion for APICO is "Sit Back and Relax": This game is the antidote to a busy day. It's smooth, it's relaxing, it lets your worries melt away. This game is your moment of zen. Sounds pretty APICO to me! If you have a spare moment today, please consider helping us out and nominating APICO for the category you think is best - you can cast your vote from this event (apparently) and also from the store page here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1390190/APICO/ ~ Ell

[ 2022-11-22 18:01:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just another little update to cover a few more fixes! Thanks again for everyone who has been reported these issues. ~ Ell

Crash Fixes

• Fixed "gml_Script_sc_nursery_alarm0" when removing butterflies on the frame they form
• Fixed "gml_Script_sc_centrifuge_alarm0" when removing a frame on the frame (nice) it's extracted
• Fixed crash when clicking on flower book flower icon links

Bug Fixes

• Fixed flower book showing total flowers as 24 instead of 23
• Fixed MacOS having some case sensitivity issues causing problems with uncapping/extracting frames
• Fixed the "flora" for a certain solitary bee
• Fixed Lunar Bee not being able to be used in a Habitat
• Fixed Lunar Bee's special product being just normal water lmao
• Fixed bee hotels not counting down guests when there's an error (i.e. not enough flora)
• Fixed bee hotels having all guest slots filled when spawn proc'd
• Fixed bee hotels not immedietely showing a bubble when a guest is visiting
• Fixed butterfly hotels counting down ALL butterflies at the same time, rather than 1 by 1 (this was not intended)
• Fixed being able to spawn solitary bees / eggs / caterpiller / chrysalis using the computer (leads to bugs)
• Fixed other biome tracks playing in the hallow
• Fixed gamepad being able to click on "locked" slots (solitary bee, chrysalis etc)
• Fixed chrysallis slots not being reset to "locked" when save+reloading
• Fixed butterfly book not fully getting translated when changing language
• Fixed bee-sides achievement triggering from just track discovery

[ 2022-11-16 12:21:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a small update to cover the common bugs/crashes that have been seen - thanks to everyone thats been reporting these issues. Also a couple small changes, including the ability to release butterflies by dropping them, in future Ill look into some sort of larger storage for the hoarders amongst you (so basically all of us lol) I hope youve all been enjoying the new content! If you have, and you have a spare minute, please drop a nice review if you can - it really helps out APICOs visibility on Steam <3 ~ Ell

Changes

• You can now hammer candles to pick them back up!
• You can now release butterflies by dropping them (right-click on MKB, hold and close inventory on GP)
• Made flora tooltip mention it can be found in shrubs
• Increased drop rate of flora from shrubs
• Removed sort button from nursery (oops)

Crash Fixes

• Fixed "sc_library_draw" crash on gamepad/deck when getting having 1 but not the other of the bee books (this is the same as 2.0.0 HF1)
• Fixed "co:core Variable .talkbuttons not set before reading it" when scrolling the mouse on NPC shops
• Fixed "ds_map_find_value argument 1 incorrect type expecting a Number" when clicking a butterfly icon in the flower book
• Fixed "sc_nursery_alarm1 .species not set" occuring in certain situations (maybe)
• Fixed "ob_butterfly:unable to find instance for object index" when removing / emptying flowerpots (or flowers occasionally)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed menus not having their highlight when hovering/dragging
• Fixed achievement trigger for "Moth to a flame!"
• Fixed achievement trigger for first butterfly/first bee (and first repopulations) for both having the wrong value so these should pop now
• Fixed nursery pupa going into negative if the "no food" error was showing
• Fixed various "use with" and "valid item" tooltips showing pink cubes instead of things, might have missed some tho!
• Fixed couple typos in the cross-mutation quest
• Fixed a prompt option for Beetrix being "$npc2_P_JA" - she didn't have a clue what you meant but just played along anyway bless
• Fixed butterfly population restored notification not cleared when opening the butterfly book
• Fixed a certain butterfly not picking up it's "flower" when in a hotel

[ 2022-11-14 20:04:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

HF1: Fixed gamepad/steamdeck crash with "sc_library_draw" on getting/having the bee book

[ 2022-11-12 21:54:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Welcome, finally, to the 2.0 update, A.K.A. the I Cant Beelieve Its Not Butter(flies) Update! Its been a while and weve been working very hard on lots of new things for you all to enjoy, and I hope you do! As Ive mentioned before, although the 1.0 is a finished game in its own right there was lots of things I still wanted to do with APICO and lots of other things I wanted to add. This 2.0 update is the first of three planned content updates (Terraria / MC style), and covers lots of new things including:

• New NPCs! Meet new friends Codey & Sto, research partners from the Mainland (!)
• Butterflies! Beeautiful flapping friends to find and discover
• Solitary Bees! Bees that dont work in hives but live alone??
• New Flowers! More fancy flowers, each with their own new effects on the environment!
• More books! We know you love reading, otherwise why are you playing APICO? <3
• Improved Dialogue System! Now you wont miss all the wonderful writing Jamie has done, plus some new dialogue!
• Incense! Finally you can make candles, plus your own incense through the magic of Alchemy!
• More Music! The wonderful bee-sides by Mothense have been added <3
• More decoration! Lots more decoration items, tiles, walls and more!
• More achievements! 16 more delicious achievements to get hold of!
• Loads more freakin bugs I am sure because I am just one person!!! :D

Theres more than that too but thats what the changelog below is for, and buckle up cos its a doozy! We both cant wait for you to all experience the new content and to see what you all make of it <3 (N.B. You do NOT need to make a new world to experience all the new content! The new NPCs will be added to existing worlds automagically!) (N.B.B. YOU DO NOT NEED TO MAKE A NEW WORLD TO EXPERIENCE THE NEW CONTENT - you know people will still ask me this 100 times lmao) ~ Ell

New Content

• Added new NPC, Sto! Sto is a researcher from the Mainland who will introduce you to Butterflies and give you her journal to learn more! You can find Sto to the west of the first forest island.
• Added butterflies! Butterflies spawn randomly based on their preferred flowers and conditions. There are 15 butterflies to discover, along with golden variants! Buy a net from Sto to start catching them.
• Added 10 new flowers! Through cross-mutation of butterflies you can discover these strange variants and their new flower effects.
• Added Butterfly Hotels! Butterflies in hotels can cause all sorts of strange effects to the nearby environment, as well as mutate nearby flowers.
• Added Nurseries! Used to help repopulate butterflies by taking their eggs through the natural lifecycle
• Added new NPC, Codey! Codey is a researcher from the Mainland who will introduce you to Solitary Bees, and give you her notes to learn more! You can find Codey to the east of the second forest island.
• Added solitary bees! Solitary bees dont live in hives, and will only appear through Bee Hotels under the right conditions! There are 12 solitary bees to discover.
• Added Bee Hotels! Bee hotels let you create small ecosystems that can attract different solitary bees for you to discover, along with golden variants!
• Added Habitats! By building specific habitats for solitary bees, you can help repopulate that species! Theyll even leave you little gifts!
• Added new NPC, Moth(ense)! A moth??? Where are they? What do they sell? Thats for you to discover
• Added two new glorious books, Stos Butterfly Journal (open with Y when discovered), and Codeys Notes (accessed from the bee book via Tab when discovered)
• Added more actual lore (oh my god), and a chance to learn more about (and help) the Mainland!
• Added some new quests to cover candle making and incense, plus cross-mutation of flowers
• Added new flora items found by picking shrubs, used with butterflies & solitary bees
• Added new decoration tiles, including variants of edging + pier tiles, marble tiles and giant lilypads
• Added two new carpets, a green and a white variant
• Added a new plain shrub wall to go with the marble and wood shrubs
• Added Mothenses Bee-sides to the in-game music rotation, meaning 11 new tracks will now play
• Added the bee-sides in-game as collectables, but where might you find them I wonder?
• Added a bookshelf item that can store your books, changes appearance based on how many books are in it
• Added a new watering can item, that can instantly grow any placed flower seed
• Added a couple more hair styles (including Abbees sweet do)
• Added a couple new colours to the character customisation & Dresser (pink & purple wahoo!)
• Added some new decoration banners that can be placed on walls, 5 to collect in total!
• Added the Desalinator, an alternative source of water unlocked from Skipper after 10 social bees are discovered
• Added the Candlemaker, which lets you create candles from beeswax (finally)
• Added the Alchemy Bench, sold by Sto it lets you create different types of incense based on different combinations of items - theres 11 to discover!
• Added the Incense Burner, sold by Sto it lets you burn the various incenses, each with their own unique effect
• Added new ambient background noise for other biomes for both day and night!
• Added 16 new achievements!
• Added some secret things to discover!
• Added a new accessibility option to remove RNG from butterfly spawns (so only conditions need to be correct, does not affect completion/achievements)
• Added a new accessibility option to remove RNG from solitary bee spawns (again so only conditions need to be correct, does not affect completion/achievements)
• Added a new accessibility option to remove all buzzing sounds from hives / lone bees
• Added a new accessibility option to override the recommended zoom level (use at your own risk, youll get overlap/cutoff of menus if you use a zoom level higher than your screen can fit

Changes

• Dialogue system has been overhauled - instead of having them only show the latest trigger, they now show all triggers along with a prompt for each one. Theres probably a lot of dialogue you missed, plus new dialogue to enjoy!
• NPC shops have been changed, with some NPCs having entirely new stock (notably Abbee!).
• NPC shops now have two special slots so its easier to get the special you want.
• You can now pick up flowers when using tools rather than need to change to a non-tool item to interact with them
• You can now place flowers onto shrub walls for decoration (note: they do not function as flowers for butterfly/bee purposes)
• You can now use shrub saplings in the Squeezer
• You can now create deep water by using a Honeycore Shovel on a shallow water tile
• You can now dye natural beehives in the Dye Station, allowing you to get the rarer coloured natural hives you find in the wild.
• You can now hammer the smaller honeycore crystals with a Honeycore Hammer to pick them up and move them
• Shrub walls now change appearance based on the biome they are used in (both the 2 existing shrub walls and the new one)
• General menu drawing optimisation to reduce texture page sizes + reduce texture swaps which should buff performance on slower devices
• Improved current highlighted object with an arrow symbol above it
• Made the target menu a little bit clearer with an arrow symbol above it
• Magazine rack now changes appearance based on how many magazines are in it
• Changed overall progress level to account for new content, max is now 105% (sorry Cornflower!!! <3)
• Every 5th noticeboard quest completion now gives you a decorative plushie for that NPC! Theres 11 to collect, some found in other places! :D
• Composter now also produces the new flora items of the biome its in, along with grass as normal (you can also get flora from shrubs)
• Lights now use candles (new item) to craft instead of just beeswax!

Bug Fixes

• Fixed painted walls not showing their windows
• Fixed in-game controls remapping keys not being selectable the first time its opened
• Fixed treetop produce arrow not having a highlight
• Fixed treetop menu not visibly selecting after being placed until you move for the first time
• Fixed snow infinitely creating snowballs when using a spade
• Fixed the healthbar of big rocks being off-centre (yes someone reported that)
• Fixed the Chaotic Bee not correctly showing as being calmed by its flowers in the flower book
• Fixed flower icon tooltips in the overview chapter of the flower book
• Fixed menus getting deactivating if their top-left corner went offscreen on the left or top
• Fixed not being able to separately hammer windows + walls (originally would hammer both together)
• Fixed some buttons not showing highlights when invalid (like the workbench craft button)

Modding

• I made sure I didnt break stuff which is as good as we gunna get for 2.0, however with the next set of bug fixes for this update Ill be adding new modding APIs and changes for stuff like the new NPC dialogue system, and custom butterflies/bees etc, so youll have to wait a bit longer for custom butts!!

[ 2022-11-12 20:11:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Attention Beekeepers! Butterflies? Solitary bees?? Alchemy?!? Oh my! We're excited to announce that our first free content update, "I Can't Beelieve It's Not Butter(flies)!" will be released on PC this weekend, on 12th November!!
This is a free update geared around butterflies and solitary bees (bees that dont live in hives!) In it youll meet Mainland research duo Sto + Codey, and aid them in rediscovering and repopulating stocks of bees & butterflies to help improve things back home.
This update consists of early-mid content - you will be able to use your existing save! Things to look forward to include: - New NPCs! Meet new friends Codey & Sto, research partners from the Mainland (!) - Butterflies! Beeautiful flapping friends to find and discover - Solitary Bees! Bees that dont work in hives but live alone?? - New Flowers! More fancy flowers, each with their own new effects on the environment! - More books! We know you love reading, otherwise why are you playing APICO? <3 - Improved Dialogue System! Now you wont miss all the wonderful writing Jamie has done, plus some new dialogue! - Incense! Finally you can make candles, plus your own incense through the magic of Alchemy! - More Music! The wonderful bee-sides by Mothense have been added <3 - More decoration! Lots more decoration items, tiles, walls and more! - More achievements! 16 more delicious achievements to get hold of! - Loads more freakin bugs I am sure because I am just one person!!! :D
We are very excited (and very tired), and can't wait for you all to enjoy the new content!! <3 (P.S. a little butterfly told me there may or may not be a release discount with this update xx) pls share our announcement tweet if you can here: https://twitter.com/apico_game/status/1589567641542225920

[ 2022-11-07 10:53:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! After being able to have a well-needed break from all things APICO, and easing myself back in with planning the butterfly update, I started work on some new sprites as well as begin adding the first new items to the game as part of the upcoming content update! Read the full devlog here: https://ko-fi.com/Post/APICO--August-2022-Devlog-S6S0EQLIJ

[ 2022-09-08 08:43:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Have you ever looked at my silly bee designs and been like damn Ell I could do better - well now is your chance! Design your own APICO bee and the winner will be added to the game in the upcoming Butterfly Update!
You can use any art medium, digital, analogue, macaroni art, whispered ideas to your nearest beehive etc etc To enter: - follow @apico_game on Twitter + RT the post below - comment on the post with your design OR post it with the tag #APICOBee Entry will close on 30th September. 5 entries will be picked from which popular vote will design the winner! Winner will receive 5 APICO keys, an APICO t-shirt of their choice, plus have their winning design added in the upcoming Butterfly Update as a solitary bee to discover!! Twitter Post: https://twitter.com/apico_game/status/1564541116011188224

[ 2022-08-30 09:35:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

HF1: Fixed Grandpa's Axe spawning immediately and infinitely

[ 2022-08-17 17:08:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Its been a hot minute - welcome to all our new pocket beekeepers reppin on the Switch <3 This update is mostly to cover a bunch of stuff that has come from our handheld friends, although anyone who plays with a controller or on Steam Deck will also benefit from the changes and fixes! As you might have seen on Twitter weve started work on all the new goodies for the Butterfly Update - itll be a while before that update is out though as theres a lot of stuff coming with it! ~ Ell

Changes

• You can now drop half of a stack of items when holding them into an empty slot using Square/X/Y (quick move button) on gamepad/console
• When closing a menu while still holding an item on gamepad/console, the dropped item will now be further from the player so it's not picked up immedietely
• Increased retrigger speed for holding down slot movement/chapter selection dpad/analogue stick on Switch
• Added the ability to sort your backpack by R stick clicking an empty slot (like crates) on gamepad/console
• Added a visible autosave message on gamepad/console
• If it hasn't rained in 3 days in a row after Day 4 then the chance of rain will be doubled (swamps still remain 100% chance)
• Grandpa's Axe will now appear in the Lost+Found if you didn't look after it (single tear cry emoji)
• Changed a lot of the slot selection in machines on gamepad/console so things should feel more "correct" moving around slots (instead of moving the cursor to the bottom storage bar)
• Made it clearer in the guide you can use triggers or R stick to change tile/wall placement

Crash Fixes

• Fixed "ds_map_find_value argument 1 incorrect type (undefined)... at sc_get_tooltip()" crash
• Fixed "ds_map_find_value argument 1 incorrect type (undefined)... at sc_centrifuge2_add()" crash

Bug Fixes

• Fixed joining player progress not being saved on Switch due to a file mounting issue
• Fixed some slower particle effects on Switch
• Fixed boat + mead buff speed not being 2x base speed on Switch (boo, hiss)
• Fixed Bobbee's shop showing your Rubee total underneath instead of your Honeycore total on Switch
• Fixed not being able to use the right stick click to gather honeycomb in beehives on gamepad/console
• Fixed Honeycore Shovel not digging up grass properly on gamepad/console
• Fixed not being able to place down grass properly on gamepad/console
• Fixed microscope notification message being empty on gamepad/console
• Fixed GUI tooltips showing on top of the GUI element on gamepad/console
• Fixed not being able to dig up snow with spades on gamepad/console
• Fixed not being able to close the backpack if you opened it while traveling in a boat on gamepad/console
• Fixed changing recipe in the workbench not visibly updating requirements until you click on it on gamepad/console
• Fixed seeing a tooltip for a backpack instead of the cute player tooltip when highlighting the player
• Fixed not seeing a visual for the tile you are hammering underneath you if you had a backpack on gamepad/console
• Fixed being able to select an invisible "production" meter in Swarmers on gamepad/console
• Fixed not being able to place windows on selected walls on gamepad/console
• Fixed menu objects not hammering in 2 hits (to prevent accidents) on gamepad/console
• Fixed book-based notifications not opening to the correct page when opening the corresponding book on gamepad/console
• Fixed sometimes getting a Verdant Bee from an Uncommon X Forest cross if you hadn't discovered the Verdant Bee yet
• Fixed joining player saving in a boat not returning in a boat when rejoining the same host's world

[ 2022-08-04 15:17:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! I think this is technically the first "real" dev log we've had for APICO on Ko-Fi since moving all our devlogs over from Guilded! (Which, if you've missed those you can still read all of them here, starting with the first one from when we moved APICO over to GMS2!) Now that things are starting to settle with APICO since the release I've been able to actually take a break, as well as start to have a think about the first of the 3 planned content updates - I Can't Beelieve It's Not Butter(flies) Read the full devlog here: https://ko-fi.com/Post/APICO--June-2022-Devlog-Q5Q1DHL4C

[ 2022-07-04 16:06:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just some more bug fixes as well as a couple bits to feed the insatiable modders! ~ Ell

Bug Fixes

• Fixed beehives placed offscreen by joining players sometimes not reactivating after a queen finished their cycle
• Fixed the raintank gathering rain while the game is paused
• Fixed Beenjamin being able to ask for an "Inheritence Bee", clearly losing the plot in his old age bless

Modding

• Added api_create_lightweight() - lightweights are efficiently drawn instances that you can use for batch draw calls. They're also Skipper's least favourite type of person
• Added api_measure_text() which returns the height + width of a given sentance when drawn (including when a max-width is set)
• Added some new api_multiplayer_* methods which should let you handle being able to store mod data for joining players when they join a hosted game
• Fixed modded menu change scripts not being triggered with right-click changes
• Fixed modded NPCs having a third invisible row of sell slots

[ 2022-07-01 17:20:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

HF1: Fixed an issue with menu drawing that affected mods (specifically BEI)

[ 2022-06-25 10:17:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just some more bug fixes for ya, happy weekend! ~ Ell

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with the bottler duplicating canisters/bottles when working in Multiplayer
• Fixed an issue with items sometimes not being picked up in Multiplayer
• Fixed being able to duplicate canisters by rapidly clicking in a few different liquid machines (bottler, barrel)
• Fixed seeds not showing when placed in flower pots (no they don't grow its just to look cute)
• Fixed buying Honeycore from The Merchant showing a tooltip error

Modding

• Added a new hook tdraw() which is called above tiles but below objects and draw()
• Fixed api_define_flower() not respecting shop_buy / shop_key
• Fixed api_define_flower() using the variants sprite for the item sprite
• Fixed api_set_ground() not updating the last set tile properly
• Removed modded bees from Beenjamin's hints getting him all confused bless him

[ 2022-06-24 08:41:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So were coming up on nearly a month since the game has been released! Wed had thousands of people playing APICO and all round its been a wild time - thanks so much for everyone thats been playing and leaving us the most wonderful reviews <3 In the last 4-6 weeks I think Ive maybe had 3 whole days where I havent been in GameMaker for some reason and now that things are mostly stable its definitely time to take a break. I was already burning out from console porting earlier this year so the last month or so hasnt helped! This will be the last update for a while now barring any urgent bug fixes / crashes - theres a few changes, a bunch of stuff to keep the mod creators quiet (for a few days at least), and also I updated GameMakers Steamworks Extension! They have promised me that this update will fix the issues some people were having with some MacOS users crashing, and some users just not able to unlock achievements - but I wont get my hopes up. At the very least lets hope it still works normally even if it doesnt fix those issues! If you do still have issues with Steam please let me know ASAP. Once I finally have a proper break Ill be starting on the first proper content update for APICO, I Can't Beelieve It's Not Butter(flies). This will bring in butterflies, solitary bees that dont work in hives, and all sorts of pollination/flower madness. If you want to read more about the content updates you can check the roadmap here: https://ko-fi.com/post/APICO-Roadmap-S6S0ADGAZ ~ Ell

Changes

• Visually show the "Respawn in 5s" countdown when holding R / L+R
• You now need to equip mead before being able to drink it - meaning you can now right-click to split a stack of infused mead
• Notice bubbles are now hidden while in Photo Mode
• Mods are now listed alphabetically and show the total number of downloads globally
• Mods now each have a banner in the description when clicked on
• Highlighting tabs/recipes on gamepad now automatically selects them
• On gamepad when holding triggers and highlighting a beehive you can now see the range radius
• On gamepad you can now hold the dpad on slot and book chapter selection
• Hammering a crate / menu object will now drop that as an item first before the contents of the menu
• Added the Mod Workbench, which will store all crafting recipes for all installed mods, per mod

Crash Fixes

• Fixed "Cannot delete buffer, it's in use by 1 others at gml_Object_co_mods_Other_72" with mods that use api_get_data()

Bug Fixes

• Fixed boats being deleted in multiplayer when clicked rapidly
• Fixed bottler liquid type not reset when draining the tank
• Fixed the "instance queen end" glitch with slot clicking/dragging
• Fixed bottler giving 2 bottles per 50ml in multiplayer
• Fixed closing noticeboard quests on gamepad meaning you had to close the whole menu before being able to select a quest button
• Fixed uncapping bench / uncapper having incorrect help labels
• Fixed Swarmwort seeds not saying they should be placed on water
• Fixed Beenjamin asking for a "behaviour behaviour" (what a rascal)
• Fixed Raintank menu highlight sprite not having the right outline
• Fixed not being able to drink Apicola on gamepad (you poor thirsty bees)
• Fixed ";" not being usable for a mapped key
• Fixed menus staying open when Save+Quitting, which could sometimes cause issues with the home screen buttons

Modding

• Added the Mod Workbench, which will store all crafting recipes for all installed mods. Recipes define with api_define_recipe() will be put here instead of the vanilla workbench - you can use this as your hub crafting station as there is section for each mod. This means you can define 100 recipes for your mod (5 tabs, 20 recipes per tab)
• Added api_define_workbench(), which lets you set your mod's name and tab names in the Mod Workbench
• Added a description "banner" to in-game mod descriptions
• Added a few missing item sprites for larger scenery items
• Added api_define_item_stats() which lets you define a "default" set of stats to apply to a given item when it's created (i.e. having a canister start with 9001 max)
• api_define_gui() has now been modified to correctly cache sprites rather than register a new one for every machine - this means you will need to ensure your gui_key's are unique per menu object define (i.e. you can't use "progress_bar" for 2 different defines if they're different progress bar sprites)
• Added "has_lighting" to the flower_definition in api_define_flower()
• Added api_define_window() which lets you define a custom "window" (essentially just an item that has a special frame drawn on a wall)
• Added a create() hook, called whenever a generic object, tree, flower, menu object, or item is created
• Added api_define_liquid() which lets you define a custom liquid - these can be used in canisters, barrels, and your own custom tanks (not the bottler)
• Fixed game load hanging when leaving a mod in settings but there being no actual mod folder
• Fixed game load hanging when having an empty mod folder for a mod that is being loaded
• Fixed obj_definition with variants specified being limited to 4 frames
• Fixed ready() being called early during new world creation (and being called twice)
• Fixed modded quests being required to complete to get Grandpa's Axe

