Saturday, March 2, 2019

v0.39 is Live!

Go to the Play the Game tab above to grab the new version now!

Got a ton packed into this one in the end! The big feature is, the second portion of the game's final chapter has been installed in full. This means two major new scenes and a bunch of variations for new and existing content. With this, we've arrived at the precipice for the game's final endings!

After that, I'd say the most notable addition is the new save backup system. I've seen folks request this here and there for some time, and when I added it as a possible addition on my Patreon, my supporters finally voted it in! It's been tough working it all out, but I feel like it's mostly reliable now. I can't guarantee it'll work 100% of the time, but my proofers have tried pretty thoroughly to break it and couldn't, so I feel comfortable putting it in your hands.

And of course, two new pieces of art have been added. One is in the early game and will be hard to miss if you're being kind. The other is in the mid to late game and requires being especially cruel... Happy hunting!

Other than that, a lot of small additions and adjustments. I should have done this now, but a certain alternate result from the game's final chapter now has serious, permanent effects on your gameplay when you return to the void. I've also adjusted content to make it a little easier to explore a new side of Lith if you got that choice, but instead gave in.

Also, we've had a lot of issues lately with people being unable to run the game. I think it might be getting a little big for Flash, a little burdensome and heavy on processing, so I've finally gone ahead and removed one of its more troublesome features. The game will no longer collect gameplay telemetry, and should no longer try to connect to the internet. I really liked the idea of being able to see how the game is being played on a large scale, but it just never quite worked out how I'd hoped. Now, I'm hoping that removing that will make the game a little easier and faster to load and play for everyone.

For supporters, the game's basic cheats have also been updated! The cheat menu got a much-needed overhaul and two new cheats have been added. I still need to work on the "advanced cheats" I've promised on Patreon, though, I've been putting it off while trying to get a new Deluxe UI put together. I believe those are the last two big things I still need to add to fulfill my recent promises on Patreon, and while I'm not sure about the UI, I'm hoping to get the full cheats put together for next version.

And the reactions while scrolling through the game have finally been extended through the entirety of the game's content! I also have a lot of notes for extra faces I found I'd really like to add in, so I'm hoping to get those made up before long to really get Lith more expressive and reactive to what's going on in the future.

I think there've been a few more small additions in the background, but that should be everything noticeable to you guys. Phew! This one was a bear to work through, I have to admit, but it's good to have a bunch of stuff crossed off my list. The game is finally taking shape and getting closer to its final state in several ways.

That said, I'm thinking we're gonna leave this at a sort of "cliffhanger" for a little while. I have a healthy amount of side content to work on, and I want to make sure I'm ready to do the final endings just right. And for those wondering, yes, I do expect to continue adding content for a while after the final endings are done with-- there are a lot of little things that could use some extra love once I'm done with the really important stuff. But I don't intend to add too much extra, or to "milk this out." MVOL is meant to be a more focused experience with a purpose to it, and past a certain point, adding anything else will just be detracting from that purpose. It will be very strange to finally declare the game finished, but also very satisfying, I think.

I'll talk about what comes next when we get a little closer to that. For now, thank you all for reading all my ramblings, and for playing my game! I hope you enjoy the new additions!