Here it is, the v2.5 update.

Disclaimer

This ‘Traditional Style’ Sci-Fi RPG is a “Non-Profit” Fan Made game based on the events after the 1982 movie “The Thing” created by John Carpenter. It is in no way endorsed by John Carpenter or Universal Studios and shares likeness only in name. In my eyes it is the same as drawing a picture of a popular character and posting it online for all to see. I funded this game with my own money and I do not generate any revenue from ModDB or the ads displayed on my website (which I also pay for). If there are grounds for an issue with copyright then I am willing to take responsibility for that and make the appropriate changes where needed to resolve the issue. The Majority of the content (music, artwork, code) in the game is either licensed for use, originally created or credit is given where due for work used in ‘Free’ projects.

System Specs

Since the v1 there have been massive improvements to overall performance. I believe the game will run on a wide range of Windows Computers now and the v2 tanks far less in comparison to the v1. Below are the recommended specs based on those provided by the RPG Maker Team. (Official Specs)

OS: Windows XP or later
CPU: Intel® Pentium® 4 2.0 GHz equivalent or faster processor
RAM: 512MB RAM
Storage: 400mb

Please note that previous saves may not work with the v2.5 Build.

Credits

See Here for the Credits.

Whats New?

Lots of Fixes.
Some Game Balancing.
New Skills, Status Effects, Weapons, Items and attachments.
Additional Voice Acting.
Additional Enemies, Content and Characters for Prequel Mode.
New Enemies and additional bonus scene added for Story Mode.

You can find the full changelog here.

Links

Mediafire:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/nzklyu37ffuc3b8/The_Thing_2_RPG_%5Bv2.5%5D.exe

ModDB:

http://www.moddb.com/games/the-thing-2/downloads/the-thing-2-rpg-v25

Thank you all for your support over the years. Please enjoy the game. If there is any feedback or bug reports please post them on this article as I am more likely to see them and respond that way. I will be working on a walkthrough for the game on my website but the unlockables guide is already live. You can also check Sadonrii’s channel for playthroughs of the game if you are stuck.

Good luck, Captain(s).

Captain; Here’s the brief on some changes and new features to the game & v2.5 release info.

v2.5 Changes

General Fixes

Fixed Bashford not Appearing in Thing Mode Scene
Disabled Starvation in Prequel Mode “Bridge” Area (Both Safe & Assault Variants)
Added a Save Station to Prequel Mode “Male Wash Room” Area
Fixed Prequel Mode Crate Drops so when “SMG” is rolled it will drop HG ammo instead of MG
Improved “Research”, “Survival” and “Scavenger” Skills to give more desirable boosts
Improved “Ghost Stim” and “Recovery Stim” to balance the risk/reward a little
Balanced Spectre and Spectre Elite to be more fair
Changed Jose Radio calls from 7.5 minutes to 10 minutes to spread out events and stop spam
“Walker” Things have been given the ability ‘Rage’ which gives them a chance to go Berserk
Increased Starvation Timer to 18 (easy) 15 (normal) 12 (Swedish) minutes
Infection rates have been increased by +1% for all enemies
Iron Strikes Skill is OP Lowered Chance to Stun from 50 to 20%
Added SP cost for Engineer to use “Petrol Bomb”
40mm Incendiary Rounds were classed as “Explosives” they are now set to “Flame” element
Reduced the Chances of Stun and other ailments for ALL skills; Chances are a lot lower for more risk/reward
STUN status is OP so I have reduced its chance to happen
Added “Skip Intro” for Prequel Mode to skip the long ass cutscene intro for returning players
Crafting Crate added to Facility Survival
Added a Random Trait Gainer to Facility Survival every time you beat 5 floors and return to the hub
Extended some status ailments to last after battles have ended
Flareguns and Melee Weapons should now come with a random mod
Made Starvation/Fever notice less annoying (Now has minor notice instead of text popup)
Fixed Fever happening during main story cutscenes, hopefully this should stop constant fever
Fixed tutorial issue with save stations
Fixed tutorial map with weird background

