Bugs: Fixed difficulty scaling factor in Easy Mode making the game TOO EASY Fixed branching choices in Shift 6 not saving properly

[ 2025-04-27 02:02:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Spud Customs - Patch Notes v1.1.0

Dear Potato Border Officers, Thank you for your dedicated service to the potato motherland! With this update, we've focused on making your shifts more enjoyable, reducing the punishment for players returning for multiple sessions, and making the overall experience more accessible to spuds of all skill levels. We've added a new shift selection system so you can jump back into your favorite challenges, improved save functionality to remember your progress, and introduced full localization for 18 languages to welcome border officers from around the world. We're extremely excited to hear your feedback on these improvements. Your suggestions and bug reports have been invaluable in shaping Spud Customs, and we're committed to continuing this journey together. If you encounter any issues or have ideas for future updates, please use the new feedback button on the main menu or join our community channels. Now, let's review the changes we've made to improve your potato inspection experience:

Localization

Full localization support for 18 languages in addition to English: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese

Complete translation of all game elements:

• Story dialogue and cutscenes
• UI elements and menus
• Laws and violation messages
• Border runner system alerts and perfect hit notifications
• Shift summary screen
• Bubble dialogue system

Gameplay Improvements

New Features

Score Attack Mode: A separate game mode that extends the main game experience with different scoring rules Shift Selection System: New day-by-day shift selection that unlocks as you progress through the game Vehicle System: Added cars that drive by in the background for more environmental detail Potato Emote System: Potatoes now display emotions while waiting in line

• Different emote categories (happy, thinking, etc.)
• Variable delay between emotes
• Potatoes wiggle when emoting
• Reduced frequency for better balance

Footstep System:

• Added visual footprints for potatoes
• Different footprints for concrete and grass surfaces
• Random scale and rotation for each footprint

Highlight System:

• Added helpful highlighting for new players
• Highlights passport if untouched for 15+ seconds
• Highlights speaker/start button if booth is empty for 15+ seconds
• Highlights stamps if document is open on table for 15+ seconds

Shutter System:

• Improved metal shutter mechanics
• Cinematic roll-down animation with dust particles
• Satisfying "clunk" sound effect
• Shadow effect when shutter is closed
• Disabled document interaction when shutter is closed

Border Runner System

Completely overhauled missile system:

• Faster missile travel speed (500 600)
• More consistent and predictable targeting
• Ability to fire multiple missiles simultaneously
• Reduced lead time for missiles
• Show missile immediately on click
• Added smoke trail animation
• New missile explosion animation
• Updated missile sprite

Improved border runner mechanics:

• Reduced chance of Spud running the border from 30% to 15%
• Expanded area for perfect hit chance
• Slower base speed for runners
• Added different paths for runners to traverse
• Fixed bug where runners would register two strikes
• Added checks for blowing up innocent Spuds

Enhanced physics for potato corpses:

• When hit with a missile, runner corpse spins in an arc opposite to impact direction
• Corpses bounce on ground before coming to rest
• Added more rotation to corpses
• Reduced z-index of craters to appear below runners

Document Processing

Improved stamping system:

• More intuitive stamp mechanic (left click to pick up, left click to stamp)
• Standardized stamp positions for consistent placement
• Perfect stamp detection and visual effects
• Added "juice" to stamping with improved animations
• Lower delay between stamps
• Stamp consistently marks same spot on document

Enhanced drag and drop system:

• Documents properly centered when closed
• Documents stay within the inspection table bounds
• Improved document z-ordering
• Fixed passport text disappearing while dragged
• Fixed stamps disappearing when picked up
• Passport remains open when on left side of inspection table

Scoring & Difficulty

Balanced point system:

• Reduced approval score from 1,000 to 250 points
• Added 250 point penalty for incorrect rejections
• Better scoring for missile hits and perfect stamps

Improved feedback on scores:

