Notepad users: If the formatting of this text document makes it a pain to read, try enabling Word Wrap: click "Format -> Word wrap" at the top of the window!

REMINDER that alpha/beta builds are unstable and will be significantly buggier! Please remember to report any bugs (with as many steps to reproduce the bug as possible) to the itch page or the discord bug report channel!

Saves will sometimes be compatible between updates, though this is not always the case (especially if I had to make changes to the save script since the last update). I expect save compatibility to increase the further into development this game gets, but until then be advised there is nothing I can do if your previous save is not compatible with a new game version! 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Project: G.L.U.T.T., a pseudo metroidvania stealth-based vore platformer! Here you can find install info and all the extra tips and tricks for the game and its features. Controls are available from the main menu, but will also be listed here. Unless you want to experiment on your own, I highly recommend reading through the gameplay tips, as there are numerous mechanics that are not very immediately obvious, especially when dealing with the vore mechanics. As I've recieved many questions about it, yes the game will eventually feature a proper tutorial area, but as this game is rather early in development it will be a while before that happens as the game's base mechanics and features all need to be worked out and polished first.

Installation
----------
Extract all files from this zip into any new folder you choose. Run the game via the executable. Enjoy!

*NOTE IF WINDOWS IS STOPPING THE GAME FROM RUNNING - especially after new game updates, Windows will often automatically try to stop .exe files from running if it detects that the file has not been downloaded by many people for virus protection. To run the game if this happens, simply click "advanced options" or "More info" (this will vary between Windows versions) and choose "run anyway."


Controls
----------
Arrow keys for movement/jumping/crouching/crawling

Space: Shoot

Z: Melee/Interact (hold to charge melee attacks, if you have the perk)

Down (while crouched on a platform): Drops through platform

X/Ctrl: Eats edible enemies, or projectiles if held

C/Alt: Sprint

A/Shift (Hold): Manual digestion

S/Enter: Full digestion (requires all prey to be at 0 HP)

D: Regurgitate enemies

F: Burp (creates noise but reduces indigestion)

O: Toggle Zoom level

Esc: Pause game

F1: Fullscreen - may cause sprite distortion due to how pixel art scales, but this will depend on your monitor (this is less of an issue on higher resolution monitors).



Debugger functions (f3 to toggle debugger)
----------

"P" to add 50 DNA points
"9" to trigger struggle contest (requires active prey)
"I" to trigger indigestion (requires prey)
numpad "+" to add 10 HP
numpad "." to add 10 max HP
numpad "8" to add 20 to indigestion meter



Genetic Editor (Upgrade machine)
----------

Experience points (refered to as genetic material or DNA points in G.L.U.T.T.) are earned any time an enemy is reduced to 0 HP for the first time. They can be spent at one of the several genetic editors spread through the levels in exchange for new perks, abilities, and stat boosts. 

When using the gene editor, first select the perk(s) you would like to upgrade, choose how many levels you would like to upgrade each perk, then return to the first menu and select "Confirm selected mods." Your stomach will need to be empty to do this, and you will need to have enough DNA points to afford all the perks/levels you add.

In debugging mode (f3), pressing "P" will add 50 DNA points at a time.


Vore Mechanics
----------

Eating enemies costs stamina, proportional to the health they have remaining (i.e. a full health enemy will cost a lot of stamina to eat, whereas a KO'd enemy will cost none). Enemies stunned with the stun gun will cost half as much to eat, and enemies completely unaware of your presence will cost a quarter.

Once an enemy has been eaten, so long as they have health remaining they will begin to struggle. You can continue to move and act as normal during this time for the most part, but while full your acceleration and deceleration will be slower, as will your top speed.

You can use manual digest whenever at least one of your prey is at 0 hp, and full digest when all prey are at 0 hp. Full digest will COMPLETELY digest all prey in your stomach, at which point any items or remains will be burped up. You can continue to eat enemies at any other point as long as you have the stomach capacity and stamina available.

Manual digestion will keep you immobile while you hold the key down, but allows you to incrementally digest prey, should you desire to shed the weight of one while keeping the fullness buffs from the first - or perhaps to make room for another without a noisy end-digestion burp that will alert other nearby enemies. While prey still has health left, digestion will not be able to fully complete, BUT as long as the button is being held you will deal extra damage to all prey - once a prey hits 0 HP they will begin to digest.

Full digest fully restores stamina. Manual digest restores some for each prey digested, and fully restores on full completion.

The more prey in your belly, the less damage and knockback you recieve, and the more you deal.

