Xenospermia Rework / March Update

Deets are here

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10509280/

Also cross-posted down here...

There are plenty of unlisted changes which I simply forgot to write. But here's what I did over the last month

I made Twine my bitch

2/22/23
Added Melted and Ignited (DMG over time)
Added Acid Bath (Basic caustic attack, inflicts Exposed/Melted)
Added Flash Frz (Basic cryo attack, inflicts Iced/Chilled)
Added Tranquilize (Low accuracy SLEEP spell)
Added Sterilize (Thermal damage + 25% chance to remove each buff on target)
Added snoozed status effect (Sleep status. 25% chance to wake early. Damage also wakes early)
Added Vegcide & Bugcide (Bio/Caustic damage attacks. Former deals extra dmg vs Plants, latter deals extra vs insects & amphibians. Also adds a debuff but nothing terribly special just Poison or Exposed, respectively)
Added Iced (Temp stun/freeze)
Added Refract (Minor radiant dmg plus random status effect)
Added dazed, glowed status effects
Fixed oversight that broke element type recognition... What a mistake @.@
Status effects already changed a sprite's color, but I've added more color/tint changes to the sprites. This should help you discern at a glance what's going on. Additionally, more text that alerts you when an interaction cancels out a buff or so on.

2/24/23
OpticLzr now deals 25 instead of 15 base damage. However, inflicts a turn of overheat onto self. That prevents using lzr or regular attack for said turn.
Reasoning: Regular attacks should generally use radiant element (Chel uses laser handguns). Therefore OpticLzr already offers negative synergy. This change should encourage the use of another tech move like AcidTst, allowing one to attack despite overheat's refractory period. I will probably increase Overheat by another turn or reduce damage to 20 since downside's not big enough atm

2/25/23
IDK but some older update fucked up all the splices, and that came down to an <</append>> written as an <</if>> instead. How fun. Fixed!
Another dumb thing I overlooked. You know how bone dart hits all enemies? I had trouble with that glitching out and getting the active character's turn confused. Turns out the solution was dead easy, delaying the turn queue switch 1 second, allowing all damage and sprite changes to resolve before that. Yay! AoE damage works like a breeze now, and it does not require a separate damage module.
Reactions implemented, along with reaction menu. Pretty trivial to do as it copies the act menu. You'll probably be able to have 2 or maaaybe 3 reactions equipped, and there is support for more, but that's probably for boss monsters. Reactions are pretty simple and triggered by certain dmg types and factors; ie, attempt to Vitalize self for HP regen if under 1/4th HP while attacked, or use Acidproof on self when hit by caustic attacks, or inflict Melt onto an enemy that uses a kinetic attack on you. Reactions are disabled whenever actions are disabled and one buff, Numbed, specifically shuts them down.

2/25/23
Changes:
Those fancy new reactions include:
ReactiveBld - Hit enemy with Melt DoT when attacked
RecoveryItm - Use weakest Gauze on self when attacked
RegenHP - Buff self with HP regen when <1/4th HP and attacked
RestoreHP - Instantly regain 1/4th HP if attacked while <1/4th HP
ResistBullet - Buff self with Bulletproof when hit by a kinetic atk
ResistAcid - Buff self with Acidproof when hit by a caustic atk
New passives:
Pharmacist - Increases item healing
BtlMedic - Increases first aid healing
Antacid - Prevents caustic debuffs
Antifreeze - Prevents cryo-related debuffs
Vaccine - Prevents bio-related debuffs
BurnWard - Prevents fire-related debuffs
Added Passives. Pretty easy since equip system reuses actives/reactives template. Passives are for boosts to abilities and so forth, like increased item healing. Skill/action-based boosts

