Suprise! Update!

 I got in touch with a writer to finish the final monster I was working on before the "I'm done" blog post.

 A couple new tiny mechanics, and one more transformations. It's not a huge deal but at least I don't have anything half-done anymore.

 Treasure Goblins:

 These mischievous little green gals use unique mechanics to change up the game play in a few ways.
They will loot any chests they come across, denying you important items! However, if defeated, they will reward you with any and all chests they looted, as well as 2 - 3 items that they collected before you arrived!

 While they do appear on all floors, they only appear in small numbers. A normal sized floor will only have 3 Treasure Goblins, so get hunting!

 Another way that they differ from most enemies, is that they will flee upon transforming you, and will need to be found elsewhere in the dungeon to be challenged again.

Extra Words

I'm shocked by the number of page views still popping up on Blogger!

Halls of Degeneration was defiantly a fun project.
I've been tempted to resume work on it, but every time I open up the messy code and remember how tedious it was to add more text,  any inspiration flows away from me.

 Sadly, I will not be releasing the source code for two key reasons:
1) I am very embarrassed by the messiness, and it's nearly undecipherable to anyone but me. There are values and strings hidden in all sorts of places. It isn't noticeable when you're playing, but I'm somewhat of a masochist I guess.
2) It was made with MMF2 Developer, so to edit it you'd not only need that $300 program, you'd also need the exact same extensions I used. Many of which I wouldn't be able to find again myself.


 But I'm not done making games. I've been tinkering and toying with things, and even harassing a few artists.
 I'd like to do something more graphical, to take advantage of the engine.

 I was thinking of something with a fairly large character graphic so the transformation could be drawn in detail. The whole system of having body parts change separately would be scrapped so that transformations could be more varied and more focused.

 But none of the people I contacted were interested, apparently. I imagine it's something many people get asked, and I just seemed like some crazy person.
 Maybe one will say yes and maybe something amazing will happen, but it has't yet.


 Thanks to everyone still reading this blog (for whatever reason)!

Final Words

 Still might get that final update out, but it's not looking like it will be happening.

 I figure I owe everyone an explanation as to why I am stopping the project.
 The problem being, is that I don't really have a reason.

 I simply lost interest in the project.

 I had this weird idea that people would go crazy to write for the game, which turned out false.
 The biggest issue is that importing writing took me FAR too long. I should have taken me minutes to copy the text in, not an hour or more.

  Crowd sourcing material turned out to be a horrible idea.
 I don't know how the other games manage it, but it is certainly not for me. Maybe it's because the game didn't ever get popular enough, but that would be my fault as well.
 If I ever do a new project, I am not doing it without a dedicated writer and a dedicated graphic artist behind me, so we can do it properly.

 Another issue I could never get over with HoD is the sexiness being do removed from the game play.
 An issue that I didn't consider when building the game, until it was too far along to be changed.
 This is another issue I'd fix if I ever take another crack at games.

 I hope the little content that was in the game already is enough for people to still think fondly of the game, but it's a project I am done with.

 I thank you all for your support, and apologies for losing interest in the project.

I'm back.

 I am back to working on the game.

  Already well into it.
 

 The sad news is that I can't see me continuing work on the game after this last update.
 Nothing final, but I don't have a ton of interest in the game. If this ends up being the case, a much larger blog post will be posted with more information.

Plans for free time.

I have a few ideas I would like to get rolling once I have some free time.

The first, is removing the randomly cycling tile sets, and instead having multiple exits per floor, each of them leading to a different tile set. Each of the tile sets would have unique themed creatures. Ideally they would all have decent item drops so there is an incentive to explore each tile set.
 Sporesluts will most likely be only in the grass tile set, and Slimes only in the Dungeon one.
 This will also effect Chaos Mode, however I will likely add a option that disables this restriction as well.

 If you have a creature that fits well with one of the tilesets, I'd love to get that submitted as soon as possible, even though I am on a break from working on the game.

 I'd like to put Chaos Mode and the unnamed Mode behind some sort of unlock wall, but have not decided how it will be handled yet.

