DD# 151 Towards the Desert and Sea news - [Neolithic]To the End

The 149th Week and Version 20231215

Hi, everyone! Welcome to another week's developer's diary.

This week's development continues around Hottle.

To the north, we now have the access to the underwater tunnel. According to ancient legends, eons ago Samujire separated the sea so people could walk through it. It sounds like a certain character in the Bible, right? However, the way he separated the sea was a bit different. The sea water became the ceiling of this tunnel while many marine creatures gained the ability to breathe in the air. That's what his followers believe. Yet, is that the truth? It certainly requires some further investigation. Thus, the tale attracted a certain Marine Biologist.

Aside from the anomalous attribution of the tunnel itself, there are also many strange creatures down there. You can find sea dwellers known as Benboers and Baboers in this tunnel with some interesting loots they can drop. Meanwhile, if you want to turn them into pets, please feel free to do so. Benboers have a bonus on water magic power while Baboers are more efficient to apply poison on your enemies.
As such, we are now about one map away from Qinuyi. But, there is no rush, as there is still a lot of content to be filled on Sayinas Island.

To the South, the development of the Katan desert continues. In addition to wild animals, we now have something more dangerous. That is human. Many outlaws consider this desert as their hunting ground as a certain type of local mineral attracts many to come to this part, testing their luck for a profit.

It is essentially a wild West as it's also located in the western part of Sayinas Island.
Because of the dangerous environment and internal corruption, the law enforcers of the federation unsurprisingly have little motivation to bring justice across this desert. Consequently, it became a haven for many criminals, exiles, and many others who just wanted to disappear from society. The town of Katan was built on such a foundation. Yet, even among thieves, there are honors. The town eventually became self-governed by those most unwanted in the federation. Some leaders of the federation argue the very existence of this town can be a threat to national security while others consider it a natural penal colony that reduces the costs of the federation.

We will get more content about Katan next week. However, art assets have already been planned ahead. In addition to the outlaws mentioned above, we also have another beautiful girl. :)

For now, you can already use all those new character appearances on your main character or customized teammates.

In addition to the outward expansion, more content updates take place inside Hottle.
The Illuminati Field Office is now more functional. You can find a store, a skill trainer, and a doctor inside. However, to gain access to get inside, you will need a good relationship with the Illuminati. Alternatively, you can also try to deceive the security guard or just fight and kill him if you want to do so. Of course, the latter options will not make the local Illuminati personals too happy.

In the Hottle Equipment Store, you can now find a blueprint to craft storm katanas that Howard-Houseguards use. Your 3D modeling skills can enhance the wind power benefits from those weapons. The prefixes of "Storm" are guaranteed. That's another usage of the Golden Stones of Xuanhuang.

In some dark corners of Hottle, you may now find black market merchants trading outside the regulation of the local government. They can sell you those precious Golden Stones and other legally questionable goods. As long as you can pay the price and do not ask where those goods coming from.

Of course, black market merchants shall not only be in Hottle. You can now find them in Liu, too. However, the legal situation and resource available is quite different between those two nations, the local black market merchants prefer to sell hentai books in Liu rather than more supernatural contraband. (Meanwhile, in the Nise Federation, those Hentai Books are not even illegal as long as they are not sold to underaged customers.)

Meanwhile, continue from last week's weird regions. We now get something equally "interesting."

A modern-day adoption of Confucianism among Warhammer fans in China. It may be useful to players who prefer to aggressively "persuade" their enemies to death under tons of emotional damage.

Well, that's for this week. The next week we will have more content in Katan. Possibly some surprise.
Also, Happy Steam Winter Sale next week. :)


The Full Update Log of This Week:
20231209
English
############Content################
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]You can now enter most of this location.
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]The entrance is guarded by a security guard.
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]You can get through him by passing a deceive check or directly attacking him.
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]If you have a good relationship with the Illuminati, they will let you pass as well.
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]Added a weapon merchant.
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]Added a skill trainer that teaches many different language-based skills.

20231210
English
############Content################
[Your Pocket Dimension]New tileset: Underwater Tunnel.
[The Nise Federation]New Location: Underwater Tunnel - Sayinas Side (The entrance is in Hottle.)
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]Added a dialog option about this facility's security.
[Underwater Tunnel]Added butterfly supports.
[Underwater Tunnel]Added a Marine Biologist to provide some background information about this tunnel.
[Wonderland Travel Agency]New random cave type: Underwater Tunnels.
#######Debug#####################
[Hottle]Fixed a map tile issue in Hottle.


20231211
English
############Content################
[Crafting]New blueprint: Storm Katana.
[Crafting]Storm Katanas are katanas guaranteed to have the "storm" prefixes. The effect of this prefix will scale based on your 3D modeling skill when you craft this item.
[Storm Katana]Golden Stones of Xuanhuang are needed to craft this item.
[Hottle Equipment Store]Added a locked chest with a blueprint of Storm Katana inside.
[Hottle Illuminati Field Office]Added an infirmary and a doctor.
[Enemy]New Enemies: Benboer
[Underwater Tunnel]Benboers will now spawn in this area.
[Minesweeper]All GPA rewards are now part of this mini-game itself so that no matter where you play this mini-game, you can get the same GPA rewards. It also makes everything can be better maintained.
############System#################
The function that applies the model level effect can now take an array of special attribution keys to make them scale with the 3D printing skill levels.
It has been made into its own function so that we get more flexibility to use or override.
#######Debug#####################
[Minsweeper]Fixed the bug that no GPA rewards are given when you win a game of mine sweeper in the Unfinished Building.
[Minsweeper]Fixed the bug that no GPA rewards are given when you win a game of mine sweeper in the Old Man's House.

20231212
English
############Content################
[Pet]You can now turn Benboers into pets. They all have a "Water Power +15%" special attribution.
[Pet]New Pet/Enemy: Baboer. They all have a "Poison Power +10%" special attribution.
[Underwater Tunnel]Baboers will now spawn in this area.
[Underwater Tunnel]Baboers and Benboers will attack your group together if they are all chasing you.
[Underwater Tunnel]Increased the enemy density in this area.
[Enemy]Howard Houseguards now have their HPs randomized.


20231213
English
############Content################
[Character Customization]Added a new playable female character variation.
[Faith]New Faith Core: Conork & Menork

20231214
English
############Content################
[Character Customization]Added a new playable male character variation.
[Enemy]New Outlaw Enemies now appear in the Katan Desert.


20231215
English
############Content################
[Trade]New Merchant Type: Black Market Merchant.
[Black Market Merchant]They may appear in random locations on some specific maps. They sell items at very high prices. Those items are usually considered illegal or restricted to trade in those areas. The items they sell are depending on their locations. Once you make contact with them, they will move to another location.
[Black Market Merchant]They now appear in Hottle, selling Golden Stones of Xuanhuang. (In addition to their generic illegal goods.)
[Black Market Merchant]They now appear in Liu's center area, Liu's Commerical Street, and the Ancient Stone Bridge areas. They sell Hentai Books in those areas in addition to other generic illegal goods.
[Loot]Benboers and Baboers now have their item drop lists.
[Sayinas Island]New Location: Katan (Its entrance is currently blocked as the story is still a work in progress.)
[Butterfly]Once you visit Katan, you can teleport there.
[Butterfly]The underwater tunnel is now a Hottle location. Thus, you can now teleport there in any Sayinas outdoor location.
#######Debug#####################
Fixed a small glitch when entering the janitor's room