Bounty Alpha

I've just released the Bounty alpha in the previous post. I ended up waiting until the very last minute of January, because there was a lot I needed to work on. There still is, which is why it's labeled as an alpha. It's not feature complete, and I have a lot more content in the works for the upcoming weeks. If anything, I really wanted to get this out there for everybody to throw some feedback around, and just get it in the hands of the community in general.

This game is not in it's final fun, feature-complete stage. Many features do not work as intended. No play style is viable, as many features are missing, and the game is currently unbeatable. It is a very bare-bones engine. Download at your own peril.

In all honesty, I'm ashamed at how incomplete Bounty feels right now. A lot of it is still in the pipelines. I've already fixed a few of the issues in the alpha I've released. I'm going to dedicate the next two weeks to releasing a significantly more stable version with a few additional features. My plan is to release the game on February 13th - if anyone wants to hold off on the alpha download, come back on Valentine's day for a much-enhanced version!

Known Issues

• Random encounter text is very patchy, and the vast majority of the time, encounters using your hands will read text as if it's oral.
• Universities in academy settlements have the option to take classes, but it is currently disabled due to last minute changes in the way it's handled.
• For a similar reason, weapon training in fortress settlements (at the barracks) is disabled, and will do absolutely nothing.
• This is a test build - you're only supposed to be able to visit one location per day, but the game will currently allow you to visit as many as you want in succession.
• Location events do not display text detailing what your experience and stat changes are, and sometimes run off of the screen.
• The world does not progress - it's effectively an endless mode stuck at difficulty 1, and doesn't provide much challenge
• Settlement races have been disabled due to some wonky behavior, and will be reactivated in the next version.
• Some perks do not function as intended.
• It is impossible to lose your virginity in location-based events, no matter how often you have sex. 
• I didn't notice this one until the alpha went live, but none of the shops are loading as intended. If you visit the shops located in the docks, the armory, the shady shop, or the magic shop, you won't see any options.
• Another edit to this post - apparently experience gains aren't granting levels as intended, either. I sure dropped the ball on this one.

The Future

• I have a lot of content in the works for this game, and a lot of features planned out or half-complete.
• Timelines will be implemented sooner than most other features, as it's really going to open up the difficulty and options before the game starts.
• A lot of polish is necessary, as right now, things can seem obtuse or buggy.
• Encounter text needs to be overhauled, with more smooth transitions and additional flavor text.
• As of the alpha build, races do not function as fully as intended. Humans receive two perks, and some other races have attribute tweaks, but do not otherwise have an effect. Races are going to be expanded upon by giving unique text and events to every race.
• Many perks still need to be added. Small trees exist right now, but they still need to be fleshed out.
• Currently, the only version available for download is a Windows executable. Future versions will run on additional platforms, but given the current release being in such an unstable state, I decided it'd be best to hold off on porting until more work is done.
• Travel encounters have been cut from the current release, due to something I can only describe as "unexpected interactions". These will be added in a future release.
• Additional settlements, locations, and events are coming, although these aren't the biggest priority at the moment.
• Diseases and illness - Having low hygiene will increase the chances of contracting something you'd rather not deal with. Any and all afflictions can be cured using items, shops, and locations.

Option Menu Explained

Random encounters are controlled by setting rules in the options menu. The common settings are:

• Resist - You'll always decline this action, and if you're forced, you'll physically fight back.
• Decline - You'll always decline this action, but you won't risk fighting back, and will submit.
• Accept - You'll always accept this action, but you'll refuse internal cumshots.
• Inside - You'll always accept this action, no matter the circumstance.

Price modifies how much you earn from random encounters. "Cheap" grants you a bonus to negotiation, while "Expensive" grants you a penalty.

Safety modifies the amount of clients you can encounter. High safety reduces the amount of encounters you can have, but reduces the likelihood of any form of danger. Low safety has the inverse effect.

None of this is properly explained in the game at the moment, so I figured I'd explain it here. The next release will have proper explanations.

Supporting Bounty

Right now, I don't have any place to accept donations, nor do I have a Patreon. It is something I might add over the next few days. To me, the most important thing right now is to put the game out there and work hard on both completing it and fixing it's flaws, regardless of whether or not it's profitable. This is a project I've wanted to work on myself, and I'm going to, no matter what happens.

That being said, having a Patreon or other places where I could accept donations would really help me push things along. Honestly, my dream goal here would be to bring enough donations in so that I could quit my day job, and just work on Bounty and other projects full-time. Over the next few days, I'll post some way to provide support.

Supporting this project will always be optional, as Bounty will always remain free for public consumption.

I'm also going to spend more time checking this blog, and interacting with people in general. I've seen that ULMF has a thread on Bounty, and sometime in the next few days, I'll register there so that people can throw whatever they want at me. I'll also be opening up an e-mail account dedicated to my work, so that anybody will be able to privately send requests, reports, or general discussions.

I'm fairly exhausted after pounding out today's work. I'll be increasing my activity over the next few days, and I hope it pays off. I have even more to work out in the days ahead, but it's something I'm looking forward to.


One final word - the biggest thing delaying things up 'til this point was a chain of crashes that took more time than I anticipated to hunt down. If you do play the alpha and experience any crashes, contact me with any information you may have about it. Most of the crashing should be solved.