 Another plan is the removable of Equipment Bags, and making them simply give you the equipment the moment they are picked up. They only exist to separate the equipment loot from the primary loot, but now I have means of making them automatic and there's no reason for them to stay.

 I'd like to also add a certain 'rare' enemy, that only 1, maybe 2 or 3, of spawn per floor. The idea is a Goblin gal that runs around with a bag of loot, and can take treasure chests. When defeated you get all the treasure chests they looted, as well as a base number of chests (probably 2 - 4 randomly). However they will scale in power for every chest they take. I have an idea for what they would Transform the player into as well, but I will keep that a surprise.

 There is of course the crash bug as well, but I have removed a good deal of old code related to the inventory, and I think I have fixed it. Time will tell.

 Anyways, just wanted to let you all know I am still around and still thinking about the game. Looking fore ward to not being dead tired every day because of the current craziness at work.

 PS: Chat removed until I am back to having enough free time. No one was using it anyways. This probably means after the first big update next year.

Overworked!

 Real life has me very busy during this time of the year.
 As such I don't have any time to put into Halls of Degeneration.

 I might tinker, and I may find some time to add any submissions if I get any (wishful thinking) but I won't be putting a ton of work in.

 Be back to full steam in January!


 On another note: Is anyone crashing in the newest update? I've been trying to fix it a bit more but really can't see any reason for it to happen, and can't narrow it down at all.

The Crash

I've had a few reports of the game crashing after 4 or 5 floors.

Unfortunately I have had zero luck isolating the issue.
If anyone gets the crash I'd love all the info you can possibly offer so that I can establish a pattern and find out what the issue is.

 Sadly, I have not gotten the crash at all on my own machine, so it does not happen to everyone it seems. (or every time)

Chat Added

!If you are here to check for updates, look one post lower!
There was a large update that needed testing, this chat room was set up for easier bug reporting of it. 

I added a chat room, accessible via the link at the top.
I will be in it as often as I am online.

My name in the chat will be MissCapricorn.
I will have a tiny house next to my name.

If it's underused it will be deleted.

The new Gender System

 This update I introduced a single new mechanic, but one that may cause large ammounts of strangeness.
 I need you help testing it, so get over there and get gameoverin'!

 The new system works as such:

 If a transformation changes you gender, you gender will now be different for other transformations.
 There are now two 'gender' variables, one for if the player has breasts, and one for if they do not.
 I have set each transformation to check each variable accordingly, I believe, so all text should change to match, but I am not 100% confident everything is in the right place.

 Using a restorative or a statue should return you to the gender you picked when creating your character.

 Any transformation that makes you genderless (it's surprising how many there are right now for how few transformations in game...) will make your female. I hope this does not offend anyone, but it fits better.

 REPORT BUGS AND STRANGE TEXTS!
Report them by either commenting here, or sending an email.
Or by using the new Chat page at the top!


 I expect them.

 Once this is all working I will be updating the submissions form to allow writers to use this new system.

 Thank you.

Tiny update.

Bug fix and new Blindness mechanics are included in the new version.

Nothing to discuss in detail really, the Blind mechanics are something I wanted to add for a while and finally got around to it.

Update Posted!

See the Downloads page for full details.

I don't have anything to go over for this update, since I already mentioned them in the pre-update post.

Let me know what you think!
 If you are reporting a 'stuck' transformation, please include the exact description of the form you were in when it happened in your report.

I apologize for this update taking so long, but the two major system overhauls took a long time to get done. I also really wanted a new transformation, and it took some time to get a submission.
 All my own writing attempts didn't work out.

 Also, if you can do a better job at the new creatures graphic please contact me (at hodsubmission@gmail.com) because I feel the graphic could be quite a bit better.

Crediting

 I'm going to be adding a little line at each Game Over that lets people know who wrote that Transformation, so that I can give some credit to the writers.
 If you've already submitted content, please send me an email ( same as the submission email ) in regards to what name you'd like to be credited under, or if you want to remain anonymous.

