Well... surprise... here's some new content to test.

[JayKwon]

Hey guys,

I don't know what to say, but I'm amazed and happy to see some of you guys started a Flock steam group for playing the game: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/flocktogether

I'm the last and only dev trying to complete the update on The Flock. Times have been incredibly hard. So many things have happened, it's just ugh. Vogelsap has been in a financial debt for a long time now and a lot of ♥♥♥♥ went over it. I can't stress enough how hard it has been. I'm having difficulty finding the right words and know of no words that would cover the extent of the situation properly at the moment.

I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this. I believe Vogelsap owes an explanation to everyone. However apart from me, there's no one that feels any form of responsibility and as I had to take on a paid job to start clearing away the debt, this will take some time as I dig into everything that has happened and get it on paper. In the end I want to get this and this update done as it's been one my only goals in life I so badly wanted to complete. It's probably the last thing I do on the game.

So here it goes... surprise... there's an update ready to test for you guys, you can download it in the 'external test' branch.

Instructions
If you right-click on The Flock in your library > properties > betas > enter 'flockalicious' and it should say private beta 'external test' now available. Make sure you select that branch in the drop down menu slightly above and then The Flock should update to the correct version.

If it doesn't automatically update, you should probably restart Steam or check your downloads queue.

So what is it?

1. It's probably going to be BUGGY. I already know of several bugs I couldn't (get) fix(ed).
- If you join a session mid-game you can't view the correct settings you're playing with nor view the correct level/settings choices in the lobby. (best to leave the lobby when the match is completed and rejoin again later).
- If you host a session, from your 2nd game and onwards you won't see the correct lobby choices and can't view the correct settings you're going to be playing with or are playing with.
- Climax game mode doesn't end directly when the timer hits zero.
- Ui of total score doesn't always show correctly in victory/defeat screen.
- When all players die in Extinction game mode and there's no Carrier a random player gets assigned victory instead of the one with the highest score. (I don't think this will happen often though).
- The infamous string not found bug is present in a lot of new explanation of the game modes.

Because it's buggy from what I could see testing on my own or with one other player, I'm afraid there might be a lot more bugs lurking around, so hence the beta branch first, before I overwrite the default branch. This has not been playtested properly. So I'd love to get your feedback on how bad/stable this update is.

Disclaimer: I don't think I'm able to fix anything anymore though. It has been a team effort in the past, and frankly I don't understand most of what and how it's been build in the game. I just want to know if I can share this update with more people.

2. It's got new content.
- Different variables, such as different max score and damage
- Settings now include a battery for the artifact that doesn't need to charged by moving (as in the original first demo of The Flock)
- A new objective called 'Channel' that gives you points directly instead of at the end
- A new level location called 'Bridge' in which Flock can truly show their athletic skills.
- Climax game mode -> hot potato tension
- Extinction game mode -> last man standing
- Rage game mode -> Flock become stronger over time but have limited time to live
- Angels game mode -> inspired by Weeping Angels
- A new lobby

Please let me know what you guys think - if anyone is interested that is. It's in time for the Friday night flocking.

Enjoy :).

[Harbinger]

I would like to test the content of the update but unfortunately refunded the game and don't have a key. If the price was lowered is considered getting it, but if you need a beta tester shoot me a key and I'll try the update with you.

[Master Mind]

I am on it captain. We from the flock community are going to do our best to keep thins going. :D
Only question, is the counter going down, or is it stuck yet?

[comfy crabs]

i'm going to type a proper reply to this later, but thanks for the update

[Lord Ethcaz]

Good to see at least 1 person is still trying :) Respect, JayKwon! I'll opt in for the beta and try this out later :)

If you need help programming/understanding code, add me. I don't have a lot of experience with C++, but I've been programming for about 20 years in a bunch of other languages incl. C ;) Also, I'm often in Utrecht (I'm studying at the HU for a 2nd bachelor degree) ;) If you're done with all of this, I understand though, no worries :)

[Fernando Esra]

I truly hope that this is not a joke AprilsFool.

Great news. I want to give all possible encouragement from here to Jay. If I had more time I would love to try to work with you (Creating maps, something you appreciate in the game) but now I'm focused on my work. I hope in the future to contact you to help.

Great news. To continue working!

[Polygonien]

thank you for your hard work. I wish you all the best and hope you (and the rest of Vogelsap) can recover from this somehow.

[Master Mind]

flockalicious. Best code for betas.

[Water Ｖａｐｏｒ Merchant]

Holy flock, Batman!

In all seriousness, we all appreciate your continued devotion to this game despite all the trouble you guys have had. At this point in time, I think if you wanted to expand the game's lifespan indefinitely beyond your involvement, you should make the source code available and set up some sort of moderated system that allows the community to push out their own updates, while still keeping the countdown tradition in mind. Community involvement really is the only way this game is going to survive unless the rest of the dev team takes it back under their wing and works on it properly again, which I don't see happening. Again, we thank you for doing what you can to keep The Flock going.

