v0.975: The Action Master Release

It's new GHC release day! Probably the most exciting change this time around is the addition of bonus actions- I've had a lot of players ask when they'll be able to use more than two actions per turn. I guess giving the action clock four quarters was a bit of a giveaway? Anyhow, I have added the bonus action system: you can spend stamina to get extra actions. The more bonus actions you take in one turn, the higher the price gets. Stamina is also needed for defense; once you run out you are extremely vulnerable. I think this is an interesting trade-off and I hope you enjoy it.

To go along with bonus actions, there are new mecha systems to make them easier to get. Dynamic Mecha Control and Reflex Control cockpits both reduce the cost of bonus actions. High output engines and high performance engines from GearHead 2 have been added. Finally, you can give your mecha an advanced gyroscope, which provides multiple bonuses but is a more fragile system than the default gyro.

Missions which do not receive a proper description will now randomly generate their own description based on the enemy faction, allied faction, and mission objectives. This should cut down on the number of rivals who say things like "I am here to defeat you, and in order to defeat you I will defeat you!", though I will admit that I do love bad procedurally generated text.

There are also some new missions, factions, and bugfixes. As usual try it out and let me know what you think.

Here's the complete list of changes:

• Updated the Allied Armor bookshelf
• Enchantments do not continue to update on dead/destroyed combatants
• Biotech mecha get a +2 action bonus
• Characters and mecha can spend stamina to get extra actions
• Added different cockpit control types
• Added High Output Engine, High Performance Engine
• Added Advanced Gyroscope; Gyroscopes are no longer Integral by default
• Fixed sound effect repeat bug
• Fixed dungeon branch naming bug
• A biotech torso can only install a biotech engine; non-biotech mecha may not use biotech engines
• Added Ravagers faction
• Biotech mecha can only mount biotech modules; non-biotech mecha may not mount biotech modules
• Reduced Stamina loss from cyberware
• Rebalanced monster dodge skill
• Corporate factions now have allies and enemies
• FieldHQ name buttons now use labels and can resize text if name is too long
• New MissionText generated if no MissionGrammar provided to BuildAMissionSeed
• Random MissionText added

v0.974: The Road of No Return

I have just released GearHead Caramel v0.974. There's a new quest in DeadZone Drifter- the Road of No Return. You'll need to start a new campaign of DZD for the quest to be added. There are also some bugfixes and the FieldHQ has been sorted. Try it out and let me know what you think.

• Added "Road of No Return" quest to DeadZone Drifter
• Fixed unloadable save file if PC killed during combat bug
• Incapacitated PCs may need lifesaving cybersurgery
• FieldHQ contents are sorted now
• Scenes without a defined parent scene should get added as root scenes
• Most missions names now include faction being fought

v0.973 Crashes Fixed, Cyberware Works

• Used cyberware is resold at a lower price
• Refactored cyberdoc unit to use current widget system
• Fixed crashing bug in cyberdoc unit
• AlertMenu will appear in front of widgets, like all other menus
• Fixed hover selection bug in WidgetMenu, ScrollColumnWidget
• Fixed crashing bug on Windows
• Sales menu will be properly reactivated after selling something

v0.972: Mistakes Were Made

v0.971 had a serious bug in the Label widget. v0.972 fixes this. Sorry for the inconvenience.

v0.971 Shopper's Paradise

It's time for a new GearHead Caramel update! This time, the shopping interface has been completely overhauled. You can switch to different lancemates and access your inventory without leaving the shop. Also, there are a bunch of new personal scale items for sale and you can load up on spare ammo clips before heading to the dungeon. In addition several bugs have been fixed and the dialogue generator has been improved. As usual, try it out and let me know what you think.

• You can now access your inventory from the shop interface
• You can now switch characters in shop interface
• Added named boss monsters
• Room deploy method should not delete contents due to lack of space
• Can now reload guns and chemthrowers from the backpack interface
• Added SelectGearDataGatherer interface
• Guns and ChemThrowers have a reload option in combat if player has appropriate ammo in inventory
• Caption AnimObs may now have sound effects
• Invocations may now request additional data
• Can now purchase spare ammo clips and chem tanks in shops
• Refactored the shopping UI to use WidgetMenu
• Added WidgetMenu widget type
• Meat cannot be eaten in the middle of combat
• Added on_enter, on_leave properties for all widgets
• Fixed some errors in the [CHALLENGE] grammar tag
• Fixed blocking counter bug
• Fixed overlapping rooms bug
• Fixed some issues with Python 3.12
• Dialogue replies should more closely match context

v0.970: Balance and Bugfix Release

I have updated GearHead Caramel with some balance improvements, bug fixes, and scenery for many of the indoor locations that were previously just empty rooms.

