Nov 29

GearHead Caramel v0.975: Action Mastery

It’s new GHC release day! You can download v0.975 from all the usual places- Steam, itch.io, and GitHub. I should mention that it’s currently 23% off at both Steam and itch, so if you want to support development now is an excellent time to buy it.

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

Nov 14

GearHead Caramel 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 can get it from all the usual places- Steam, itch.io, and GitHub.

Recently somebody asked me when GHC will reach version 1.0. I’m gonna be honest with you- the game has been complete for a while now and I don’t even know what the 1.0 milestone is going to mean. Obviously I still need to finish the Raid on Pirate’s Point scenario, but I plan to keep adding new scenarios and content for as long as I’m able. We haven’t even been to space yet. The episodic nature of GearHead Caramel means we can visit all the locations in the universe- the L5 spinners, Luna, Mars, Venus, and beyond. There are also plenty of locations on Earth that I want to visit.

You’ll need to start a new campaign of DZD for the Road of no Return quest to appear. Version 0.974 also includes 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

Also: GearHead Caramel is currently 32% off for the Steam Turn-Based Carnival, or even more if you but it as part of the Mech War! bundle or the Turn-Based RPG bundle.

Nov 06

GearHead Caramel v0.973: Bugfixes and Cyberware

Three releases so far this week… Feeling a bit like Captain Haddock tonight.

Version 0.973 fixes the crash on Windows computers, and also restores the cyberware interface to full operation. While fixing these issues I discovered that JetBrains’s PyCharm IDE has been messing with my code. At least twice it inserted the line “from main import draw_border” into a random file, causing the game to crash at startup. I suspect that PyCharm’s code assistant may be responsible for the cyberware unit’s problems since I hadn’t touched that code in months. I don’t know how many other time bombs it may have planted in the source. Anyhow, I have abandoned PyCharm as malware and switched to Eric IDE (for now; gonna try several IDEs and see which one sticks).

I never activated the PyCharm AI Assistant, but there’s also a PyCharm AI Intention which defaults to “on”. If your AI powered code tool writes worse code than I do when I’m going through an episode of brain fog, that’s not a feature it’s a bug.

Anyhow, you can get 0.973 from the regular places- Steam, itch.io, and GitHub. Thanks to everyone who reported the problems. Here’s the complete list of changes:

  • 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

Nov 03

GearHead Caramel v0.973: 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 get 0.971 from all the usual places- Steam, itch.io, and GitHub.

Sep 03

GearHead Caramel v0.970: Balance, Bugfixes, and Furniture

After several months, I bring to you a new release of GearHead Caramel. I’ve just uploaded version 0.970 to all the usual places- Steam, itch.io, and GitHub. Combat balance has been subtly altered. Several bugs have been vanquished. I’ve added furniture to most of the indoor scenes that needed furniture but didn’t previously have it. Plus, most shops now have counters so it should be easier to tell who the shopkeeper is if there are multiple NPCs in the room.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

Jul 09

New Web Hosting, Same Old Site

Moopsy dealing with the summer heat. I have also been drained of all my energy but I am nowhere near as cute.

I have moved my web hosting, and am planning to freshen up the GearHead website a bit, but have not gotten around to it yet. It’s summer in Korea. It’s hot. I’ll let you know when it’s done.

May 14

Polar Bear Comix at TCAF Digital Marketplace

From now until May 24th, all Polar Bear Comix are available in print form from the Toronto Comic Arts Festival Digital Marketplace. If you’re in North America or Europe this is your best chance to get my books without taking a trip to South Korea.

Mar 20

GearHead Arena Part 2: Gregtek’s Redemption

Gregtek’s journey continues as he explores Snake Lake City.

Mar 07

GearHead Arena: Revisiting a Classic Mecha Roguelike

I have started a playthrough of the game that started it all, GearHead Arena. Listen to an old man ramble about the discourse on early 2000s rec.games.roguelike.development. See him try to remember details about the game that he, himself, created.

Feb 14

Valentine’s Day at Calmegie Research Station

I was planning to redo the old GearHead valentine that I made years ago and this comic just kinda spilled out. Here is the old one, for those who don’t remember.