[comfy crabs]

The game modes seem to be very well thought out, rage mode in particular. I think this is generally very good content but I would like to see either more mode choices in the lobby or custom lobbies. With regards to the rest of the problems that you are facing: nothing has changed. The game is still not populated and it never will be for as long as the game costs what it does. I know that you need every penny to pay off debts but realistically you aren't going to get any more money at all.
Going forward, I think you should make this game free (yes, completely!) and work on releasing this extra content as future DLC in the £3-5 price range. The game stands strong when it is actually played and I think that most people will agree on that point but I say it again: nobody will ever even give this game a second thought at its current price. You are not making any money from the game at the moment, so why not just make it free to play and build a fan base who are willing to purchase more content? In addition, fix the death counter. You said you were going to stick to your guns and it gives a very sour impression to see one of the main gimmics in a broken or frozen state.
It's truly a heart warming thing to see that you are still working on this game despite everything that has happened. If it is possible to implement any of the suggestions that I have given, please give them serious consideration. I don't know what legal state this project is in but you truly must swell the playerbase in any way you can. I would love to see this game come back from death, and I am sure that you would too - The Flock is a masterpiece buried under a few simple (but grievous) errors.

[Polygonien]

I found a bug on the new map (bridge). Beneath one of the two big stairs you can glitch through a wall and fall to death.

[zephusdragon]

I agree with MC that the price is kind of sticking point. I picked this game up as part of a "Must Play" bundle and it certainly lives up to the name of must play. However unless there is a population there isn't that much actual play. The mechanics of this game make it a great idea. I like the idea that it's an "unscripted horror game". There is nothing more dramatic than turning a corner and seeing "The Flock" staring you in face. On the flip side, when you are the hunter you have to move carefully, hide in shadows, and wait for the right time to strike. There aren't too many games like this out there, hopefully a future bundle or price drop might make this more of a reality.

[Hixaiko]

Nice, someone is trying to get a nice idea into a good game.
wish you the best luck, and i will try the flock again when the new update comes live no matter how long it takes

[wellen1981]

Originally posted by JayKwon:

Hey guys,

{snip}

Enjoy :).

Killer concept.
Nice one for keeping it going with the update.

Where do things stand for you eg regarding the indie fund thing (John Blow) ?

Do you have to pay it back etc and does it all fall down to just you on your own as the other team members are no longer wokring on The Flock?

So many people appreciate the effort on this and many have experience on C, C++, C#, Unity etc etc.


Maybe you dont have to tackle the project comepltely on your own going forward...


Thanks again.

[JayKwon]

Wow. To be honest I didn't expect this nice of a reaction. Seriously, this means a lot to me. Thank you, everyone :).

A lot of questions have been asked, but I'm not sure if I can answer all of these (yet). I'll do a quick scan/reply.

- The counter is not ticking anymore, because all money ran out and all credit has been used, so there's nothing to pay the server for. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. As you might've noticed, the counter is pulled out of the update. I said I rather go down than change something we boldly stated. I guess this means going down in our case.

- Vogelsap itself is not able to continue (for long). I can't go into details, but if I say, bills, agreement, last request, update... I'm sure you can think of something along those lines.
Nearly all assets have been sold off to pay the bills, and all other assets are in the process of being sold or just can't be sold.
Also, personally I've been more than drained. It's been a destructive dark process going through all this. I'm not sure if I can work on this anymore.

- I don't think this ever will become popular or successful. I also couldn't continue working anymore on this like I did if that idea existed in my head. I'm content to take it for what it is and I hope people can enjoy it for what it is. I'm happy if you can have a good night's fun with some friends with The Flock. And if it's more than that, I'm even more happy :).

- I've been looking into making it open source, giving people access to our SVN. But work on The Flock has been going without a version control program for months now, because there was just no money for that. There was literally nothing to pay it with.
But after this update is deemed good enough to overwrite the default branch, I'll be looking into putting the project on a download platform for people to work on if they want. NO promises yet though! So don't go expecting this, but I'm definitely considering the option.

- Once the update will overwrite the default branch, I'll be doing one small last push and drop the price considerably. I'm talking $5 or less range. I'm looking at a pay-what-you-want system too, so if anyone has any ideas about that, let me know. It would be nice if I could pay off some debts. But in the end the price needs to reflect my believe for what it is; a good night's fun with some friends.

Has anyone been able to test the new content yet? Or have a go at it?

[cyanic]

Originally posted by JayKwon:

- The counter is not ticking anymore, because all money ran out and all credit has been used, so there's nothing to pay the server for. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. As you might've noticed, the counter is pulled out of the update. I said I rather go down than change something we boldly stated. I guess this means going down in our case.

Have you considered hosting on Heroku or something similar? While the free plan on Heroku limits you to maximum 18 hours of consecutive running time, with the current relatively low activity it should be OK until someone can pay for better hosting. BTW, feel free to add me if you want to talk about hosting and version control and stuff. I've been working on various projects recently and might be able to help.