Sinathir 0.23 - Vehicles and more

Main addition for this version is the vehicle system, but I also added or reworked other minor features. This is quite a big release, even though most of the new features present might seem minor at first. Let's get into what's new.

But before that, I added new section to the forum called sneak-peeks. I will post there things I'm working on together with some pictures or videos. I will still keep updating the old online changelog.

Vehicle system

You can now get your own motorcycle pretty much from the start of the game. It is much faster than walking and makes traveling easier, but it also has some limitations.  Here are some bullet points about the new system:

• Motorcycle has to be bought and then repaired either by you, or someone who has the right skills.
• It has set durability. First use every week lowers it. Once it reaches 0, it has to be repaired again.
• First start every week requires gas you can buy. 
• You can mount / dismount at any time. You can also switch between two speed options
• You can only mount the bike if you have nobody in your party and you can't recruit new followers while riding the motorcycle.
• You can't enter most interiors or use most shortcuts while riding. Picking up items works without any problem.
• You can't drive over certain terrain, like stairs.
• Dismounting your bike leaves it at the exact place, even when you leave the map. Vehicle "teleports" back to your hideout if you skip a week in any way.

That's pretty much it. As you can see, vehicles are not supposed to replace walking entirely, but they give you more options for traveling. This the initial release of this system so there is only one vehicle you can get and it has quite a few disadvantages. Future vehicles will be harder to get, but will be much more useful. Also, I'm sure there will be quite a few bugs.

Full keyboard support for name input

This is something that should make naming your character or waipoints easier.

There is not much to say, rally. You can type your name with keyboard or you can still use arrow keys and enter. The system is still a little rough around the edges, but should work alright for a first release.

Reworked dialogue character sprite system

The original sprite system was one of the first scripts I wrote, ever. I don't have to tell you in detail how bad it was. This system is not only faster, but it makes adding new characters much faster and easier. It also has new features, like flipping sprites automaticaly depending on the side of the screen they are at. I slightly reworked some cutscenes and I also added two new story cutscenes.

Also a small note. Some features or events in the game right now are not correct, not canon. For example, being able to fight Mr. White is not suposed to be in the later versions. I put it in there for players to have something to do. Once I add more content, I will remove it.

Also, Mr. White giving you equipment and training you is not suposed to be in the game in its current form. In future versions, you will have to find him properly and give him the letter before you can talk to him and train with him. This also will be changed once I have all the content necesary in the game.

Updated save / load screen

This was quite unpleasant thing to implement, but I really wanted to have this since pretty much day one. Your character sprite now shows in the file select screen depending on the slot you have selected.

This gif is slightly outdated. Newer version also shows the name of your character, but other than that, they are the same.

This is a very minor addition, but it makes the save screen much more interesting to look at. It should also make it easier to select the correct slot if you have more of them made around the same time and you are not sure which one you want to load.

Aside from all of that, I fixed some minor bugs, like the butchering table at Billy's farm not working if you have upgraded safehouse and I also made the bridge repair cheaper, since this is the only way to reach the rest of the island with a bike.

This is quite a big version and while I spent more than three hours playing through the game normaly and fixing problems as I found them, I'm sure there will be quite a few bugs. If you find any, please report them here.

Next version will have hangout options for one NPC and I will try to finish the story dungeon I have been working on. Other than that, who knows. There is still so much I have to do.

Full changelog:

• New vehicle system with old motorcycle added
• Reworked NPC dialogue sprite system
• Full keyboard support at the naming screen
• Improved save / load screens
• Minor bug fixes and balance changes