 If I don't hear from anyone before the next update they will be credited as anonymous until I hear from them. I figure this is safer then using any names attached to emails.

 I'll also need you to send this email from the same address you submitted it so that I can be sure it's you. If you submitted it via a PM on TFgamessite, send a PM there again.

Still Alive ... still

 I'm still around and still working on Halls of Degeneration.
 I haven't been posting here much because I like to surprise my players with new content, especially new transformations.

 I've done a few things though.
 I'll discuss them here just to give the blog a bit of life.

 Nerfed all Gear
I have halved the base stat gains from all gear (rounded up). That means if it gave 12, it gives 6.
The percentages however, are the exact same.
Why? Because rare gear was absurdly overpowered early on.
 Rare equipment would allow the player to trudge through the first few floors without any difficulty or risk, one shotting most enemies with ease.
 I still want powerful equipment to matter, but not make the early game a pushover.

 Chaos Mode
I added a new mode, that causes all enemies to appear on all floors, removing all restrictions and exclusions. This games the game quite hard, but also allows appearances of enemies to be less predictable and lets you see all transformations right off the bat.
 I am considering making it unlocked upon reaching a certain floor, but right now it's an option right from the start.

Patch Posted

It was minor, just some QOL changes and bug fixes and typo corrections.

The new Rat transformation is also in game now.

Called it 0.15.5 because if I went to 0.2 I think I wouldn't have enough numbers left before 1.0.

Writer's Aid - The new Rat Transformation

I've rewritten the entire Rat Transformation to be FAR more detailed, and I hope, interesting.

It is also far darker and possibly more disturbing.
I am hoping it will set the tone for future transformations, as well as add some 'staying power' for new players so they give the game enough of a chance to reach lower floors.

However I don't want them all to be THIS dark. Ones like the Rag Doll and alike are all fantastic as well. It needs to have that sort of variety.


But the big news here is that I am sharing it as an example.

Click Here to get it. (Warning: Contains Spoilers! I suggest playing the game first.)

It's a good example of how submissions should be formatted, and will hopefully make it easier for content creators to submit their ideas and writings.



Yes I have been in a mood for strange, dark, transformations recently. It's a think that happens.
This is why I need other writers, because if I do it alone the game will only have strange creepy things that scare more players off.
 Fortunately the Slime on Floor 1 is nice and tame.

New Update! Version 0.15

A new creature, and a new transformation come with this version.
It is a very odd (maybe scary for some people) one that was written by me.
I also drew the creature graphic, much to my own surprise.
Only the one major mechanic to discuss.

Every 5th Floor
So in this version your "maximum depth" is only recorded every 5 floors. Meaning you can't start on any floor higher than 1 until you reach 5. This is so that a Game Over is more impactful, and so that players can not load the game, start of their best floor, and grab the stairs down right away to increase it.
 In the future I will be making this more restricting even. I plan to have No Hunger and Pushover combat lock floor unlocks entirely, but not just yet.

New Update Posted! Version 0.1

 Uploaded Version 0.1 one just now, with some niffty features.

 As with every update, I shall now go into detail.

 Creature Loot
This was a long time coming, and I finally saw an efficent way to go about it.
It opened up a great opportunity to introduce new rarer items.
While not every creature currently drops loot, a good majority of them do, and all but one are unique new items.
 I feel this could lead to some interesting mechanics later down the line, and in the mean time make the dungeon crawl just a little more fun.

 Inanimate
I am a big fan of inanimate transformations, so I felt bad my game was unable to support them.
I've changed that now, so hurray, more progress twords  the game being as good as it can!
Break Out felt like a natural choice, since you're attempting to 'break out' of a transformation.
I'm not sure about how I handled the humanity loss when you miss though, as it's just random and does not depend on any variables.
 I may change that in the future.