[ 2022-06-17 17:54:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Recently Steam has marked APICO as being able to release it's own Steam Trading Cards, and today I'm happy to announce these are now live and you should start getting cards now!
There are 8 trading cards in total! Along with the APICO badge you can get from getting all cards, you can also get 5 different profile backgrounds and 6 lil APICO emotes, hope you enjoy <3 ~ Ell

[ 2022-06-13 10:46:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a couple quick fixes on MP games, and a tweak for modders! ~ Ell

Bug Fixes

• Fixed "new" hives found or placed by clients not activating until the host walked nearby
• Fixed clients not visibly seeing the progress bar of a host started machine even tho input+output of the machine was fine
• Fixed being able to use pickaxes on trees and have them be just as effective (lol)

Modding

• Mod console is now toggled through "CTRL"+"." instead if just "."
• Mod logs are now added to the "mod-logs.txt" file in real-time so you can view logs outside of the mod console in-game

[ 2022-06-11 08:22:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

As some of you may know, we've partnered with Makeship to make our very own APICO plushie!!
If at least 200 of you beeautiful bees pledge then this foot-long Beeatrice brick can finally be brought to life (and into your loving arms)! Like Kickstarter if the goal isn't reached then your pledge is refunded (and we'd be very sad to not have an army of beeatrices brought into the world). If you're interested in owning one of these beeauties, you can check out the campaign over on Makeship here! https://www.makeship.com/products/beeatrice-plush

[ 2022-06-10 13:30:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a few little bits in this one, some tiny QoL tweaks (including a pencil that lets you relabel things!), some balancing and a couple fixes for multiplayer.
Theres also a bunch of new stuff and some API fixes for modding! Theres been some really cool mods in progress, including an APICO version of Minecrafts NEI, so hoping these new modding APIs help encourage more people to get stuck in! ~ Ell

Changes

• You can now craft a Pencil (on PC) that lets you relabel menu objects! i.e. you could relabel your trash can to say "Wasp Storage" >:)
• Smokers now have their own icon bubble, that also matches the one shown by Empress bees
• Targeted menus now have the extra label highlight like when you drag them
• Beeboxes/Beebanks no longer show traits until you've microscoped the species
• Standard honeycore crystals now sell for $2 rather than $3, and Crystal Bee honeycore shards sell for $5 instead of $1 - there's a bigger piece around honeycore processing planned!
• The good news is Barnabee is looking to buy a house of his own! The bad news is the deposit was huge and they have to put their prices up soz
• Rocky Bees now spawn in a hive when mined, and there's now a 50% chance of a hive vs 100% always getting a bee (after your first hive)
• Sorting menus now orders bees by their bee book order - same for magazines

Bug Fixes

• Fixed machines giving duplicate items when the progress bar finished in multiplayer when host should have "won" (sawmill, beehive, centrifuge etc)
• Fixed being able to pause while in multiplayer as pausing your time meant time desynced
• Fixed newly placed items not being interactable until the player moves (in multiplayer + while modding)
• Fixed right-clicking to split stacks and dropping items on an existing stack not syncing in multiplayer
• Fixed being able to get infinite cargo boats in multiplayer, putting Skipper out of business (and making him sad)
• Fixed game crashing on gamepad when highlighting a non-menu object and pressing Y / Triangle
• Fixed The Merchant not showing their post-credits dialogue (im so sorry over how not worth it this is now you can finally read it lmao)
• Fixed Sacred Idol showing as the wrong sprite in the Altar overworld sprite
• Fixed Beehive Lamps not having an item sprite in your inventory
• Fixed acorns planted in hallows not showing as the correct sapling sprite (at least SOMEONE has been replanting)
• Fixed NPCs not remembering that they already told you something and eagerly telling you again next time you booted up the game
• Fixed Beebank tabs not showing the species name on hover
• Fixed being able to hammer beds/benches while in them (why did you even try this)
• Fixed music layering when sleeping through several nights
• Fixed birbs not flapping when flying away (high quality stuff gang)
• Fixed species with "Any" climate not showing in the beebook or stat cards

Modding

• Added a new set of methods, api_describe_*, which get various game metadata (both base game and modded)
• Added a new set of methods, api_all_*, which gets all instance IDs in the map of trees/flowers/objs/menu objects (super dangerous, dont make me regret it :D)
• Added api_refresh_tooltip() to refresh to tooltip cache (i.e. when updating tanks / gui)
• Added api_get_language() to return the players chosen language (i.e. "en", "jp", etc)
• Added a new destroy() hook, called when objects/trees/flowers/machines are destroyed
• Added a new scroll() hook, called when the mouse wheel is scrolled up/down
• Added "hp" as a new property to obj_definition's so you can make objs with "health" (like trees, shrubs, rocks etc)
• Added a "claim_script" parameter to api_define_quest(), called when the quest is claimed
• Changed ready() to call when the player is directly in the game (after intro cutscene)
• Changed worldgen() to call both before all objects are created (post-tiles) and after all objects are created
• Fixed api_get_definition() returning some properties as ds_ GM ids rather than values
• Fixed loading a different file than the preloaded save not calling ready() properly (and not having a splashscreen)
• Fixed api_define_flower_recipe() not working
• Fixed api_blacklist_oid() not affected player movement keys
• Fixed api_define_bee_recipe() not returning the menu object inst. in the mutation script
• Fixed "durability" on obj_definition showing as "health" in tooltips

[ 2022-06-09 13:36:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Slight tweak for SteamDeck to stop the initial run crash people were seeing! <3

[ 2022-06-06 19:52:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Think we are starting to iron out most the major bugs now! Nothing like having 1000s of people play your game to find the most niche little issues eh? :) Ive also added a few different QoL stuff in this update, notably a new item (Queen Cells) that acts as an automatic Quick Queen button, a way to get new grass tiles with Abbees Compost Bin, the ability to pin menus, as well as a way to dye backpacks in the new Dye Station! I think Queen Cells is p. useful but let me know what you all think! (too expensive, not expensive enough etc)
Then theres also a bunch of bug fixes including preventing the corrupted pink bee being able to be made in MP which then caused a bunch of issues, as well as the cargo boat just not following you after reloading the game. Of all the things in the game I think the Cargo Boat was probably the last thing I expected to give me so much grief lol Theres also a bunch of various modding related changes in this one (for mod creators - docs will be updated very shortly with some of the new stuff not yet put there!) Please enjoy! Im going to go to sleep now lmao ~ Ell

Changes

• Added a new craftable item, Queen Cells! These can be put in the middle of beehives/apiaries to trigger an automatic quick queen when the queen lifecycle ends. Give it a whirl and see what ya think!
• Upgraded the microscope to show the HD species image, the dom+res species letters (like in beeboxes), and show grumpiness/beeatrice traits
• Abbee now sells the Compost Bin, which turns seeds+flowers into grass tiles
• Jukebox can now store all 14 tracks, and will automatically pick a new track to play from it's storage when the current track ends
• Added a new "pin" button to menus when playing with MKB that when active will save the menus position on re-open rather than reset it!
• Backpacks now have an extra row and column of storage (dont say i dont ever give ya nuffin)
• Added the "Dye Station" which you can craft - currently used to dye backpacks different colors!
• Now indicate a "grumpy" icon on the bee book page to save having to hove the book's trait info section to check if a species is grumpy
• Now indicate a special icon on the bee book pages for empress/arctic/blazing to represent their special effects
• Gates now have an extra marker to get you back to THAT place if you've been there before
• You can now retrigger the credits by clicking on the door (when already opened)
• Changed the visual of capped frames to be a different pattern to uncapped for visual clarity
• Removed the larger honeycore crystals from having collision
• Added a seperate "inverse hotbar scroll" option now please stop asking lmao
• Added a "More Mods!" button to modding menu to link to the master mod list on the wiki!

Crash Fixes

• Fixed ERROR in action number 1 of StepEvent0 for object ob_menu:animcurvechannel_evaluate() first parameter is not valid
• Fixed ERROR in action number 1 of StepEvent0 for object co_gamepad:Variable unknown_object>.open(100464,-2147483648) cannot be resolved
• Fixed ERROR in action number 1 of DrawEvent for object co_renderer:Variable unknown_object>.honeycore not set before reading it

Bug Fixes

• Fixed being able to make corrupted bees with the beebox/beebank in multiplayer which then caused a bunch of issues by it existing
• On a similar note, any pink corrupted bees will be deleted or turned into safe cubes when loading a save now
• Fixed not being able to load mods when joining someones game
• Fixed the host's midnight weather report not syncing to joining players making weather go out of sync
• Fixed Cargo Boats just refusing to come with you and loading in without them
• Fixed not being able to use Cargo Boats on gamepad
• Fixed the Muggy beehives not being able to be placed back on water
• Fixed fences being able to be sold when you can craft them for nothing
• Fixed being able to steal things from shops with middle click (you rascals)
• Fixed using middle mouse button on a stack when there are 2 full stacks available deletes half of the merging content
• Fixed bee lanterns not being able to be picked up
• Fixed hitbox of 3rd recipe middle bee icons being offset
• Fixed beehives losing their notification popup icons when painted
• Fixed book not showing all behavior icons lit up for cathermarl bees
• Fixed using exactly 50ml of fluid giving you a messed up bottle
• Fixed a heater-related error when using a gamepad
• Fixed not being able to shift-click the Glitched bee (lowkey hilarious)
• Fixed Abbee's Staff spawning Honeydrop and Frosteria in the Swamp instead of Hivesbane
• Fixed clicking Glitched bees in the dream triggering the "discovery" for glitched bees again
• Fixed requirement info for Stubborn bee's stat card hover showing the wrong recipe
• Fixed photo mode not turning off when you press ESC or open settings
• Fixed being able to place nature items on ice (rip ice trees)
• Fixed not being able to press "Join" after hosting then saving+quiting
• Fixed beebanks in multiplayer not showing all the dropped bees for the other player when hammered
• Fixed not being able to use the honeycore shovel with a gamepad
• Fixed not being able to place grass tiles with a gamepad
• Fixed book overview notifications not going away until clicked even when you claimed the reward (go away omg!!!)
• Fixed backpack in the shop not showing the level required to buy when expanding the tooltip
• Fixed clicking on the Door with a gamepad crashing the game

Modding

• Changed how CTRL+SHIFT+R works, now mod files will get reloaded without a game restart - this can cause some jank but at least you can hotload minor changes quicker! Sprites will reset but placed items will need to be picked up to get the updated sprite (same for your menu define logic!). Textures don't get reset so eventually you'll get mem leaks if you have lots of sprites in a mod.
• Added "api_define_wall" which lets you define your own walls (see Sample Mod for an example)
• Added a "bench" property for "api_define_object" that will allow the object to function like a bench when clicked
• Added a "bed" property for "api_define_object" that will allow the object to function like a bed when clicked (requires a 5th sprite frame, see Sample Mod)
• Added a "has_lighting" property for "api_define_object" that will make the object act as a light source
• Added a "bee_lore" property for "api_define_item" that will show in the bee book if it's the special produce for that bee
• Added the pressed button instance ID as a second parameter to button click scripts in "api_define_button" buttons
• Added "api_http_request" which lets you send a standard HTTP req that will callback to the new "http()" hook
• Fixed the obj draw script in "api_define_menu_object" not being called for custom obj draw overrides
• Fixed "api_get_sprite" not returning standard oid items or items during "init()"
• Fixed "flowerX", "seedX", "dyeX", and "trackX" not being usable in menu definitions
• Added the ability to set a custom input restriction with "customX:{oid}", i.e. "customX:axe" would only allow items with an oid containing "axe"
• Added "api_define_validation_icon()" which lets you set the custom icon shown for custom input restrictions
• Fixed mod items loading twice (maybe?)
• Fixed modded quest/bee/flower progress not being kept (claimed, discovery, etc)
• You can now bin modded items that no longer have their mod loaded (blank pink cubes)

Modding Docs

• Updated "Sample Mod" with an example bench, bed, and lighting item
• Added a new sample mod, "Sample Workbench Mod" to show how you could approach a workbench-style menu
• Made it clear that shop_key is optional on definitions
• Made it clear that api_define_tank does need you to save the 3 tank props to menu._fields
• Added buttons to instance props
• Added image_xscale + image_yscale to instance props

[ 2022-06-04 16:37:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a quick one for today to cover some changes that went alongside the server changes made last night when the server was restarted! Currently working on a much large update to clean up some of the last remaining bugs but wanted to get this out first. ~ Ell

Changes

• Made some changes to BeeNet to help prevent desync
• Updated some client-side socket stuff to help prevent desync
• Added Steam Cloud links for mapping between Windows > Linux, Mac > Linux etc so that saves on PC should now be visible on SteamDeck

[ 2022-05-27 15:06:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hot fix for tapped trees being INVICIBLE smh

[ 2022-05-25 11:23:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hot fix to fix benches/beds/standard boats not being able to be picked up with a hammer

[ 2022-05-25 08:17:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Apis 1.2.0 Hey Beekeepers! Thanks so much for everyone reports - Ive been trying to keep on top of all the reports across Steam / Guilded / Discord / Forms / Random DMs (Im sure youve seen me zooming around on all of them these last few days!) I wanted to prioritise getting this update out as its specifically to address the 4 horsemen of the launch apocalypse that Im sure were all familiar with already (multiplayer sync Sadness, mod loading Malaise, cargo boat Betrayal + demo file Despair) Theres also a few little tweaks and some crash fixes too - hopefully this helps settle some of the more annoying issues, and then we can start looking more into QoL stuff! If you think something was missed here fret not! Theres a few things raised that were either pretty minimal, QoL suggestions or I couldnt replicate yet but rest assured its on my list. (For people reading this who have Humble / Itch / GJ / Epic, Ill be deploying 1.2.0 today ASAP!) ~ Ell

Hot Fixes

• HF1: Fixed benches/beds/boats not being hammerable

Changes

• Added a clear warning on demo saves to not be used in the full version of the game (Im so sorry)
• Holding R to respawn while in a boat will bring your boat with you
• Holding R to respawn with a boat nearby will also bring your boat with you
• Honeycore + Mysterious frames now have a durability of 10 instead of 5 (this will only affect new frames)
• Reduced Eternal Lifespan trait from 1200s to 720s (what was I thinking with this)
• Canisters with liquid can no longer be sold to prevent you losing money
• Updated Mothenses Twitter handle in-game (sorry moth <3)
• Adjusted the hitbox of the LHS buttons on menus so theres no gap between to highlight things behind
• Changed the Spanish language icon

Crash Fixes

• Fixed gml_Script_sc_util_draw_item - variable .d_traits not set before
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_crate1_change - variable .d_traits not set before
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_item_step - .species cannot be resolved
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_util_struct_clone - variable_struct_get_names incorrect type
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_util_draw_item - variable .d_traits not set before
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_slot_draw - unable to find instance

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a major issue in Multiplayer where desyncing could be caused by picking up too many items
• Fixed a major issue in Multiplayer where desyncing could be caused by placing/removing too many walls/tiles
• Fixed a major issue in Multiplayer where hosting a newly created world would cause a desynch with friend actions
• Fixed an issue where if you joined your friends game, save+quit, then loaded your own world it would be your friends world still (which could then lead to losing your save if you saved the game after loading that world)
• Fixed an issue where certain Steam Achievements would not get unlocked if Steam API hadnt been called correctly
• Fixed an issue where no Steam Achievements could be unlocked (for people who originally saw the Steam Not Connected issue in 1.0.0)
• Fixed an issue where corrupted MP saves of joining friends would remain corrupted
• Fixed the game crashing when hammering a gate while another gate menu was open
• Fixed the hotbar getting sorted when sorting the inventory (oops)
• Fixed the weird mouse off to the left of the actual mouse position thing (you know the one)
• Fixed the water bottle sprite having some junk on it
• Fixed being able to put a backpack inside itself and then closing itself and having your backpack disappear into itself for eternity
• Fixed some longer languages overlapping with the Postcard Set Sail button
• Fixed Hivemother Gate items showing as pink cubes
• Fixed the tooltip button icons of the map + bee book being the wrong way round
• Fixed the Bottler tank not resetting the liquid type if you used exactly 50bl to empty the tank
• Fixed the Smoker scent not resetting when the scent timer hit zero
• Fixed some menu objects being able to become immortal and permanently messing up your perfect lil base layouts
• Fixed being able to drag a menu with a hammer and cause the menu object to get picked up
• Fixed Magazines not having their high contrast variants for high contrast text mode
• Fixed being able to get infinite grass on tiles that have stuff on them (maybe?)
• Fixed Barnabee somehow managing to give you an impossible bee quest
• Fixed noticeboard visuals going wrong after > 5 quests completed

Modding

• You can now use Control + Shift + R to hard restart the game, allowing you to quick reload for LUA text changes (LUA files are only read when you actually select a save)
• Added a new method, api_is_game_paused() - you can guess what it does
• Fixed an issue where modded items would not appear after saving + restarting
• Fixed the Hopper mod from not working correctly with closed menus
• Fixed the Uranium Bee mod where the mod would not load
• Fixed being able to reduce money to negative
• Fixed api_define_flower() not working correctly

Modding Docs

• Fixed sc_define_button not showing that the button click handler has the menu_id as a property

[ 2022-05-25 07:06:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Small tweak on Windows to the GameMaker Steamworks Ext. for that "Steam Not Connected" issue! However achievements won't unlock because GameMaker still thinks your Steam client isn't initialised (but at least you can play the game)

[ 2022-05-21 09:34:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Wow what a release, thanks so much for everyone who's been playing, leaving us the most wonderful reviews, and helping us clean up some of the less friendly bugs! This update is pretty much just various fixes that seemed urgent, including a fix for rejoining your friends MP game crashing / clearing your progress. NOTE: if it's still not loading (from somehow getting corrupted during a crash) you'll need to clear your "players.json" file in %localappdata% Also I've tried a slight change to GameMaker's SteamWorks extension that I'm hoping helps the few of you seeing that weird "Steam Not Connected" screen when you're literally in Steam - let me know if it helps! HOWEVER, achievements won't unlock for you - I've had to raise a support request with GameMaker directly. But it's the lesser of 2 evils, either your steam won't initialise and you can't play the game, or no achievements but you can play the game :') I'm still looking into the "desync" issue that can sometimes occur for a few of you, usually it would be from bad/busy internet connection but I think there might be something in-game thats triggering a big flow of packets that is overwhelming the other player's socket. If you think you've been able to replicate this desync by doing something specific please come ping me in Discord!

Changes

• Removed wasps (or did I? dun dun dun....)
• Increased chance of rain each day in the forest from 30% - 35%

Crash Fixes

• Fixed gml_Script_sc_slot_set (CENTRIFUGE_ALARM1) instance_exists argument 1 incorrect type (undefined) expecting a Number (YYGI32)
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_slot_draw (MENU_DRAW) Unable to find instance for object index
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_util_discover_item (MENU_CHANGE) Variable .shiny(100020, -2147483648) cannot be resolved.
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_util_create_item (BUTTON_CLICK) ds_map_find_value argument 1 incorrect type (undefined) expecting a Number (YYGI32)
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_slot_validate (MOD_CLOCK) Variable .uncapped(100359, -2147483648) not set before reading it.

Bug Fixes

• Potentially fixed the "No Steam Connected" issue some people were seeing?
• Fixed an issue where rejoining a friends hosted game would crash you as your player save wasn't read correctly
• Fixed removing SirSengir Statue (how dare you) leaves a "Dev Wall" item you can't remove (Unfortunately for now you'll be stuck with this if you already hammered him!)
• Fixed shift-clicking beebox output messing up the counts
• Fixed in-game MP menu not having an overlay
• Fixed in-game MP menu not pausing the game when opened via the hosting notification
• Fixed high-contrast text mode showing invisible noticeboard quest text
• Fixed high-contrast text mode showing invisible postcard text
• Floored some cropped text on the modding, multiplayer, and controls menus

[ 2022-05-21 08:58:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Quick fix on Windows for people playing on MP! This is to solve the crash you would see when joining your friends world again after playing with them before.

[ 2022-05-20 18:37:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Yeah yeah I know, bit late posting but we got there in the end!! I hope you've all been enjoying your visit to Port APICO :D If you've got the time, we'd really appreciate if you can leave us a review! It's the best way you can help us out as indies <3 Without further ado, here's the patch notes for 1.0!

Changes

• The game is out now (durr)
• Added High Contrast Text mode (experimental!)
• Increased shiny chance from 5% to 8%

Bug Fixes

• Fixed world lagging for a few minutes when starting a new world until a restart due to every beehive in the world being active (oops)
• Fixed gamepad device selection button on PC flickering a lot
• Fixed beeboxes not working with a gamepad
• Fixed being able to paint NPCs on gamepad (poor Green Skipper)
• Fixed in-game settings/controls/access menus having their close button hidden (ESC still closed them)
• Fixed crash "gml_Object_ob_slot_Alarm_1 - Unable to find instance for object index"
• Fixed crash "gml_Script_sc_button_press - Unable to find instance for object index"
• Fixed crash "gml_Script_sc_beebank_draw - ds_map_find_value argument 1 incorrect type (undefined) expecting a Number"
• Fixed Backpacks sometimes close themselves with no apparent cause.
• Fixed lag between clicking button amount and box update in Workbench
• Fixed birbs facing right when flying left (oh god)
• Fixed showing an extra chapter in the bee book
• Fixed unread quests not showing the "!!!" icon
• Fixed beehive preview not showing on hover, same for crates
• Fixed holding hammer in slot 0 and using backpack can give player a HP bar (you couldn't kill the player tho boooo)
• Fixed hive noises play when hive is sleeping
• Fixed focus mode not selectable on PC
• Fixed beebox preview is pink cube when no species
• Fixed bin text button off by 1px (it was annoying me)
• Fixed boat wake sprite slightly offset
• Fixed magazine tooltip not showing right-click to open
• Fixed backpacks not being able to be selected the first time they're opened (maybe they're just shy)
• Fixed that if you try and hammer the hallowed gate/altar you cant then remove them once you unlock the axe
• Fixed dropped gate item is pink for a sec
• Fixed opening a menu object near the top of the window on PC opens the inventory twice
• Fixed Lost+Found giving you loads of noticeboard (why do you need that many)
• Fixed bottler always says "bottling Apicola"
• Fixed eebank scrolling buttons not active
• Fixed buzzing sound on errored hive
• Fixed hives with errors still charging honeycore machines
• Fixed backpacks not opening after saving
• Fixed Flower1 seed tooltip having the wrong name

Modding

• Fixed mods not loading if you save+quit and reload the same world with the same mods on
• Fixed mod icons not showing properly

[ 2022-05-20 17:06:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a quick post to let you all know that SteamDeck will be supported from release! I was lucky enough to be able to get hold of one so I was able to test the Linux build we have on deck and iron out any tweaks!
It's worth noting that right now the only thing missing is the "Mods" menu button, mainly because the "handheld" version of the game that both the SteamDeck and Switch uses hasn't had that menu adapted yet. You can still load mods off deck and then play them on deck though, as Steam Cloud should be syncing your /mods/ folder. Outside of that you should be all good, but do let me know if you're coming across any major issues with it and I'll investigate further <3 ~ Ell

[ 2022-05-16 16:39:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey friends! Yes, it is finally time for what we've all been waiting for! We're excited to announce that APICO will finally bee releasing on May 20th for World Bee Day!!! <3 This will be on Windows, MacOS, and Linux! Consoles will still bee a little bit delayed unfortunately, but this is Steam so who cares!!! :D The game will be releasing with modding (via mods.io) and multiplayer! If you're interested in modding the game you can read more about it over on the wiki here: https://wiki.apico.buzz/wiki/Modding_Guide I've also tested a bunch with the SteamDeck and happy to report that it all seems to be working smoothly there too! We've got a lot of exciting stuff planned over the next few months which you can read about here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Release-The-Bees-J3J1CLD7Y If you wanna come get hype, you can catch us over in Discord or over on Twitter! https://apico.buzz/discord [url=https://twitter.com/apico_game]https://twitter.com/apico_game We can't wait for you all to finally bee able to get your hands on the game <3 If you have any questions about release let us know below!