Mechanics & Gameplay

Added the “Blitz” Skill for SMG’s (Enemy too) Allows x2 multi attack to all enemies on screen
Added the “Ruptured Armor” Status Effect which reduces enemy armor by 30% and increases gun damage on them
Armor Piercing, High Caliber, Slug shells, MARS & AM Ammo all have a chance to “Rupture Armor”
Equipped some enemies with “CS Gas” Grenades which May Stun, Disorient and Blind twice as long and May cause fever
New Enemy: Spectre ODIN added, Orange Spectre that Packs a Spas Shotgun and Grenades
New Enemy: Spectre ASIN added, Black Spectre that Carries a L96A1 Sniper Rifle and Sword
Spectre Variant Added: Spectre (Normal, Blue) with Dual SIG Handguns
Spectre Variant Added: Spectre (Elite, Red) with HK33 Assault Rifle
Spectre Variant Added: Spectre (Elite, Red) with Dual SMG’s
Spectre Variant Added: Spectre (ODIN, Orange) with Magnum & Riot Shield Combo!
Spectre Variant Added: Spectre (ASIN, Black) with SMG and Sword
New Enemy: “Alpha” (Boss) Added, A special Red Spectre as part of the new Prequel Mode subplot.
New Enemy: Seeker, A mutation of the normal spectre. The most common mutation. Basic abilities.
New Enemy: Riler, A mutation of the Elite Spectre. Tough and can “call” more mutants to battle.
New Enemy: Bulwark, A mutation of the ODIN spectre. Strong, Defesnive, Aggressive and rages out.
New Enemy: Ghost, A mutation of the ASIN spectre. Weak but Evasive and Lethal.
New Enemy: Banshee, ?????
Added 10 New NPC’s to Prequel Mode with additional missions and content
Added a new special spectre enemy sub-boss
Added 4 new mutated-thing enemies that appear in Prequel Mode
Dogs have a medical aid skill so they can carry medical aid to allies in battle at an SP cost
Dogs have a Resupply skill so they can carry supplies to allies in battle to restore some SP
New Status: “Tracer Rounds”; A unit with this has a -15% penalty to evade all damage making them easier to hit
Enemies with Assault Rifles or LMG’s now have Tracer Rounds loaded to their weapons
Added “Fear Effect” Difficulty Modifier (Units can be “worse” in the dark, being more prone to fear, slower in combat and overall less accurate)
Gen Inc have now deployed MLNR mobile sentry units to support ground forces (Story Mode Only)
New Enemy: MLNR Urban, This mobile sentry uses an SMG and deploys flash and CS gas grenades for crowd control
New Enemy: MLNR Assault, A tougher sentry using assault weapons, deploys explosive and CS gas grenades
New Enemy: MLNR Heavy, A literal tank with an LMG; deploys explosives and CS gas grenades
New Enemy: MLNR Hellfire, An anti-viral sentry with a flamethrower, Incendiary & Nitrogen Grenades

Items & Equipment

Added “Mac-10” SMG to the Game; Special Variant added too
Added “Ventilator” Mask to the game
Added “Vibroblade” Melee Weapon to the Game; Special Variant added too
Added “Power Armor” Armor Vest to the game (Relic)
New Mod for SMG: “MG Ammo”; Allows an SMG to use Machinegun ammo (+15% DMG Boost)
New Mod for SMG/ARF/BRF/LMG: “Tracer Rounds”; Applies Tracer Rounds Status on ranged attacks
New Mod “Hair Trigger” for various weapons; Gives a 10% chance for an extra action in battle

Misc

Added extra voices to Prequel Mode to support the new characters and content
Additional scene added to Story Mode as part of an exisiting side mission, connects Prequel and Story Modes slightly

Release

I am just waiting on the final artwork for the new sentry units for story mode. Only 6 of 12 new audio is recorded for Prequel Characters so far but I will release the v2.5 when the sentry units are ready with or without the audio and just update the game when that is done to save people waiting. I would estimate Mid-April 2016 for v2.5 release as I would like to divert my time to other projects.

If you are interested in small voice acting roles please message me. Also you can catch Supah Deku playing the game on twitch here at the moment; If there are any other lets plays let me know I like to watch them.

Gen Inc appear to have deployed Mobile Sentry Units to the battlefield Captain; The fight just got a lot tougher…

Hello Captain, It’s been some… time since our last contact. I have been occupied with certain other matters but now I am back with some new intel on The Thing 2 RPG v2.5 update.