• Score display duration extended (2s 3.5s)
• Added growth/shrink bounce animation to quota and strikes labels
• Score alerts now have random pitch variation

Enhanced shift endings:

• Shift summary screen shows maximum score and achievements
• Golden potato/stamp awards based on score benchmarks
• Survival bonus alert on shift summary
• Shift end transition slowed down for better pacing

Visual Improvements

User Interface

Main Menu Enhancements: [olist]

Added social media icons

Added feedback button

Animated button hover effects

Added tooltips to main menu items

Version counter display [/olist] Cursor System Improvements: [olist]

Custom cursors for different interactions (hover, click, grab, drag)

Context-sensitive cursor updates when hovering over interactive elements

Fixed cursor offset issues [/olist] UI Polish: [olist]

Rounded edges on UI elements

Updated color palette for Shift Summary screen

New MODERN DOS font throughout the game

BBCode formatting for laws to highlight important elements

Improved spacing and positioning of interface elements [/olist]

Visual Effects

Improved Z-ordering System:

• Completely reworked z-index system for all game elements
• Fixed layering issues between interface elements
• Corrected potato rendering to pass under background layers
• Proper document layering when dragging

Enhanced Animations: [olist]

Smooth animations for shutter gate lever

Improved stamp animations

Better potato movement animations

Fade effects for transition between scenes

Screen shake effects on stamping and missile hits [/olist] Upgraded Art: [olist]

Updated artwork for narrative scenes

Improved quality of stamp bar interface

New missile and explosion effects

Minor random size scaling for explosions

Updated megaphone design [/olist]

Audio Improvements

Music System:

• 25 variations of main menu music
• 75 variations of main game music
• Random selection of background music on launch
• Music properly transitions between scenes
• Audio mutes during dialogue and restarts after

Sound Effects:

• Added random pitch variation to positive/negative alerts
• Added random pitch variation to document open/close sounds
• Environmental sound effects for narrative scenes
• Improved megaphone dialogue sounds
• Updated hover audio for menu buttons

Quality of Life

Game Saving & Loading:

• Improved save handling between sessions
• Proper saving of narrative progress
• Save and load for difficulty settings
• Save and load for camera shake preferences
• Save and load for maximum level reached
• Local highscores preserved between sessions

Game Options:

• Added language selection option
• Added confirmation for resetting story progress
• Separate buttons for resetting highscores vs. story progress
• New "Score Attack" mode button replaces "Endless" mode

Narrative Improvements:

• Added skip button for dialogue sequences
• Added fades between narrative sequences
• Improved timing for cutscenes
• Better transition between shifts and story segments
• Fixed audio reference issues in all narrative scenes

Tutorial Enhancements:

• More interactive tutorial experience
• New game always starts with tutorial
• Updated guide to use left-click interactions only
• Simplified stamp controls explanation
• Added tutorial step with exploding runner

Bug Fixes

Gameplay Fixes

• Fixed bug where the game continues running during story sequences
• Fixed bug where score wasn't resetting between rounds
• Fixed issue where potatoes continued to escape during Shift Summary
• Fixed missile getting stuck when potato escapes
• Fixed runner potato registering two strikes instead of one
• Fixed shutter raising on megaphone click even when already up
• Fixed potatoes staying shadowy when shutter automatically raised
• Fixed bug where law text disappeared when picking up opened law document
• Fixed bug where stamps would fly up from bottom of screen
• Fixed quota not updating at start of shift
• Fixed strikes not being added before shift end

UI Fixes

• Fixed alert text font sizing causing blurry text
• Fixed dialogue sign outside customs office not disappearing
• Fixed skip button not disappearing after cutscenes
• Fixed stamp bar controller showing on top of shift summary screen
• Fixed document centering when closed
• Fixed z-ordering issues on the summary screen
• Fixed quota maximum not updating at start of shift
• Fixed wrong shift displaying on shift summary screen