[ 2022-05-12 13:43:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So I've been busy making a bunch of changes for the nightmare that is consoles, and while doing so I made quite a lot of mess in the process. For the most part I think I've mostly found the bigger issues I caused in my code tantrums, however I thought it'd be good to do a demo update for two reasons 1. you can tell me if I broke anything major by being a dumb dumb and 2. to finally update you all to be in-line with the current release version. There's nothing too major in terms of content here so this isn't an update where you'll get a lot out of starting a new game or anything, but if you want to help do us a solid and hunt some bugs this is the update for you!! Also I added a beehive hat so... yea... (For beeta testers / key holders, there's a matching update for the release branch (Apis 0.22) - nothing really changed (all of the changes below you already had for the most part), but again if you want to help hunt some bugs please do so!)

Changes

• Added loads of bugs, probably lmao
• Added the Lost&Found box on Skipper's pier, which will hold any key items you somehow manage to lose! (new world only)
• Added some additional Linux libs to the game to prevent issues for some Linux users who didn't have these libs installed
• Added all language localisations for French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portugese, and Japanese
• Added a couple of "hat" hairstyles to try out!!! (can use the Dresser at Nan's house)
• Worldgen screen now has a fun bee icon that changes while u wait (what a treat)
• You can now specify which species you want a hint for from Beenjamin rather than him always telling you the hint for "next" bee you haven't discovered
• Updated controls image for when using a different brand controllers
• Remapping keys will now show in icons in the book, i.e. changing WSAD to ZQSD for AZERTY will show those controls in the guide instead of still showing WSAD
• Added an option in controls to quickly default to QWERTY or AZERTY controls (you can still customise keys after picking one)
• You can now view the bee book panel tooltips using LT/L2 and RT/R2 on gamepad
• Carpentry 101 GIF updated to show planks being sawn into sticks as well as logs > planks
• Player and NPCs now always have a white outline (like in Multiplayer
• You can now use B/O on gamepad to get out of the boat you are in to make it easier to escape your nautical nightmare
• Added visual buttons to show the above change when a boat is highlighted on gamepad
• You can now press R stick to quick queen on gamepad
• You can now use the right analogue stick to lock placement of tiles/walls in that direction on gamepad
• On PC you can now shift-click hotbar items into your inventory and vice-versa when only the inventory menu is open
• On Console/Gamepad you can now quick-move hotbar items into your inventory and vice-versa when only the inventory menu is open
• Increased text contrast on locked/complete chapters
• Increased book height to help with longer languages
• Magazine Rack no longer has fixed slot requirements to keep magazines ordered, do what you want you rascals
• Added a "high contrast slot" accessibility option
• Capped name input at 20 chars
• You can now place menu objects / machines on ice without needing pier tiles (technically it's solid so makes sense to add!)
• Made the sentence in the first quest that tells you ESC closes menus in blue to hopefully make it stand out and people remember, even though it's also shown in the corner when any menu is open :')
• Made a few other paragraphs in the quests highlighted to cover commonly missed things
• Blessed bees now have a coloured aura to make them easier to tell apart
• Gave the trait letters more contrast in the microscope menu + tooltips
• Wall placement is move forgiving with menu objects, i.e. you can now place walls on tiles next to Gates (before it was blocked)
• You can now hold Backspace in Signs, wow such quality updates right
• You can now hold mouse / gamepad A to buy multiple items from shops
• You can now place down stone on the ground back as rocks, what a treat
• Wax Canisters now explicitly state they are produced by Worker Bees
• Removed the "drowning" teleport because too many people report it as a bug - You can now hold "R" (or L2+R2 together on gamepads) for 5s to respawn back to your spawn point (either the pier or the last bed you slept on), as the deep water auto-teleportation has been removed
• The bed item tooltip + relevant quest ("Waiting Around") have been updated with this info too
• BroduxBlue is now Mothense in-game! (still the same cute fox!) <3

Bug Fixes

There's been so many bug fixes in the main branch of the game that it'd be impossible to name them all so I've tried to summarise common ones you might have come across:

• Fixed Tapped tree health bar not reducing when chopped (still chopped down but HP just stayed the same)
• Fixed canisters not showing up in crate preview tooltips
• Fixed mead canisters showing as pink cubes in in crate preview tooltips
• Fixed Rehab released bees not showing with their cute lil heart
• Fixed book overview chapter text being 1px off
• Fixed Name screen showing characters pressed while on the home page, if any
• Fixed "New Discovery" text sometimes getting cut off
• Fixed not being able to use dpad for moving around slots + menus on gamepad
• Fixed the extremely important mead "shine" missing from infused meads
• Fixed not being able to see bee trait cards on gamepad
• Fixed target/move buttons being yeeted into the sun when starting the game in gamepad mode and switching to MKB
• Fixed missing space between NPC names and their pronouns
• Fixed crashing issue when clicking on quest notifications
• Fixed Infuser not starting infusing when you have input items added, empty tank, then add a canister to fill
• Fixed Magazine Rack not accepted any items

[ 2022-02-02 17:49:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a quick little patch here so I could add in some error handling stuff for my own sanity - also a fix for modding where timers would just crash the game (nice!) Oh also a couple of hats because why not! You can try them out in the Dresser :D

Changes

• Added a couple of "hat" hairstyles to try out
• Added a better error handler that sends crash reports to us

Modding

• Fixed an issue with mod timers crashing when time is up
• Added back the crash handler

[ 2022-01-05 14:22:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just some little bits that have come out of the Xbox Demo feedback + console cert testing! This also has a few locale tweaks to match the quest/dictionary changes mentioned in the last update. As always I'm refusing to change the version to 1.0 until the game is released because I know if I do then one of you bastards will report a bug as soon at it hits 1.0 :'D

Changes

• Added locale for all the text changes in the last update
• Removed d-pad use on gamepad for mechanisms so it doesn't conflict with slot movement
• You can now use the right analogue stick to lock placement of tiles/walls in that direction on gamepad
• On PC you can now shift-click hotbar items into your inventory and vice-versa when only the inventory menu is open
• On Console/Gamepad you can now quick-move hotbar items into your inventory and vice-versa when only the inventory menu is open

Bug Fixes

• Fixed freezing post-credits if you click the mouse to continue instead of a key press
• Fixed crash post-credits when pressing any key on gamepad/console
• Fixed the 5th gate marker not being able to be clicked the first time you open a gate menu (would work when opened a second time)

[ 2021-12-13 17:23:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey beekeepers! As some of you old hats may remember once upon a time we used to have a Discord server for APICO but then we moved things over to Guilded when FTBS started so we could have one core "community" hub for all things TNgineers. This isn't going to change, especially for stuff like forums and beta testing, however we get a lot (a LOT) of feedback all the time from APICO players saying they wish we had a Discord (not any feedback about the actual game LUL) because they don't want to make another account just to chat with us, but they do want to chat to us (understandable, and cute) Because of this I've decided to give in and make a Discord clone for this server - it has some basic chat channels and then a bunch of webhook channels so things like Announcements or Patch Notes get automatically cross-posted from Guilded to Discord. Going forward Guilded will remain the community hub as the Events, forums like our Feedback and Bug Report channels, and the public facing blogs like the APICO Devlog are just too good to pass up, however this should then serve as a middle-ground for people who want to chat but don't have/don't use Guilded. I'll mostly still be over here (where it's nice and quiet) so bee good!!! https://apico.buzz/discord <3

[ 2021-12-10 10:57:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a couple extra changes based on some feedback and console testing!

Changes

• Player and NPCs now always have a white outline (like in Multiplayer)
• Updated "Waiting Around" quest to explain beds setting spawn point and how to respawn (English only, locale pending)
• Updated "Bed" tooltips to show how to respawn (English only, locale pending)
• Increased text contrast on locked/complete chapters

Bug Fixes

• Fixed "Random" seed packets placing pondshine on grass
• Fixed holding gamepad buttons to move around UI sometimes "skipping" a slot

[ 2021-12-06 14:04:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just some last few bits off the backlog as well as a few MP fixes that came out of Sto's stream on Monday!

Changes

• Increased Ancient Bee mutation chance to offset the fact the lifespan takes so long to get

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Nan's Dream cutscene not playing when entering the first time if you spoke to ellraiser or metakitkat in (Spoiler Area) before
• Fixed paint not being removed when removing tiles in MP
• Fixed random tiles missing from host world when reloading after tiles were placed by a friend
• Fixed random walls not updating their variant based on connected walls properly
• Fixed digging up or placing grass causing rendering issues in Multiplayer
• Fixed sitting on benches while highlighting the player showing a very fast leg kicking idle that looked like you were about to take off
• Fixed avatars of players who have drunk speed mead not moving faster

[ 2021-11-30 14:37:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a few last fixes off the back of the Playtest, and actually updating the main branch with the last few patches! To clarify for anyone reading this is not an update for the Playtest, as that ended on Sunday!

Changes

• Updated honeycore world gen to try and avoid honeycore spawning on ice!
• The 4th gate no longer needs bees to use, it's unlocked as soon as you get Grandpa's Axe to encourage people to enter the dream earlier
• [Spoiler Area] can only be reached after 4 gates are open, not 3
• You can now place menu objects / machines on ice without needing pier tiles (technically it's solid so makes sense to add!)
• Made the sentence in the first quest that tells you ESC closes menus in blue to hopefully make it stand out and people remember, even though it's also shown in the corner when any menu is open :')
• Made a few other paragraphs in the quests highlighted to cover commonly missed things
• Blessed bees now have a coloured aura to make them easier to tell apart
• Gave the trait letters more contrast in the microscope menu + tooltips
• You can now modify the "max friends" limit for MP in your settings file ("max_friends"), capped at 4 server-side

Bug Fixes

• Fixed one of Beenjamin's lines not merging the player's name correctly
• Fixed "Variable .notice(102073, -2147483648) not set before reading it" crash
• Fixed noticeboard claim button going off menu
• Fixed noticeboard claim text not being floored correctly
• Fixed noticeboard popup not closing when walking too far away
• Fixed noticeboard NPC name not having a space between the name and the pronouns
• Fixed bee "Recipe" slots showing wrong name order in some languages, will now match what is listed in the chapters
• Fixed shift clicking on [Spoiler Bee] not giving you the bee after [Spoiler]
• Fixed (hopefully) seeing avatars appear in-game when getting ready to join a game
• Fixed being able to see a "healthbar" above boats you are sailing in or players when trying to hammer them
• Fixed some bee species blessed variants having their shine out of sync with others
• Added a floor to the boat rendering to try and reduce random juddering when moving sometimes
• Prevented middle clicking on beebox/beebank output slots, as this crashes the game and has no effect (bees can't stack outside of these slots)

[ 2021-11-29 11:43:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Thanks so much to everyone who took part in this playtest and helped us weed out the less friendly bugs from the multiplayer!
I'm reasonably confident now with the multiplayer offering, definitely way more than I was before! For the most part a lot of the multiplayer bugs are duping related (things we can't really prevent due to it being a relay server) or a few rendering bugs that were pretty minor (as apposed to getting bugs that crash you or disconnect you randomly!) The only major bug we had was on Linux but we managed to fix that one (shout out to Vil for his patience on helping me find that one!). I would of loved to have been able to test more concurrent people (400 people played the playtest out of 1500 sign ups, and 75 games were played online this week) but i mean, if we have 1000 people wanting to play APICO online at the exact same time that must be a pretty high quality problem to have as it'd been we must of had like 10,000+ people buy the game haha! That's the end of the last playtest for APICO ever now! The demo will be up, as always, and I'll be updating it to match some of the fixes found during the playtest in the next week or so - but outside of that our next stop will be release! Thanks again, and can't wait to let you all have the game properly in the new year! <3 ~ Ell

[ 2021-11-28 19:00:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Thanks for everyone who's been helping test the Multiplayer functionality so far! This update is just some more fixes + some console stuff, but also I added some little emojis so you can just scream hearts at your friend - now you can enjoy abstract communication with symbols instead of weird walking movements, don't say I never give you nuffin <3

Changes

• You can now show a little emote by your head using the buttons in the top-right in Multiplayer :D (have yet to decide gamepad controls for them so hidden for now on gamepad)
• You can now use the virtual keyboard on consoles for Multiplayer name/host code input (maybe?)
• You should now be able to change your joining name without resetting progress in Multiplayer
• Painting tiles will now show the little paint splash PFX on other players in Multiplayer (super important I know)
• You can now hold "R" (or L2+R2 together on gamepads) for 5s to respawn back to your spawn point (either the pier or the last bed you slept on), as the deep water auto-teleportation has been removed
• Added the writing cursor back to signs
• Capped name input at 20 chars

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue in Multiplayer on Linux where sending multiple packets in the same frame would crash the game socket
• Fixed map not updating in Multiplayer when a friend places tiles
• Fixed tiles painting by clients in Multiplayer not saving on the host world when reloaded
• Fixed reset player/progress button causing an error when then joining a game immediately after
• Fixed being able to open the in-game menu / press save from the homescreen
• Fixed seeing the "error" cursor on the homescreen if you had something equipped in-game
• Fixed the in-game settings menu opening when selecting a device from the in-game control menu
• Fixed the mouse left/right click being usable when using a gamepad
• Fixed trees planted by another player not showing onscreen when they "grow" on your screen until you move
• Fixed queens being taken out from beeboxes/beebanks by shift-clicking turning into normal bees
• Fixed sign writing being funky and also doing double backspacing when typing
• Fixed not being able to set/see player name on gamepad on world creates
• Fixed breeding arrow showing in wrong place or missing on beehives/apiaries
• Fixed not being able to use a paintbrush / scraper with gamepads
• Fixed one variant of Honeyrose having it's outline 1px off
• Fixed an issue where the Merchant wouldn't be visible onscreen until you move if they happen to spawn on screen
• Fixed signs starting with "Hello world!" (this has literally been in for a year lol)
• Fixed beeboxes sometimes showing the wrong total in the tooltip
• Tried to improve the wall "updating" so that the updates to surrounding walls by clients in Multiplayer
• Tried capping slot counts when changed to prevent really crazy numbers being got when clicking the same slots at the same time as your friends in Multiplayer

[ 2021-11-24 19:32:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just some fixes on a few different bits! We currently have about 1400 people in the playtest, but only a tiny proportion of that are testing Multiplayer! If you can, please try and get your friends to play with you as we need all the help we can get to test this with a large amount of players before going live when we release next year. We are adding everyone who requests access to the playtest so you can get your friends to come and join you!!

Changes

• Added an "online" tooltip in the corner of the game when playing MP so you can check your internet connection according to the game
• Changed the 4th gate to need Bohemian instead of Empress so it can be accessed quicker (arguably an easier bee)
• Wax Canisters now explicitly state they are produced by Worker Bees
• Changed ellraisers dialogue in-game because no one trusts him
• Removed the "drowning" teleport because too many people report it as a bug - if you somehow get stuck on deep water then you're stuck for now soz, better keep a boat/bench/bed on you until I add a "respawn" button!

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where menu objects placed by friends (hives, machines etc) would get teleported to 0,0 when the host saved
• Fixed an issue where tiles/carpets placed or removed by friends didn't save correctly when the host saved
• Fixed Beenjamin's hint button text being clipped
• Fixed accessibility menu text being clipped
• Fixed bee book showing the "book complete" notification when you needed 1 more bee if you have discovered the glitched bee
• Fixed random seeds not showing the undiscovered state in the bee book

[ 2021-11-23 17:23:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Playtesters!! Just a few bug fixes while I push some MP logging updates so I can debug a few things, don't mind me! If you're a Beta Tester 0.14 will be a bit delayed but you can still get the changes by playing the Playtest if you like!

Changes

• Added some more logs to the MP stuff on the client-side
• Tweaked some MP socket parameters

Bug Fixes

• Fixed NPC shop menu UI "moving" from the menu sprite when the player moves
• Fixed Multiplayer Host menu having incorrectly aligned text (related to above)
• Fixed "unread" bee species' not showing as orange dots
• Fixed Nan's Bookshelf progress text being offset from the menu
• Fixed Nan's Dresser not working properly (honestly Nan why does your stuff suck)
• Fixed Predictor GUI showing English names for species in other languages
• Fixed Pondshine recipe being in the wrong place
• Fixed discovery popup saying "action44" instead of "Learn more!"
• Fixed bee/flower book text label for claim not being middle-aligned
• Fixed prioritising highlighting UI on open settings menus over any open menus behind the settings menu
• Fixed book notifications beeing super needy and not disappearing

[ 2021-11-22 18:14:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So - it is time! I have now pressed the big green button to turn on the Playtest, so if you have requested access you should now get access ( i don't know how long it takes to process dont @ me). This playtest will run until this Sunday (28th November) If you request access today don't worry, I'll release the rest of you into the Playtest tomorrow!
Rather than do it in batches I thought we'd just go for the full stress test and grant all 1000+ people access who are waiting - chances are not all these people will be playing, and definitely not at the same time so should be a good test! Some things to note before we get started though...

It's just me!

In case somehow you missed this, it's just me working on the code development of this game! We haven't got a team of clever network engineers on hand to put out any fires - it's just me, in my pants, staring at Digital Ocean's dashboard and wondering why the fuck I agreed to adding this feature. When the server inevitably crashes or has to go offline for changes please be patient! I will post any "maintenance" stuff in Guilded as it happens.

This is the full game!

Like the last playtest this is the actual full final finished game!! All features and functionality that we want in the finished game are in here. The only additions since the last playtest if you played that is a shit tonne of fixes/bugs, achievements were added and all the localisation languages were added. For achievements, unfortunately you can't see the full list of achievements cos the game isn't out, and apparently getting an achievement in the Playtest DOESN'T carry over to the full game - so just worth noting. Also modding is deactivated from this version. As it's the actual full game we're not really looking for any major feature suggestions or feedback on the overall game as that ship has sailed! What we're focusing on here is making super MP is stable and picking up any bugs found on the way. For bugs, please use either the Guilded Forums or our Bug Report Form: https://forms.gle/9v1T9q1DnkdLvDJ79

Disconnection

You can get disconnected for two reasons, each showing you a message saying as much before restarting the game. 1. Disconnected From Host - self explanatory, your host either lost connected, closed the game, or "kicked" you from the game. 2. Disconnected From Server - this means that either you connection timed out from the server, i.e. we didn't hear from you for 60s so the server killed your socket, OR you haven't received any callback from the server in 20s. Every time you click something or move something you are sending a message to the server which relays to your friend, and every 5s you send a "heartbeat" to the server - so if you get disconnected from the server then chances are your internet connection was lost for too long and couldn't be reconnected.

Hosting

To host a game just click the magic "Host" button! You'll be given a code (also shown in-game so you don't need to remember it) and then told to pick a world to host. That's all you have to do! Once your world loads you can give people your code.
Currently you can have 3 different players join your world - for release we're probably capping this at 2 (host + 1 friend) but while we're stress testing might as well open the flood gates eh?

Joining

To join a game enter your friends host code into the join screen and press the magic "Join" button! While we download your world from your friend and pass it on to you you'll have the opportunity to give yourself a name and customise your character. Your player progress is tied to your friend who is hosting, but is seperate from the actual hosts progress. IF you want to reset your own personal progress you can use the "Reset Progress" button in the MP menu. I think thats everything for now! If you want to come chat with other players or find people to play with
you can join our Guilded @ https://apico.buzz/guilded - we have some voice channels for APICO players too if you need! We'll be doing our stream on Wednesday but instead of working on Feed The Beasts we'll instead be doing some MP testing / fixing and let people join our game or something fun like that! Love, Ell <3

[ 2021-11-22 10:51:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Nothing too exciting here, some clean up for the console port stuff and a few gameplay tweaks, as well as some locale fixes. There's also a few new modding API methods added and some fixes, enjoy!

Changes

• Removed signs from console build
• Increased menu button hitbox size
• Increased effective range of heaters and coolers from 56px to 100px to match the smoker
• Beehives now show a radius when the menu is open (and highlighted) - like arctic/blazing/empress do but without the color
• Removed in-game FPS and version counter
• Change xbox controls visual to match modern xbox controllers
• Updated playstation controller visuals so its not in the 2000s
• Add switch controller visual in controls menu for os_switch
• Removed Pondshine in a Bottle from the demo build

Bug Fixes

• Fixed JP having wrong order when English chars used within sentances
• Fixed some languages using the wrong menu label
• Fixed "Claim" text not centered correctly
• Fixed Beesknees hint having the wrong latin names
• Fixed beehive production arrow not being the right
• Various fixes for console builds
• Fixed backpacks being trashable and sellable

Modding

• Added api_draw_slots() which re-runs all slot rendering for a given menu
• Added api_slot_redraw() which re-runs the slot rendering for a specific slot
• Added api_slot_item_id() which returns the slot item as a special item id, i.e. a common bee would be bee:common, a filled frame would be frame:filled.
• Added api_add_slot_to_menu() which lets you try and add the contents of a slot to a given menu (doesn't check validation)
• Added api_slot_validate() which lets you check if a given item+stats combination can be added to a given slot, useful for the above method
• Added api_inst_exists() which lets you check if an instance exists (nb: returns false if instance is "deactivated" offscreen too)
• Added api_get_mouse_inst() which returns the actual mouse instance
• Fixed the custom script_draw parameter not working for menu objects
• Fixed > 6 tier 5 bees going off the page (also remember you can specify tiers now!)

Modding Docs

• Added entries for the above methods added
• Updated the Instance Properties page to include "rx" and "ry" - new properties on menus, slots, and gui that return the relative position with the camera included (saving you doing x - camera.x etc)

[ 2021-11-19 14:30:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Finally I can do a build without having to triple/quadruple check everything multiple times to make sure I don't ruin the spoiler of us adding multiplayer steamfacepalm This update has a bunch of fixes for localisation stuff, a few little tweaks, and most importantly Multiplayer turned on!!!
To access Multiplayer simply click the button on the Home screen where you'll be able to either "Host" or "Join". Hosting gives you a code and lets you pick the world you want to host (existing or new). To join your friends game just enter the host code. Player progress is seperate, and when you join a friends world you get made a seperate player. If you need to reset your player progress at anytime you can do it from the Join screen. Multiplayer pretty much functions as you'd expect, you can interact with things together, use the same menus/machines, throw cute bees you find at each other etc. To pass time only one of you needs to be in bed or on a bench. There will be a Playtest soon so a bunch more people will be able to join MP (details on that soon) - this will be mainly so I can test server stability at larger scale. If you come across any bugs, as always let us know, and enjoy!! <3

Changes

• Now with Multiplayer! To play with a friend simply click Multiplayer > Host and pick a world. Your friend can then join with your host code (showed in-game in the bottom left)
• A notification now shows when a book is completed to take you to the overview chapter reward
• Crystal bees can be bred near large honeycore now (before was only small crystals)
• Keyboard default setting for QWERTY vs AZERTY adding to the settings menu
• Added new error messages to show when you don't have Grandpa's Axe but try and interact with hallowed areas
• Added all localisation changes for all languages

Bug Fixes

• Fixed hint text being slightly glitched / overlapping
• Fixed claim button on overview pages showing as red even when they're complete
• Various text that was still in English updated for other languages
• Fixed gifs not moving in the guide book
• Fixed bought backpacks crashing the slot rendering of any menu they are put in until a save+reload
• Fixed backpacks not opening with right-click (related to above maybe?)
• Fixed Overview chapters not being clickable at the top of the page after scrolling and reopening a book
• Fixed canisters made by Worker Bees having a count rather than being singular when extracted from frames
• Fixed currency symbols in JP not showing correctly
• Fixed button text offset in JP

Modding

• Updated sc_mod_api_set_devmode() to work in Production for modding
• Fixed mod descriptions rendering incorrectly
• Fixed quests being able to be handed in with items in slots that are inactive or modded
• Fixed sc_mod_api_use_total() picking up items in slots that are inactive or modded

[ 2021-11-15 13:36:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Oh hey beekeepers! If you're reading this it means either Ell accidentally left multiplayer in a build and spoiled the surprise OR we managed to successfully keep everything a secret until the MIX NEXT event in November! Either way, surprise!! We have multiplayer now :D Check the trailer for more: [previewyoutube=rsMmO4zZxE0;full][/previewyoutube] So.... yeah :D You probably have some questions, so I'll try and answer them here!

