Hey everyone, welcome to the first update of 2024!

Let's go over what we've been to, what's in this update, and what's coming next.

First thing's first - to address the big version change. You've already heard me talk several times about the vision for 0.5 and how it will be end of the first draft and the start of the big polishing phase. Well, we're swapping things around a little bit.

The reasons for this are simple:

-after experiencing a bit of writing burnout in December, I found it easier to go back to the Prologue/Chapter 1 and work on some long overdue technical improvements and polish;

-these changes touch on core gameplay systems and WILL break compatibility with older version (apologies in advance, it's a necessary pain);

-the next few patches will continue to be disruptive from a tech perspective.

All in all, it made all the sense to switch from 0.4 to 0.5, marking the start of a new year and the start of a technical and narrative overhaul, bringing Transylvania a step closer to its final, finished format.

Before explaining what we've been doing, I would like to take a moment to explain the reasons why we're doing it, what are our end goals, and what we're trying to fix.

Based on my own opinion as well as community feedback, I am focusing on these key aspects for improvement:

1. Character traits, trait progression, and opportunities to unlock new content with them

The biggest offender here was the way Occultism was paired with Skepticism, an opposite and mutually exclusive trait that was under developed and pretty much getting in the way. 

Well, Skepticism is gone. Now we have new shining Pragmatism, representing Alex's ability to find creative and technical solutions, as well as slice through moral dilemmas. This can be upgraded alongside Occultism, so you're not missing out on anything.

Alongside we have also added Sadism and Masochism, two traits already represented in the story, that lacked their proper stats. Thus we have rounded up the roster with 5 Musings of the mind and 5 Tendencies of the Flesh.

Oh, traits also now go up to 10, with the max level giving you a shiny new badge to admire!

CURRENT PROGRESS: Traits implemented, new menu interface created, rebalancing ongoing, some new options added.

2. Narrative accessibility, location  navigation, story progress tracking

Keeping the mysteries of Transylvania is always a fine balance between building tension and not frustrating the player. There are certainly many people who have found themselves unsure  of what to do next, stuck, or just confused. This an area that unites many factors together - from the way the player moves around space and explores the world, the dialogue and descriptions updating, the journal keeping track of your tasks, other tabs helping you manage the information you've gained about characters and locations...

We are looking to (cautiously) update all of this, in big and small ways. I've already gotten my hands dirty, but much of this is not in the patch notes because it's a pile of infinite minutia that adds up to a slightly more coherent experience.

CURRENT PROGRESS: Ongoing polishing of task tracking, improving general navigation. Prototyping an interactive map of the world with location info that updates as you go along.

Yes, the map is probably coming. It's on the backburner, but I really think it will elevate the experience and help you make more sense of the world.

3. Filling plot holes, dead ends and inconsistencies

Much time has passed since the main body of Chapter 1 was written, and unfortunately some things still got left behind. There aren't that many, thankfully, but I'd still like to wrap everything up nicely to have a complete experience before moving on and doing the same for Chapter 2 and beyond.

Wat's coming next?

Expect the next update to continue polishing Chapter 1, adding more trait integrations and variations to the encounters you already know. Oh, I've been tinkering with a system that lets characters have a daily routine, and lets you track who is where based on time of day. We'll see how it pans out. Can be a nice play to plug in some new content.

And of course, lastly, the patch notes for this update:

General

===started a ground up trait overhaul===

-"skepticism" trait has been changed to "pragmatism"

-all traits have brand new icons and a new system menu;

-added 2 new traits: sadism and masochism;

-traits now go from 0 to 9, after which they reach a maximum "true" state;

-for Patreon supporters, traits can be edited directly from the Journal if integrated cheats is enabled;

=====

-added new sidebar icons;

-added new menu corner decorations;

-added various new UI elements and improvements;

-added new day/night backgrounds for the ground floor hallway;

Prologue

-added new backgrounds for the Antique Boutique OPEN/CLOSED;

-polished some interactions;

-improved garden and cemetery discovery in prologue;

-reworked dinner with Mihai with new conversation options that now increases either Occultism or Pragmatism;

-improved small navigation quirks and time flow in the prologue;

Chapter1

-updated the library reading to reflect the new pragmatism trait;

-deliberately leaving Sabrina to the tentacles now increases Sadism;

-updated the men at the Inn with a new max tier of encounter;

-added a scene with the men at the inn with Masochism trait;

-added new art for jumping out the window;

Misc

-Added a character notification for Mihai;