In lieu of a dev diary this week... I hope you will accept this early access link!
First of all, definitely think of this as an ongoing test branch! I have some things in mind that I'd still really like to add to this (I'll detail them below) so, besides fixing bugs, I'll be adding to this update on an ongoing basis.
I'm also behind on adding in contributions, such as Meat Glacier's much-in-demand glory hole scenes! Sorry about that! I'll work on getting those in next week.
I had hoped to get this out somewhat earlier in the week, but there was feedback from early playtesting that I wanted to address, so at least you're getting a more polished release as a result!
This update adds relationships to the game, basically revising all areas of the game to at least some degree — this was very complex to implement! When starting a fresh save, it will not play very differently at first, but soon enough you'll be gaining friends, rivals, and perhaps a romantic partner! These all involve new events, both when gaining the relationship and once it's established.
Several new date types have been added: the arcade, the gym, and study sessions in your dorm. You'll also find that the storylines for the Classroom Harasser and Classroom Admirer have been revised, and they each have a new location where you can choose to interact with them, and their own event sets. The BFF's storyline has been revised as well, giving you a path to "discovering" them as more than a friend that does not require completing the quad party storyline.
I'll detail the rest in the release notes, assuming I haven't forgotten anything, which I almost certainly have.
0.5 release notes:
- Over a hundred new events scattered basically everywhere throughout the game
- Friendships and romantic relationships are now a two-way street and are no longer simply defined by how an NPC feels about you — you decide whether to count them as a friend, or decide together whether you’re going to date officially
- Similarly, you can choose to have an ongoing rivalry with NPCs who dislike you
- Lust-based relationships can also happen, with both friends and enemies
- Form friendships and experience positive events that help you manage your needs
- Form more lustful relationships to get more easy and casual sexual encounters
- Form romantic relationships, including the ability to have an official boyfriend/girlfriend/partner
- Form rivalries to have regular confrontations with others, with a boost to Composure if you come out on top
- Dates, hangouts, and booty calls are now more important than ever, and help to nudge an NPC toward the type of relationship you want to have
- Romances can be advanced through hitting particular milestones: the first date, the first kiss, and others. These can be done in any order
- Each NPC has a favorite date location depending on their personality and interests, and taking them there is one of the milestones!
- You can now choose your character’s turnons and turnoffs, which can impact your character’s reactions at times
- Your character may develop crushes on NPCs if they match your turnons. You can follow your character’s whims or ignore the crush
- Many romantic relationships are exclusive, but some NPCs are willing to have open relationships or may be polyamorous
- Cheating on an exclusive partner is tracked, and if you’re observed, your partner’s suspicion may grow — assuming you’re not caught outright!
- When suspicious enough, your partner may confront you, at which time you can confess or continue to lie. Results vary depending on the partner’s inclinations, your ability to lie, and whether you’ve been caught cheating before
- If you displease your partner, they may break up with you, though there’s often a possibility of talking your way out of it. Similarly, you can choose to break up with them by first texting them and asking them to meet you
- New date/hangout type: dorm study session, a way to get homework done while also advancing your relationship with somebody. And if you have a FWB relationship… it’s a classic pretext!
- New date/hangout type: the Arcade. Good for fun, games, and romance!
- New date/hangout type: the gym. Get a full workout while also having fun with a friend or date
- Some NPCs are inclined towards D/s relationships in which the dominant can set rules for their submissive to follow
- Some NPCs will be in exclusive romantic relationships of their own. This doesn’t make them off limits, but you’ll have a harder time tempting them, depending on their inclinations
- New Cheater and Loyal inclinations affect how an NPC will respond to your advances when they’re in an exclusive relationship, and you can also unlock them yourself depending on your behavior
- Existing relationships are now favored when it comes to socializing at the park, in dining halls, or at the bar, as well as picking NPCs for events in general
- A portion of NPCs have never had sex before, and you can be their first time!
- Added Demisexual, Asexual, and Aromantic inclinations that the player can choose at start
- The Best Friend’s storyline has been slightly revised, giving you a path toward changing your relationship that does not require completing the quad party storyline
- The Classroom Harasser and The Classroom Admirer storylines have both been revised, fleshing out their characters and giving them each a new event set at their own location where you can choose to interact with them daily if you want
- Best Friend, Classroom Admirer, and Classroom Harasser storylines integrated with the relationship system
- Attitudes will now gradually decay with people you haven’t interacted with recently
- The Legislator menu has been refactored, making it easier to add new foods and have NPCs pick sensible items. No more vegans ordering steaks!
- The inclination system is now smarter about prerequisites and opposites. You cannot embrace an inclination that’s the opposite of another that you have, and you cannot reject an inclination that’s a prerequisite for one you have
- Though the River Rat is the place for casual hookups, you now have the option to ask someone for a date as you’re chatting at the bar
- The much-asked-for ability to go for round two when you stay at an NPC’s place overnight
- Ongoing saves will be populated with a few official friends and rivals to get things rolling
- Misc fixes, tweaks, and a bunch of other stuff I have probably forgotten I did
As mentioned, there are a few things I want to work on rather imminently. For one thing, the absence of the ability to talk to somebody at your location is more keenly felt than ever before! I imagine my time will be occupied with further fleshing out and polishing this update right into June.
Speaking of time, once 0.5 is in public release and has no critical issues, I will be aiming to take a week off — my first extended time off since December, if you've been keeping track! I'll let you know when this happens so you know why there's no dev diary that week.
But in the meantime, this is my shortlist of things to work on:
- Events where you can get together as a friend group or poly group
- NPCs can build anger but it doesn’t really have an outlet, which would be a very good addition for D/s relationships
- The long-awaited ability to talk to people at your location
- The addition of gifts as a romance milestone or, you know, just a nice thing to do for people
- Advance storylines with the roommate and their partner, and the librarian
- Even more relationship events in general
I'll be starting on these things next week, along with implementing contributed scenes. There's a good chance there will be a poll before the end of the month to get a sense of what the priorities should be.
Remember, you can report any issues in the Discord, or feel free to DM me here! Thanks again for your support, it really means a lot!