WTF when did you build this?

A long long time ago when we first signed with Whitethorn and finished off one of the major updates the whole WT team played a bunch and all gave some really positive feedback for it! At the time Matt (WT CEO) mentioned that adding multiplayer with your friends would definitely be a bonus and they'd support me in any way they could if I wanted to give it a go. As you can imagine like 70% of our feedback has always been the ability to play with a friend so we've always had it there in the back of our minds but never really considered it (because hot damn it's a lot of work and stress). Speed forward to around August time we had actually finished off the game apart from Localisation (being done by Whitethorn) and the Modding which was still being tested - but in terms of the actual game itself everything was complete! So we had a lot of time left... There were some content updates I wanted to do for APICO but that was more post-release, so after twiddling my thumbs for a few days I decided what the heck lets give it a try.
After the initial test seemed to be promising I started working on it in more depth, and spent most of August and September tweaking and perfecting both the server and the in-game client stuff whilst updating the modding stuff and doing the LQA fixes.

What is the actual Multiplayer functionality?

APICO Multiplayer is an online multiplayer system where you can "host" your world and have your friend come and join you, using your "host code". Currently this is limited to 2 people per world. Everything in the normal game you can do with your friend! The person who hosts uses one of their worlds (or can make a new one!), and the person who joins has a seperate player progress tied to that host. Your progress is seperate so you can work away at quests/bees separately, and share the results of any fancy new bees you find. If consoles approve it, it will also be cross-platform as all builds use the exact same relay server and connection system - so fingers crossed! We thought about local co-op but realistically our menus do not work to have 2 players on the same screen at the same time. In future I'll probably add a local LAN connection alternative, and I'm also thinking about releasing the actual relay server we use as OSS - this way people can host their own servers and maybe tinker with it to do some weird stuff, but overall I'm really happy with it and it's super cute!!

Will it cost anything?

Yes you'll need to pay me 999 jars of honey every month to be able to use it >:D Jokes aside, no, it won't cost you anything! If you own the game you'll be able to host your world or join someone else's world. The only exception to this may be on consoles, as I believe that under the Switch guidelines they may require players to have a switch online membership to access online functionality (even though it's our own server, thanks Nintendo) Server costs will obviously get offset by sales (hopefully), and we'll probably run it for a good while before then letting people just host their own by making the relay server open source (as mentioned above).

Can I play it now / will there be a playtest?

Yes we will be doing another playtest!! This to help iron out some of the quirks that we might of missed in multiplayer, but is mainly to allow me to test the server infrastructure at a high amount of connections. I did some stress testing early on but it's not the same as being able to have lots of actual real busy bees playing! I'll post an update when we know how we'll be doing this playtest but it'll be the same thing, apply on Steam and you'll get added randomly as we add more people.

How does it work?

As some of you might know I'm a full-time software dev and have worked on a lot of boring SaaS stuff, so I've built some pretty gnarly shit before but I've never had to touch multiplayer so this was an absolute trek (will be posting devlogs for Multiplayer over the next few weeks!). The main thing was that I wanted to check ways we could get it working before even potentially mentioning it - the last thing I want to do is promise something that turns out to not be possible/practical (and even now announcing this keeps me up at night), but after a lot of messing around I managed to make a system using a relay server that turned out to work pretty well. Using a node relay (suitably dubbed "BeeNet") and the built-in GMS socket connection stuff I built out a sync system that let two people play together and keep track of each others movements and actions!
For the nerds; I didn't want to do UDP hole punching as it isn't 100% reliable, I didn't want to do direct IP connection (a la Minecraft) as having to open ports is a nightmare to explain to people (especially console!), and I didn't want a fully fledged server where worlds are hosted cos ya boys broke - so relay seemed the best option and the most reliable! As mentioned, I'll be doing some deep-dives in the devlogs soon so keep an eye out for that if thats your sort of thing! I think that covers most things but if you have any other questions let me know! I'm super excited (and terrified) for you all to give it a try and just be able to be vibin' with your friends and the bees <3 ~ Ell

[ 2021-11-13 19:52:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! It's been a hot minute! We've been working on a bunch of stuff behind the scenes, along with working with the localisation team to fix any language problems. Languages are in this build but there's still a bunch of LQA to be added, so please don't send us any locale related bugs just yet! This update has a lot of the backlog stuff also, QoL stuff I didn't want to prioritise for 1.0 but would chuck it in if we had time during the cert process - stuff like Beenjamin now letting you pick what species you want a hint for (rather than always using the next undiscovered bee) or a quick keybind for AZERTY keyboards. There's also a bunch of modding updates as I've been working on my own mod that adds Hoppers - nothing like dogfooding to help find missing stuff!

Changes

• Added all language localisations for French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portugese, and Japanese (still being worked on pls dont submit locale based bugs!)
• You can now specify which species you want a hint for from Beenjamin rather than him always telling you the hint for "next" bee you haven't discovered
• Updated controls image for when using a Playstation brand controller
• Remapping keys will now show in icons in the book, i.e. changing WSAD to ZQSD for AZERTY will show those controls in the guide instead of still showing WSAD
• Added an option in controls to quickly default to QWERTY or AZERTY controls (you can still customise keys after picking one)
• You can now view the bee book panel tooltips using LT/L2 and RT/R2 on gamepad
• Carpentry 101 GIF updated to show planks being sawn into sticks as well as logs > planks
• You can now use B/O on gamepad to get out of the boat you are in to make it easier to escape your nautical nightmare
• Added visual buttons to show the above change when a boat is highlighted on gamepad
• Quick queen button is no longer visible on gamepad mode, as you can just press R stick to quick queen

Bug Fixes

• Fixed not being able to use dpad for moving around slots + menus on gamepad
• Fixed the extremely important mead "shine" missing from infused meads
• Fixed not being able to see bee trait cards on gamepad
• Fixed target/move buttons being yeeted into the sun when starting the game in gamepad mode and switching to MKB
• Fixed mod descriptions not showing correctly when clicking a mod button
• Fixed mod download failing on Linux
• Fixed missing space between NPC names and their pronouns
• Fixed crashing issue when clicking on quest notifications (sorry sto <3)
• Fixed Infuser not starting infusing when you have input items added, empty tank, then add a canister to fill
• Fixed Magazine Rack not accepted any items (sorry sto again lol)
• Fixed player showing underneath gates when the gate is still locked on gamepad mode
• Fixed some issues with the in-game console "machine"

Modding

• Added api_library_add_book() which lets you add a book to the bottom library bar with custom click action (book implementation sold seperately, see Sample Mod for example book)
• Gamepad mode now correctly ignores "inactive" slots from selection
• Using api_define_gui() should now correctly add that GUI to the gamepad selection list so it's highlightable on gamepad
• Fixed issues with the save/load methods
• Fixed issue with api_get_menu_objects() not returning a menu_id value for the menu object instances
• Updated Sample Mod to include an example of using save/load to decide if it's the first time the mod has been loaded for the player or not
• Added api_remove_gui() which lets you remove a GUI you created with api_define_gui()
• Added api_get_mouse_inst() which returns the mouse instance (which is basically like a slot)
• Added api_add_slot_to_menu() which lets you move the contents of a slot to a given menu (any leftover that doesn't fit remains in the original slot)
• Added api_slot_validate() which lets you check if a given slot can accept a given item based on its definition (note this just checks if it's valid for an input slot, you have to check amounts yourself)
• Fixed api_slot_set() not using the stats you pass to it for frames / canisters

Modding Docs

• Updated api_save_data() example to show ev parameter will be "SAVE" on save triggered async events
• Added the wiki docs page as a Github repo (https://github.com/APICO-Modders/APICO-API-Docs)

[ 2021-11-06 13:15:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Oh wow no Beeta no more?? That's right I changed a small string in the project file which magically means we are no longer in the Beeta! I actually didn't want to do a patch yet, but unfortunately I needed to make a few changes for the Steam build so it could get approved, so that Steam will let us release the OST which isn't allowed to be made available until the related game build has been reviewed and past (why u need this I don't know) Anyway this build is midway through the locale being added so you'll notice a few slight changes like the books are bigger as it's in prep for the LQA testing from the locale team! Overall shouldn't be much different from the last version you had :D

Changes

• Added the Lost&Found box on Skipper's pier, which will hold any key items you somehow manage to lose! (new world only)
• Increased book height to help with longer languages
• Magazine Rack no longer has fixed slot requirements to keep magazines ordered, do what you want you rascals
• Added a "high contrast slot" accessibility option

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Honeycore machine tooltip showing wrong tank values for charge on squeezer+centrifuge
• Fixed gml_Script_sc_mod_check "open file limit" crash on multiple save+quits
• Fixed Noticeboard constantly notifying you a quest is ready to hand in when menus get opened
• Fixed being able to interact with the Noticeboard underneath the quest popup

[ 2021-10-14 10:19:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! One last update for the Beeta I think before we move you over to the release build! This is a few balance things brought in from QA as well as a few QoL stuff we added in based on various feedback and more QA. There's a lot of bug fixes too, with a bunch of stuff I picked up in the NextFest streams, and then some little tweaks for modders. I'm actually moving house this weekend and won't have internet until 12th, so if there's anything absolutely breaking please let me know before Friday otherwise it'll have to wait! Enjoy <3

Changes

• Changed Swamp Gate to need the Worker Bee instead of Stubborn
• Changed Hallowed Gate to need the Crystal Bee instead of Chaotic
• Changed Climate quest to be after Smoker quest to match the order you can unlock/buy those related machines
• Added some additional Linux libs to the game to prevent issues for some Linux users who didn't have these libs installed
• Wall placement is move forgiving with menu objects, i.e. you can now place walls on tiles next to Gates (before it was blocked)
• You can now hold Backspace in Signs, wow such quality updates right
• You can now correctly shift-click bees out of Beeboxes/Beebanks
• Jurassic beehive now spawns on ice to make it easier to find
• You can now hold mouse / gamepad A to buy multiple items from shops
• You can now place down stone on the ground back as rocks, what a treat
• BroduxBlue is now Mothense! <3

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Debugger2 not having input blacklisted while typing
• Fixed Honeycore Shovel selling for $50 instead of $10
• Fixed incorrect dye recipes
• Fixed Smoker extra storage not working (again)
• Fixed QQ button not working in Advanced Apiaries
• Fixed Tapped tree health bar not reducing when chopped (still chopped down but HP just stayed the same)
• Fixed canisters not showing up in crate preview tooltips
• Fixed mead canisters showing as pink cubes in in crate preview tooltips
• Fixed Rehab released bees now showing with their cute lil heart
• Fixed Combristle not applying -1 lifespan buff
• Fixed Honeydrop not applying +1 stability buff
• Fixed book overview chapter text being 1px off
• Fixed bee book overview saying /34 instead of /35
• Clamped player light while skidding on ice to prevent juddering
• Fixed Name screen showing characters pressed while on the home page, if any
• Fixed QQ button not working on natural beehives
• Fixed "New Discovery" text sometimes getting cut off

Modding

• You can now pass an optional "draw_script" argument to the menu define function that acts like the object define one
• Fixed not being able to specify "singular" for menu objects
• Fixed the draw_script runtime error for defining menu objects
• Fixed menu objects always setting as key items regardless of what you set in the definition
• Fixed modded objects in crates showing as pink cubes until picked up (apparently, I don't remember fixing this lol)

[ 2021-10-06 09:53:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Just a little hotfix because I broke the Quick Queen button for natural hives and I can't in good conscious let you all suffer without that button haha :D

Hot Fixes

• Fixed QQ button not working on natural beehives
• Fixed discovery crash on gamepad when pressing A

[ 2021-10-05 09:55:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! A little update to fix some gamepad related stuff, and a few other little fixes, pls enjoy <3

Changes

• Added some additional Linux libs to the game to prevent issues for some Linux users who didn't have these libs installed
• Gamepad mode is no longer automatically set when connecting a gamepad
• You can now pick which device to use when turning on gamepad mode
• Wall placement is move forgiving with menu objects, i.e. you can now place walls on tiles next to Gates (before it was blocked)
• You can now hold Backspace in Signs, wow such quality updates right
• You can now correctly shift-click bees out of Beeboxes
• You can now hold mouse / gamepad A to buy multiple items from shops

Bug Fixes

• Fixed QQ button not working in Advanced Apiaries
• Fixed Tapped tree health bar not reducing when chopped (still chopped down but HP just stayed the same)
• Fixed canisters not showing up in crate preview tooltips
• Fixed mead canisters showing as pink cubes in in crate preview tooltips
• Fixed Rehab released bees now showing with their cute lil heart
• Fixed Combristle not applying -1 lifespan buff
• Fixed Honeydrop not applying +1 stability buff
• Fixed book overview chapter text being 1px off
• Fixed bee book overview saying /34 instead of /35
• Fixed Name screen showing characters pressed while on the home page, if any

[ 2021-10-04 20:55:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers (again)! Damn APICO blowing up ya notifications! We're so excited to be a part of NextFest this year, we actually gunna do 2 devstreams!! As well as today at 7pm BST, we'll be streaming tomorrow on 2nd October at 7pm BST.
Hope to see ya there! Love, Ell & Jamie

[ 2021-10-01 08:34:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Wow 2 updates in the same week don't say we don't ever give you nuffin This is all the gamepad goodness that we pushed to the Beeta yesterday, seems stable enough so GLHF :D

Changes

• Gamepad mode automatically activates if you have a gamepad connected
• In gamepad mode you can now hold R stick + dpad for moving through stuff i.e. chapters, menu buttons, slots etc
• In gamepad mode you can now hold triggers to cycle through inventory slots rather than press 1 by 1 (I know, I really do treat you guys)
• Pressing R stick on finished hives will press the Quick Queen button for you
• Added all missing gamepad specific guide book GIFs and the last gate GIF
• You can now use L stick click to toggle Photo Mode on gamepad
• You can now quick-move bees out of beeboxes correctly on gamepad

Bug Fixes

• Fixed being able to place a wall on yourself in gamepad mode by walking one way and snap placing the other way
• Moving through beeboxes now scrolls correctly on gamepad mode (wow almost like thats what we EXPECT to happen eh)
• Beeboxes no longer reset their highlight when adding bees on gamepad
• Fixed being able to close menus by clicking on the object through the menu (for the last time hopefully lol)

[ 2021-10-01 08:30:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So as you've seen there were a few updates for the demo, this update is to catch you up on everything you've missed plus a LOT of gamepad related stuff! I basically finally sat down on a nice comfy sofa and played gamepad mode for a while, so there's a few QoL stuff I added because I wanted it, and then a bunch of fixes for a lot of the stuff that has been flakey for quite a while. This is probably one of the last few Beeta updates now... because we'll be moving it over to the final release build! Nothing much will change, it'll just sound more official and I'll feel like I've achieved something :'D

Changes

• Added a Now Playing notification so you know the name of your favourite track!
• Added a special "braid" hairstyle for Sto!
• Added a "High Contrast Slots" option in the Accessibility menu
• You can now hold shift while middle-clicking to not only gather up as many of the same item (middle click) but move it to another menu also
• Menu Objects now need two hammer hits to be picked up, giving you a chance to avoid the dreaded stuff explosion with your crates
• Gamepad mode automatically activates if you have a gamepad connected
• In gamepad mode you can now hold R stick + dpad for moving through stuff i.e. chapters, menu buttons, slots etc
• In gamepad mode you can now hold triggers to cycle through inventory slots rather than press 1 by 1 (I know, I really do treat you guys)
• Pressing R stick on finished hives will press the Quick Queen button for you
• Dpad on gamepad can now be used on main menus as well as L stick
• B on gamepad now goes back in main menus
• Added ability to R stick click to sort on crates on gamepad mode
• You can now use the dpad for chapter selection on gamepad as well as R stick
• You can now use the dpad for mechanisms on gamepad as well as R stick
• Merchant gates now cost 3 times more, and require at least 22 bees discovered
• Added all missing gamepad specific guide book GIFs and the last gate GIF
• You can now use L stick click to toggle Photo Mode on gamepad
• You can now quick-move bees out of beeboxes and beebanks correctly on gamepad "but why not on MKB?" hush now my sweet child

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Advanced Apiaries not showing the Quick Queen button correctly
• Fixed not being able to select SirSengir on gamepad mode
• Fixed not being able to select lights or light flowers on gamepad mode
• Fixed backpacks not working on gamepad
• Fixed not being able to claim overview chapter rewards
• Fixed introduction quest notification not showing after speaking to Nana
• Fixed "Tapping Trees" quest having duplicate text
• Fixed Industrial Bee needing the wrong reqs
• Fixed being able to close menus by clicking on the object through the menu (for the last time hopefully lol)
• Fixed Merchant sold honeycore requiring honeycore to buy
• Fixed Beenjamin + Barnabee noticeboard quests not being able to be handed in from player slots only other menu slots
• Fixed Beenjamin + Barnabee quests not taking the requirement bee off you when you claim your bee (they were being too nice)
• Fixed being able to place a wall on yourself in gamepad mode by walking one way and snap placing the other way
• Moving through beeboxes/beebanks now scrolls correctly on gamepad mode (wow almost like thats what we EXPECT to happen eh)
• Beeboxes no longer reset their highlight when adding bees on gamepad

Modding

• Clicking on a mod in the Modding menu now shows the mod description from mod.io
• Workbenches in-game now reset correctly when the game loads if you've defined custom recipes

[ 2021-09-30 18:10:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! We're excited to be a part of NextFest this year. As part of it, we'll be doing a devstream to play through some of the Beeta and show off a few things not in the demo! We'll be streaming on 1st and 2nd October at 7pm BST for a good few hours and talk about all things APICO :D
Hope to see ya there! Love, Ell & Jamie

[ 2021-09-29 13:06:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So since the Playtest has ended there's been a bunch of tweaks and bug fixes, so we wanted to update the demo to keep it in-line with the final game - especially with Steam NextFest looming on the horizon (Saturday!) This update has a bunch of gamepad stuff, balance stuff, and then a butt-tonne of bug fixes. Enjoy!

Changes

• Added a Now Playing notification so you know the name of your favourite track!
• Added a "High Contrast Slots" option in the Accessibility menu
• You can now hold shift while middle-clicking to not only gather up as many of the same item (middle click) but move it to another menu also
• Menu Objects now need two hammer hits to be picked up, giving you a chance to avoid the dreaded stuff explosion with your crates
• Dpad on gamepad can now be used on main menus as well as L stick
• B on gamepad now goes back in main menus
• Added ability to R stick click to sort on crates on gamepad mode
• You can now use the dpad for chapter selection on gamepad as well as R stick
• You can now use the dpad for mechanisms on gamepad as well as R stick
• You can now use the dpad for general slot movement in-game as well as R stick
• Saving the game now takes a little bit longer (1 whole second!!) but now it won't freeze the game so you can just keep on truckin', don't say I never treat you all
• Added tooltips to make it clear that pressing escape on a highlighted menu closes ONLY that menu and pressing escape when not highlighting a menu closes ALL open menus
• Updated "Microscope It Out" quest to explain the recessive + buff symbols (, +, -)
• Added the ! bubble above the player when drowning to make it clear you are drowning and will be teleported if you remain "stuck"
• Updated scaling for 4K monitors, it was scaling at 4x when it should of been at 5x (3200+) and 6x (3840+) respectively (I can't afford fancy monitors so I didn't know this soz)
• Doubled the amount of honey made per frame extraction (5 frames = minimum 1 bottle worth, higher productivity trait = more honey obvs)
• Rebalanced some of the bee special products to encourage selling honey/mead for better profits (honey bottle sells for $15, mead for $20)
• Bottles now only cost $1 each
• Tweaked world gen for the demo to try and avoid awkward lake cut-offs
• Weather, recipe, altar, and noticeboard notifications now auto-dismiss after a short period on PC like they already do on console
• Clock in the corner now explicitly says day/dawn/dusk/night
• Added a special "braid" hairstyle for Sto!

Bug Fixes

• Fixed gamepad mode not turning off in the settings when using a gamepad until you restart
• Fixed Canisters not having their base sell price added to the canister amount price
• Fixed books still showing a notification when all chapters are read
• Fixed flowers placed in pots not appearing until you move
• Fixed some issues with a 'sc_menu_check_input' crash error
• Fixed some issues with a 'sc_mouse_action' crash error
• Fixed tank not filling in Extractor / Centrifuges when there is a full canister in the tank output
• Fixed gate items showing as pink cubes when picked up
• Fixed tile highlight showing when we had no hammer equipped
• Fixed some of the post-ending dialogue
• Fixed some of the post-ending effects in the 5th biome
• Fixed Advanced Apiaries not showing the Quick Queen button correctly
• Fixed not being able to select SirSengir on gamepad mode
• Fixed not being able to select lights or light flowers on gamepad mode
• Fixed backpacks not working on gamepad
• Fixed not being able to claim overview chapter rewards
• Fixed introduction quest notification not showing after speaking to Nana
• Fixed "Tapping Trees" quest having duplicate text
• Fixed dropped items not deactivating off-screen
• Fixed not being able to place tiles underneath potted plants
• Fixed lights deactivating offscreen too quickly
• Fixed being able to stack flowers by shift placing them
• Fixed some book elements in window mode being cut off
• Fixed repeating paragraph on quest "Get Building"
• Fixed mead buffs counting down while the game is paused
• Fixed Beeboxes not updating the output when a bee matching the current selected bee stats is added
• Fixed blessed queens counting as 2 bees in Beeboxes
• Fixed not being able to right-click drop infused mead onto more of the same mead as the right-click drinks the mead instead
• Fixed being able to interact with the world with the mouse while the game is paused
• Fixed Shrub Saplings being liars and saying you can use them in Squeezers
• Fixed being able to highlight beebox gui elements outside the menu
• Fixed tree health showing -0.0 for a split second when punched to death
• Fixed drained treetap still showing a "next produce in 10s" gui tooltip in the menu
• Fixed tiles being able to be duplicated by hammering extremely fast and on a specific frame - or at least I've made it harder to do anyway haha
• Fixed Bottler not resetting tank to be empty after using up all the liquid when bottling something
• Fixed using red close buttons or "Bye" in NPC dialogue menus not closing all menus in Focus Mode
• Fixed Extractors putting output items in the frame output slots
• Fixed being able to close crates while the noticeboard is open and have the quest still able to be handed in
• Fixed flower mutation not creating a pool, so it was bias to higher tier mutation recipes
• Fixed normal mead in quest icons not having a full tooltip
• Fixed mouse held item not resetting on new world creation
• Fixed some types of mead not having effect info in quest icon tooltips
• Fixed Beekeeper's Delight not being discovered by default
• Tweaked collision slightly to avoid a rare "one way" deep water layout - if this messes up collision in general then you can blame a123qwertz567 and Dues!

[ 2021-09-28 12:48:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! We're excited to be a part of NextFest this year. As part of it, we'll be doing a devstream to play through some of the Beeta and show off a few things not in the demo! We'll be streaming on 2nd October at 7pm BST for a good few hours!
Hope to see ya there!

