Okay, the new version is here, and I can confidently say that this is the biggest set of changes I've ever shipped. There's too much to list, so let's get started.
* Visual Novel Display System has been added! Every conversation is now presented in a dramatically more visual fashion. Characters' facial expressions change to reflect their mood, and there are even conversations with multiple participants now! This is basically a remaster of every conversation in the game. Even if you've already played the game, maybe consider starting from the beginning to see all the new graphics.
* There's a new dream fragment for Patrons. This one involves multiple choices, which is a first for a dream fragment.
* A previously patron-locked dream fragment has been unlocked for the free tier.
* The story continues! Talk to Fiona after the sex scene with Adaline in the apothecary to see what happens next. You may need to repeat the sex scene with Adaline if you're playing from a save file. I (stupidly) didn't add a flag in the last release when you finish the sex scene, so the game thinks you haven't done it yet when you resume from a save. I've added a flag in this version, but it's too late to help old save files.
* The first release of the dating sim functionality is here. It's pretty threadbare at the moment, but there's a lot more coming!
* Outfits! Along with the new VN system, some characters can have their outfits changed. These changes only show up in the VN sections of the game, because doing it in the 3D environment or in pre-rendered images would take way too much time away from adding other content to the game.
* Skill checks have been added to the game. Certain actions have a chance of failing (represented by showing a percentage next to the choice). If you fail then the option will be locked for a set amount of time before it can be re-attempted. For the free tier it's 2 minutes, for Players it's 1 minute, contributors get 30 seconds, and supporters get 15 seconds. I've balanced the game so it feels about right at 2 minutes.
* There are inventory items now! You can gather items in the environment, buy them, sell them, and give gifts. Giving gifts makes characters like you more, which will unlock new scenes and outfits.
* Gold has been added to the game to make buying and selling work.
* The choice menu has been re-worked to make it more obvious which options have previously been visited, which are blocked, etc.
* New notification system! I admit, I kind of went overboard when writing this, but it's really cool. It gives you feedback when different things happen in game, and provides useful hints at many points. People have complained that the game can be a little difficult to figure out, so I hope this will help.
* Subtle animations have been added to many UI elements to make the game feel more polished. The UI has also been re-styled in general. It's now semi-transparent, which helps see the art. I'm using more consistent icons to make things more obvious. The gallery now has page indicators and better buttons, etc.
* Lots of little bugs have been fixed, like outlines getting stuck when going between rooms, text sizing issues, the screen would sometimes flash if it tried to fade out while it was already faded out, etc.
* You can now press enter or space to advance dialog.
* Sound effects were removed from the Nera dream fragment because I don't think they really made sense anymore without the 3D animations.
* Some portraits were re-worked.
* Visual Novel Display System has been added! Every conversation is now presented in a dramatically more visual fashion. Characters' facial expressions change to reflect their mood, and there are even conversations with multiple participants now! This is basically a remaster of every conversation in the game. Even if you've already played the game, maybe consider starting from the beginning to see all the new graphics.
* There's a new dream fragment for Patrons. This one involves multiple choices, which is a first for a dream fragment.
* A previously patron-locked dream fragment has been unlocked for the free tier.
* The story continues! Talk to Fiona after the sex scene with Adaline in the apothecary to see what happens next. You may need to repeat the sex scene with Adaline if you're playing from a save file. I (stupidly) didn't add a flag in the last release when you finish the sex scene, so the game thinks you haven't done it yet when you resume from a save. I've added a flag in this version, but it's too late to help old save files.
* The first release of the dating sim functionality is here. It's pretty threadbare at the moment, but there's a lot more coming!
* Outfits! Along with the new VN system, some characters can have their outfits changed. These changes only show up in the VN sections of the game, because doing it in the 3D environment or in pre-rendered images would take way too much time away from adding other content to the game.
* Skill checks have been added to the game. Certain actions have a chance of failing (represented by showing a percentage next to the choice). If you fail then the option will be locked for a set amount of time before it can be re-attempted. For the free tier it's 2 minutes, for Players it's 1 minute, contributors get 30 seconds, and supporters get 15 seconds. I've balanced the game so it feels about right at 2 minutes.
* There are inventory items now! You can gather items in the environment, buy them, sell them, and give gifts. Giving gifts makes characters like you more, which will unlock new scenes and outfits.
* Gold has been added to the game to make buying and selling work.
* The choice menu has been re-worked to make it more obvious which options have previously been visited, which are blocked, etc.
* New notification system! I admit, I kind of went overboard when writing this, but it's really cool. It gives you feedback when different things happen in game, and provides useful hints at many points. People have complained that the game can be a little difficult to figure out, so I hope this will help.
* Subtle animations have been added to many UI elements to make the game feel more polished. The UI has also been re-styled in general. It's now semi-transparent, which helps see the art. I'm using more consistent icons to make things more obvious. The gallery now has page indicators and better buttons, etc.
* Lots of little bugs have been fixed, like outlines getting stuck when going between rooms, text sizing issues, the screen would sometimes flash if it tried to fade out while it was already faded out, etc.
* You can now press enter or space to advance dialog.
* Sound effects were removed from the Nera dream fragment because I don't think they really made sense anymore without the 3D animations.
* Some portraits were re-worked.
