Attention, narod: Patch 1.2.0 is possibly one of our last pushes. Two months of feedback have taught us to rethink, rebuild and reform. The process has been severe, but straightforward: where we have counted our losses, we have chosen to remain and carry on. What you see here is the closest we've come to a proper, final demo with all the components we can wish for, at least in its present state. Some of these features were already hinted in the past devlog, but you will find other additions here in this release. Voyvod is a small team, a fact that has made endurance our primary virtue and our longest struggle. We have poured into the OSP demo, from version 0.5.0 to 1.2.0, everything our hands have been able to handle: corrections have been applied, features have been added, entire aspects have been left behind like shed skin. Without a radical restructuring of the demo itself, and possibly the whole project, we say firmly that we have done as much as we could without risking our financial, career or social security. This is not to say we back down: we will continue to work on whatever requires our effort, and maintain the promise that One Spirit is not a trivial matter. However, as a team with limitations, and one that has to be reasonably cautious about sunk costs and investments, we force ourselves to be sensible and know when there are lines to draw. A 1.3.0 patch is unlikely, then, but not minor corrective patches, events or promotion plans. We hope to offer version 1.2.0 in the upcoming Steam NEXT Fest, a massive showcase of demos where One Spirit will land as well. We are also confirmed to be attending IndieDevDay 2021 in Barcelona, Spain on October 9th and 10th, next month. As we release our last major patch, we are ready to accept whatever result we get in the following months. Like Spenglers image of the Roman legionnaire by the Vesuvius, we die in our posts knowing duty to our role is what holds truest. For the patch, we have: FIXES:

• Overhauled narration throughout the entire demo, as part of our effort to develop One Spirit's format. Sentences have been arranged to be longer and more continuous, making the text more condensed and concise, and allowing the reader to follow longer segments more easily.
• Applied minor polish to wrap up the script's editing: punctuation, phrasing and style have been covered.
• Fixed the timing of a few hard pauses.
• Tweaked the behaviour of a few transitions and visual effects.
• Readjusted the mural's colour setup, increasing contrast and saturation again.
• Updated the background of several screens that were still using the old main menu image.
• Updated the entirety of the script with proper apostrophes (' replaced with , the correct typographic choice). If you can't tell the difference, we envy you.
• Updated notification boxes with the game's new style rules for them.
• Improved clarity where needed throughout the demo's lore entries.

• Overhauled the intro scene entirely, bringing shorter length, less exposition, smoother flow and a quicker trip to the game's first dialogues and plot elements.
• Overhauled the new game sequence, including a date-place mark corresponding to the demo's place in the timeline. This mechanic was planned for the full release and the demo can use it as well without issue.
• Overhauled the dinner scene, rehashing its contents entirely to focus on those that would come later in the demo's plot. As a reminder, the demo is a fragment of a larger prologue, one that has a relatively self-contained plot. The dinner scene now brings that content to attention by showcasing the beginning of Yuri and Lada's uncertain future together: a few odd sounds six feet under the living room.
• Overhauled the demo's epilogue, cutting down on the monologue's size and reducing its scope to the themes that matter the most to its goal. The epilogue now contains a better hook at the end, with stronger hints of the full game's content.
• Added a renovated text box, replacing a few buttons (auto, skip, save/load) with proper icons. Though they used to work fine when they were simply semi-transparent text (likely due to our UI design), we've made use of the occasion to integrate all interface elements in the text box.
• Added a subplots screen, a content showcase of what would be a fully fledged game mechanic in a complete release. In the context of the demo, this bit of interface allows all players to know more about the narrative structure of the game the demo hints at, and also the premise of its content. The demo is unlikely to have subplots, however.
• Added visual cues to interactions that have a sense of tension or strangeness. Interacting with the balcony on the first day will no longer trigger a black screen, but a darkening effect on the background image.
• Added various sound effects to complement the demo's new content.
• Added a new track "A Needle Over an Eye" to fit into the demo's newer scenes, now with a touch of eeriness.
• Added new dialogue options at the beginning of the demo.
• Added a new lore entry replacing "The Glass Crown". This entry can only trigger if the player gets Lada to mention Gregor Belansky on her way up the staircase.