[ 2021-09-21 09:22:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So the playtest has sadly come to an end, but on the plus side it meant an end to the torrent of bugs I had to fix :') Whitethorn's QA team were busy testing the game at the same time too, so there's lots of fun little bugs that we managed to catch here. Thanks so much to everyone that reported bugs or gave us feedback in these last few weeks! <3 This patch is a lot of bug fixes but also a few balance tweaks and little changes, including the save slowdown bug! I also added in the achievements to Steam, however you can only unlock the achievement for getting the Dream Bee and the Jurassic Bee at this point, just so that we can test the achievement unlock with Steam overlay. Once it's all working I'll add in the unlock triggers for all of the other achievements. For Mod Creator's there are also a few new API additions and some long needed fixes to custom NPCs. Enjoy!

Changes

• Honeycore Crystals now sell for 3 honeycore each, Honeycore Shards are still 1 honeycore each
• Bottles now only cost $1 each
• Mainlander Money now sells for $25 each
• Added the ending sequence SFX
• Tweaked world gen for the demo to try and avoid awkward lake cut-offs
• Weather, recipe, altar, and noticeboard notifications now auto-dismiss after a short period on PC like they already do on console
• Heaters + Coolers need higher levels of bees discovered before being unlocked to encourage using the biomes before getting spoilt by machines!
• Town Noticeboard now only needs you to have discovered 6 bees to start handing in quests
• Beenjamin quests in the Town Noticeboard have higher bee produce added to the reward pool
• Skipper quests in the Town Noticeboard now give a proportional amount of mainlander money (i.e. requirement is 3 bottles, you get 3 moneys)
• Bobbee quests in the Town Noticeboard have honey frames added to the reward pool
• Merchant quests in the Town Noticeboard now correctly pick from ALL tracks in the game, not use the first 6
• Clock in the corner now explicitly says day/dawn/dusk/night
• Added in the ability to unlock the achievement for Dream Bee + Jurassic Bee so I can test some achievement things!
• Re-ordered Beenjamins shop stock to be in order of level unlock

Bug Fixes

• Fixed dropped items not deactivating off-screen
• Fixed auto-save not clearing the discovery list each save, meaning save files grew exponentially until the save was impossible to complete
• Added a fix to automatically clean up your save if you have one of the saves from 1.6 that had this exponential issue
• Fixed not being able to place tiles underneath potted plants
• Fixed lights deactivating offscreen too quickly
• Fixed being able to stack flowers by shift placing them
• Fixed noticeboard text in window mode being cut off
• Fixed some book elements in window mode being cut off
• Fixed repeating paragraph on quest "Get Building"
• Fixed mead buffs counting down while the game is paused
• Fixed Beeboxes/Beebanks not updating the output when a bee matching the current selected bee stats is added
• Fixed blessed queens counting as 2 bees in Beeboxes + Beebanks
• Fixed not being able to right-click drop infused mead onto more of the same mead as the right-click drinks the mead instead
• Fixed being able to interact with the world with the mouse while the game is paused
• Fixed Shrub Saplings being liars and saying you can use them in Squeezers
• Fixed being able to highlight beebox/beebank gui elements outside the menu
• Fixed tree health showing -0.0 for a split second when punched to death
• Fixed being able to sell Honeycore Crystals + Honeycore Shards to NPCs for Rubees
• Fixed not being able to sell Honeycore Crystals + Honeycore Shards to Bobbee for Honeycore
• Fixed being able to put honeycore in Bobbee's buy slots
• Fixed drained treetap still showing a "next produce in 10s" gui tooltip in the menu
• Fixed tiles being able to be duplicated by hammering extremely fast and on a specific frame - or at least I've made it harder to do anyway haha
• Fixed Bottler not resetting tank to be empty after using up all the liquid when bottling something
• Fixed using red close buttons or "Bye" in NPC dialogue menus not closing all menus in Focus Mode
• Fixed being able to still hand in noticeboard quests when you haven't got the items on you
• Fixed Extractors putting output items in the frame output slots
• Fixed being able to close crates while the noticeboard is open and have the quest still able to be handed in
• Fixed not having enough honeycore in shops showing the wrong tooltip
• Fixed flower mutation not creating a pool, so it was bias to higher tier mutation recipes
• Fixed normal mead in quest icons not having a full tooltip
• Fixed mouse held item not resetting on new world creation
• Fixed some types of mead not having effect info in quest icon tooltips
• Fixed both Barnabee and Abbee crashing when opening their shop and < 10 bees/flowers are discovered
• Fixed Beekeeper's Delight not being discovered by default
• Tweaked collision slightly to avoid a rare "one way" deep water layout - if this messes up collision in general then you can blame a123qwertz567 and Dues!

Modding

• You can now specify an "item_sprite" property in obj_definition and menu_obj_definition to use an alternate 16x16 image for items + slots
• You can now specify a "tier" property in the bee_definition and the game will try and put the bee in that tier. If there is no room it will try the next tier up, defaulting to 5 if no room anywhere
• Added api_define_gif() - similar to api_define_sprite() but will append your given name with "gif_" instead allowing it to be used in quest definitions
• Added api_blacklist_input() which allows you to prevent standard input on a specific menu object oid when open, like how writing in signs doesn't open the book when pressing G as you type
• Fixed api_get_inst_in_circle() and api_get_inst_in_rectangle() crashing when used
• Fixed api_define_item() and api_define_object() setting the "shop_key" value to true regardless of what you give it (meaning all items became key items)
• Fixed dialogue not working for custom NPCs
• Fixed custom NPCs throwing an error when trying to buy custom items from them

Modding Docs

• Updated docs with new properties for the definitions
• Updated Sample Mod to include an example gif sprite to use with a quest definition
• Updated the api_define_quest() example to add a gif
• Added api_unlock_quest() to the docs as it was in the API but missing from the docs
• Added api_define_gif() definition
• Added api_blacklist_input() definition

[ 2021-09-19 10:36:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! All good things must come to an end, and for the APICO Playtest sadly this is the end! Thanks so much for everyone who took part in this and helped squash out nasty bugs and give us great feedback! We really do appreciate it <3 If you haven't already, we'd love to hear your feedback on the Beeta! The Beeta feedback form is completely optional and you don't have to answer all the questions - they're there just to give you some things to think about around different parts of the game. If you have the time we'd love to hear from you! https://forms.gle/ckphRtAJC26GrHVJ9 For us now there's a long slog ahead of fixing everything, finishing off QA, finishing off localisation - and then starting the long and dreaded console certification process! It won't bee long beefore we'll be looking at the full release and be able to announce some dates, but until then if you want to come chat with us you can catch us over on our Guilded community! https://guilded.gg/tngineers Thanks again, and bee good! Love Ell & Jamie

[ 2021-09-12 19:13:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Coming into the final few days of the playtest now, thanks so much for everyone that has been playing and giving us feedback and reporting all the weird and wonderful bugs - the game is now starting to get towards some sort of stability (dare I say it) I did change the save system slightly so.... maybe make a back-up just in case? I did test it hella loads though ;( (Game files are named like gamesave-json and found in your %localappdata%) This update is mostly bug fixes, although I did tweak the saving to remove the delay, update 4K screens to have the right scale level, and rebalanced a bunch of products that will probably make me public enemy no. 1 in your greedy capitalist honey baron eyes. Also there's 3 new tracks in the game and they are so freaking good - BroduxBlue is coming close to finishing off the last track now and I think we'll have an OST ready to release soon on Bandcamp/Steam/Spotify :o

Changes

• Saving the game now takes a little bit longer (1 whole second!!) but now it won't freeze the game so you can just keep on truckin', don't say I never treat you all
• Added tooltips to make it clear that pressing escape on a highlighted menu closes ONLY that menu and pressing escape when not highlighting a menu closes ALL open menus
• Updated "Microscope It Out" quest to explain the recessive + buff symbols (, +, -)
• Added the ! bubble above the player when drowning to make it clear you are drowning and will be teleported if you remain "stuck"
• Added 3 new night-time tracks that can also be bought from BroduxBlue - Pascuorum, Rubicundus, and Cineraria (they are sick check them out)
• Updated scaling for 4K monitors, it was scaling at 4x when it should of been at 5x (3200+) and 6x (3840+) respectively (I can't afford fancy monitors so I didn't know this soz)
• Doubled the amount of honey made per frame extraction (5 frames = minimum 1 bottle worth, higher productivity trait = more honey obvs)
• Rebalanced some of the bee special products to encourage selling honey/mead for better profits (honey bottle sells for $15, mead for $20)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Bobbee letting you sell anything as honeycore even when it's not honeycore (they are just so generous)
• Fixed gamepad mode not turning off in the settings when using a gamepad until you restart
• Fixed Worker bees requiring the wrong thing compared to what is stated in the book
• Fixed Canisters not having their base sell price added to the canister amount price
• Fixed being able to claim the Overview chapter reward for the Guide/Bee Book/Flower Book multiple times
• Fixed a notification not showing for Overview chapters when the reward is ready to collect
• Fixed books still showing a notification when all chapters are read
• Fixed not being able to interact with boats in hallowed water
• Fixed flowers placed in pots not appearing until you move
• Fixed honeycore crystal seeds not appearing until you move
• Fixed Abbee's Staff created nature items not appearing until you move
• Fixed smoker storage slots not allowing any items
• Fixed GUI hover tooltip not working for Cooler, Heater, and Smoker
• Fixed some issues with a 'sc_menu_check_input' crash error
• Fixed some issues with a 'sc_mouse_action' crash error
• Fixed tank not filling in Extractor / Centrifuges when there is a full canister in the tank output
• Fixed crash with Beenjamin hints after discovering all bees
• Fixed crash with BroduxBlue dialogue after discovering all bees
• Fixed an issue with the ending sequence needing 1 less bee than it should have
• Fixed gate items showing as pink cubes when picked up
• Fixed Combustus-infused mead having no effect
• Fixed Combustus-infused and Temperus-infused mead not showing effect info in the tooltip
• Fixed Temperus-infused mead effect ending too quickly because of it's effect
• Fixed land change with the Shovel not updating on the map until reload
• Fixed being able to shift-click items into the Propolis output slot of the Honeycore Centrifuge
• Fixed Tropic climate bees not saying say in the beebook hover tooltips
• Fixed "Any" climate bees not having their climate trait set when taken out of a beebox
• Fixed "Any" climate bees not saying so in the beebook hover tooltips
• Fixed beebook overview chapter making you need 1 more bee than you actually needed to claim the reward
• Fixed tile highlight showing when we had no hammer equipped
• Fixed charging machines sometimes crashing when loaded offscreen
• Fixed some of the post-ending dialogue
• Fixed some of the post-ending effects in the 5th biome

[ 2021-09-08 13:04:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! This is a small update just to get you all up to speed with the fixes and changes that have been done for the Playtest/Beeta! Main things are fixing the light duplication/save lagging issue, adding an auto-save option that can be modified and turned off, and a few things to help clarify a few features that people seemed to be confused on.

Changes

• Auto-save is now a setting, by default set to 10 minutes
• Auto-save only runs when the player isn't walking to reduce visible lagging for a splitsecond
• Tweaked the drowning respawn teleport to only happen when no books are open so its clear why you teleported back to spawn
• You can now view the contents of a backpack in the expanded tooltip like you can with crates
• Reduced a little bit of lag when saving by caching world tiles but ultimately you're trying to save 5mb of save data in an instant and GM doesn't have async threads for that tasty json stringify so ;'(
• Added tooltips to make it clear that pressing escape on a highlighted menu closes ONLY that menu - pressing escape when not highlighting a menu closes ALL open menus
• Updated inventory progress bar to only show the 10 demo bee icons
• Updated "Microscope It Out" quest to explain the recessive + buff symbols (, +, -)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the light source duplication on save, any saves with duplicated items will be deduped automatically when the game loads
• Fixed backpacks not working after moving through gates or teleporting back to spawn after being stuck in deep water
• Fixed a few typos in the quest + bee book
• Fixed seedlings made by flower spread not appearing until you move
• Fixed saplings that turn into trees not appearing until you move
• Fixed tapped trees not being visible until you move
• Fixed Centrifuge crashing when input item removed on a specific frame
• Fixed "Overview" chapters and the species title/latin being cut off on some screen sizes
• Fixed no shadows showing underneath lanterns and lamps
• Fixed Workbench not resetting the craft multiplyer when changing recipes
• Fixed leaving Royal Jelly in a hive preventing the queen from working
• Fixed Noticeboard UI not updating position properly after moving the noticeboard menu then opening a quest notice
• Fixed Noticeboard bee icon crashing when clicked twice
• Fixed being able to open menu objects through books
• Fixed cargo boat being drawn twice when moving left
• Fixed items held in the mouse not being saved
• Fixed + / - buff markers in traits being drawn in the wrong position for Productivity, Fertility, and Stability
• Fixed the missing help button on the inventory

[ 2021-09-06 12:26:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! The playtest rages on, and we've had some great feedback and some super weird bugs - thanks so much to everyone who's been letting us know their thoughts and reporting bugs, we really appreciate it! Special shout out to Quantum who made a bee-line for finishing the game because we said we didn't think anyone would do it in 2 weeks, and they proved us wrong! We've added 500 new playtesters from the pool - if you get picked by mighty overlord Valve you'll get an email and be able to download the Playtest from Steam! Be sure to check the original Playtest event for details on giving feedback / reporting bugs: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1390190/view/2988689784440106294

The Playtest will end on 12th September!

[ 2021-09-06 08:50:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Thanks so much to everyone who has been playing and letting us know all the fun bugs they've found! This patch is mostly bug fixes, including an important one around lighting objects getting duplicated every time the game saved, eventually slowing down the game to an unplayable FPS :') It also adds an auto-save option in the setting, so you can turn it off if you wish (on your own head be it! :D) For Demo players, rest assured the update with the light fix will be coming soon after we guinea pig it on the playtesters! For Mod Creators, this update is also live on the Beeta branch - I've added a few little extra modding methods in this update pls enjoy <3

Changes

• Auto-save is now a setting, by default set to 10 minutes!
• Auto-save only runs when the player isn't walking to reduce visible lagging for a splitseconds
• Tweaked the drowning respawn teleport to only happen when no books are open so its clear why you teleported back to spawn
• You can now view the contents of a backpack in the expanded tooltip like you can with crates
• Reduced a little bit of lag when saving by caching world tiles but ultimately you're trying to save 5mb of save data in an instant and GM doesn't have async threads for that tasty json stringify so ;'(

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the light source duplication on save, any saves with duplicated items will be deduped automatically when the game loads
• Fixed Hermit bee not being able to be formed as it counted itself as a hive (lol i am a professional)
• Fixed backpacks not working after moving through gates or teleporting back to spawn after being stuck in deep water
• Fixed a few typos in the quest + bee book
• Fixed seedlings made by flower spread not appearing until you move
• Fixed saplings that turn into trees not appearing until you move
• Fixed tapped trees not being visible until you move
• Fixed Centrifuge crashing when input item removed on a specific frame
• Fixed "Overview" chapters and the species title/latin being cut off on some screen sizes
• Fixed Honeycore amount not saving :(((
• Fixed no shadows showing underneath lanterns and lamps
• Fixed Workbench not resetting the craft multiplyer when changing recipes
• Fixed Smokers, Heaters, and Coolers burning down fuel on the main menu
• Fixed leaving Royal Jelly in a hive preventing the queen from working
• Fixed Noticeboard UI not updating position properly after moving the noticeboard menu then opening a quest notice
• Fixed Noticeboard bee icon crashing when clicked twice
• Fixed being able to open menu objects through books
• Fixed cargo boat being drawn twice when moving left
• Fixed gates glitching out when hammering other gates to move them
• Fixed Beebank crashing game if invalid bee is added
• Fixed bees put into beeboxes / beebanks losing their Beetrice inheritence flag
• Fixed items held in the mouse not being saved
• Fixed +/- markers in traits being drawn in the wrong position for Productivity, Fertility, and Stability
• Modding
• Added sc_slot_set_inactive() which makes a slot inactive (can't be highlighted or clicked on)
• Added sc_slot_set_modded() which makes a slot 'modded' - modded slots can be highlighted but have no click actions (so you can add your own action through the click hook)
• Added a new hook, pdraw(), which is like draw() in that it's a draw cycle, but it's drawn above the player at the correct depth of the player
• Added new parameters to api_define_bee() to allow you to define a magazine item and magazine text, check the docs for parameters + Sample Mod for example magazine item sprite
• Custom added stats to items + slots will now persist when saved - you can't use nested properties within the stats object though, needs to be flat

[ 2021-09-05 16:46:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So a big update for the demo this time to finally catch the demo up to all the other stuff thats happened from finishing the game and starting the playtest, quite a few lil changes and QoL stuff that should be good, and a bunch of bug fixes!

Bees

• Now only Blessed Bees can be used in Altars
• Increased chance of Blessed Bees to 5% from 1%, let us know if it's still too low!
• You will now always get a Verdant bee from common-forest for your first mutation
• Drowsy Bee is no longer Common + Forest to avoid confusion. Check your bee book for details!
• Recessive traits for rain + snow now show in microscopes
• XP has been removed - "locked" shop items are now based on the amount of bees you've discovered instead
• The XP bar has been replaced with a bee discovery "counter" to be able to see all bee progress

Books

• Updated book auto-scroll so it only happens when clicking book links, notifications, or using Up + Down
• Made the overview chapters "fixed" so you can get to them without scrolling back up each time
• Added a new quest to cover conservation / rehabilitators
• Added a lil compass to the map!
• Added the mutation "criteria" to the bee book for discovered species (hover over the anatomy section)
• Quest requirements should now take into account any menu objects you've placed nearby

Items

• Bottles of mead, spiced mead, water, honey, and resin now stack!
• You now get your bottle back when drinking infused mead! Reduce, reuse, recycle babyyy
• You can craft a Bottle Rack to store and display various bottles
• Skipper now sells a Cargo Boat, a normal boat with built-in storage to transport your stuff overseas!
• Flowers
• Added water pots to use with aquatic plants - same as normal pots they'll prevent flower spread
• Added "pondshine in a bottle", which acts as a light source

Misc

• Renamed "Treated" planks + sticks to be "Infused", to make the link clearer to how you get those items
• When playing on Steam, pressing F12 should now take a screenshot correctly! You can still use P to hide/show GUI
• Changed tooltips to explicitly say how much an item sells for rather than just showing the amount
• If you get stuck in deep water you'll now be automatically TP to your spawn point after 5s of being stuck
• You can now set your spawn point by sleeping in a bed - by default your spawn is the dock at Port APICO
• Added little cutscene black bars to the introduction
• Bottler now only requires 50bl to fill a bottle instead of 100bl
• Rebalanced a few sell prices around water/resin/honey/mead
• Added Magazine Rack that can store magazines, got from the "Reehabilitate" quest or can be crafted
• Added the Dresser that lets you change your appearance, spawns in Nans house
• Added special produce lore on bee items in the tooltips
• Increased the size of the bottom library book bar books
• Save + Quit now just restarts the game first instead of going back to the menu instantly to avoid so many issues I don't want to deal with
• Autosave is now every 5 mins, and we no longer save every single time you claim a quest to reduce lagging

Menus

• Increased the grab area of mechanisms to make it a bit easier to grab
• Sorting your inventory now ignores your hotbar, keeping it in the order you had it (wow what a treat)
• Swapped workbench recipe amounts to be WHAT YOU HAVE / WHAT YOU NEED instead of the other way round to match the quest book
• Updated all manual mechanism menus to have a direction arrow within the UI
• Made all mechanism always show their tooltip that explains the arrow key alt. controls without needing to hold shift
• When highlighting a menu you can close it with Escape - Pressing Escape with no menu highlighted still closes all menus as it always has

Crafting

• Added the Anvil, which lets you repair your tools with materials for cheaper than crafting new ones (spawns in the carpenters house!)
• You can now craft multiple items at a time, either by using the new 'amount' arrows or typing in the number you want to craft
• Make Sawbenches cost less to craft
• Made Workbenches cost less to craft (jesus christ why did no one tell me they need that much stuff???)

Settings

• You can now access settings from the home screen (what a treat right?)
• Added a new accessbility menu in the settings menu
• Added an accessibility option to automatically expand all tooltips (as if you were holding down shift the whole time)
• Added an accessibility option to ignore tree collision, letting you walk through them
• Added an accessibility option to always get a mutation on hybrid offspring (so basically 50% chance from a hybrid queen as long as species + requirements are all correct still)
• Added an accessibility option for mechanisms to move automatically (only when menus are open)
• Added an accessibility option to turn on focus mode. In focus mode only one menu can be opened at a time (the same as gamepad/controller mode)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Wooden Pickaxes having 450 durability instead of 150
• Fixed menu errors that go onto two lines missing the bottom of the tooltip/having a gap
• Fixed altar progress bar glitching out when used
• Fixed altars not showing a mini version of the idol in the overworld
• Fixed offset of shadow underneath Lamps
• Fixed the black screen delay on initial load between starting the game and the TNgineers logo being shown
• Fixed Empty Tanks that can only ever have one type of liquid (like the tanks in the Fermenter) not saying the type of liquid in the tank tooltip
• Fixed the #SaveTheBees button being missing on the home page
• Fixed bee particles being invisible when placing down a hive and putting a queen in without moving the player
• Fixed Common-Uncommon not working as a recipe for Dream bees (Uncommon-Common was working, but this one should have too as it's the same diff)
• Fixed bees not doing the "return home" journey when conditions change to stuff they dont like (night, rain etc) and just disappearing
• Fixed placement error not showing (i.e. when trying to put a beehive on a wall or another object is in the way)
• Fixed infuser not working if there's an empty tank, then you add input items, then add a canister to fill
• Fixed not being able to close signs with ESC
• Fixed not being able to auto-shift to NPC shop menus
• Fixed NPC dialogue menus sometimes have clipped text
• Fixed undiscovered bees that are shiny not showing the black undiscovered sprite
• Fixed the issue where "smoker" slots were visible and clickable which crashed the game
• Fixed the issue where clicking flower slots crashed the game
• Fixed the conservation label on common/forest/verge having "_alt" at the end
• Fixed map height "limit" being too small in the demo

[ 2021-09-01 08:42:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! The playtest has officially begun! We've released a first batch of 100 people - Steam picks these at random, and if you are picked then you should get an email saying you've been added to the Playtest and will be able to go and download it from your Steam Library! (wahoo!!!) You can still sign up to the Playtest from the Steam page - we'll be adding more people as we go! If you want to come chat with others as you play come join us over on Guilded! Some things worth noting:

• In it's current state the game is content/feature complete - we won't be adding any new major features at this point
• Localisation is being worked on by translators as we speak but you can't pick other languages in this Beeta!
• You'll see a "Mods" section in the homepage, but mods are not available in this Beeta so it'll always be empty
• Quite a few people don't realise this but you can use a gamepad! Head to Settings > Controls and turn on gamepad mode and the game will try and detect your controller. The game changes a little bit in gamepad mode as you can't do any multiple menu magic but it's still p. chill!

If you are a Streamer or Content Creator we ask that you flag this as Beta Content with potential spoilers. We also ask that you don't stream any of the "Dream" area (the 5th gate marker), or any of the ending so others can enjoy this themselves. Outside of that, have fun and bee safe! We're not looking for you to play in a specific way, just enjoy the game! As the game isn't released you can't share community content, but you can post in our "Show Off Your World" forum if you want! <3

Feedback

While playing the game we'd love you to think about how things could be made clearer, easier, or more fun! There's a Feedback form you can access at any time from the top-right corner of the game, next to the save button.

Feedback Form

This form has a bunch of questions to get you thinking about different parts of the game but a lot of them are optional if you just want to put your own thoughts in here! Any and all feedback is appreciated!!