Finishing either form of digestion will leave you temporarily immobile - timing is key.

Regurgitating enemies can be used to your advantage if you find you need to make a quick get away or eat a more dangerous enemy that hasn't yet been KO'd.

While prey has health left, they will struggle in attempt to get out. This will come in the form of a struggle contest - you will have a brief warning via a sound effect and progress bar below Mia, then you must mash space in order to keep them down. Failing to out mash enemies will result in them rapidly draining stamina - running fully out of stamina will allow one to escape, as will taking a hit while their struggle bar is above 25%.

Struggle contest frequency, difficulty, stamina drain, and warning time will all scale with how much total health your prey has remaining - more health means more frequent contests, more difficult contests (prey start with a higher value on the struggle bar), and shorter warning time, and vise versa for less health. Stamina drain rate is based purely on how full the prey's struggle bar is during the contest (the higher the green bar, the faster stamina is drained).

Additionally while prey is struggling, they will raise your indigestion meter rapidly - at 65% this will cause minor indigestion, and at 100% it will cause severe indigestion with a loud burp. Both leave you temporairly immobile and create lots of noise, but burping (at any time, from indigestion or manually) will reduce your indigestion meter. Taking a hit from most things during indigestion will force you to regurgitate 1 prey.

Indigestion builds while prey in Mia's belly has HP remaining, and even more indigestion is gained by sprinting while prey still has HP, but it will subside most other times.

Crouching and not moving will keep indigestion from building up as quickly.

Manually burping will lower your indigestion meter, but you will not be able to do it if the indigestion meter is empty. Burping creates a lot of noise as well, which can be used to your advantage to lure enemies from a distance.

Taking a hit will inturrupt eating anything.

Swallowing projectiles costs a small amount of stamina, but will add to your indigestion meter - while carrying no live prey, swallowing projectiles comes at no cost beyond stamina.

You can only swallow projectiles if you are both facing the right direction AND they collide with the upper half of your body.

Whenever digestion damage is delt to enemies, health (equal to about half the digestion damage delt) is stored until either full digest is activated or manual digest is completely finished, at which point the stored health is spent in its entirty regenerating player health over time. Both enemies who were reduced to 0 HP before being eaten AND enemies who were digested to 0 HP will be worth a small amount of instant healing, gained as soon as the enemy is digested.

When you're the one who's been eaten, struggling is the only way to escape through use of arrow keys - struggle direction won't matter to some preds, but it might to others (for those there will never be randomness in which direction you should struggle in, it should become obvious quickly with a little common sense). If you've struggled enough to interrupt their digestion, you will be regurgitated.



Gameplay tips
----------
Gameplay preferences and resolution settings can be accessed any time via the pause menu (Esc).

This platformer is designed to be stealth oriented - enemies are strong, especially in numbers. Eliminating them one at a time and away from other enemies is a good strategy, or sneaking around them entirely! Explore your options for ways forward.

Your first 2 melee attacks (the punch and swing) will only hit the nearest enemy to you - don't let yourself get cornered. Your 3rd melee attack (the kick) is strongest and will hit all enemies it contacts.

Holding the attack button will charge your next melee attack (if you have gained that perk from one of the Gene Editors) - the longer it is charged, the more stamina it will cost and the more damage and knockback it will deal. This stacks with other damage and knockback multipliers!

You have limited ammo - use it wisely! Ammo pickups can be found around the level, and eating projectiles will restore ammo.

Your gun will work to stun enemies, but deals no damage except to robotic/mech enemies (who in turn are immune to standard melee attacks).

Regular enemies can detect you 2 different ways - by line of sight, and by sound. Your sound meter shows how much sound you're currently making - the more you make, the further away enemies will be able to detect you. When you are seen or heard briefly (and not from super close), enemies will enter start searching for the player in the direction of where they were heard/seen. Continuing to be heard/seen, or being heard/seen from very close (or making extra loud noise like shooting your stun gun) will alert enemies to your position and they will begin pursuit and attempt to attack you. Avoid being seen/heard by them for an extended period of time to throw them off your trail - they will resume searching for you at your last known position, and after a while of not seeing/hearing anything, they will return to their standard behavior.

Many of your actions are limited by regenerating stamina - you will have little to start, so save it for situations like escaping multiple enemies rather than speedrunning. Additionally, be careful not to spend all your stamina eating an enemy when another is in pursuit - running away from the second won't be so easy.

The dash ability will give you invulnerability for the duration of the dash - use it to dodge attacks or quickly accelerate to top speed, especially while full.

Make sure you explore different areas of levels, you might miss something important!