RELEASED Penguin Piracy (SUSPENDED DEVELOPMENT) V11.2.1

i was doing some testing and noticed the lua script for the weapon roulette is currently broken, chucklefish made some changes to a few script functions, so when i attempted to use the randomizer cube, the game froze for a few seconds before doing nothing, and spitting out an error in the log. the activeItem.giveOwnerItem function had been changed in 1.3, and the randomizer portion of the script also seems to be malfunctioning.

i had to go in and disable the recipe for the roulette machine so people i'm playing with don't waste pixels on it for the time being

 

I am aware. It's fixed in the current version in the works! Thanks for the report nevertheless. ^_^

 

ManicRykker updated Penguin Piracy with a new update entry:

PenguinPiracy V10.2 - The Rockhopper Update

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

Killed Dreadwings ship in the quest, it fell on me.

 

....Oh. Well I'm a doof. I'll need to make a patch. Looks like I missed something after all

 

ManicRykker updated Penguin Piracy with a new update entry:

PenguinPiracy V10.2.1 - Rockhopper Respawn Hotfix

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

For an idea of what I have to do when implementing a new penguin race (Ignoring spritework and attributes):

Patching them in the player.config, quests.config, and ai.config
Various cinematics and respective images (Respawn stuff, teleport stuff (both for beaming up and down, and the new mech deployment stuff), a copy of the small ship sprites seen when escaping earth (each penguin race needs a copy of it)
Any other images and patches for stuff I'm not thinking of.

Is it hard? Nope. But, sometimes when I'm going through each folder, systematically adding the respective stuff for a new race... I can accidently pass over something, like I clearly did the other day.

 

SOME REAL TALK, AND AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. PLEASE READ~


Hey guys. Got a bit of stuff I want to talk about. I'll be hitting them up as I go...

To begin......

I've been working on Penguin Piracy since roughly December 16th, 2016. (Could have started a few days prior... but I don't remember. All I know is that's the
date the mod (Called The Penguin Race Mod at the time) was published to the Chucklefish Forums.)

Anyone who was around at that time knew the mod was kinda... "lacking". It was about pretty much on the same level as the penguin enablers and mock-ups that
predate it. I hardly knew what I was doing... and honestly? My original gameplan was to just make a proof of concept with the improvements to penguins (a
lot had changed with them from the beta days, to post-1.0), and hope an "actual" modder would pick it up and turn it into something amazing.

Little did I know the modder I was looking for would turn out to be myself......

I just couldn't put the project down. I ended my core vanilla playthrough prematurely. (Funfact: I've never actually technically "finished" this game... The mod
pretty much completely grabbed my attention ) I started experimenting, and tweaking. I started to actually get an idea of how modding actually worked.

Next thing you know, we're at present day. It has stuff I thought it would never have. Tiered armor, cosmetics... a UFO ship (One that makes Dreadwing's
look like a dog's Frisbee )... Penguin Piracy has evolved into something I never anticipated.


I have been working on this mod almost every day. In my free time? Penguin Piracy. Do something on the PC? Penguin Piracy. I've funneled ideas and
concepts into the mod almost constantly since I started (Some updates coming almost within weeks of one another. )

Now, however, I'm starting to finally feel some burnout. My ideas are drying up, and motivation's starting to dwindle. I've kept my enthusiasm alive by working
at the mod off an on... But now, that tactic's starting to weaken.


WHERE'S PENGUIN PIRACY HEADING?

Just like in the previous, short hiatus I took, I am NOT abandoning the mod. I have looked at several resources that had great potential, but suffered from
the dreaded Vanishing Author Syndrome. I refuse to let the mod slide down that route.

Instead, I'm taking another hiatus. I'm going on another break. That said though......


WHAT ABOUT PENGUIN PIRACY V11?

Penguin Piracy V11 is still happening. I have a version that's in the works with an addition for that. The update's likely just going to be coming slower.


And that brings me into a little announcement. I've had a concept for what I've wanted Penguin Piracy to be for quite some time. To tell you the truth?

I don't want this mod to be another one of those closed off mods that this one dude works on for however long, then eventually abandons, leaving all the
assets locked behind a legal door.


SO WHAT'S NEXT?

You see, I don't want Penguin Piracy to just be "That big mod revolving around penguins"... I mean that's kinda what it is, but you get the point.
I desire for Penguin Piracy to be a Community Mod, that other users can contribute to. That's right. I don't just want your ideas or suggestions, I want
you guys to actually do stuff. Are you a modder/familiar with modding, but not working on any particular project? Make something for Penguin Piracy!
Not a modder, but a good spriter? Make something! I've opened up the mod's assets for a reason...

Extract my stuff! Crack it open! Make something!

So here's the briefing on this:

If you're interested in this idea, head here: https://discord.gg/EQ5GrVA

I can always communicate through the forums and what not.. but that's slower. I'm not always able to notice notifications from these places. (Not like
I have a penguin honking in my ear!)

For suggestions and ideas? I'll make note of em. Contributions? They could make it into the mod too!

Now of course, there needs to be some quality control... I won't accept "everything". Obviously, contributions need to fit within the mod's lore. It needs
to feel like something that fits in with the rest of the content. Bare this in mind please!

