Developers of Moonshine Inc. PC game - AMA about game design, moonshining, distillation, and the combination of both!

Would we consider allowing a mechanic the players can use to lower the pressure and police levels ? Seems to be a very hot topic in the Discord.

Indeed. It's a request that comes often.

We're working on two solutions:

1. Increase the number of side missions that reward the player by lowering it
2. Add more event-related alert level decreases

Looking forward to this game.

1. How open is the game world and how much ''creative freedom'' does the player have?
2. You mentioned the game being story-rich. Is there an endgame?
3. Which authorities are present? What are the consequences of getting caught?
4. Could you expand on the concept of an extensive economic layer?

Thank you kindly.

1. In-game we have 5 different locations mountains, forest, swamps, small city and big city and the player has the ability to use them to set up production apparatuses.
2. Based on the results of story quest (those limited in time) made by players there is posibility to reach 3 different endings of the game. Those 3 endings are related to the choices made by the player.
3. There is only Police but in fact it is not mentioned directly, all the authorities are hidden behind the "Alert Level" system.
4. There's a demand system which is the main pillar of the economic system. Its using quality parameters and prices of the product made by the player to confront yourself to the demand

What inspired you to create this game and what made you name it that way?

Inspired by the country we are (Poland) and the tv show "Moonshiners". We had a deal with discovery but decided to move on to have more creative freedom.

Regarding the name, it's about Moonshine... So you pretty much know where you'll end up. Inc. is a reference to so many tycoon games, which is a big inspiration of us for the non-simulation part of the game.

Very interesting... I wish you and your career a great success.

Thank you!

Where did you get the knowledge about the process from and how did you turn it into a game?

First of all, it was based on books and forums because there's extensive knowledge of people who are still actively brewing and distilling.

Later on, we worked with a chemist from Warsaw academy who helped us create all of the advanced algorithm that were later used in the game.

One more. How REALISTIC (from your perspective) is the process of creating moonshine in game? I mean. The time required, all the processess? If you could add a thing or two (even technologically impossible) what would it be?

Of course there's a compromise to be made between a realistic and entertaining experience, but we tried to be as faithful as possible, from the real life apparatuses to as-close-as-it-can-be formulas and pacing of the game (we had to cut fermentation time though for gameplay reasons).

We still haven't covered all the possibilities of real life, but we'd like to add different kind of distillation technologies like columns. Those techs were sort of designed but were never really implemented in the game.

How big is your team? Where the idea for moonshine making game came from? How long were you developing this game?

Throughout the production, we were between 12 and 15, even though that was changing based on our needs.

We are based in Poland, with extensive traditions regarding homemade alcohol (and not only vodka, but liquors and brandys as well).

We started working on cooperation with Discovery Channel, but we decided to part ways and have more freedom on the creation of the game.

We wanted to create an authentic and accurate experience, that'll be able to fullfill even the most experienced kind of players. We tried many formulas, and settled down for a tycoon/simulator which progressively became Moonshine Inc.

What other ways can we support the development team financially other than buying the game?

You can paypal me if you want.

Joke aside, we have a "supporter pack" on steam which gives access to some cool things such as the OST and the artbook, among other things :)

Why did you make Moonshine Inc set in America? As you are polish game studio... Afaik polish bimber culture is stronk! So why not some slavik Witcher moonshiner bimbrownik?

Also, maybe some local dlc's with polish regions?

The reason behind it was that the project started as a cooperation with the Discovery Chanel, and therefore a lot of assets were already produced at that time, hence the U.S. setting!

We haven't considered it, but that'll be interested, especially since Poland is not an usual setting when it comes to video games.

Thank you for all this information so far!

​

1. How often do you intend on releasing patches?
2. For how long do you intend to continue to invest in this game before making the next one?
3. Will you be doing another AMA for when USA people are awake?
4. Do you have a Twitch channel where users can watch and learn the advanced mechanics?

1. As often as it will be needed! It's hard to give a schedule right now, but so far we're focusing and fixing breaking issues, then balancing, then quality of life and new features.
2. It's a parallel process. Some members of the team are going to stay on the project, first to fix issues, then later on to improve it and work on future DLCs.
3. Sure! When we have new things to show
4. We have a discord channel if you want to know more about the game. Dev team and players are usually sharing their tips and feedbacks. Both will gladly help you if you have issues with some mechanics.

Did the whole team try actual, American moonshine before making the game?