Bug Reports

If you come across any bugs (the bad kind) you can report them to us via the Bug Report form here:

Bug Report Form

Alternatively if you're in our Guilded (which if not, why not!), you can use the Bug Reports forum channel. You can view all reported bugs here. On a similar note if your machine is constantly dropping below 60FPS then we'd love to know what you were doing / where you were / what sort of potato you are running! Thanks to everyone who has signed up to the Playtest, we hope you enjoy! Love Ell & Jamie <3

[ 2021-08-30 06:58:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! This is mostly an update to clean up a bunch of stuff and get everything ready for the Steam Playtest tomorrow - it's also the last update in terms of content and story and has an actual ending so... that's exciting! And sad. But mostly exciting! With this update you'll now be able to travel to that mysterious 5th Gate location, where you'll find... well you'll see for yourself! I also fixed a LOT of gamepad mode so if you've been waiting for that now is finally the time to be able to test it properly. If you are a content creator/streamer we'd ask that any streams you do are tagged with spoilers, and that you don't stream anything from the 5th Gate location onwards so we can keep things spoiler free for everyone else <3 (For Mod Creators, I didn't add too much in this version I'm afraid as the Playtest was the priority but there'll be some new stuff soon for the custom slot logic / click / rendering I promise!)

Changes

• The 5th gate marker can now be used when unlocked...
• Added an ending to the game (still missing some SFX!)
• Added the credits to the game (still missing credits song!)
• Updated all NPC dialogues and dialogue triggers (when they have something new to say about how cool u r)
• Added Magazine Rack that can store magazines, got from the "Reehabilitate" quest or can be crafted
• Added the Dresser that lets you change your appearance, spawns in Nans house
• Added the Acclimatiser, a machine sold by Beenjamin that lets you acclimatise a bee to like rain or snowfall
• Added special produce lore on bee items in the tooltips
• Increased the size of the bottom library book bar books
• Save + Quit now just restarts the game first instead of going back to the menu instantly to avoid so many issues I don't want to deal with
• Autosave is now every 5 mins, and we no longer save every single time you claim a quest to reduce lagging

Bug Fixes

• Fixed vanilla NPC shops crashing when trying to buy/sell to them
• Fixed the Anvil occasionally causing a crash when changing worlds
• Fixed the Anvil sometimes just not working unless picked up and placed back down
• Fixed paint layers being kept when deleting a save and making a new world in the same slot
• Fixed east + south being the wrong letter on the compass (i'm v. tired leave me alone)
• Fixed Cathemeral bees not showing "all" day icons in the microscope/stats tooltip, because I can't spell
• Fixed Tropic climate not showing in the microscope/stats tooltip because apparently one day I changed it from "Tropical" to "Tropic" and never changed it oops
• Fixed bees with the "Any" climate trait showing as "Climate" instead of "Any" in trait tooltips
• Fixed some issues with using a Gamepad on the home screen settings menu
• Fixed Beeboxes/Beebanks not working on Gamepad
• Fixed not being able to open magazines on Gamepad (equip + press Action)
• Fixed not being able to use the Town Noticeboard on Gamepad
• Fixed Skipper having an invisible 3rd row of sell slots
• Fixed notifications sometimes just not dismissing at all even though there was nothing in the book to notify
• Fixed the bee book showing a notice symbol all the time

Modding API

• Added api_unlock_quest() to allow you to unlock quests by default as you need them
• You can now pass an optional stats property to api_give_item()
• Fixed shop_key/shop_buy/shop_sell in api_define_* methods not working, leading to shop crashes when buying custom items
• Fixed custom quests showing the ID in the tooltip instead of the Title

[ 2021-08-29 18:31:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Some exciting news - we're going to be running a Steam Playtest for the game, and you can sign up right now!!
Now the game is pretty much finished we're looking to do some serious testing and bug hunting and just make sure all round that we're making APICO the best game it could possible bee.

What's a Playtest?

If you haven't heard of Steam Playtest, it's essentially just a new way that Steam lets devs do playtests of their game without having to mess around with keys. You sign up to join the Playtest, then when it's available Steam randomly picks a bunch of people who have signed up to give them access to the game! You can sign up right from the APICO Steam page (and maybe give it a lil wishlist if you haven't already while you are there? :D) [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1390190/APICO/]Sign up here! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1390190/APICO/

Why Now?

Now the game is feature + content complete we are still picking away at a few little bits but overall the core game is done! (yippee). We're still getting things like the localisation added and setting up things for consoles, but in terms of the full game it's all there and waiting to bee explored! We want to take this time to get any feedback from players - what isn't obvious, what was boring, what was confusing etc, as well as find any major bugs that we've overlooked.
Obviously at this point any major features or ideas won't be added right now (although we have plans for future content), this is more just for sense checking and bugs and also giving some people the opportunity to play further than the demo!

How Long

The Playtest will run from the 30th August to 12th September - we'll also be running our proper QA with Whitethorn at the same time so you can expect little updates during the Playtest to fix any major breaking issues too! After that we'll be closing the Playtest so we can take on any feedback, make any changes, fix a hella lot of bugs, and finally prepare ourselves for the console slog. We can't wait to see what you all think of the full game, good luck and bee good! Love, Ell & Jamie <3

[ 2021-08-26 08:52:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Mainly updates for the modding API with this update, with exciting things like being able to add your own custom NPC! I did also fix a few longstanding bugs with Windows and window resizing so it's nice to finally take them off my list.
For Mod Creators, the Sample Mod and API Docs have been updated along with update.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Windows not resizing in windowed fullscreen properly the first time
• Fixed bees in hives not in the swamps being turned into lightning bees when they shouldn't be
• Fixed settings menu being drawn twice on home page and not drawn at all in-game
• Fixed conservation status title in the book being "Special Produce"

Modding API

• Added the ability to specify modules to load in your register() hook - these must be modules in a /modules/ folder in your mod root
• Added api_define_npc() which lets you create a custom NPC along with shop + stock
• Added api_get_menus_obj() which lets you get a menu object inst for a given menu inst
• Added api_get_game_size() that returns the current game window size (accounting for scale)
• Added api_create_bee_stats() which lets you create a stats obj for a given bee species to use in api_slot_set() or api_create_item()
• Added api_set_tooltip() which lets you change the tooltip for a given oid's dictionary definition
• Added api_get_inst_in_circle() which lets you find instance ids in a given circle
• Added api_get_inst_in_rectangle() which lets you find instance ids in a given rectangle
• Added api_play_sound() which lets you play a sound from the game
• Added an optional "alpha" argument to draw_line, draw_rectangle, and draw_circle
• Added an optional "oid" argument to api_get_menu_objects() and api_get_objects()
• Added an optional "coordinate" argument to api_get_menu_objects() and api_get_objects() to use a given position as a center instead of the player when specifying a radius
• Fixed api_set_menu_position() not working correctly with a valid menu inst
• Fixed api_define_menu_object() and api_define_object() not being able to have the invisible property set correctly
• Fixed sc_mod_api_get_menu_objects() not working properly
• Fixed game crash when destroying a highlighted instance
• Fixed draw_script argument being wrong position in api_define_object()
• Fixed draw script not being called for api_define_object() obj instances
• Fixed place_water and place_deep on obj definitions
• Tutorial will be skipped if dev mode is enabled to help speed up testing world gen
• You can now only allow certain species in slots by using "bee:species" as your slots allowed input item i.e. {10, 10, "Input", {"bee:common"}}

Modding Docs

• Updated the Sample Mod on Github with examples of using module loading, defining a fake book, and defining an NPC
• Updated with above changes
• Updated worldgen() hook example to show how to loop through the world tiles
• Updated api_get_menu_objects() to show an example specifying an oid
• Updated api_get_objects() to use specifying an oid
• Updated obj_definition to show the correct properties for place_grass/place_water/place_deep instead of nature/aquatic/deep

[ 2021-08-19 12:59:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Some more modding updates today, adding in a whole bunch of new methods based on your feedback. I also added a few balances and tweaks for the base game as well as fixed a few bugs! For Mod Creators - it's worth noting that I've changed "api_create_object()" to "api_create_obj()" for now in the hope to try and get that function to return an ID (spoilers, it's still not working), so sorry if that breaks anything!

Changes

• Changed Advanced Apiaries to have 7 slots instead of 6 to match with the uncapper + centrifuges
• Bottler now only requires 50bl to fill a bottle instead of 100bl
• Rebalanced a few sell prices around water/resin/honey/mead
• Added totals to each tab within the beebank
• Fixed Hivanium wrongly reducing Crepuscular bees, it now correctly adds 2 hours to Nocturnal bees instead
• Various tweaks to text and labels

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Abbee and Barnabee not showing random stock when you've unlocked more than 10 flowers / bees
• Fixed shop unlocks being off by 3 bees, i.e. saying you needed 8 but you already had 8 but it wasn't counting common/forest/verge
• Fixed Noticeboard quests not actually taking items off you (no more freebees!)
• Fixed putting Rocky Bees in a beebank giving you a bee you shouldn't get until later
• Fixed shop unlock text still referring to levels instead of bee discovery
• Fixed a bug with the world being slightly faded compared to the player
• Fixed Honeycore Crystals not showing the honeycore symbol in the "Sells for" tooltip
• Fixed uncommon bee worldgen in non-demo mode
• Fixed bees being in the wrong coloured hives when generated with structures, i.e. frosty bee in a red hive
• Fixed tier seperators not showing the tier number
• Fixed bee book overview showing /34 when it should of been /35
• Fixed home screen settings/accessibility menus showing a pink cube in the corner

Modding API

• Added a gui() hook to draw on top of the menu layer (like the old draw()) did
• Added a step() hook that runs every step (frame), i.e. every 1/60s. You should only use this for things you need to update visually to be smooth, and not for evil
• Changed the click() hook now has two new parameters, button with "LEFT" "RIGHT" or "MIDDLE", and click_type with "PRESSED" or "RELEASED"
• Changed the draw() hook to be on the overworld layer underneath menus
• Updated the object + menuobject datatypes to include an "invisible" key - invisible objects will not be drawn but will still be interactable based on their sprite bounding box - menu objects will still have a draw script drawn for their menu even though the object will not be visible
• Updated menu object datatypes to include a "center" key - menu objects with this set to true will have their menus centred to the viewport when opened
• Updated the click() hook is now linked to "press" rather than "down" so it doesn't proc every tick the mouse is down
• Updated api_define_gui() to allow you to add a "click" script if you need it
• Updated api_get_objects(), api_get_menu_objects(), api_get_trees(), and api_get_flowers() to have an optional radius parameter based on distance from player instead of all onscreen
• Updated api_define_object() to take an extra optional "draw_script" parameter to specify a custom draw script function to call instead of the default object draw (note: won't be called if this object is invisible!)
• Added api_take_money() and api_take_honeycore() to remove an amount of that currency
• Added api_create_counter() that lets you create a custom counter, say to count between 1-2 in intervals of 0.1 every 1s, resetting back to 1 when it hits 2
• Added api_toggle_menu() that lets you force a menu to open or close
• Added api_destroy_inst() that lets you destroy an instance
• Added api_check_discovery() which lets you see if a give oid has been "discovered" (picked up) by the player
• Added api_define_notification() to let you define a custom notification type + click action to use with api_set_notification()
• Added api_define_bee_recipe() which lets you define a new bee hybrid combination along with a mutation criteria script
• Added api_define_command() which lets you define your own command to run in the in-game console, i.e. "/teleport 100, 50"
• Added api_define_tank() which lets you define a liquid storage tank for a given menu
• Added api_define_flower_recipe() which lets you define a new flower hybrid combination
• Added api_define_trait() which lets you define a custom trait for all bees - you can specify ranges for specific species and set a default option for the rest
• Added api_draw_tank(), a draw helper that draws a liquid storage tank, with the liquid amount and texture + highlights, all for you
• Added api_slot_fill() that lets you start a fill event for a given slot in a menu (requires the menu to have a tank defined)
• Added api_slot_drain() that lets you start a drain event for a given slot in a menu (requires the menu to have a tank defined)
• Added api_get_filename() which gives you the name of the file currently being played by the player
• Added api_get_slot_inst() which lets you get slot instance details from a slot_id
• Added api_set_menu_position() which lets you move a menu (not menu object) to a given position
• Fixed hooks being defined before init() is finished being called, leading to some issues with the draw call getting undefined sprites
• Fixed object oids with "pot" in them crashing when highlighted
• Renamed api_create_object() to api_create_obj()

Modding Docs

• Added new entries for each of the methods above
• Added a new custom datatype entry for "stats" to help explain bee + frame stats
• Fixed api_define_color() using the wrong position in it's example
• Updated api_set_notification() to account for the ability to now define custom ones
• Updated api_create_item() and api_create_object() to add that they return the inst id
• Updated api_get_player_instance() to list some player inst props that might be useful
• Updated api_bee_definition() and api_flower_definition() to fix the color property to use a color datatype not a list

[ 2021-08-17 09:20:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! So it's been a pretty hectic week or two since the last post where we announced we'd be adding modding to APICO - since then I've managed to smash out the first pass for the APICO Modding API! This update contains a few fixes and changes (see below), but most importantly it contains the ability to load and run mods you create.
If you're interested, you can view the full API reference over on the wiki here: https://wiki.apico.buzz/wiki/Modding_API If you're interested in getting started with modding you can check out our Getting Started Guide! As the game is not yet released and modding is not available in the demo you will need to apply to become a Mod Creator if you want a devkey to access the full game with the modding update. You can apply below here: https://forms.gle/gaqa4S6jUcoxePrA6 Mods created by Mod Creators will be seen by the game as "official" mods, and will be available to download by the player at any time. You will still be able to make mods without being a Mod Creator, and players will be able to side-load custom mods into the game - although they will be warned of potential security risks if they do so! We can't wait to see what you all come up with!!

Changes

• XP has been removed - "locked" shop items are now based on the amount of bees you've discovered instead
• The XP bar has been replaced with a bee discovery "counter" to be able to see all bee progress
• Added the modding API! See above for info
• Added a modding menu from the home-screen - currently you won't be able to see any mods yet
• Changed the in-game feedback button (top-right) to the Beeta specific feedback form
• Removed the BPS meter in normal mode so you all stop asking me questions about it

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where you could move around the home screen settings menus
• Fixed an issue where yellow carpet had no name in the tooltip
• Fixed an issue where trying to create mead or hand it in at the Noticeboard crashing with a ".spice" error
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't drain honey from the auto-centrifuge even after putting a canister in it
• Fixed missing magazines for Rocky + most tier 4 bees
• Fixed an issue with clicking some notifications crashing the game
• Fixed the map randomly clearing when moving to fullscreen
• Fixed Cargo Boats not staying shown on the map
• Fixed multiple crafting taking way more items than needed

[ 2021-08-14 11:08:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! As you may have seen on Twitter or around here, now we're in Beeta (wahoo) I'm starting to look at modding! I've always love modding in games, and APICO literally wouldn't be here without modding - so it seems right to bring modding capabilities into the game!
Mods will be written in LUA using a GMS2 framework called Apollo, along with a custom game API written by yours truly! We'll be using mod.io to store mods so that we can have mods on all platforms and not just Steam! If you're interested in creating mods for APICO please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/gaqa4S6jUcoxePrA6 Can't wait to see what you'll all come up with! xoxo

[ 2021-08-06 09:13:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Alpha Testers, or should I say Beeta testers now?? steamhappy That's right, we're finally out of Alpha and all the major content for the game has been completed and added!! If you're not one of our Testers and are reading this, fret not! We will be doing a closed Beeta playtest in the next few months so stay tuned! You will need a new world to get some of the new content, so you'll have to kiss those old bees goodbye! We're still working on the ending area (you'll find it locked off), but you won't need to create a new world again as the area is created in the Beeta 1.0 just not accessible - although if you manage to get to it well done I guess steamsad
Now that all the content is in we'll be working on these last few things, including:

• Balancing money (buying + selling)
• The ending and updated dialogue
• Achievements
• Modding

There should bee plenty of new content to keep you busy though while we work on that though!!

While playing the Beeta, we ask you to have a glance over this feedback form: https://forms.gle/AzYGQJ195rAAZXUj8

This form will give you some various pointers to get you thinking about different aspects of the game, as well as act as an anonymous way to give us any feedback you like. We really appreciate any thoughts, so fill in as little or as much as you like <3 Any bugs can be through the Guilded Forums or the Bug Report form as per, we're sure there'll be plenty to find!!

Changes

Bees

• Added in all the bees! There are now 34 species of bees you can discover in total, some of the tier 4 bees have some extra special effects when working.
• Blazing bees act as heaters to nearby hives when working
• Arctic bees act as coolers to nearby hives when working, whats cooler than being cool??? ice coooooolldd
• Empress bees act as smokers (all scents) to nearby hives when working - ain't no grumpiness on their watch!
• Added Beehives as a craftable item - not sure yet how to tackle being able to make the different varieties but we'll keep you posted!
• Now only Blessed Bees can be used in Altars
• Increased chance of Blessed Bees to 5% from 1%, let us know if it's still too low!
• You will now always get a Verdant bee from common-forest for your first mutation
• Drowsy Bee is no longer Common + Forest to avoid confusion. Check your bee book for details!
• The Honeycore Uncapper is now obsolete - the Honeycore Centrifuge will extract both filled and uncapped frames, and give you propolis for frames that are not uncapped
• Added the Beebank - sold by the Merchant this is a special type of beebox that works for all species, not just one but damn it's pricey
• Recessive traits for rain + snow now show in microscopes

Books

• Updated book auto-scroll so it only happens when clicking book links, notifications, or using Up + Down
• Made the overview chapters "fixed" so you can get to them without scrolling back up each time
• Each book's Overview chapter now has a special item that you'll be rewarded with when completing that book
• Added a new quest to cover conservation / rehabilitators
• Added a lil compass to the map!
• Added the mutation "criteria" to the bee book for discovered species (hover over the anatomy section)
• Quest requirements should now take into account any menu objects you've placed nearby

Items

• Bottles of mead, spiced mead, water, honey, and resin now stack!
• You now get your bottle back when drinking infused mead! Reduce, reuse, recycle babyyy
• You can craft a Bottle Rack to store and display various bottles
• Skipper now sells a Cargo Boat, a normal boat with built-in storage to transport your stuff overseas!

Flowers

• Added water pots to use with aquatic plants - same as normal pots they'll prevent flower spread
• Added "pondshine in a bottle", which acts as a light source
• Added Abbee's Staff, a special item you'll get from completing the flower book that magically plants saplings and seedlings

World

• Added the Hallowed Island - you'll need a special item to be able to cut through all that overgrowth!
• Added the 4th Shrine & Hallowed Idol that grants "luck" for a short period of time
• Added large rocks to the forests and swamps to act as a larger source of rocks - maybe something else might be in there?
• Swamps now have thunderstorms! For bee purposes this still acts as "rain", although maybe the lightning will come in handy?
• Added a secret area!

Building

• You can now dig up the ground with a new tool - the Shovel! Currently sold by Bobbee this tool let's you dig up grass which you can place elsewhere
• Grass can be used on deep water to turn it into shallow water, and on shallow water to turn it into grass
• The Spade item has been updated visually to help differentiate it from the Shovel
• Extractor's now require glue for crafting instead of frames to ensure you have to have made + used an uncapping bench first
• The Merchant now sells a few new types of carpet!

Menus

• Increased the grab area of mechanisms to make it a bit easier to grab
• Sorting your inventory now ignores your hotbar, keeping it in the order you had it (wow what a treat)
• Swapped workbench recipe amounts to be WHAT YOU HAVE / WHAT YOU NEED instead of the other way round to match the quest book
• Updated all manual mechanism menus to have a direction arrow within the UI
• Made all mechanism always show their tooltip that explains the arrow key alt. controls without needing to hold shift
• When highlighting a menu you can close it with Escape - Pressing Escape with no menu highlighted still closes all menus as it always has

Crafting

• Added the Anvil, which lets you repair your tools with materials for cheaper than crafting new ones
• You can now craft multiple items at a time, either by using the new 'amount' arrows or typing in the number you want to craft
• Make Sawbenches cost less to craft
• Made Workbenches cost less to craft (jesus christ why did no one tell me they need that much stuff???)

Misc.

• Added 4 new music tracks, three day and one night, and added them to BroduxBlue's shop also!
• Updated portal colors to be more in-line with the hallowed island
• Renamed "Treated" planks + sticks to be "Infused", to make the link clearer to how you get those items
• When playing on Steam, pressing F12 should now take a screenshot correctly! You can still use P to hide/show GUI
• Changed tooltips to explicitly say how much an item sells for rather than just showing the amount
• If you get stuck in deep water you'll now be automatically TP to your spawn point after 5s of being stuck
• You can now set your spawn point by sleeping in a bed - by default your spawn is the dock at Port APICO
• Save & Quit now takes you back to the home screen
• Added little cutscene black bars to the introduction

Settings

• You can now access settings from the home screen (what a treat right?)
• Added a new accessbility menu in the settings menu
• Added an accessibility option to automatically expand all tooltips (as if you were holding down shift the whole time)
• Added an accessibility option to ignore tree collision, letting you walk through them
• Added an accessibility option to always get a mutation on hybrid offspring (so basically 50% chance from a hybrid queen as long as species + requirements are all correct still)
• Added an accessibility option for mechanisms to move automatically (only when menus are open)
• Added an accessibility option to turn on focus mode. In focus mode only one menu can be opened at a time (the same as gamepad/controller mode)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Wooden Pickaxes having 450 durability instead of 150
• Fixed menu errors that go onto two lines missing the bottom of the tooltip/having a gap
• Fixed altar progress bar glitching out when used
• Fixed altars not showing a mini version of the idol in the overworld
• Fixed offset of shadow underneath Lamps
• Fixed right-click or control-click on Beebox slots creating a bee with a 'count' value
• Fixed Beebox count total not updating when bees are removed
• Fixed missing highlight to currently selected Beebox storage card
• Fixed the black screen delay on initial load between starting the game and the TNgineers logo being shown
• Fixed an issue where level 1 and level 7 lifespan and productivity didn't work correctly when buffed past the limit
• Fixed Gates not acting as a light source
• Fixed Empty Tanks that can only ever have one type of liquid (like the tanks in the Fermenter) not saying the type of liquid in the tank tooltip
• Fixed the #SaveTheBees button being missing on the home page
• Fixed bee particles being invisible when placing down a hive and putting a queen in without moving the player
• Fixed Common-Uncommon not working as a recipe for Dream bees (Uncommon-Common was working, but this one should have too as it's the same diff)
• Fixed bees not doing the "return home" journey when conditions change to stuff they dont like (night, rain etc) and just disappearing
• Fixed placement error not showing (i.e. when trying to put a beehive on a wall or another object is in the way)
• Fixed infuser not working if there's an empty tank, then you add input items, then add a canister to fill
• Fixed not being able to close signs with ESC
• Fixed flower "buff" icons overflowing when more than 5 flowers are affecting one hive
• Fixed not being able to auto-shift to NPC shop menus
• Fixed NPC dialogue menus sometimes have clipped text
• Fixed undiscovered bees that are shiny not showing the black undiscovered sprite
• Updated frozen beehive to not show the hammer to avoid confusion

[ 2021-08-03 19:29:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

APICO now has it's own Wiki! https://wiki.apico.buzz/
For now we're keeping the Wiki to only contain stuff you find in the Demo to avoid spoilers, but closer to release we'll be adding new stuff and when the game is out we will add all the rest! We've chosen Miraheze for our wiki platform as it's super lightweight, not filled with ads, and the mobile version doesn't suck balls. Also the logo for Miraheze looks like honeycomb so what greater sign do we need, it was clearly meant to bee??
If you're interested in helping maintain or contribute give us a shout either on the wiki (@Ellraiser or @Vildravn) or over on Guilded ~ Ell

[ 2021-07-26 07:12:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! I feel like every time I say it'll be the last update is when the bugs decide to show up.. :') Mostly bug fixes here, although I did also add an auto-save that runs every 10 minutes, later we can look at some settings around it.