Summary of v2.5 Update

General
A bunch of tweaks, balances and minor new features in game such as extra skills, some new weapons/items etc.

Prequel Mode
4 New *Voiced* Crew Members to appear scattered around the ship (You are not notified about these by Jose)
A New subplot on the ship involving a group of Spectres that change sides. There are 6 New *Voiced* characters who can be recruited if you follow this plotline. It’s optional but the soldiers are well trained and come with extra gear. This comes with a new boss battle and special relic gear.
A big difficulty rebalance for the Spectres introducing new variants and special types. Generally the more common ones are a lot easier to fight now. These New Spectres also appear in other modes in events where you fight spectres.
A new “Outbreak” on the ship. There’s been some sort of mutation! This introduces new enemies exclusive to Prequel Mode. These are Thing/Spectre Hybrids.

Story Mode
A new event during Robert’s Sidequest (where you help Grim/Keller). If a certain character is recruited in your team the dialogue will play differently and unlock a new relic weapon but if this character is not present the event will play differently but there will be no reward to it.

Facility Survival
There’s some minor tweaks in places planned for this mode.

If anyone is interested in Voice Acting please send me a Private Message. I have a few places left to fill.

New Enemies

“Alpha” is a new optional boss in Prequel Mode. Defeating him will advance the new subplot and allow you to recruit him. He’s tough but he’s a valuable recruit to your team. He wields special dual Mac-10’s which you can obtain after beating him.

The “Seeker” is a new enemy exclusive to Prequel Mode. There has been a viral leak in the lower ship levels and several Spectres have been exposed directly to a special variant of the Thing’s DNA. The seeker is the basic mutation and isn’t much of a threat alone…

The “Riler” is another new mutation. The Riler is tougher than the seeker and has a special ability to “call” extra mutants to the battle. Do not underestimate this one…

The “Bulwark” is another new mutation. This horrible fiend is brutish and relentless. It deals heavy damage, utilizes the “Odin”s armor for defense and can flip into a rage anytime. The chance of this appearing is lower than other mutations but if you’re unlucky you may have to fight up to 2 at once!

The “Ghost” is another, rarer mutation. It sneaks around and while it isn’t particularly strong it’s evasive and has a higher than normal chance to deal critical damage.

ENEMY UNKNOWN

Let’s Play

YouTube user Sadonrii has beaten the 3 main stories in the game now. You can find the playlists on his Youtube channel. Until I complete the walkthrough on my website I recommend using his videos as reference if you get stuck. I have completed the Unlockables Guide on my website if you want to know how to unlock things (spoilers there).

What comes Next

I was busy modding & playing Xcom2 when it released and I spent the last couple of weeks making a demo for someone too. A new version of RPG Maker came out in 2015 and I did consider porting the thing over for a while and I’ve had numerous requests from people to work with them but I have had to think about what is most beneficial to me. I will be taking a course soon but I will also be teaming up with Sadonrii to make a new game taking features from The Thing 2 RPG as a foundation. I will release more information about this on my website as things get more organised.

Xcom 2 Mods: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=623885448
My Website: https://macwantsthewhat.com/

I can’t really give an estimated time for the v2.5 update yet, the audio is being remastered and I’m getting help with some test runs and of course Audio still needs recording for the game. I hope for those of you that played the game you got a lot of value out of it and hopefully you enjoyed it. If you’re new then download the game, it’s free. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Be Prepared Captain…

Here’s a quick update for any of the news/images missed on the ModDB site Captain.

New Features/Balancing:

Lowered Stun Chance across the board, Melee Stun was way too OP
Infection Chance Increased (You’re Welcome)
Added an additional scene to a side mission in Swedish Story Mode with a unique relic reward
Recorded & Mastered 7 of 12 new NPC Voice Acting for Prequel Mode
Implemented the Spectre “Suicide Squad” that you can meet & recruit in Prequel Mode
Implemented 4 New Hidden Ship Crew Members for Prequel Mode (Normal+)
Revealed 5 of 13 New Prequel Mode Enemies
Added New Melee Weapon to the Game