Now, here's the areas Penguin Piracy could use some strengthening in:

Penguin Races - If you decide to make a new race, make sure it actually does something. Make sure it's set apart from the rest of the crew. Good pixelart
is all well and good, but if it's just a vanilla penguin with a different lick of paint?... Not really much to scream at.


Penguin Cosmetics - Now here's a big one. Penguins generally look identical, so cosmetics REALLY help set them apart. They are used by both penguin players,
and NPCs. When making cosmetics, please mind the walk/run animation. Make sure the sprites for the wearable "moves" with these animations. (If you need
an example, just look at some of the cosmetics in the mod.)


Penguin Furniture - Can't go wrong with furniture sets. If you can make something that looks cool, and fits in with the theme (Pirates? Military? Mafia?
Whatever you can think of. Heck if there's something you think could fit in the Beakeasy bar theme, do that! I don't care! )


Penguin Dungeons - Now here's something BIG. If there's any of you out there good with Tiled, this would ESPECIALLY be a good contribution. Penguins don't
really have any core settlements... (I'm thinking there would probably be some hidden in large asteroids and other nooks and crannies of the universe...
when they're not just living off their own ships that is)

But penguin dungeons, or even missions would be awesome! If you create a quality, good penguin exclusive mission? That would be deeply appreciated.


If there's anything else you can contribute (Weapons, sprites for food, etc), those would be appreciated too. Heck, the mod's in need of patch work
for vanilla objects (Since there's like several penguin races in my mod, it can be quite something getting stuff set up...) If you can do that? Do that!



All that said, here's what Contributors will get:

-Credit. That's an obvious one. Remember, you have to make something "yourself". Do NOT steal someone else's work. If another modder calls me out for
something in the mod, and it's from one of the contributors? I will be a very unhappy camper...

Credit will be given on the mod's main pages (Both on the forums, and the workshop), as well as in the file in the archive.)

-Credit in the Penguin Archives (An object in-game, in the mod itself)

-A Contributor role on the Discord (If that grows that is... rofl. This one's a maybe.)



That said, that's about it. I know this was a bit of a text wall... but it needed to be said. Once again, I'd like to thank all of you for playing
Starbound with Penguin Piracy, as well as for all the feedback and suggestions you've given me since I started. You guys helped make this mod
what it is! (And maybe, some of you may help make it even bigger?... Who knows.)

Even if no contributions end up happening at all, I will try to do some stuff in the next update...... Maybe I'll have my mojo back by then? Who knows


All of that said: See you guys around!

 

Just as a note: Some reworks are coming in the next update. Whether or not this will affect your current pengs will be stated later, when things are more clear.

I've currently been streamlining some stuff, and working on certain ideas.

If a big rework does happen, I'll give a grace period.

 

Hey guys! Manic here! I know I've been a bit more quiet than I usually am around here...

That would be because I've been playing some other games, and working on the next update at the same time.


As I've mentioned in the past, V11 has some reworks. I think it's time I actually go over some things... (This bit is rather long. If for some reason
you're in a hurry, there's a short summary at the end.)

FIRST BIT

First, good news. I thought the next update would require a penguin save wipe, but it seems it doesn't. Woo!

The stats scripts have been reworked to remove the old stat groups, as a new singular script now handles everything. (Thanks Cyel!) These older scripts will stick around for a few versions to clear out the old stat groups, to prevent errors later on down the road.

The new questline coming may feel different for existing penguin characters. (Note: You will have to re-fight the first six mission bosses if you want to complete this questline.)



Speaking of penguins, I have an important announcement...

Standalone Masked Penguins are officially UNSUPPORTED in the new update. I have said I planned on removing them, and that time has come.. If you have a standalone masked penguin character (Masked Penguins added through the Addon), it will NOT WORK in Penguin Piracy V11, and will disappear.
I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. (The Masked Penguin Addon will be removed from the Steam Workshop, and from future PenguinPiracy Archives.)


RACE EXTENDER (This sections a bit long. Either bare with me, or read it later)

Next thing to bring up.. Penguin Piracy's getting a built-in Race Extender! That's right. In the next update, you will no longer have to install those small addons in order to play as a penguin in the mod!

The race extender is a slightly updated version of the standalone one you see now. It has 10 slots on the top and bottom (10 for each.) reserved for penguins added in the mod. This also means that if you're a Penguin Piracy user, you will not have to use a race extender to play with other race mods, if you use any other than the penguins.

(There will be smaller mods that can change the color of this race extender. So if you don't want the new default black, you can have red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple instead.)

Just like the race extender standalone you've likely seen, this extender offers space for up to 72 (non-penguin piracy) modded races. (And the slots not currently taken up by penguins in the very bottom row will be open for awhile too!) So there should be plenty of space for you! (And if you happen to be a user that uses an insane amount of race mods?... I'm really sorry. Not much I can do there)

I know there are likely many users that like using their own race extenders, so I get this may be a bit foreign/breaking the flow for many of you.. and under normal circumstances, this change wouldn't be a thing... but Penguin Piracy has become a special case.