Changes

• Added an auto-save feature (runs every 10 mins)
• Added the text to the "Paint The Town" quest
• Updated Microscope chapter to make it clear your expected to just 'borrow' Beenjamins one

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an crash with hammering SirSengir (why must you betray us oh mighty one)
• Fixed not being able to close menu objects (like crates) by re-clicking on the overworld object
• Fixed an issue with "Queen has finished" message box looking messed up
• Fixed being able to get flowers not in the demo
• Fixed a crash when picking up a flower you're not supposed to have
• Fixed an issue where menus auto-close slightly delayed to moving
• Fixed a bug where saving the game in windowed mode and reopening it glitched the window until you forced a fullscreen
• Fixed an issue where backpacks crash the game onload with an "sc_slot_draw" error
• Fixed an issue where opening a beebook crashed with a "DoAdd :2: illegal pointer use" error (i don't even know don't even ask)
• Fixed tier 2 hybrids (like Verdant-Vibrant) being glitched and lifespan resetting
• Fixed tier 2 hybrids (like Verdant-Vibrant) crashing in the predictor

[ 2021-07-05 10:11:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Probably one of the last updates for the demo now for a while besides any breaking issues that might need patching! With this update we also added in the new "Overview" sections to each of the books, letting you quickly see your progress for the entire book!
Aside from this we also did a bunch of fixes, namely a crashing one around the Fermenter. Enjoy!

Changes

• Added a new "Overview" section for each book so you can quickly see all the chapters / bees / flowers for the book
• Added chapter seperators for the main questbook
• Grouped chapters into "sections" instead of one block of quests after the introduction
• Automatically scroll to a selected chapter
• Added a treetap icon when you have a treetap equipped and hover a tree, same as the other tools have
• Reduced the distanced you need to be for when a menu automatically closed

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with Windows not starting in fullscreen
• Fixed being able to get other flowers outside of the demo's pool of 6
• Fixed non-demo quests being shown when using up/down in the quest book
• Fixed non-demo quests showing a notification for completion and being clickable (boat/squeezer/microscope)
• Fixed being able to see the tile "highlight" on the mouse through the Beeconomist issues
• Fixed bee icon not showing in the input slots of beehives / hives
• Fixed raintanks not showing as "full"
• Fixed Fermenter crashing when putting mead directly in a canister already in the output slot rather than in the tank first
• Fixed Bottler always showing it's tank as highlighted

[ 2021-07-03 09:12:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Alpha Bees! What was a quick little bunch of bug fixes turned into a lot more bug fixes, and then a bunch of performance changes, and then while I was there of course I had to add in some new "overview" pages to the books and... you get the idea. The performance stuff was pretty substantial, if your computer struggled before, or slowed down when streaming, this update should improve things massively!
I've uncapped the visual FPS meter from maxing at 60 as I've been using it to test performance - try not to read too much into it though, if it's under 30 we have an issue, otherwise don't worry too much if you go from like 200 - 150 randomly, it'll jump around a lot (which is why the average number is next to it)

Changes

• Various changes to the game for performance increases
• Removed the visual cap from the FPS meter, and added an average counter
• Reduced cost of Treetaps from 10 sticks + 10 planks to 5 sticks + 5 planks
• Added chapter separators for the main questbook
• Grouped chapters into "sections" instead of one block of quests after the introduction
• Added a new "Overview" section for each book so you can quickly see all the chapters / bees / flowers
• Added chapter separators for the main questbook
• Grouped chapters into "sections" instead of one block of quests after the introduction
• Automatically scroll to a selected chapter

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a performance issue with picking up lots of items
• Fixed a performance issue with having lots of dropped items sitting around
• Fixed a performance issue with night-time in general
• Fixed a performance issue with walking around on slower machines
• Fixed the Town Noticeboard notification not clearing when handing in a quest
• Fixed the Town Noticeboard UI not updating when moving around
• Fixed a bug with cross-breeding failing, causing no children to spawn or the queen to not die
• Fixed a rogue pixel on wooden windows
• Fixed being able to see the tile "highlight" on the mouse through the Beeconomist issues and noticeboard quests
• Fixed bee icon not showing in the input slots of beehives / hives
• Fixed raintanks not showing as "full"
• Fixed Fermenter crashing when putting mead directly in a canister already in the output slot rather than in the tank first
• Fixed Bottler always showing it's tank as highlighted

[ 2021-07-01 17:40:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey beekeepers! Quick little hotfix today just to address a crash happening with lights - obviously our performance fixes were a bit too overzealous (although if you can't even play the game, you can't see if the performance was bad or not #lifehack)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a major issue with lighting crashing with a "gml_Script_sc_draw_lights" error
• Fixed lanterns not immediately lighting up when placed
• Fixed bees not leaving the hive and moving around (maybe they were shy?)
• Fixed Drowsy Beecomomist Issue missing the player name (get it right Fred)
• Fixed quotation marks on some Beeconomist Issues

[ 2021-06-30 09:33:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Beekeepers! Thanks again for everyone who's been playing the new demo, and for those patiently waiting for some of the more annoying bug fixes!
This update is quite a lot of performance updates and fixes, I spent a long time chillin' with the profiler and digging into a bunch of know performance drop stuff like:

• Picking up lots of items
• Having lots of dropped items sitting around
• Night-time in general
• Walking around on slower machines

There's also a bunch of QoL updates and then a butt-load of bug-fixes, enjoy!!

Changes

• Various changes to the game for performance increases
• Updated the settings menu to include an inverse scroll option, plus a bsync option (we dont know what it does)
• Added a notice on NPCs when they have something new to say!
• When fully conserving a species you'll now get written about in the local news! (issues 1-3 can be at your nans place!)
• Added new sections to the bee book when hovering over the anatomy and trait sections to make things clearer
• Added a small badges to each chapter in the bee book to mark having got a blessed bee, having got special produce, and having conserved the species
• The game will now pause when books are open, the settings/controls menus are open, or the discovery/conservation magazines are open
• While the game is paused you can't move and time will be frozen!
• The bottler has been upgraded and you can now bottle all liquids to be sold!
• Added a cap to the map/world in the demo so there's not just a bunch of empty ocean that you can complain about being empty ;)
• Added two new intro chapters to the bee book to cover the rest of the bee traits as well as inheritence
• Updated Skipper's dialogue for true gender neutral speech when directed at the player
• You can now close discovery popups with ESC
• Reduced cost of Treetaps from 10 sticks + 10 planks to 5 sticks + 5 planks, 2fer1!!
• Gamepad mode is no longer automatic based on a connected device - you need to go to the settings menu and you'll be able to toggle it from the controls section
• Updated the lamp sprite

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a performance issue with picking up lots of items
• Fixed a performance issue with having lots of dropped items sitting around
• Fixed a performance issue with night-time in general
• Fixed a performance issue with walking around on slower machines
• Fixed beehives not creating exact clones of the queen with some rescessive traits
• Fixed the map being blank lol super useful map there thanks Skipper
• Fixed microscope showing numbers being 1 off (i.e. showing a '3' but in the 4th box)
• Fixed an issue with picking up multiple items on the ground - should reduce the bit of lag you get when picking up an entire forest!
• Fixed game crashing when hammering Sir Sengir Statue and trying to place items on or near the tile where the statue was
• Fixed issue with night-time lighting not scaling with the screen
• Fixed aquatic seeds outright lying and saying that they can be planted on grass
• Fixed being able to trash your friends (why would you tho :(((((()
• Fixed progress in the bookshelf and file select screen being wrong
• Fixed the music track "Cerana" not playing anything in the jukebox
• Fixed Beenjamins hints not being told for the next undiscovered bee (so much for an expert!!)
• Fixed Jukeboxes playing at the same time as game music, game music will now pause
• Fixed fullscreen/window setting not saving on reload
• Fixed auto-sort causing random single non-stackable items when sorting a bunch of stacks of the same item
• Fixed a performance issue where lights were not being cleaned up
• Fixed a performance issue where lighting was being drawn (invisibly) in the day (like you do)
• Fixed bee 'icon' buttons in the bee and flower book crashing when clicked on
• Fixed shiny bees not showing their lil flash animation (the most important feature honestly)
• Fixed jukebox not using the music level set in the settings and just blasting music 24/7
• Fixed flowers sometimes not being marked as discovered properly
• Fixed being able to middle click on non-stackable items, destroy any other of that item in the menu (oops)
• Fixed raintank not setting filled canisters as "water" even though they get filled
• Fixed wax canisters not being able to be used in Infusers
• Added a fix to help the game resize the window to an even number when resized manually and not fullscreen
• Fixed a rogue pixel on wooden windows

[ 2021-06-29 18:03:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Here we are beekeepers, the second major update and woo boy is it a big one! This is the "Honeycore Update", that introduces honeycore - a strange crystal that grows in the Tundra that vibrates when bees are working nearby. One of your new friends, Bobbee the Blacksmith, will be able to made you some sweet automated machines in exchange for any honeycore you bring to them!
There's lot's of other fun stuff too, new bees to discover, 'unlimited' bee storage with the new Beeboxes, gates that will transport you around the world, a whole bunch of new friends, a town noticeboard where you can help the townsfolk and solve cross-breeding puzzles, new types of frames, new flowers, new machines... it's a doozy. As always with a major update we'd recommend a new world (as half the content won't spawn in an old world), and please let us know your thoughts via the Alpha forums in Guilded or the feedback form if you'd prefer to stay anonymous! There's also probably a whole lotta new bugs with this one, but I mean what else did you sign up for huh? Some ideas of things to think about while playing: How's the progression feel with the snow biome? Are the automated machines worth the upgrade? How's the balance of making money vs things to spend it on? What things could make the Beebox more useful? We hope you enjoy <3

Changes

Apiculture

• Added Beeboxes, a special type of storage for apiarists that let you store lots of bees of the same species!
• When fully conserving a species you'll now get written about in the local news!
• Added 4 new bees, all hybrids with their own conditions to meet, good luck!
• Added two new intro chapters to the bee book to cover the rest of the bee traits as well as inheritence
• Added a small badges to each chapter in the bee book to mark having got a blessed bee, having got special produce, and having conserved the species
• Dream Bee is now a fixed recipe rather than being any hybrid species - check the Uncommon Bee page for the 'recipe'! (Uncommon x Common)
• Added a new hover for the bee book anatomy and trait sections to make things clearer
• Updated some beehive message colors (sleeping is now blue, hot/cold is now the matching temp color)
• Updated the wording of the Uncommon Bee's hint

Floriculture

• Added 3 new flowers, each of them cross-breeds from tier 2 flowers! One decreases lifespan, one increases honey produced, and one keeps dawn/dusk/night bees awake longer in the mornings!
• You can now put seeds in pots for decoration!

Machines

• Added the Jukebox, a special machine that plays music tracks - you'll have to find BroduxBlue to get your hands on it though! (requires a new world)
• Added Honeycore Machines, sold by Bobbee, these machines are powered by nearby hive activity (fully automated babeee!)
• The bottler has been upgraded and you can now bottle all liquids to be sold!

Crafting

• Added Honeycore Frames, sold by Bobbee, these frames increases the amount of honey extracted
• Added Mysterious Frames, sold by the Merchant, these frames increase the amount of special produce extracted
• Added Dyes, crafted from flowers + glue, and can be used to dye objects, machines, crates, hives, walls, and tiles!
• Added a new spice formed by the Ancient Bee that, when infused, will speed up time
• You can now sell honeycomb, propolis, glue, waterproof and sawdust for a small about of rubees each
• Added durability info to crafting icons + shop icons for frames + tools

NPCs

• Added Bobbee, a blacksmith who works with Honeycore, a strange crystal that grows in the polar regions
• Added BroduxBlue, a cute little musical fox who might have some interesting items for sale if you can find them!
• Added Abbee, a florist who lives out in the swamps who sells all the flowers you've discovered, as well as a few special items that might help your green thumbs!
• Added the Merchant, a mysterious individual that only shows up at night - they have some rare things on sale, stranger
• Added Barnabee, Beenjamins apiarist apprentice who sells all the bees you've discovered, along with some useful beekeeping special items!
• Added a notice on NPCs when they have something new to say!

World Generation

• Added random structures to the world generation!
• Crates generated in the world now have random items inside!
• Added the Town Noticeboard where you can help out the townfolk with making mead, solving cross-breeding puzzles, and crafting items!
• Added Honeycore to the snowy regions
• Added Hivemother Shrines, little shrines where you can find the Hivemother Altars, and Hivemother Gates
• Added Hivermother Gates, once activated they provide a quick way to get around the islands - boats are for suckers
• Added fog to the swamps oooooohhhhh spoopyyyy

Misc.

• Added the ability to use the following punctation / symbols for key mapping: .,`'\/-
• Updated the settings menu to include an inverse scroll option, plus a bsync option (we dont know what it does)
• The game will now pause when books are open, the settings/controls menus are open, or the discovery/conservation magazines are open
• While the game is paused you can't move and time will be frozen!
• You can now close discovery popups with ESC

Bug Fixes

• Fixed "target" menus not being reset when moving away / closing them by clicking their overworld sprite, meaning the inventory didn't automatically shift click to the next open menu
• Fixed undiscovered shiny bees not showing the black "undiscovered" sprite
• Fixed rehabeelitator showing slot "confetti" when a bee is released when the menu is closed
• Fixed NPC's not showing their appreciation when you buy stuff, so rude!
• Fixed shiny bees not showing their lil flash animation
• Fixed microscope showing numbers being 1 off (i.e. showing a '3' but in the 4th box)
• Removed the hacky town lanterns from the world gen now that windows act as light sources, if your world was made before this patch then woooo free lanterns :D
• Fixed walls being highlightable (thats a word) through a menu
• Fixed the "Queen has finished her cycle" message showing when no bees are in the output slots
• Fixed the beehive help menu not showing correctly
• Fixed Beenjamins hints not being told for the next undiscovered bee (so much for an expert!!)
• Fixed Jukeboxes playing at the same time as game music, game music will now pause
• Fixed slots with 99 of an item showing the "change" effect when picking up more of that item
• Fixed bottler not working with exactly 100bl inside
• Fixed being able to trash your friends (why would you tho :(((((()
• Fixed aquatic seeds outright lying and saying that they can be planted on grass
• Fixed NPC menus not closing when you get too far away
• Fixed beehives not creating exact clones of the queen with some rescessive traits
• Fixed NPC dialogue not resetting when closing the menu but not saying goodbye (rude that you didn't say bye but okay)
• Fixed Infuser showing "need to add resin" error message when no items in the input
• Fixed machines cancelling a canister filling/draining when adding items to a slot
• Fixed progress in the bookshelf and file select screen being wrong
• Fixed hives not showing the "sleeping" message when bees are asleep
• Fixed auto-sort causing random single non-stackable items when sorting a bunch of stacks of the same item
• Fixed bee 'icon' buttons in the bee and flower book crashing when clicked on
• Fixed being able to move the title screen menu around (lol)
• Fixed being able to open the home screen menus in the top left corner of the map (how do you people find this stuff)
• Fixed player customisation not resetting when creating a new world and you have an existing world
• Fixed the map not caching properly on windows, causing a lag when opening the map for the first time
• Fixed menus that were targets and then hammered messing up the automatic quick target
• Fixed hivesbane not buffing mutation chance correctly
• Fixed wax canisters not being able to be used in Infusers
• Fixed an issue with picking up multiple items on the ground - should reduce the bit of lag you get when picking up an entire forest!
• Fixed rogue "dev wall" being left underneath the Sir Sengir statue when hammered
• Fixed fullscreen/window setting not saving on reload
• Fixed a performance issue where lights were not being cleaned up
• Fixed a performance issue where lighting was being drawn (invisibly) in the day
• Fixed jukebox not using music level set in the settings
• Fixed flowers sometimes not being marked as discovered properly
• Fixed being able to middle click on non-stackable items, destroy any other of that item in the menu
• Fixed raintank not setting filled canisters as "water" even though they get filled
• Added a fix to help the game resize the window to an even number when resized manually and not fullscreen

[ 2021-06-26 14:57:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Heya! Thanks so much to everyone who's been playing the demo, we've now had over 1000 people playing this new one!!! SO. MANY. BEES. Thanks for everyones bug reports and feedback - we've got a lot of fixes in this update but the most important thing is we fixed the Dream Bee being impossible to actually get, whoops! We've also changed the hybrid criteria, you'll need an Uncommon-Common / Common-Uncommon queen, with the same Dream Bee conditions as before. This is to help make it clearer how to get the Dream Bee and give it an actual 'recipe' in the bee book, before it was any hybrid under the right conditions but it caused more confusion than intended!

Changes

• Fixed the Dream Bee being literally impossible to get, I'm so sorry :(((
• Dream Bee is now a fixed recipe rather than being any hybrid species - check the Uncommon Bee page for the 'recipe'! (Uncommon x Common)
• Added the ability to use the following punctation / symbols for key mapping: .,`'\/-

Bug Fixes

• Fixed hives not showing the "sleeping" message when bees are asleep
• Fixed being able to move the title screen menu around (lol)
• Fixed being able to open the home screen menus in the top left corner of the map (how do you people find this stuff)
• Fixed NPC's not resetting when talking to them
• Fixed swarmer showing the bee icons in slots even when items are in there
• Fixed being able to interact with menus or clickable objects from the home screen
• Fixed being able to click on the murky bee icon from the flower book
• Fixed player customisation not resetting when creating a new world and you have an existing world
• Fixed the map not caching properly on windows, causing a lag when opening the map for the first time
• Fixed menus that were targets and then hammered messing up the automatic quick target
• Fixed hivesbane not buffing mutation chance correctly
• Fixed rogue "dev wall" being left underneath the Sir Sengir statue when hammered

[ 2021-06-14 18:13:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Heya!! Just a quick one this time, we wanted to iron out a few little bugs and fix the paint scraper before the Wholesome Direct tomorrow, just so everything is ship shape for any potential newbees!

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Paint Scraper crashing the game
• Fixed NPC menus not closing when you get too far away
• Fixed NPC dialogue not resetting when closing the menu but not saying goodbye (rude that you didn't say bye but okay)
• Fixed Infuser showing "need to add resin" error message when no items in the input
• Fixed machines cancelling a canister filling/draining when adding items to a slot
• Fixed wall reference grid caching when making a new world leading to glitched walls

[ 2021-06-11 16:53:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey lil bees! As we're going to be in the Wholesome Direct this weekend we wanted to iron out a bunch of the bugs as well as add in some of the new features we've been working on so we can keep the demo a proper "slice of life" of the actual gameplay and show off some of the new stuff we've been doing. The main thing this update brings is the new dyeing mechanics! When you open your workbench you'll see a new tab for crafting a brush, a scraper, and dyes! You can use dyes to change the colour of any man-made object, crates, apiarys, machines, walls, tiles.
There's also a bunch of new stuff around world generation, and a whole lotta bug fixes! We've also added back the feedback/bug report forms to both the homepage as well as in-game (up in the top-right by the save button!) so you can easily let us know any ideas you have or bugs you come across.

Changes

• Added Dyes, crafted from flowers + glue, and can be used to dye objects, machines, crates, hives, walls, and tiles!
• Added Beenjamin into the demo! This grumpy ol' Beekeeper will give you hints on any undiscovered bees you're looking for, and sells some beekeeping related goodies (requires a new world)
• Added Brodux into the demo! This lil cutie sells the Jukebox, as well as music disks so you can play your favourite jams! (requires a new world)
• Added random structures to the world generation! (requires a new world)
• Crates generated in the world now have random items inside!
• Update the NPC conversation windows to look more fancy
• You can now sell honeycomb, propolis, glue, waterproof and sawdust for a small about of rubees each
• Updated the wording of the Uncommon Bee's hint
• Updated the "Shh, these bees are sleeping" message to be blue rather than red
• Added durability info to crafting icons + shop icons for frames + tools
• You can now put seeds in pots for decoration!
• Updated the home page to match the new game art, and added feedback form link
• Added a feedback/bug report button into the game which opens up our Google Form

Bug Fixes

• Fixed "target" menus not being reset when moving away / closing them by clicking their overworld sprite, meaning the inventory didn't automatically shift click to the next open menu
• Fixed undiscovered shiny bees not showing the black "undiscovered" sprite
• Fixed rehabeelitator showing slot "confetti" when a bee is released when the menu is closed
• Fixed some non-demo quests still showing a notification in the demo when getting certain items (boat, squeezer, backpack)
• Fixed NPC's not showing their appreciation when you buy stuff, so rude!
• Removed the hacky town lanterns from the world gen now that windows act as light sources, if your world was made before this patch then woooo free lanterns :D
• Fixed walls being highlightable (thats a word) through a menu
• Fixed the "Queen has finished her cycle" message showing when no bees are in the output slots
• Fixed the beehive help menu not showing correctly
• Fixed slots with 99 of an item showing the "change" effect when picking up more of that item
• Fixed bottler not working with exactly 100bl inside

[ 2021-06-08 14:34:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thanks so much for everyone who's checked out the demo and for all your lovely feedback! Luckily it looks like we got away with any breaking bugs and it's been mostly smooth sailing. This update fixed a lot of little tweaks and small issues, and adds in a few different little updates. The main feedback we saw a lot of was being overwhelmed with quests after the last introduction quest so we've tweaked the order/amount of quests unlocked as you go and so hopefully that feels less overwhelming for new players! Content-wise we've added back the boat and the backpack to Skipper's shop in the demo. We added the boat as we noticed that some of your demo islands were generating with a lake to the top-right of the town cutting off the east of the island (where you find the Altar and the Uncommon bees), so we've added a boat to be able to get over there. The backpack is basically a special crate you can take with you whereever you go whenever you need some more space (and yes you can have more than one!!)

Changes

• Added the boat and the backpack items to Skipper's shop in demo mode
• "Next Steps" quest now only unlocks 4 new quests instead of 7 to prevent players being overwhelmed by choices
• Changed "Menu Magic" to give 20 sticks as the reward instead of a crate to give a boost to the amount of sticks you have at the start
• Updated latin names to prevent favoritism towards bumblebee genus specifically (thanks @Entomancy!)
• Windows will now act as light sources, same size as lanterns
• Removed "rollover" sound from slots/chapters before @medusaur murders someone
• Updated conservation status message for the first 3 species that are already saved (that wasn't thanks to you, stop taking all the credit!!)
• Updated frame sprites to make the difference between empty, filled, and uncapped clearer
• Updated colour of stone tools to match stone palette
• Updated treetaps to say "Single-use" to make it clearer you can't get them back atm
• Updated hive bubble icon to show a little yellow bee when the hive is finished rather than a red "!" to remove the urgency
• Tweaked a few sprites to be in the correct colour palette

Bug Fixes

• Fixed closing a target menu by clicking on the placed machine not resetting the target
• Fixed "The Queen has finished her cycle" messages being in red, is now in yellow, again just to chill out a bit on the in your face messages all being "error" colors
• Fixed weather report notifications not resetting after the weather has gone / day has ended
• Fixed "Beekeeper's Delight" not being discovered in the flower book by default
• Fixed mouse "tool" icon showing on top of books
• Fixed climate trait icons being the wrong way round in the bee book
• Fixed typos in the apiary tooltip descriptions
• Fixed lighting going completely off of the correct position when using CTRL+R to reload the game
• Fixed scroll direction on books being in reverse on Windows/Linux
• Fixed scrolling on a map causing the game to crash
• Removed Steam connection on Itch/GJ builds to prevent the game failing to launch if steam is open

[ 2021-05-24 13:53:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Well here we are everyone, a new shiny demo for #WorldBeeDay! This is the first time you'll be able to experience the game since it was moved from a custom JavaScript engine to GameMaker Studio 2, and there's just so many new tweaks or QoL changes that it'd be hard to list them all (but Hivemother be damned we're going to try). It's worth noting being a new engine it uses a new save system, so your old demo save will no longer be playable (the save-1.bees file is still there but GameMaker won't read it!!) If you find any bugs please report them over on our Bug Reports forum, and if you have any feedback we'd love to hear it over on our Guilded Community We hope you enjoy, we've put a lot of work into this new version and we're really proud of it and can't wait for you to get your hands on it!!<3

Changes

General

• Performance should be noticeably better on old machines and run at a silky smooth 60fps thanks to GameMaker
• In general a lot of things should work better with the menus + UIs
• You can now customise your characters hair and outfit on starting a new game!
• Re-named the in-game currency to RUBEES

Items

• YOU CAN FINALLY PLACE STUFF WITHOUT EQUIPPING IT!!! Yes you read that right
• You can also pick up tools and use them on stuff with the mouse without equipping them
• You can now drop stuff with right-click!!! (high quality features here guys I know)
• Items have a much larger pickup radius so you don't have to get as close to them
• Items will yeet themselves towards you when you're close to them, magnet style

Cross-breeding & Bees

• Fixed various bees to quite working at the right time
• The Predictor is easily craftable from the start of the game to help understand the cross-breeding mechanics
• Cross-breeding chances are much kinder early on
• Each bee species now has a 'conversation status', which is improved the more you breed that species or release those bees back into the wild with a Rehabeelitator
• You can now 'ferment' your honey into mead! You can then bottle this mead to sell for a phat profit, or infuse the mead to grant special effects when you drink it (speed up, night vision, etc)
• All new bees have a chance to be a 'shiny' variant

Books

• A bunch of quests have been made less wordy
• Notifications for quests open the quest book and scroll to the right chapter for you
• The bee book is introduced earlier so you don't need to get your first hybrid before getting it
• The bee book has a bunch of new info, covering conservation status and special produce
• There's now a sweet new animation when discovering a new bee! (pls enjoy it took so long)
• The Predictor is introduced around the same time to make the first hybrid easier

Saves

• Games take much quicker to load and save
• Floppy disk save icon is back in-game <3333
• World generation is much quicker in general
• Game saves are pre-loaded on game start so if you pick the same save as the preloaded one it'll start the game instantly!

