Hey everyone!

Apologies for the late update this month!  We have a lot to show you and it took some extra time to prepare.  I'll also be making a patched version of the $10 release available to all tiers before the end of the month (within the next day), which you can check out the details of below!

Two outstanding topics that we have to show you today are Onyx's equipment designs and the combat improvement + controls design.  Limbo (our concept artist) absolutely killed it with the gear designs, and I'm excited to show his work off along with the concept blueprints that Kame will use to model the gear.  I'll also go into some of the details of the equipment system.

The combat writeup details the integration of the remaining combat systems, and begins to flesh out some of the requirements for the skill system, which I'd love your feedback and ideas on.

Topics for this Update!

• September Release Details
• Onyx Equipment Concepts
• Bunny Girl Rigged!
• Onyx Combat Overhaul + Controls
• Soundtrack Tier Update
• Splicer Pit Bull Model WIP
• Larva / Crawler Enemies
• Adult Content Filters

September Release Details

Check out the changelog below for the changes to the mid-month release, as well as the upcoming changes in tomorrow's release!

While we didn't manage to get a new H scene in, we significantly improved FemCop's first H scene, and are nearly finished with the second.  I'll also be working on a cinematic mode preview for the updated Onyx vs FemCop scene this month.

Changelog (** indicates items added or being added since the September 22 Inner Circle test release):

• ** Patched a major issue that was causing left-facing animations to desync characters in the Gallery.
• ** Disabling adult content will now hide liquid without clearing it (It will reappear in its correct state when adult content is turned back on).
• Added first iteration of Larva enemies (Larva and Crawler) to the game for combat testing (use Stomp or the forward punch combo finisher, Push, to hit the small ones; you can also knock them out of the air).
• Added swarm AI behavior (currently in use by the Larva/Crawler enemies)
• Added a fun surprise that has a chance to occur at the beginning of each wave in Skyline/Sewers.  Watch out >.>
• Added secondary motion (hair, clothing animation, and jiggles) to FemCop + Onyx H scene.
• Added boob squish + additional face animations + clipping and popping fixes to the FemCop + Onyx H scene   .
• Improved / better emphasized shorts pull-down and barrier grenade throw animations during FemCop H scene.
• Increased FemCop's H attack wind-up animation from 20 frames to 40 frames
• Fixed position of FemCop's "EyeShine" FX (H attack cue)
• Player can now move / reset camera position in H scene gallery.
• Restored feature to Gallery where foreground layers are hidden during H scene playback
• Loot containers are now hidden during H scenes since they can obscure visibility.
• Fixed issue with Wraxe's hitboxes that allowed for an exploit where Onyx could be positioned so she's never hit.
• Remixed the entire game's audio
• Added new combat SFX and skid SFX for Onyx
• Reduced automatic knockdown rate on Onyx (expect fewer knockdowns)
• Added adult content filter system (can filter all content or by fetish; more will be added as we add content to the game).
• Added adult content filtering settings to Options screen

Onyx Equipment Concepts

***I've attached all of the artwork files below so that you may inspect them at your leisure at full resolution ^-^.

Adding unique visuals to gear has been a long process due to design challenges, what with the need to dynamically remove clothes and all.  It's important that H scene animations work with all of Onyx's clothes, so we've designed visual progression for gear that retains the core elements of Onyx's base outfit (with one exception being that her shorts change to a leotard design at Tier 6 -- something already supported due to FemCop's outfit also having this design).   

That tier number by the way corresponds to the star gauge that shows up when you pick up loot.  Gear will have a completely new model every two tiers, with potentially minor changes on the odd tiers (details get added to the model / texture changes).  

You'll able able to mix and match different tier gear as well, meaning you won't need to wait for an entire set of higher tier gear in order to see visual progress on Onyx.  This isn't an easy task, since each piece needs to be compatible with every other tier's design.  While we've mostly accomplished this through thoughtful design, we intend to overcome exceptions by adding logic that will show/hide straps or connecting pieces based on what other gear is equipped.  This logic will also change the gear's shape to prevent clipping with pieces that need to fit over/under each other.  

Going through this trouble will no doubt allow for some unique visual combinations ^-^.  I'd like to (potentially) better facilitate this by adding a feature that would allow you to skin current items with visuals you've unlocked from previous gear.