Story Mode Fixes

• Fixed issue where new game continued instead of starting with tutorial
• Fixed shift end dialogues not triggering properly
• Fixed final cutscene not triggering
• Fixed issue where shift increased by 2 on completion
• Fixed end scenes not triggering for shifts
• Fixed progression for story not saving/loading properly

Document Processing Fixes

• Fixed passport text disappearing while being dragged
• Fixed documents appearing above stamp bar when dragged
• Fixed expiration rule validation logic
• Fixed incorrect female/male potato validation
• Fixed Yukon Gold potato law validation
• Fixed law wording for clarity and consistency
• Fixed issue where potatoes don't give you a passport

Attributions

• Added Arludus to credits for vehicle artwork
• Added community members who helped with bug reports

Updated attribution list with:

• Button SFX from OpenGameArt
• Emotes from Kenney
• FilmCow Sound Effects
• Social Icons from Krinjl
• MODERN DOS font

Thank you for playing Spud Customs! We hope these improvements enhance your border control experience in the potato motherland. For feedback or to report issues, use the feedback button on the main menu or join our community channels.

[ 2025-04-25 07:09:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello potato enthusiasts! We're excited to announce that a substantial update for Spud Customs is arriving within the next week! What started as a small update (1.0.2) has grown into something much more significant with 302 issues resolved. With the addition of full localization into 18 languages and numerous gameplay improvements, we've decided to upgrade this to version 1.1.0!

Final Testing Underway

Our team is currently:

• Finalizing translations across all 18 additional languages
• Replacing and enhancing several art assets
• Performing thorough testing to ensure everything works smoothly

Language Selection Screen:

Spud Customs will soon be available in 19 languages:

• English
• Czech (etina)
• Danish (Dansk)
• Dutch (Nederlands)
• Finnish (Suomi)
• French (Franais)
• German (Deutsch)
• Hungarian (Magyar)
• Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
• Italian (Italiano)
• Norwegian (Norsk)
• Polish (Polski)
• Portuguese (Portugus)
• Romanian (Romn)
• Slovak (Slovenina)
• Spanish (Espaol)
• Swedish (Svenska)
• Turkish (Trke)
• Vietnamese (Ting Vit)

Here's an example of our French Translation:

Main Menu:
Laws Display on Gameplay Screen:
Cutscene Dialogue:
Cutscene Dialogue UI:
We've worked hard to ensure that text throughout the game is properly translated, from UI elements to dialogue. If you notice any translation issues, please let us know!

Gameplay Improvements to Look Forward To

New Visuals & Effects

New artwork for Vengeance sub-plot

• Added emotes for potatoes waiting in line - watch their mood change!
• Implemented vehicle system with cars driving by to add life to the environment
• Improved missile, explosion, and impact effects
• All new art for the storyline in 47 different scenes
• Added footprints as potatoes walk, with different textures for concrete vs. grass
• Enhanced potato corpse physics with realistic bouncing and spinning
• Reduced size of explosions for better visual clarity

Audio Enhancements

• Added pitch variation to sound effects for more variety
• Implemented new compressed MP3 music and sound effects for enhanced emotional impact
• Audio now mutes during dialogue and starts a new background track when dialogue finishes

User Interface

Example of the new perfect Stamp VFX and player reward

• Updated perfect stamp alert text to be more visible
• Added day-by-day shift transition animations
• Improved office shutter mechanics with smoother animations
• Enhanced runner behavior with more realistic speeds
• Added fade transitions between dialogues
• Shift summary screen now shows more detailed statistics

Controls & Feedback

• Added visual UI hints that highlight interactive elements after a period of inactivity
• Improved cursor system with multiple hover modes
• Enhanced document handling and interaction feedback
• Better visual feedback when quotas and strikes change

Bug Fixes & Technical Improvements

We've squashed numerous bugs and made technical improvements:

• Fixed issues with passport text disappearing while dragged
• Corrected various Z-ordering issues with potatoes, explosions, and UI elements
• Fixed runner behavior to prevent escapes during dialogues
• Improved detection of perfect stamp placement
• Addressed various issues with the shutter animation and office lighting
• Fixed multiple bugs with runners causing duplicate strikes
• Corrected bugs with dialogue skip button functionality
• Improved character progression saving/loading
• Fixed issues with music transitions between scenes
• Corrected various dialogue and text issues

Balance Changes

• Adjusted quota targets based on difficulty
• Improved runner speeds and paths
• Balanced scoring system for better progression
• Added clearer feedback for success and failure conditions
• Modified difficulty scaling throughout the campaign

What's Next?

We'll post another announcement when the update goes live with the complete changelog. In the meantime, we'd love to hear what features you're most excited about! Thank you for your continued support of Spud Customs, and we look forward to bringing you this major update very soon! Sincerely, The Spud Customs Team

[ 2025-04-22 20:31:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear Spud Customs Community,

First, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for your patience and support. This year has thrown some unexpected challenges my way, including an unplanned hospital stay since October that disrupted our development timeline. Figuring out how to continue working on Spud Customs from the NICU wasn't exactly in our project plan, but your continued enthusiasm for the game on Discord, Twitch, BlueSky, and here on Steam has been a real source of motivation during this difficult time.

What We're Fixing in 1.0.2

We've heard your feedback loud and clear, especially regarding some frustrating bugs in the story mode. Our primary focus for the upcoming 1.0.2 update will be:

Critical Fixes

• Story Mode Interruptions: Fixing the issue where gameplay continues in the background during story sequences
• Missing Documents: Resolving the bug where passports sometimes don't appear after story segments
• Visual Layering: Correcting z-ordering issues that cause visual elements to display incorrectly
• Game State Reset: Ensuring proper reset of game variables between different game modes and sessions

Quality-of-Life Improvements

• Skippable Dialogue: Adding the ability to advance through story sequences more quickly
• Better Visual Guidance: Making important interactive elements (like the megaphone) more obvious
• Tutorial Enhancements: Creating clearer guidance for new players
• Missile System Refinements: Improving the border runner system to be more intuitive

Our team at Lost Rabbit Digital is working diligently to implement these changes. We're taking a methodical approach - fixing the most critical issues first, then thoroughly testing before moving to the secondary improvements.

Looking Ahead

Beyond 1.0.2, we're already planning future enhancements for 1.0.3 and beyond:

• Proper save points in story mode
• Additional accessibility options
• Expanded difficulty settings
• More engaging feedback and environment systems

Thank you again for sticking with us through these growing pains. Your support means everything to our small team, and we're committed to making Spud Customs the best potato border control experience possible. Stay spudtacular, David McHale (BroHeart) Lead Developer Lost Rabbit Digital

[ 2025-02-25 20:33:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear Customs Officers, First and foremost, we want to thank our amazing community for all the valuable feedback you've provided since launch and wish you all a very happy holidays. Your suggestions and bug reports have been instrumental in shaping these improvements. Major Features: New stamp management system with fold-out interface Redesigned stamp positioning and crossbar controls Increased missile speed for more dynamic border defense Enhanced visual feedback for surviving inspection rounds Quality of Life Updates: Clearer laws and rejection criteria Improved passport handling and stamp visibility Better player feedback systems Updated dialogue visuals and fonts New receipt printer for law changes Streamlined customs inspection process Technical Improvements: Optimized date handling for expiration Improved stat calculations Better GUI element positioning Various bug fixes and performance improvements Optimized law validation handling We're committed to making Spud Customs the best possible experience for our players. If you'd like to join our community and share your thoughts on future improvements, please join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/AuxpKQt6nC Glory to Spud! Sincerely, David, Boden, and the rest of The Lost Rabbit Digital Team

[ 2024-12-27 23:36:59 CET ] [ Original post ]