Town

• You can hammer all the objects and tiles/walls in the town! Something, something great power great responsibility
• You can "pick up" npcs and bring them with you! Try not to lose them eh?
• Tweaked the stuff that Skipper sells to cover some of the new features

World

• Highlighted objects are shown even behind other objects with a little ghosting effect
• Better shore generation around islands
• Better lighting in day/night
• Added sunrise + sunset glow to dawn/dusk to help emphasise those times
• Added water reflections, because shaders are freaking awesome
• Flowers now spread as seedlings that grow into flowers - introduces seeds earlier
• Flowers now don't spread into yo damn house

Critters

• Birbs are no longer horrendously laggy or stupid
• Birbs can spawn in shallows now, but as lil seagulls!
• Birbs can be scared away by dropping sticks (as promised, finally the guide is no longer lying)

UI

• You can now spam click slots and it doesn't sometimes magically lose items, what a treat
• Removed aspect ratio options - game fully resizes to the window whatever the size
• Removed scale options - same as above (displays over 1920 will go to 3x scale instead of 2x automatically, displays over 3000 will go to 4x scale)
• Menus now have lil open animations, cute!
• You can now preview tank amount when hovering over machines, preview item when hovering over crates, and preview queen when hovering over hives
• You can view the contents of a crate without opening it by shift-hovering over it!
• Added back the move 'button', as an alternative to the move "bar"
• Inventory has number "labels" for the hotbar
• A lot better "error" states for the mouse hover or item usage, should be much clearer what you can and can't do (and why)
• Control mapping is less buggy

Controls

• There's now game controller support! This has been tested with PS4 and Xbox360 official controllers - there is a known issue with Xbox One controllers. Just plug in your controller and it'll switch over, although we recommend having it in before starting the game and avoid switching between gamepad + mouse/keyboard
• Using a controller changes the game to "focus" mode - you can't open 100s of menus together but it should be a much more chill and easy experience now when using a gamepad

Bug Fixes

• Many
• So many oh my god every day new bugs

Bug Additions

• Lots

[ 2021-05-20 07:15:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Few last little fixes to get everything ready for the updated demo that drops tomorrow for #WorldBeeDay! The demo is limited in content (same as it's always been with just the starting island only, no other NPCs outside of Skipper, limited bees/flowers etc), but now that we're in GameMaker I spent some time fiddling the project so both builds can come from the same 'core' build, meaning if a bug is fixed for the demo it's fixed for the Alpha and vice-versa - saves a lot of maintenance going forward.

Changes

• Updated small + large pot sprites
• Added a bunch more gamepad GIF 'variants' for the quest book when using a gamepad

Bug Fixes

• Fixed pots not being able to accept other flowers
• Fixed pots duplicate flowers on save + reload
• Fixed infuser not carrying on where it left off after saving and reloading
• Fixed some issues with recipe discovery not saving properly
• Fixed your hair going WILD when using a bench
• Fixed extractor error always showing regardless of how full it is after being run
• Fixed bee particles without an origin not getting removed correctly
• Fixed pickaxe sounds not playing when mining stone
• Fixed issue with tapper from preloaded save (sc_tapper_alarm0)
• Fixed map showing a highlighted hair sprite on the player icon
• Fixed using "Select" twice locking out movement in gamepad mode
• Fixed being able to change selection to inventory/hive when on the discover species menu in gamepad mode

[ 2021-05-19 11:36:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mostly bug fixes and tweaks here - still working on the GIFs for gamepad mode but it doesn't effect gameplay!

Bug Fixes

• (Maybe) fixed an issue with sc_gui_draw script
• Fixed an issue with tappers crashing the game (sc_tapper_alarm1)
• Fixed an issue in gamepad mode when opening a beehive (sc_beehive1_gamepad)
• Maybe fixed an issue with ob_bee's losing not being able to get home :'(
• Fixed an issue in gamepad mode where the predictor crashes
• Fixed an issue with a game crash when clicking the discover button
• Fixed an issue where using X on a slot in gamepad mode on the inventory when just the inventory is open yeets the item into the void forever
• Updated keyboard shortcuts to controller shortcuts in NPC dialogue
• Fixed fermenter GUI rendered off-pixel in fullscreen mode
• Fixed mouse middle click / controller right stick "pickup as many as I can" function not working
• Fixed menus not updating properly in controller mode when using X to move an item in/out an input/output slot
• Fixed discovery popup softlocking the game on controller as you can't press the button
• Fixed Beekeeper's Delight not getting discovered
• Fixed various menu GUI elements not being rounded correctly
• Fixed Flower Book showing text way darker for undiscovered flowers
• Added try-catch to stat logger to prevent it failing if the server is down (co_core_Other_62)
• Added fix for menu sometimes failing on "instance_exists()"
• Fixed screens at 1920x1080 exactly not using 3x scaling
• Fixed some issues with saves corrupted after GM error windows (maybe?)
• Fixed opening an NPC in gamepad mode buying the item of the day
• Fixed tooltip for placement to snap to grid missing on gamepad mode

[ 2021-05-16 11:03:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

So a few little changes and tweaks, including a true fullscreen mode! I've also taken the first stab at controller/gamepad support - this completely changes the controls of the game and how a bunch of stuff works, like there's no multiple menu system and instead there's a "focus" mode. If you've got any sort of controller for the PC I'd really appreciate your feedback on this one, I think I've got a good starting point but would love to know where we can take it. Note - if you are testing with a gamepad you'll notice there's a bunch of GIFs missing from the guide, I still need to draw all the "gamepad" GIF equivilents so there's better examples for controller users.

Changes

• Added controller support!
• Added two more beautiful tracks thanks to @Brodux
• Added missing lore for the new 6 bees
• Added more splashscreen messages (rly important updates u kno)
• Game now starts in true fullscreen - you can go back to windowed mode from the settings menu
• Increased amount of resin needed per item in the infuser from 5bl to 10bl (bee-litres, obviously)
• Tweaked hybrid flower seed spawn chance
• Tweaked bee mutation chances now that stability trait buffs apply
• Updated undiscovered bee chapters to have the text faded to be clearer

Bug Fixes

• Fixed beehives crashing the game sometimes when bee particles got deleted off-screen
• Fixed predictor showing wrong icon for undiscovered bee species
• Fixed quest book showing wrong icon tooltip for rewards when opening the book via notification
• Fixed infuser being able to start with less than the needed amount of resin
• Fixed tappers not showing the "empty" status when reloading a game
• Fixed the game crashing when trying to read the shift tooltip of a bee
• Fixed stats not resetting when creating a new world
• Fixed Windows having a stretching issue the first time you run windowed fullscreen
• Added missing clicks to character customisation buttons
• Fixed rollover sound spamming on mechanism use
• Fixed library book icons being off by 1 pixel on large displays
• Fixed books opening when writing in signs
• Fixed some chapter hitboxes going funky when opening via notification

[ 2021-05-14 15:42:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Well here we are gang! About a month later from when we first let you loose with the new Alpha, we're here with the first of 3 major content updates - the Frosty Update. This has quite a lot of new bits and bobs, the main focus being around the new "polar" climate and climate control. There's also the beginnings of the character customisation system so you can finally play as yourself instead of me! (if you have any requests for hairstyles let us know :D) This update also introduces fermentation, which lets you take water + honey to make mead, which can be further infused with spices to give it special properties, like making you able to run faster or see better at night! There's also some more bees (of course) - in this update we introduce some special species you only find in certain places rather than through cross-breeding. This will lead to a few different things in future, like species NPCs give you, special quest reward bees, seasonal bees etc. We've also tried rebalancing the items you can sell to give more focus to bee produce + honey/mead. Not much has changed with the NPCs as the next major content update is focused around NPCs and questing, but we have updated the shops! As always, let us know any Bugs you find in our Bug Reports forum (over on Guilded), but otherwise we hope you enjoy! I'd recommend a new world if you can part ways with your old one, as a lot of content needs a fresh world!

New Stuff

• Added character customisation! You can now change your look and hair style and overall colours and all that good stuff when starting a new game (hell yeah!!!)
• Added the polar regions! This harsh frozen landscape is home to some very hardy bees..
• Added "snowing" weather in the polar regions, leaving a layer of snow you can gather with a spade
• Added 6 new bees! Some of these are "one-off" species not found by cross-breeding but by exploring (requires a new world)
• Added a "New Discovery" animation sequence when you find/breed a new species (who's that... bee!!!)
• Added 2 new flowers for the polar regions (no new flower mutations this update!)
• Added the Heater, an object that warms up the surrounding area to make it feel like a warmer climate - bought from Beenjamin
• Added the Cooler, an object that cools down the surrounding area to make it feel like a colder climate - bought from Beenjamin
• Added Rain Tanks, these store rainwater when it's raining, which you'll need to make mead!
• Added the Fermenter, which let's you combine all that golden honey you've been hoarding with water to make mead!
• Added the Bottler which let's you bottle mead, optionally infusing the mead with spices! Spiced mead has special effcts when drunk, different spices do different things! - bought from Skipper
• Added 3 different spices, each can be produce by a specific bee species, or bought from Skipper's specials item!
• Added 5 new quests to cover new mechanics - rain tanks, fermentation+bottling, heaters, coolers, and polar islands
• Added an introduction chapter to the flower book that explains cross pollination in more detail
• Added another type of light source, the Lamp, which can now be crafted

Changes

• Beetrix now sells sawdust and sawdust bricks
• Updated snowing icon, "polar" icon, and matching icons in the microscope
• Added an AoE circle to smokers so you can see what hives will be affected by it
• Hives now hide the second bee input slot when a queen is in the first bee input slot to try and aid in confusion of what is needed in a hive
• Added a tooltip on empty crate 'eye' slots to explain what they do
• Added boats to the map so you can see where ya left em!
• You can now hold and drag the mouse while holding shift to move items between menus (rather than having to click each time)
• Added a small 'E' icon next to the inventory to show you can toggle it
• Added slot numbers to the highlighted hotbar slot
• You can now hammer the Sir Sengir statue and move it where you want! (Will leave a glitched invisible solid block on old worlds but still works)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed flower buffs not applying correctly
• Fixed flower buffs not displaying on active queen trait cards
• Updated tooltip delay so the tooltip doesn't flicker when moving the mouse over the same thing
• Added missing flower 'placeholder' icon to the smoker flower input slot
• Fixed the "Hold 'Control' To Snap To Grid" tooltip being replaced with floor/carpet tooltips when placing on those things
• Fixed the smoker not automatically refuelling itself when the game is loaded
• Fixed smokers not actually having an area of effect and smoking every hive in the world
• Fixed input/output slots not having awhite "input/output" title in the tooltip
• Fixed NPCs not appearing on the map when the game loads if they're too far away
• Fixed issue with walls not showing the correct variant in some layouts
• Fixed canisters sometimes not resetting to "empty" when filling certain tanks
• Fixed there being no beehive at Beenjamins place
• Fixed not seeing an "out of reach" error on far away walls + tiles
• Fixed Nana not sitting on a bench and instead rising above the ground (ASCEND)
• Fixed missing @ symbol in "Picture Perfect" quest dialogue
• Fixed rain carrying over to a new world if it was raining in the last game you played
• Fixed tree taps having the wrong sprite in the swamps
• Fixed deep tiles not showing the correct tile sometimes
• Fixed the smoker quest missing a GIF

[ 2021-05-08 18:35:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Heya!! Lot's of bits and bobs in this one and a few tweaks - mainly around bees and the bee book! Note: The home screen says 2.3, but in-game says 2.2, ignore that it's just a typo you're on 2.3 I promise! steamsad We've added back in the introductory chapters for the bee book that explain crossbreeding again as well as explain the traits and what they are. We forgot to add the intro chapter for flowers - whoops! We've also added the "special produce" for each species, a proper microscope unlocking panel to show you need to microscope 3 bees per species to get all trait info visible, and added in the conservation status, which tracks queens produced and bees rehabeelitator(ed?) to add to the overall species status. The book stuff is a lil rough and ready but I got carried away with it (this was just supposed to be bug fixes) This will be the last patch for the time being (unless I've bricked this one :disgust: ) so I can focus on all the new content for the Frosty update, so enjoy!!

Changes

• Prevented you being able to hammer the boat you're sailing in (why would u want to do this)
• Added an introductory chapter explaining how to discover bees to the bee book
• Added an introductory chapter explaining each of the bee "traits" to the bee book
• Added tier seperators to the bee book
• Added special produce infomation to the bee book, unlocked when you discover that produce
• Added a visual for the shiny variant of each species when you've come across it!
• Added conversation status to the bee book, effected by how many queens of that species you've bred or bees you've rehab'd (it's worth noting in a new game, all tier 3 bees will be already Thriving, but existing saves will have all species as Lost, sorreeee)
• Changed the bee species chapter icon to be coloured based on conversation level for quick progress viewing
• Added a proper trait "unlocking" progress bar for each species, 3 bees of the same species need to be microscoped to unlock trait info for a species
• Changed tooltips to only show after the mouse has been still for 1ms to prevent tooltip flicker as you move the mouse (One note on this is it still flickers when moving around while highlighting the same item, so sorry about that but we're working on it!)
• Updated a few items that shouldn't of had a sell value, namely Honeycomb, Propolis, and Glue (money balancing stuff will come into the Frosty Update when you can sell bottled honey and mead!)
• Reduced the amount of propolis generated by frames from 2-3 to 1-2 (what on earth would you need that much glue for)
• Changed the wording of the tooltips for the time of day icon slightly
• Updated minimap surface to be stored as a buffer so that Windows doesn't sometimes take ages to re-open the map
• Added the first debug machine, the Entity Tracker. You can spawn this in dev mode with /gimme debugger1. This tracks entity counts (funny that) - if you've been getting random FPS drops after a long period of time please spawn one and plonk it down when the FPS drops and let me know the craic!

Bug Fixes

• Updated a LOT of boundary boxes (the things that check collision + highlight) so placement should be less restrictive at times (like how sometimes a flower needs 500m of space around it)
• Fixed being able to place multiple items on the same tile when shift-placing
• Fixed "gml_Script_sc_Sawmill_alarm1 - variable unknown_object.item" issue when taking input items out the sawmill
• Fixed crate content preview not showing when shift-hovering over a crate (it's super cool pls try it out!!!)
• Fixed being able to click a bench while sailing
• Fixed being able to click a bed while sailing (how do you people find this stuff honestly)
• Fixed Squeezer tank GUI not moving with the menu
• Fixed being able to chop the Squeezer with an Axe
• Fixed not being able to pick a Squeezer back up (we were just trying the idea of a crafting roguelike where all actions had consequences clearly)
• Fixed the Squeezer not carrying on where it left off when save+quit then resuming
• Fixed buttons being able to be highlighted underneath a highlighted menu's buttons
• Fixed being able to place items through a menu into the slots behind it when not highlighted
• Fixed recipes that require frames using up all frames in your inventory
• Fixed tree taps making a magic "empty" white mylk liquid you could sell to hipsters for $7 a pop
• Fixed rehabs stopping working when offscreen when mid rehabing (thats a word now)
• Fixed beehive1_alarm1 crashing screens showing randomly
• Fixed Beenjamin selling a magic pink cube instead of the smoker
• Fixed quest "Smokey Eyes" having the wrong requirements
• Fixed the smoker crashing when no scent is provided
• Fixed beehives, clockwork machines, and tappers, having a flash of white on the lifespan bar when opening them
• Fixed bee particles not despawning properly when a hive ends
• Fixed the menu highlight line connection showing in Photo Mode
• Fixed objects having a highlight in Photo Mode
• Fixed being able to click stuff through open books
• Fixed file delete buttons not resizing with the screen size
• Fixed being able to click the bed/benches in the intro scene
• Fixed an issue where crafting benches would still show the contents of menus closed when moving too far away
• Fixed the boat depth issue so lilypads don't smack you in the face as you sail
• Prevented rain drops spawning on floor tiles and filling your house with water and making all your crates soggy
• Fixed the rain icon not showing when it starts raining if you're standing still

[ 2021-04-21 19:49:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Damn who thought a game about bugs would have this many bugs... This patch is bug fixes mostly and a few tweaks here and there - thanks again for all the reports! I'll probably keep doing them throughout the week in big chunks and then this weekend I'll put up the update roadmaps and get cracking on new stuff.

Changes

• Added version number in-game for my own sanity
• Added 30 char limit to names
• Machines now automatically "discover" any output items without you needing to pick them up
• Using escape while a book is open will only close the book
• Using escape when nothing is open will open the settings menu
• Using escape when only the settings menu will toggle it back
• Item placement previews now show when highlighting over another object if there is an error (i.e. flower placement on lilypad)
• Moved error cursor more over to the right + down so the preview is clearer
• Updated the Honeyrose item to use the bigger variant
• Added rollover sound to button highlight
• Added ambience sounds to home screen

Bug Fixes

• Fixed shops crashing when trying to buy or sell something
• Fixed bee items being able to be middle clicked and merged into one super bee
• Fixed quests being able to be claimed when you haven't put in the hard work
• Fixed game not saving when quest is handed in
• Fixed quests that are supposed to give you 2 items only giving you one
• Fixed offscreen hives crashing the game when a mutation chance is rolled
• Fixed not being able to place edging tiles under already placed nature items
• Fixed placing tiles under trees "chopping" the tree with the tile item
• Fixed any other tiles apart from planks not having tooltips
• Fixed random shorelines in world generation (requires new world to see the fix)
• Fixed quest "Making Money" trying to unlock a quest that doesn't exist anymore when claimed
• Fixed "Unable to find instance index" with sc_notification_set() maybe?
• Fixed "Unable to find object index" with MOUSE_CLICK maybe?
• Fixed shop slots not showing the item info if it's too high level or too expensive
• Fixed being able to still interact with the world on the "bees in the cogs" error screen
• Fixed game not resizing until you move when you load a game and have resized the window while on the menu
• Fixed centered text function using the wrong position (new game labels + text, settings menu volumes, control mapping labels)
• Fixed scroll hotbar not working when highlighting the hotbar
• Fixed being able to place tiles underneath shrubs + rocks
• Fixed bees always showing the aggro bubble instead of the love bubble
• Rounded player inventory to prevent tearing on some displays (extra pixel line on left, none on right)
• Rounded UI items on home screens and settings/controls to prevent tearing on some displays (missing pixel on home buttons)
• Fixed library getting highlighted when highlighting the save/menu buttons
• Fixed notifications not updating position on screen resize

[ 2021-04-12 13:51:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thank you all for getting stuck in!! For those who haven't played before, we hope you've been enjoying it <3 We've prioritized stuff that causes a crash or the white window popup error as those are more game breaking right now!!

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where hammering an active hive would cause the game to crash when trying to render lighting
• Fixed .origin_x not set crash
• Fixed sort + middle click sort duping items for stacks of between 50-99 items
• Fixed being able to click the empty bee book + flower book slots before unlocking them
• Fixed NPCs movement going weird and getting "stuck", although you'll need to hammer and re-place them to get the fix
• Fixed an issue where the game wouldn't load the settings file properly, so the pre-load didn't work and music/sound options were not save. This means settings on other platforms will be reset the first time you play with this update [Windows]
• Fixed tooltips + some tooltip text (like day/money UI) having their outline 1px off on some graphics drivers [Windows]
• Fixed "trying to set a surface that does not exist" when hammering the floor [Windows]
• I've tried flooring the position of slot drawings, might fix the clipping some players are seeing? [Windows]
• Fixed an issue where the game would crash when trying to resize to 0px x 0px (when minimized) [Windows]

[ 2021-04-11 09:50:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

3 months later and the whole Javascript version of the game has been ported to GameMaker, and we're back where we were in January! However, there's plenty of new tweaks and QoL stuff that's been added during the rebuild, so if you want to test it out this update is for you! If you've already played a lot of the existing Alpha there's not any new content in this build, so don't burn yourself out <3 I couldn't possibly fit in all the stuff that was changed or fixed compared to the old build, but I've done my best to list the more major changes you'll find below. While playing the new Alpha, feel free to report any bugs or feedback in our Guilded Forums: Feedback Thread Bug Report Thread

Changes

Items

• YOU CAN FINALLY PLACE STUFF WITHOUT EQUIPPING IT!!!
• You can also pick up tools and use them on stuff with the mouse without equipping them
• You can now drop stuff with right-click!!! high quality features here guys I know
• Items have a much larger pickup radius so you don't have to get as close to them
• Items will yeet themselves towards you when you're close to them, magnet style
• Cross-breeding
• Fixed various bees to quite working at the right time
• The predictor is easily craftable from the start to help understand the cross-breeding mechanics

Books

• A bunch of quests have been made less wordy
• Notifications for quests open the quest book and scroll to the right chapter for you
• The bee book is introduced earlier so you don't need to get your first hybrid before getting it
• The predictor is introduced around the same time to make the first hybrid easier

Saves

• Games take much quicker to load and save
• Floppy disk save icon is back in-game <3333
• World generation is much quicker in general
• Game saves are pre-loaded on game start so if you pick the same save as the preloaded one it'll start the game instantly!

Town

• You can hammer all the objects and tiles/walls in the town! Something, something great power great responsibility
• You can "pick up" npcs and bring them with you! Try not to lose them eh?

World

• Highlighted objects are shown even behind other objects with a little ghosting effect
• Better shore generation around islands
• Better lighting in day/night
• Added sunrise + sunset glow to dawn/dusk to help emphasise those times
• Added water reflections, because shaders are freaking awesome
• Flowers now spread as seedlings that grow into flowers - introduces seeds earlier
• Flowers now don't spread into yo damn house

Critters

• Birbs are no longer horrendously laggy or stupid
• Birbs can spawn in shallows now, but as lil seagulls!
• Birbs can be scared away by dropping sticks (as promised, finally the guide is no longer lying)

UI

• You can now spam click slots and it doesn't sometimes magically lose items, what a treat
• Removed aspect ratio options - game fully resizes to the window whatever the size
• Removed scale options - same as above (displays over 1920 will go to 3x scale instead of 2x automatically)
• Menus now have lil open animations, cute!
• Preview tank amount without clicking into a menu
• Added back the move 'button', as an alternative to the move "bar"
• Inventory has number "labels" for the hotbar
• A lot better "error" states for the mouse hover or item usage, should be much clearer what you can and can't do (and why)

Bug Fixes

• Many
• So gosh darn many oh my god every day new bugs

Bug Additions

• Lots

[ 2021-04-10 21:00:13 CET ] [ Original post ]