The core team did, but not the whole team. We're all willing to try and that's the plan for our celebration/ Christmas team gathering ;-) Certainly, the chemist Andrzej, who committed to our knowledge, tried real moonshine many times (made in Poland). And, we've talked to several moonshiners (UK, USA) who got interested in our game about their impressions, and they found many surprisingly realistic aspects of the game. We're probably going to record two or three interviews/ articles with their input, so you can follow our channels to read them one day.

Because you're moonshine game developers, what's your drink of choice?

Robert: Unfortunately, nothing alcoholic... But Piolonowka. It's a liquor with herbs (kind of like Polish jaeger).

Maja: Gin.

Paul: Red wine, something from Bordeaux.

Are there any plans for multiplayer?

Rather not, however, there were suggestions given by our Discord community and ideas of how the multiplayer could look like. Right now we focus on fixing. Afterward, we will implement some of the bright ideas for improvements and try to improve the performance. Then, we will think of any DLC, possibly a Sandbox mode, but we do not commit atm. Thank you for asking!

I can't get passed the tutorial. On the delivery portion it highlights old shack. I clicked and now the game is locked and I can't do anything. Do you have a fix for this?

Yes! Please join our Discord channel to stay updated: https://discord.gg/WMKV9kztNV! Yesterday we released a patch that should fix this issue. We apologize you experienced this bug.

Thank you so much for your questions! If you will have something else to ask us, you can always find us on Discord server: https://discord.gg/WMKV9kztNV. See you there!

One more proof: https://twitter.com/Klabater/status/1600021201920970752

What are the pros and cons of game dev? What do you love most about the industry and what do you hate?

Maxime: Working as a team to create projects is fulfilling. Watching players enjoying the game is a great experience!

Maja: I love the relaxed atmosphere of our studio and game dev studios in general. I hate the constant chaos and going back and forth.

Paul: Free cd keys

Is the game 18+?

Since we released the game only on PCs and digitally, we did not have to apply for an age rating. Considering the content, there is no vulgar language, no violence, not even drinking of what you produce. It's production and economy-focused. In the end, the answer would be - it's not 18+.

Was this game made based on Crossroads Inn code?

Crossroads Inn was made on the Esenthel engine, Moonshine Inc. was made on Unity. Moonshine Inc. is not based on CINN's code.

Can we flavour the moonshine too?

Do you mean if we can taste or smell the moonshine? That's reserved for the real experience. Impossible even in VR games ;-)

Is Franklin County going to be a setting? I live about 10-20 minutes north and it's the moonshine capital of the world!

The setting is not that precisely mirrored in one place so we could specify a County. During our research, we decided will focus on Appalachia. You get to build your bases in the mountains, forest, swamp, then a small and big city. It's definitely the USA, so you could think of it as Franklin County too, I guess... ;-)

Do you expect the game to be popular?

No expectations, though we're doing what we can to make it solid and known within its genre.

What game engine did you develop this with? Any other tools and tech that played a big part in development?

If you had to build the sequel from the ground up, would you use the same tech stack?

We used Unity, which is an industry-standard and we would probably go for it again if developing a sequel.

Sounds awesome! I’m not a gamer so I’m not sure if this is a stupid question? Can I go to a website and play the game or do I need an account with a gaming system? God, I know I’m gonna get killed for my ignorance!

You will need to install either the Steam app or GOG to be able to purchase and play the game. Here is an example tutorial on how to install Steam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKpbJ9NygvE
Then you have to create your account, add a payment method and then you're ready to browse and buy the game on Steam. Then you will have to go to your library, add a game and activate the key you purchased. Sounds complicated, but it's not that hard! :D

Can this teach me to make moonshine? I got drunk one night and bought everything I need off amazon. Never used it.

Wow, now that's a crazy thing to do when drunk! Haha!
The game might give you an idea about the process, yes ;-) It's cheaper than a physical set and you'd learn interesting things quickly through having fun. Might encourage you to finally use your set! :D
Then, you also can get in touch with our growing community on Discord: https://discord.gg/WMKV9kztNV

You just release Moonshine Inc, few weeks earlier there was Weedcraft - is there gonna be the third part of a trilogy of illegal businesses, and why it will be Breaking Bad the Game?

it will be Breaking Bad the Game

We're not the devs of Weedcraft, only the porting team and publishing when it comes to non-pc versions. As you may know, Weedcraft was originally published by Devolver and dev by Vile Monarch.

It's quite funny to see so many references to Breaking Bad. I've never though of it once when creating the game, but seeing the "hard chemistry" part of our game, it makes perfect sense. If you can convince Vince Gilligan, we're in!