2/26/23
Changes:
Chel stops talking all the dang time whenever she uses psi pyro/focus
Disabling some tech moves while vored, most while grappled.
New ability: ArcWeld, higher-power Electric attack
New ability: BioWpn, end-stage Bio damage atk
Added charged, discharged, and shocked debuffs
Added PsiDark: Inflict Scared/Shocked/Blinded to 1 target
Added PsiShld: Grant Bulletproof 1 target, focusing increases duration and adds Fireproof/Shockproof
Added PsiWall: Grants Bulletproof to all allies for 1 turn, focusing increases duration
Moved all ability execution code out of a master 'resolve' module and inserted them each into their respective modules (which were used for their command button only). In case the ability list gets ungodly large, this change will prevent having to load all code from every player-character ability just to use 1. Only the code for all currently-equipped abilities for the character taking their turn will be loaded
Log now mentions when statuses wear off
Fixed avatar bar/turn issues when dazed/iced/dead foes are on the field. Should seamlessly skip their turns now
Added PsiKnife: Attacks deal mental damage, may also stun. Focusing adds extra damage to attacks
Added PsiQuiet: Inflicts silenced/sealed to prevent Psi power use. Focusing adds deafened and /or snoozed
Added Deafened status: 25% chance to lose turn & evasion is halved.
Scared enemies have a 50% chance to flee, else they brace/self defend
Enemy monsters (that arent allies) now may attempt to flee when HP is between 25% to 50%. Lower than that, they attempt to use their ultimates as per usual. This adds extra challenge to capturing them as well as makes things 'realistic' seeing as wild monsters probably wouldnt fight to the death. It is now a bit of a 'tactical' choice whether to leave enemies half-injured in hopes they will run away themselves.
Braced now boosts reaction chances by 50%. This should help keep it relevant.
Added Aerocide & Aquacide, modifying Vegcide and Bugcide respectively to hit new targets (flying or aquatic/amphibian)
Added Refractor. This passive halves OpticLzr dmg, increases overheat time, but makes it hit ALL enemies.
Aoe attacks now end their turn slightly differently to avoid a visual glitch with damage numbers showing twice

2/28/23
Changes...
Added SlugDarts: Tranq causes tired if it fails to cause Snoozed
More optimizations to where status effects/checks are stored, this should prevent any possible future slowdowns.
Another tweak to the timing of aoe attacks like Refracted OpticLzr
Added infected status effect & fixed up BioWpn
Infected is a minor DoT that may inflict a worse debuff (25% chance) per turn, and may spread onto others (25% chance)
Sterilize/OpticLzr can now be shorted (tech-only silence)

3/1/23
Degener8 added: Special move which can weaken target vs a random element.
Chillpill & Psychward: Prevents pissed/charmed and scared/confused respectively
Warmed/Chilled now increase duration when hit by the respective element.
Taking damage now breaks VeryFocused, turning it into just Focused. Maybe gonna do the same treatment to regular Focused. But the idea is that focusing is cool but should be strategic instead of 'focus twice and psypyro to win'. Ill see what happens until y'know Chel has more party members to take the hits.
Tentatively capping Melt damage at 75 and Ignite damage at 50.
Ignite now halves damage per turn, but increases duration + damage with Thermal damage taken.
Projectiles/damage numbers & tints are now separate, no longer will tint affect the projectile colors and etc. etc.
Green letters now show when healing. Yay
New ability: Medicine. Gives target healing over time and cures a few debuffs
Bandaged cooldown now applies to Gauze.
Btlmedic renamed -> BestAid. Increases healing of First aid from 25 -> 50% but increases Bandaged duration (cooldown)
Btlmedic is now a skill that reduces all Bandaged cooldowns by 1.
Tweaked effects of StemFluid, StemPill, etc.
Implemented stat increases/'leveling up'. Will need to make a menu to spend DNA points
Menu finished! Not the prettiest but you can spend DNA towards increasing stats.
You get DNA & stat points via taking damage or dishing damage out. Depending on the kind of damage dealt, the most relevant stat will increase.