Planned/In Progress

Record & Master the 5 remaining VA sets needed (Having Trouble with this)
Test New Prequel Content & additional Story Scene to make sure they work
Get Artwork Completed for the Remaining Spectre Enemies (3 Variants for the Spectre Elite and 1 New Spectre-Boss enemy)
Get Artwork Complete for & Reveal the 4 New ???? Enemies exclusive to a new event that occurs in Prequel Mode… (SomeThings goes wrong in the B4 Epidemic Prevention Block)
Release v2.5 Update

Let’s Play

YouTube user Sadonrii has finished his let’s play of Prequel Mode. He did a fairly good job and exceeded expectations. (Spoiler Warnings)

Screenshots

Blue Spectres have a 2/16 chance of being replaced by new types. One of these is the “ODIN”; A Mighty Juggernaut suited up to take damage in the field. The ODIN has 2 variants. One that uses a Magnum & Shield to protect weak allies. The Other opts for the shotgun approach. Both of these pack Hand Grenades, Nitro Grenades and CS Gas Grenades. Beware the ODIN Captain…

Blue Spectres have a 2/16 chance of being replaced by new types. One of these is the “ASIN”; A sneaky ninja-like assassin that uses stealth and trickery to evade enemies and hunt down its target. The ASIN has 2 varaints. One that uses a Micro SMG and Sword (You may be able to ‘acquire’ this sword) who slashes foes and sprays a hail of gunfire. The Other does have the sword but opts for taking enemies out at range with a sniper rifle. Both of these pack Flash, Gas and Smoke Grenades. Before you even see the ASIN in battle it will already be too late Captain…

I don’t like reducing difficulty of enemies. The Regular Spectre has been weakened a lot and so I introduced the ODIN & ASIN variants to counter some of that. Another complaint/annoyance with the average spectre was the SMG. Damn that SMG is deadly and so we have introduced the Dual Handgun version to ease up on the player a little. Don’t get too comfortable though as sometimes you might get an ODIN or ASIN to fight instead!

The Elite Spectre (Red) is next on my list for changes so stay tuned to ModDB for image updates as they become available. Be careful out there Captain; oh and one more Thing… SomeThing stirs inside the ship captain, some sort of… mutation….

Greetings Captain! We’ve got some interesting new Intel from the field for you for this last November post.

Last week I only did about 60% of the work I set out to do. Having said that upon testing what I’ve done it works (after a few minor adjustments) so that is progress. Based on my own personal schedule I can suggest that the release date for the v2 expansion/update of the Thing 2 RPG may be released on Friday the 11th December 2015. This heavily depends on work I am waiting on alongside my own testing and schedule.

Here is a breakdown of what’s left to do:

Voice Acting: Last week 1 character was completed leaving 2 more to do. They should both be in by the end of the next week (6/11/15). If this goes well I can begin testing the voiced section of the game properly to do any last minute audio balancing (Headset users you are welcome :P).
Once Voice Acting is complete and I am satisfied with testing I will be handing over an early copy of the game to my friend Sadonrii who will be doing a YouTube let’s play of the new voiced campaign which will feature as promotional content for me instead of making another trailer (I’m lazy but I think it’s a good idea).
Artwork: Jose is busting his ass off getting in Art to me. I think in the last 3 weeks he’s handed in 16 of the 32 images I asked him for. I’m hoping he will finish Mac’s artwork by 11/12 in time for release but you have to appreciate it’s not easy to draw a lot of images on demand.
MacReady now appears as a random encounter in the game, retells the events of US Outpost #31 and now I am at the stage where you take control of him for a “Choose Your own Adventure” story where you experience Mac’s adventure first hand. Having him retell it in flashbacks wasn’t as fun to me. I’m about half way done with telling his story so when it’s finished it will switch back to the main story again.
It’s just the start of Mac’s subplot as he has more stuff for you to do afterwards before eventually going back to US Outpost #31 with you for some unfinished business.

I’m hoping there’s 1 weeks’ worth of work left and 1 weeks testing. Based on scheduling myself and those I am dependent on for this final crunch time. You won’t get an update post off me until closer to release now as I focus my efforts on that. If there’s any questions feel free to ask but for the meantime here’s some spoiler free shots of Mac’s Story:

Be careful who you trust this winter Captain…