I completed the whole demo (boy, Wellington took a lot of tries to 100%!)! Hee, this is all really neat. I definitely hope you do more work on it!
I don't know what to think about the idea of speeding up the TF process itself; it'd make things easier in game terms, obviously, but a slower change is more fun. I was thinking that maybe the last victims wouldn't have to completely finish transforming in order to avert lockdown (but they'd still have to have started changing, not just be infected). Humm, maybe there could be a one-time upgrade of some kind that made victims "count" towards final completion at the beginning, not the end, of their changes. Am just spitballing though!
Maybe there could be "toggleable" upgrades that you can shut on and off at will before starting a level (but not during a level, I think that would be a little too silly and invite excessive micromanagement). These would be upgrades with a combination of negatives and positives. For example, an upgrade that slows down the TF process even more in exchange for sheep that are boosted somehow!
I noticed that petting a sheep too frequently has no further positive benefit, but the "pet buff" seems to wear off eventually. Maybe when a sheep is under the effects of the pet buff, a teeny tiny heart could linger just above them, to show that they don't yet need more petting? Right now, petting and timing one's petting right is a major part of the game, so it would really help to be able to see when the buff runs out.
I noticed that eventually, increasing "Incubation" seems to have little or no effect. I don't know the mathematics of how this stat works, but it seems like maybe allowing it to "max out" at a certain value could be a good idea. Maybe!
The description of the "Drive" upgrade confused me a little at first. Humm. Maybe I should come up with an alternate description idea, one that's hopefully clearer or at least more obvious at first blush. I dunno if you'd welcome that kind of contribution, though!
Finally, I got a bit silly and came up with some ideas for additional TFing victim shouts, and I figured I'd share them; why not, right? :O
- No... I'm a huMAAAAAH!
- Stop, please just stAAAH!
- I won't, I can't... b-BAAAAH!
- B-baaah, I can't... t-think!
- NO! I hAAAAH-te sheep!
- This can't b-BAAAH happening!
And because I couldn't help myself, here's some ideas for one-time upgrades I threw together!
Irreversible Mutation: the mutagen is now so powerful and concentrated that the resulting transformation is truly permanent and impossible to undo by any means. The governments of the world will keep the general populace in the dark about this development (to avoid mass panic), but word will inevitably get out among first responders, striking terror into their hearts. Lockdowns will now take slightly longer, and military and police will fire their weapons slower.
[Sort of a boring game effect but true permanence is always fun!]
Photogenics: thanks to mutadynamic genetic tweaking, the process of transformation from a boring human into a stinky cute sheep is more dramatic and visceral than ever. Flesh will ripple, muscles will bulge and pulse, bones will crack noisily, and throats will emit astonishing cries and bleats. Bystanders will now sometimes approach transforming victims instead of fleeing. They will gawk and record the spectacle; if there is mutagen still on the ground, they will likely come into contact with it and become part of the show. This upgrade won't stop people from fleeing from aggressive sheep, however.
[This would take extra effort to code in the textual and maybe visual reactions of onlookers, but it seems like a fun idea! Well, I thought so, anyway. I'm biased though.]
Ovine Appeal: with the application of advanced proteomics, sheep are now even more adorable and endearing. Their fluffy, fleecy wool is so bountiful and soft that they look like happy little clouds, and their big dumb eyes, devoid of intelligence or apparent malice, are wide and soulful. They couldn't possibly be THAT dangerous, could they? Humans now flee from sheep at slightly slower speeds, and don't run as far before stopping.
Whew, okay, that should be all. Sorry for the super long comment!