3/2/23
Rewrote a bunch of plot-related stuff

3/3/23
Epigenetics/Stat-raising system added:

What they do:
Muscles - 2% melee
Bones - 1% HP 1% melee
Insides - 1% HP 1/3% HP regen
Nerves - 1/4th evasion and 1% ranged and reactions
Senses - 2% range
Brains - 1% psi 1% tech
Wires - 2% tech
Graces - 2% psi

How they raise:
Bones - Hit by melee, kinetic, or healed
Insides - Hit by bio, corrosive, or healed
Nerves - Took 0 damage, thermal/electric/cryo/mental/radi
Brains - Failed to deal damage
Muscles - Used melee, cryo
Senses - Used range, radi
Graces - Used PSI, ment
Wires - Used Tech, elec

Each move has a stat associated with it. If a 1d100 roll rolls higher than associated stat, then increase DNA by 1. The more you use your stats, the stronger they get. It may also increase this stat but not all the time, like 50/50 chance maybe

The chance is based on the stat's existing value, so lower stat means more chances to raise it. Additionally, the target in question's 'potential', or general power, is a factor. Weaker creatures like ants have a potential of 2, player characters have a potential of 10, bosses are even higher. This is a hidden stat, but generally, the idea is weaker creatures are easier to catch and max-out. Consider it like this... an ant is gaining stats at 5x the rate of a player but of course is 1/5th of the strength, so overall power is increasing at approx the same rate. I'll play around with the concept some more, but yeah, that's how it do.

Other changes:
Vine Dryad's psiheal/heal factor now scales with psi
Self-targeting allied monsters now specify they are self-targeting
Small improvement to the whole 'dryads forgetting their gender' bug
Fixed wrong-gender in the victory screen.
Finished monster breeding system.
Monsters now show their potency based on 'rank'
Status menu now displays any immunities
Tweaked button placements and names on status menu

3/5/23
Breeding feature…
As monsters have these different components:
1. Sprite/text
2. Their potential/base hp/evasion
3. Stats (muscles, brains, etc)
4. Elemental weaknesses
5. Ai behaviors ("behavior": "X")
6. Moves list

& only the stats (muscle etc) change with progression/leveling up, monster breeding will allow further optimization and customization of monster allies.

Breeding together monsters according to these degrees of similarity:
Same species (ant x ant) ("alias" is the same)
Same group (ant x fire ant) ("group" is the same)
Same clade (all insects) according to $creature.clade (examples… Insect, mammal, reptile, dragon, dinosaur, etc)

Same species/alias:
> Pick sprite/sex from either parent at random.
> Base HP/EVA/HP are 'split the difference' between both parents.
> Stats are either set to 'typical newbie' like ant1y or split difference between parents
> Elemental weaknesses 'split difference' between parents
> Behavior is 'pick from 1 parent'
> Moves / AI is 'pick from 1 parent'
The purpose is to conserve high stats between the 2 parents' spawn, but also try to get your ideal sprite/sex/behavior combo.

For same group, IE different plant/dryad girls, keep the same exact setup. But Moves/AI/probably Behavior/sprite/sex are all chosen from 1 parent. Because mushroom plantgirls are very different-looking than vine ones. But I will see what I can do to let you breed moves into other creatures in the same group.

Same group or same species/alias is the ideal. However same clade is also possible. Even with PCs. But only monsters are made. Mostly used for altering potential/resists/hp/evade/stats/muscle/etc. in this case.

3/6/23
Tentacled projectile/effect on non-pc ally
Equipment menu done!
Elemental resist tweaks on all 4 existing monsters
Frog is now a bit stronger overall
Snake is now a lot stronger (was rather nerfed relative to how strong it ought to be)
Snake now properly displays belly bulge when target is vore'd
Insides stat now increases healing received by 1% per 2 points.

