Howdy, friends! Time for another weekly update. It's worth mentioning It's Only Money is included in the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/sale/NZGames2023]Games Made In New Zealand [/url]special going on right now, so if you haven't copped IOM, or had your eye on another kiwi title, now's the time to grab it! This week we chose to focus on improving yet another pre-existing system, specifically the NPC's wandering around Rockhaven. Some community feedback fell in line with some of our thoughts about the current state of the world, specifically that NPC's can often just feel a little too lifeless. We plan to improve their behaviour incrementally as we go on, and the first step is: [b]The reactive dialogue system [/b] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42822923/48cb1b9a3409c29fbd4d305511f555bd3fc1bca5.png[/img] NPC's will wander around the world as usual, but will now offer more of their thoughts about Rockhaven and beyond. To listen in on what they have to say, look for the "..." pips above their heads. Aim at them, and you'll get a piece of their mind. Additionally, they express frustration and anger if you cross them, fear if they're running for police, or offer a passing comment about how knocking them out wasn't a nice thing to do. [i]Shame on you. [/i] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42822923/fc3f87d1a21aeeb55cb9110321e4b814b9a00f0c.png[/img] Both Police and MOVR's also have their own unique dialogue systems, and week to week we plan to expand the system to be truly reactive to various items you have, buffs and debuffs, and our smart objects through the city. [b]There's also smart head tracking[/b] Both your player and the citizens of Rockhaven will now ambiently track objects and people of interest around them. It's a small visual touch that helps things look a little less static, and can be helpful to point out interactables in your area of influence. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42822923/c6ec1511927e7a063b5ab04748c541ae9c502c64.gif[/img] [i]There might be a bit of work to do with headtracking and co-op buddies swinging their mouse up and down..[/i] [b]Chapter One is coming, we're still working on it[/b] As we move closer to Chapter One, the weekly updates will keep on coming, but may be a little lighter than some of the earlier updates. We're nearly at a spot where we want the Homies in Discord ([url=discord.gg/suspectsocial]feel free to join here[/url]) to start testing the various features and additions we're bringing in the next chapter of It's Only Money. We've touched what to expect in previous update posts, and today we'll touch very briefly on two new combat abilities coming to Awesome Dragon and other Dojos in CH1. [b]Snail Mecha[/b] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42822923/e0945e665b39bd292bd5d431d0c0afb7ba14a978.png[/img] Our approach with some of the new combat abilities isn't merely just another way to do damage, but to add interesting chaos to the sandbox. Being that the Snails are so abundant in Rockhaven, it makes sense to weaponize them in your fight against the Mayor. Snail Mecha will function much like Pets in MMO's or other RPGs. You'll summon your mechanized little bud, and he'll start firing on anyone who wants to bring trouble your way. [b] Wee Wee Scream[/b] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//42822923/be389c4a4f031f0dbbee66146e23001a41c861ff.gif[/img] Yet another tool in the arsenal, Wee Wee scream is a mass stun, that also applies decreased movement speed on those it affects. It also does 1 point of emotional damage, [i]more on that later. [/i] As the name implies, it can cause an accident here and there. There's a whole range of new moves coming in Chapter One, and as you level up your Homies, they'll also learn these techniques, so balance your team wisely! Until next week, have a good one!