In combat, NPCs now weigh their options differently when selecting a target. The hit modifier for being overwhelmed has been changed from 3 to 4. The bug that happens when you press the alt key during combat has been fixed, the field HQ display updates after training, and the altitude property works as intended.

Counters have been added to shops so that it should be easier to pick out the storekeeper when several NPCs are present. Also, many shops now have individual decorations.

That's about all for now. Sorry for the long delay between updates, but such is the life of the solo gamedev. I'm hoping to get another release ready soon.

• Experience display in FieldHQ updated after training
• Increased Overwhelmed modifier from 3 to 4
• Altered NPC combat target selector
• Fixed bug with pressing "Alt" key during combat
• Wall terrain types can be marked to not accept wall decor
• Added extra dialogue to Bear Bastard's Mecha Camp for Criminal PCs
• PlacableThing's altitude property now does something
• Combat can be set to keep going even if there are no active enemies on map
• Room contents with fixed positions will now be placed on map
• Props are immovable even after they are destroyed
• Props will not be placed somewhere they can block movement
• calc_mission_reward can automatically round the reward to a round number
• Former lancemates who show up in buildings where they've been before will not be indicated as current members of the lance.
• A captured territory must be consolidated before another territory can be invaded in WorldMapWar
• PCs dying in a city scene should now be handled properly
• ExpelFaction will now get rid of the town leader if the town leader is of the expelled faction
• Encounter plots will now clean up their own mess
• Random NPC generator reacts appropriately if faction=None passed as parameter
• Challenge plots can create a mission giver if one cannot be found
• Plots have new method to return a list of element candidates, allowing manual selection or sorting
• QuestOutcome involvement function replaced with player_can_fun
• More quest refactoring; verbs now objects, outcomes have elements

v0.962: Fixed Kerberos Fight Bug

Just a quick bugfix release to fix a crash if you fight Kerberos in v0.961.

v0.961: Closer Every Day

This release of GearHead Caramel fixes some bugs and adds two new mission types to Raid on Pirate's Point... I probably should have added cases where the new missions come up in DeadZone Drifter too, but didn't think about it. Oh well. I am now attempting to finish RoPP as quickly as possible while I have the time and my health is in fairly good shape. Yay for solo developer games! Anyhow, enjoy. I am going to try to keep the updates coming at least monthly from now on.

v0.960: (Slaps the Hood) This Baby Can Hold So Many Quests

Finally, a new release of GearHead Caramel! You would not believe how much work went into this release. I mean literally, you won't believe it, because most of the changes should be mostly invisible. If you follow me on social media you'll have heard me talking about the brand new quest system. Well, there's a brand new quest system, and it seems to work well... but it's not being used by any of the adventure modules yet because I need to write more content for it. Also, some longstanding bugs have been fixed, including a rare crash upon starting a campaign. Hopefully you won't notice this change because hopefully you never had the game crash on you when starting a scenario, and now you never will. But it was a lot of work! And this bug goes all the way back to GearHead 1!

The next step for GearHead Caramel will be finishing up Raid on Pirate's Point. I needed the new quest system for this, and I also needed to fix the map generation bug because one of the maps in that scenario crashed the game at a much higher rate than normal. After that, I want to add a few more short-ish scenarios. The new quest generator should make that easier since I won't be reinventing the wheel with each one.

Here's the complete list of changes. As usual, try it out and let me know what you think.

• Fixed bug in DeadZone Drifter stub
• Certain weapons and mecha have been rebalanced; existing instances will be unaffected
• Weapon thrill power now actually based on rank, ha ha ha
• Plots can contain extensions
• Added lore browser to memo system
• Refactored quest system to be entirely QuestLore based
• Okapi puzzle memo now uses same font (medium) as other memos
• Fixed world map encounters bug
• Burst fire weapons have increased thrill power
• Intercept weapons have their thrill power lowered
• Fixed do_partial_restore in MultiMission
• Closing doors via right click will now work
• Mouseover info will list items in tile
• Destroyed items appear red in inventory display
• All hidden models get revealed at the end of combat
• Window close button should now properly close the game
• Scenes and rooms will expand if larger area is needed for contents
• Weapon is_operational bug fixed
• Items on floor should always appear behind characters and mecha
• Lost forager will not be selected for random plots while lost
• Gradient map prep can now place rooms in requested bands

Another Bugfix Release Again

• Fixed sound fx issues on certain platforms
• Game will no longer crash if campaign is ended between completing a mission and leaving mission, which is a situation that never occurs in any of the scenarios but if it ever did happen it would work now
• Fixed keys scrolling map when using a text widget