Progress update and some plot (Patreon)

Finished work on item serialization (save/loading). So in the next build, the character equipment and the inventory are saved instead of resetting to default every run. Note that the changes you make to the character deck (such as by adding new cards or removing existing non-item cards) are not saved.

Also had to upgrade the cards to make use of the 2AP/turn system. This is also done, and the characters have new starter decks:

During playtesting, I noticed there were some issues on the AI due to the top/bottom to 2AP/turn system change. I'm going to do another pass at the AI and once that is done, so should be the next patch.

More importantly, since I'm going to focus on the base management / strategic layer side of things, I want to talk about the game setup and some background story/lore. 

In the game universe, there is this precious commodity called Essence. This stuff is extremely potent and powerful. It cannot be manufactured, and can only be biologically generated and secreted, and only in selected individuals. Originally it thought that only Monsters were capable of manipulating the Essence, but it was recently discovered that some females also have this capability. It is both a blessing and a curse, for those with the “gift” are also hunted by Monsters and led into Bad Ends (how convenient).

These attacks are what motivated the formation of the Organization. An enigmatic entity that seeks out the “gifted”, protects them, trains them, and sends them out to hunt the Monsters.

Your role in the game is a Handler, and you are in command of an elite task group within the Organization. You have a team of especially Essence-gifted individuals (“Operators”) at your disposal and you must “maintain the peace” in the sector you are assigned. This entails going out in Patrols, preventing possible Monster attacks; Eliminations, against Monsters that are growing too powerful to ignore; Rescue missions, to bail out Operators who are in way over their heads. Amongst others.

That is not all you have to manage. In between missions, you must also take care of your Headquarters. This is where your Operators come to rest in between assignments. Their time is precious and you must pick how to best use their time. Should they Rest, to prepare for a difficult fight ahead? Should they Practice, to hone their combat skills. Should they Train, to master the Essence and the art of seduction? Or perhaps, send them to the clients… who are very rich, and credits are often tight…

As long as you get results, you have free reign to do as you wish. That means if training your team to be sex slaves means more power and influence, you can. If taking advantage of Monster’s thirst for lust by Operator’s sexuality, you can. If meeting the Organization’s Essence quota means installing dubious machinery in your Headquarters, you can. The choices are yours.

Anyways, that is a short introduction to the game's plot and setting. It isn't meant to be grandeur,  but rather convenient and open-ended (in the H-game sense). The game setup is similar to games like xcom, darkest dungeon, into the breach . You have a strategic layer in the base management part where you decide how to allocate resources in between missions, and a tactical layer which constitutes each "dungeon run". Most of the work put in CATC has been on the tactical layer and starting from the next build, I'll be building up the strategic/base management side of things. Stay tuned!