This design strategy will work for additional playable characters as well, should we ever choose to add them.  For example, if a character's base design features a bodysuit, then higher tier gear will "enhance" that aesthetic while keeping important parts compatible for H scenes.

Bunny Girl Rigged!

TK has finished rigging both versions of the Bunny enemy!  Penapsquat has prepared a few great poses to show her in action ^-^ (check the gallery above to see them).  

Also, apologies for the untextured futa bunny renders!  I really wanted to show her off in Unity, but we simply ran out of time this month and couldn't get the new futa bunny's textures / materials done in time.  Expect to see her in cel shaded glory in the next update :D.

Onyx Combat Overhaul + Controls

Just before the mid-month release I took a few days to really focus on control improvements with regard to the planned combat overhaul  for Onyx.  This includes solidifying default controls and details for features not yet in the game, including the Quick Menu (for using consumables and charge-based skills), ranged and temporary weapons, combat grappling and throws, and dodge mechanics.  After a bunch of iterations, here's what I've arrived at:

You can check out the full notes here!

I've also attached the txt file if you'd rather check it out in document format.

Some of the goals I feel I've accomplished with the design include:

• Improve power attacking controls (prevent accidental use)
• Improve stomp controls + make it useful late-game.
• Remove jab spam.
• Design directional dodge skills that can interrupt Hit animations, thus giving the player more control to prevent stun-locks.
• Give Onyx the ability to roll away from Knockdown.
• Design and roughly balance the stamina system.
• Design crowd control / guard breaks / AoE attacks using Kicks and "unarmed" attacks.  These don't scale with the damage of Onyx's equipped Knuckles, and thus provide a utility without becoming stupidly overpowered (though you can improve Kick/Throw damage via stats on gear).
• Design effective Quick Menu usage that works for controllers and keyboard (swapping and using consumables / charge-based skills in real-time)
• Establish late-game skill and damage scaling fundamentals.  Power attacks gain range and area-of-effect when leveled up, while the player character unlocks additional mobility options.

One element that hasn't received much attention is how exactly skill progression will work.  This one's still a work in progress, but it's looking sort of like a skill tree system at the moment.  If possible I'd like to integrate ideas from MATM's glyph system.

Soundtrack Tier Update

Earlier this week I posted the first Pure Onyx soundtrack release :D.  This release includes the full versions of six tracks (two of which will be in upcoming versions of the game), edited and mixed for an album-quality listening experience.  It's available in both lossless FLAC and 320 kbps MP3 formats.  

It's likely there will be two more similar releases throughout development, with the entire compilation being available sometime around the game's release.

Splicer Pit Bull Model WIP

Kame has made a lot of progress on the first version of the Splicer Pit Bull enemy this month!  He spent a good while researching and experimenting with doggo anatomy since our cel shaded art requires muscles to really pop in order to get that stylized look we're after.  The version shown above is the spliced variant -- genetically altered for poisonous breath attacks.  

Larva / Crawler Enemies

One of the major additions in this month's release is the first iteration of the Larva and Crawler enemies (expect more combat skills and FX for them soon)!  To make these guys stand out, Mr. Kittyhawk developed flocking/swarm AI behaviors, something we can use for at least a few other enemies down the road (Vioreapers defending nests, Ghoul robots, and Vorepup swarms to name a few).  

A second new feature we added for these guys is the ability for enemies to move at a nonlinear rate -- meaning they can start and stop as they move to a destination.  This will be useful for a few biomonsters.  Lastly, we've added a spawning mechanism that's much more interesting than simply spawning offscreen.  These sorts of spawn events will be used heavily for most enemies eventually, but this is the first ^-^. 

Adult Content Filters

Another major addition in this month's release is the inclusion of content filter settings.
AltairPL has constructed a comprehensive system that will swap enemies featuring filtered themes for replacements, that can bypass or replace H scenes, can differentiate between NSFW/SFW grapple scenes, and can differentiate between NSFW/SFW clothing damage.  Most importantly, the filter settings do not adversely affect gameplay/difficulty.  Transitions still need some work for filtered scenes, as right now it simply fades out from grapple scenes without any context.

You can also disable adult content completely with a master switch (be aware that active 18+ content will not be disabled until the current scene or effects end).  This will theoretically behave as a streaming mode, though I'd strongly suggest giving it some time in the testing oven before using it as such.