What’s next for Fleshcult?

tl;dr:

  • Bug fixes
  • Mods
  • Mac version

Downloadable Fleshcult is out and aside from some weird crashes I’m still tracking down, the pressures of launch are starting to settle down. I’ve been ducking a lot of questions about whether I’ll be producing more content by saying it depends on sales. Based on how things are going, I can commit to a Mac version and mod support.

Visual Mods

Mod support is gonna come in stages. Letting people change the look of the game and add more graphics is relatively easy. The game would load an extra CSS stylesheet out of the mod folder, and with a few extra hooks from me and the magic of pseudo-elements, you’ll be able to add artwork with a high degree of flexibility. I’ll supply examples for the CSS, so try not to let terms like “pseudo-element” disconcert you.

Modding the HTML isn’t gonna be too bad either. Some enterprising individuals are already doing it, though this will get overwritten every time I update, so you really do need that mods folder in the long run.

Later Work

Allowing new characters and tomes and so forth is gonna take some doing. Ideally these would be loaded from data files, but at the moment it’s all in code. Conceivably I could run Python scripts out of mod folders and let them monkey-patch the game, but that’d be total chaos with multiple mods involved! There’s a fair amount of ground work to be done here and this is the task I have the most uncertainty about. It’ll probably come last.

As for Steam Workshop, I had a notion that it’d just need a game that knows how to load mods out of a mods folder. But no, I’ve gotta delve into the Steamworks API to make that work. Once again, it’ll take some time, but it’s looking pretty feasible.

Release v1.05

This is a bug fix release for Steam and Itch versions. The changes are:

  • Fixed crash at start up when there’s non-ASCII characters in the game’s install path, or the player’s Windows username.
  • Fixed inability to save game when there are underscores or non-ASCII characters in the player’s Windows username.
  • Better error message logging.

Turning off the web version

Edit: Done!

I’m planning to turn off the server for the web version on October 29th. If you’re in the middle of a game there, I recommend finishing up soon!

If you can’t afford to move to the Steam version, never fear; the Itch version is Pay What You Want, and that includes free.

If you’re on Mac, I’ll be looking at doing a port after the release crunch dies down. Mobile users, I’m sad to say, are entirely out of luck. Sorry about that.

Release Date Announced

Fleshcult will be available on Steam and Itch on:

22nd October 2020

 

Keys for Backers

If you’ve been with me from the beginning and backed the project on OffBeatr or PayPal, feel free to forward your proof of purchase to jack@fleshcult.com and I’ll flick you a Steam key.

On the other hand if you’re inclined to buy it again, I would appreciate the extra $2. It all gets me closer to being able to commit to implementing mod support, which would be pretty cool.

Call for testers (Closed)

EDIT: Thanks everybody, I’m now well supplied with testers.


I’ve finished the infestation tome and are looking for a few more people to test it. Specifically people who:

  • Enjoy parasite fetish material
  • Have a Steam account on Windows
  • Can invest enough time to play to the end game

If that sounds like you, ping me an e-mail at jack@fleshcult.com and I’ll send you a key.