3/12/23
Buttons now appear over enemy's heads to help you select them
Enemy names now show a different color (red)
Enemy's attack/turn now shows a different color for the link (red)
Enemies are now spawned with one of 12 behaviors that will affect attack pattern.
Scanning now shows enemy move list
Monsters now each have a reaction, some may have more in the future
Nerves now no longer increases Ranged dmg, instead that property is moved onto Brains. So brains increases ranged/tech/psi damage each by 1%. Instead, Nerves just increases evasion % and react % as well as now affecting turn order (highest Nerves goes first).
Cloning now spends DNA/EP equivalent to creature's relative strength.
I've rearranged some stuff to allow you to directly order your monsters in the future. Instead of random attacks, you will be able to choose their action from a list.
Flee/escape/crawlOut odds now increased by Nerves. Formula tweaked as a result.
SFX/projectile sprites added for when targets are tentacled (monsters mainly)
Chel can learn Tendril Grab from Sucker Bell enemy
Proper full image added for Sucker's bestiary entry
All attacks, ai, etc. added for Sucker bell enemy!
Sucker now spawns (rarely) in Jungle: Garden area. It can spawn alongside dryads (they are friends, y'know), so have fun with that lol
Killing enemy now properly expels their vored victims
Fleeing enemy now properly expels their vored victims
Laced now deals 10 instead of 5 damage to attackers.
Changed the ui/look of the splice button.
Stem/Xeno/NanoFluid and LifeLeaf now revive allies on the field
Elegant fix which simply adds item back to stock if trying to use an unapproved item on the field, no need to 'unpack' the item's variables and analyze it.
Added new action: Mutate, which uses a random splice ability from your list.
Using Item now dispels Bandaged duration (like it should). The idea has always been to encourage synergy between FirstAid, Item, and Medicine, rather than just settling for 1 healing action.
Medicine HP restored reduced from 10 -> 8, now benefits from Pharmacist, HighDosage now increases healng from 8 -> 16

3/13/23
Status immunity passives (germward, burnward, antifreeze, antacid) now actually work

3/14/23
Shed Layer now restores 10 HP per buff removed
Toxic Skin now deals more bio damage when attacked
Heal factor reduced from 40 HP restored to 25 to 40

3/15/23
Slimehound draft
DIRE: MELT DOWN (DMG + Own HP, suicide caustic atk, damage is dealt via Melted)
1. ACID FANG - Melee attack, inflicts Melted
2. DICK DOWN (Melee kinetic rape attack. Also deals BIO damage if it ejaculates. Only targets certain species)
3. PSIGLARE (Uses third eye to deal mental dmg + Scared)
4. SLOBBER - Inflict exposed (Tongue)

Added Base EV stat
Tech affects aug use?
Max Ev reduced: 25 -> to 20
Heal boost from 50% to 33%
Kaboom added for acid test/flash frz
Kaboom deals random elemental dmg to self and pred. 25-ish
Added a module that sorts by elem weakness and picks weakest target

3/17/23
Fixed status menus 'party display screen' when going back to the main status screen
Prototyping a 'party formation menu' where you can change placement of characters in the row and so on

Backline - All dmg reduced by 33%, taking and giving
Frontline - All MELEE dmg increased by 50%, giving and receiving
No stack. Ie both attacker/target backline or frontline doesn’t matter.
But if they are specifically front vs back, total is 100%

Add swap/tactics, allowing you to rotate out all positions as a mini module in battle. Then press confirm to end turn and finalize

First in formation adds to likelihood to use a melee atk. Ie ally1 will most likely use melee

3/18/23
Fully implemented formations, swapping, etc.
Reversed the order in the menu, now ally5 is on the left and ally1 is on the right
Switched around Chel's resistances. Now she's 1/2 damage taken vs bio/caustic/psy damage, but 150% damage taken from kinetic

3/20/23
Working on slime doggo enemy
Added 'bond' with chel: Creatures increase their bond with Chel if she heals them, or the bond weakens if Chel damages them, etc.
Improving bond:
Healing +1, feeding attempts +1, digestion +3, fucking +2, treats (varies)
Worsening behavior:
Damage from -5, especially as an ally (another -5)
Bond might affect behavior Soon™

3/21/23
Floaty sprites is finally fixed
Added new training battle feature, you can rebattle scanned enemies. They appear as holograms!
Added SplashDmg - AcidTest, FlashFrz, BioWpn, Pesticide, Herbicide all benefit from a 33% chance to hit a second target... Or yourself, if there's no eligible enemy.
Added slimehound

3/22/23
Most chemistry abilities now disabled while vored
Options for learning new abilities:
Raising brain/tech stat - grind is bad
Analyzing ally genes - requires catching??? and hard
Quest/plot - need to come up with every plot lol
Synthesize items - need new items but feasible
New items
BerryJuice - Chelbond with ants +5. SweetBerry and BitterBerry synth
Pheromone - Captures Insect enemies
PinkFlower - Used to synthesize pheromone
Fully added synthesis system, can now learn like 8 abilities via synthesizing
Added gender markers and etc.