 Poisons
Pre-update did you ever get turned into either of the trap transformations?
No? I thought not.
The decision to make them into poisons was discussed and well received, so it had to go in.
I've also changed the Frog poison icon to be less telling, as I prefer an air of mystery to what the player is transforming into.
 All three poisons have the same icon, but all three have a different tooltip that gives hints. (Did you know you can mouse over status icons for detailed info? I bet many people miss that.)

Player Icon
I mentioned earlier that I dislike icons and logos appearing in game. 
The transformative nature of the player in this game made it difficult to have them as anything but.
However I feel the cloak is a good way to go about it. It could cover up most changes without complaint.
The addition of icons for each ending will also aleviate the static nature of the player.
In the future I want to add a full graphic for the player that changes with them so people have an image of themselves as well, however this requires money and artistic talent I don't have.

 What's Next?
I have a few ideas in my head still that I didn't feel I needed to delay the update for.
I will be giving them an attempt over the coming days.
Of course there are fixing any possible reported bugs as well.
Hopefully I will get a few submissions and have to spend some time implementing those as well.
But what I REALLY want to do is advertise the game a little.

Next Version Soon

Wow everyone got all quiet after that last post!
Did I frighten all my fans off?

Anyways, version 0.1 is in the pipes, just doing some final testing.
It's not as big as last update, but has some neat stuff still.

As per request I've started using version numbers, so it's a little easier to keep track.
I felt 0.1 was a good starting point since I don't consider the game nearly done.

All about Anthros - Content Submissions explination

Remember: This rule is flexible. If you are quite happy with your work, submit it regardless and I will discuss with you ways to make it interesting if it is not. This page is simply to highlight one reason I may not accept certain works.

I wanted to address the 'rule' in the content submission page about anthropomorphic characters.

 I'll start by saying I have no contempt twords furries. Zero.
 My only issue with anthro submissions is that I feel that many of them would be too 'tame' to work.

 For example a humanoid dog, that wears human clothing, acts human, and even speaks English (or anything but barks) is unacceptable because it is too tame and, frankly, boring.
 Even with behavioral changes written in there, they would have to be extremely severe for anything like that to ever work.
 I don't want the character to be turned into a creature that could be a playable race you pick at the start of the game (if such an option existed).

 The key word I feel is: Contrast.
 The bigger the contrast the better.

 Many anthropomorphic animals would still be accepted, should they have unique, ideally humiliating or debilitating, afflictions.
 One example I gave elsewhere:

 Declined: "On no I have turned into a Raccoon Girl! I have the body shape of a female human, a big fluffy tail, and a raccoon face!"

 Accepted: "Oh no I have turned into a Tanuki Girl! I have the body shape of a female human, a bit fluffy tail, a raccoon face, a tiny cock, and a large pair of testicles that sway between my legs when I try to move!"

 (If anyone wants to write that in detail it is available by the way. *nudge nudge*)

 One is unique, kinky, humiliating and interesting.
 One is something that could be in a children's cartoon (if they were to put on some clothing)

 It's not a hard and fast rule. It's flexible if the transformation is interesting enough.

 One last important note:

You can change 'parts' of the character multiple times!
This means that you could have them mostly turn antro, then the last two stages turn them feral.
 For example in stage 2:
"Your legs are covered in coarse fur, and end in cloven hooves."
 Then later, in Stag 5:
 "Your legs are covered in coarse fur, and end in cloven hooves. You no longer stand on them alone, as they have shifted to become hind legs."

 Of course that is just a quick example, but I hope it helps people who want to write something but were worried by this rule.

Trap Proposition

 In an effort to make trap transformations more common, I have come up with the following plan.
The idea is to make them as common as other transformations. Right now, I find it's rare to get changed once let alone enough times for a full change.

 Here is the plan:
-> Frog, Chicken, and Doll are all Poisons
-> Being reduced to 0 Stamina/Life from a trap applies a random poison if one is not already applied
-> Being reduced to 0 Stamina/Life while a poison is already active reduces the number of turns between each change, much like drinking multiple poisons currently does
-> There is a small minimum turns, like there is already
-> Chicken and Doll may receive potions that cause the poison as well

Let me know what you think in the comments!