I've always aimed for the mod to be a sort of Race Mod/Content Mod hybrid. It offered a playable race, and content users of other races can enjoy. Now, the race side of things has become even bigger. Can you believe this mod supports ten different penguin races now? The next mod that I can think of that balances multiple races (The Elithian Races Mod) has (as of this post) two playable races (three counting the bonus race), and has plans for more (ten?)..
and I'm saving room for twice that....

Dealing with the differences compared to other race mods out there has been tricky. The fact race mods aren't supported out of the box is thorny enough for mods that add a single race... but when you add more to the mix, things get even muddier.

I had several ways I could have tackled this:


1. Split the races up into separate mods
The con to this, is this would have made keeping up with balancing and bugs a pain in the rear. There is a very good reason why you see mod authors putting limits to the amount of projects they do. Spreading oneself too thin can hinder the mod content, and make replies to feedback and bug reports less frequent...

I also didn't like this option as it split up content to smaller mods (I have everything bundled in the archives here on the Chucklefish forums for a reason. It's easier for me to keep track of things, and it puts everything Penguin Piracy related I have made at your finger tips without having to jump through twenty different downloads.)


2. Require a race extender by default
I didn't like this option either. As I mentioned, I've set up this mod so even non-race mod users can enjoy it. Doing this would have deleted the purpose.


3. Keep the content within Penguin Piracy, and just have small addon mods that add the races to the character creation menu
This is the option I ultimately went with up until this point... but it's had it's own slew of problems.

For one, even though they are very small, they are still mods that take up space on the workshop, and make things look more cluttered than they need to be. (Even in the archives here they can makes things look a little convoluted at times...)

They've also produced confusion with many users. It seems many have expected Penguin Piracy to work out of the box, and are often surprised when the races aren't available when installing the main mod.


Well, eventually I grew tired of it. I'm tired of the convoluted mess, and I'm tired of users having to jump through hoops just to play as their favorite penguin races. When Penguin Piracy V11 hits, the addons are being officially retired, and the penguin races will be supported out of the box!

I just wanted to get this information available to you guys before the update hits. Still not sure when it'll release,... but hey. Wanted to make sure everyone know's it's still ongoing, and that I am still alive.


SUMMARY

- There will be no penguin wipes next update. There's a new script handling the stat groups for penguins, and the old ones are being reworked to remove the old stat groups. (These old scripts will be removed at in a later update after that.)

- Standalone Masked Penguins are being REMOVED. They will no longer be supported by Penguin Piracy when V11 hits.

- The mod's getting a built-in race extender. Penguin races will work out of the box, and there will be generous space for other modded races.

 

Brilliant!

 

Bug Report: Whenever I exit a bed/tent as a penguin, I am unable to move. Looking at the debug menu, it says that my velocity is NaN. As far as I know, the only way out of this situation is to beam up.

 

Well there'll have to be some details.

What kind of penguin were you using? What's your mod list? And additionally, a Starbound.log during the situation could help. (It may not.. but it never hurts.)

 

Penguin: Standard Penguin
Mod List: Perennial Crops, Compact Crops, Enhanced Rails, Disable Item Drop in Survival, No Sand Sandstorms, OptimizeBound, Penguin Piracy(Race Extender, Base Mod, Standard Penguins)

 

Hm. Are you sure this is a log from the session where the bed bug (Heh. bed bug) occured?

Make sure it's from the right session. The easiest way, would be to reproduce the issue. Make the issue occur again, then close the session. Retrieve the new Starbound.log generated from that.


And that's assuming you haven't already done that. I'm going to check the beds on my end right now.

 

Update: The issue doesn't occur on my end.. yahoo. rofl

Edit of the mentioned update:

I'm gonna be honest with ya... So far, I have no clue what could be causing your issue.

The mods in question definitely wouldn't be meddling with anything, and as I mentioned, I checked beds (Including tents) as a penguin, and didn't have the issue. (I even checked it with a race with even wackier physics to be sure)

 

Just as another status update:


I know the gap between previous updates, and the current one I've been working on have been drastically different. I can provide a bit of an explanation:

To be perfectly honest, the next update was actually supposed to mainly contain a new questline. That was going to be the basis of the update. That is done now, but other things have rolled into my plate since then.

There's the reworks I decided to do, AND the lore work I've been doing.



I am deeply hoping the end result will be enjoyable when everything is finally said and done. After V11 is pushed, I will have to debate on where to go from there...

 

Hey guys... Sorry I haven't been present for awhile, but it's probably going to remain that way for some time...

I have unfortunately lost internet access, so I cannot update penguin piracy for the time being. I am unsure when I could regain it, but the update is ready, and whenever I do get it back, updates will resume.

Sorry for the inconvenience.


By the way. If any updates to starbound occur, and I'm still not around? Anyone may post a temporary compatibility update until I return!

Welp, guess I'm out. See you around guys!

 

That's unfortunate to hear. Just came back to Starbound modding after months of hiatus myself, been following progress on PP.

I hope you're going to get better internet access soon! Still looking forward to the expansion of this interesting mod.

 

this mod makes some of my modded races clip through the floor