The Structural Engineering class has been added to the beta branch. This update introduces Leonard Carter, Natasha's father. Although his name was listed as the professor of this class on day 1, this is the first time we see him in the game. All character definitions are done at the start of the playable day on which they first appear. For Leonard, this means Wednesday morning. To avoid any issues, it is advisable for those testing the beta branch to start the day from the beginning. Also included is an update to the smartphone calendar app. This allows the player to check the week ahead, which you can do just like on the computer. Three events remain for this round: lunch with Keira and Natasha, Dean Stuart and Ms Taylor, and the Philosophy lecture with Mrs Anderson.

The marketing lecture, part of the business course, is now available in the beta branch. Changes to the in-game smartphone One question I often see on various platforms is why the smartphone is not always accessible. I have overhauled the smartphone interface to make it available during almost the whole game. There will still be times when the smartphone is disabled, such as when Kimberley takes the player's phone during the pool event. Outside of the usual areas where you could access the phone, the bedroom freeroam, the location choice screen, several smartphone features will be read-only. This means the player can check relationship stats, photos, tasks, etc., but not change anything, including the home screen picture. Other characters can see your choice of the home screen picture, and you can't change it at the last minute before someone sees it. The Settings app will mostly work the same, with minor differences, including a toggle to always display or hide the mini-phone icon.
A new smartphone feature, which conversely only works outside the original areas, is a favorite app, shown with a camera icon.
This allows you to save almost any image in the game to a favorite gallery. Since this is part of the smartphone, certain images can't be captured, and some images aren't compatible.
These favorite images won't be available to use on the smartphone, as there's additional information on the home screen to identify which characters and what type of image it is. Hence, the home screen is still limited to the 'look closer' images.
The Favorite gallery is a separate option on the main menu, independent of playthrough or save files. You can't add an image more than once, and to remove it, hover in the top right and look for the trash icon.
Animations can be added, although too many could impact the performance of the favorite gallery. Your feedback is important to shaping how this feature evolves. I have been working on several smaller animations to give a little more life to the characters. I'm not entirely happy with the results and will need to spend more time to bring these to a higher standard. Not wanting to delay the update further, these have been pushed to the side for now. However, I have included one of these animations for your feedback. It's in the early part of the game when you're first introduced to Catherine. The animation plays after you look closer if you choose that option.

The beta update is now available for you to test. The beta version will contain partial event updates and is designed for testing. As a partial update, you may load a save and find no additional content for your chosen path. Saves from the live branch can be loaded, but it is not advisable to take saves from beta back to live. Opening a live save in beta does not affect the original save file. A feature players might not be aware of is 'Save File Naming,' which is available in the preferences menu. This allows you to name your save files to better track which routes or love interests you are playing. There is also a chance of bugs or other issues in the beta update. As this is a beta version, please be mindful when discussing or posting images from the game. Other players may want to wait for the live release. Please mark your threads with "[beta]" in the discussion forums. This beta version currently contains the Fashion class from the Creative course. To switch to a custom branch in the Steam client, right-click on the game from the library page and select "Properties". Among the available tabs will be the "Betas" tab.

Using Steam Branches, you will be able to get your hands on the latest content sooner than waiting for a live update. The beta updates will contain partial event updates and are designed for testing. You can load a save from the live branch in the beta update to see and test the latest content, but taking saves from beta back to live is not advisable. Opening a live save in beta does not affect the original save file. The live updates will always have content for you to play, regardless of your chosen path. However, the beta may not include content for your chosen path because it contains partial events. There is also a chance of bugs or other issues in the beta update and content changing when it goes live. More information on how to enable the beta branch will be released when testing is complete and it's ready for you to download. --Spoilers-- The morning/afternoon college events are determined based on your course selection. There is a Fashion class in the morning with Mrs Anderson for the Creative course. Mrs Anderson wants to dive into fashion by starting with a quick dress design experiment. She splits the class into three groups of two. One person to model, the other to design. Max will have the choice to model or design. There will be an option for her to help Max change if he chooses to be the model. The Structural Engineering class in the Engineering course is either in the morning or afternoon, depending on course selection. Mr Carter will demonstrate some basic structural principles with Natasha (his daughter) before involving the entire class in a practical demonstration. Depending on the course selection, the marketing class will be held in the morning or afternoon for the Business course. Ms. White will split the class into two groups. Since there is an uneven number of students, Max will get a choice of which group to join. Each group will choose a product group for their fake Marketing strategy. On the Humanities course, the Philosophy class with Mrs Anderson will be in the afternoon. Mrs. Anderson will delve into the philosophy of love, using concepts that intersect with history and literature (since those are the other two subjects in this course). She will read brief passages from historical literature, with two volunteers to act out the scenes. Max will be one of those volunteers, willingly or otherwise. The other volunteer is Caprice. There will be two lunch alternatives between the morning and afternoon classes. Keira and Natasha are having lunch in the canteen, which is the default choice. If you are to be Dean Stuart's intern, Samantha will collect you and deliver you to the Dean's office, where Ms. Taylor is enjoying a quiet coffee with Margaret. Margaret is unhappy with your appearance and will give you something to change into. With limited space, you can choose to be shy, or not, when changing. In the evening, there are two routes available. If you previously agreed to help Melanie make friends with Patricia, you will automatically choose this path. Max will suggest to Patricia that a friend needs her fashion advice. You will then collect Melanie and take her to the boutique. Patricia's father will insist that she help Melanie select and try on several outfits. Melanie's brash persona will escape her at the thought of changing in front of Patricia, so she insists you join them. The other route, which is the default, is with Teri in the Cafe. Things are busy in the Cafe, and Samantha is nowhere to be seen. Max will help Teri deal with the rush hour, regardless of working at the Cafe or not. The situation will be similar to when Max helped Samantha with the coffee machine by climbing under the counter. However, Teri has a more relaxed attitude than Samantha when having a man between her legs. Max encounters Haylee running as he leaves the boutique or Cafe. She informs him that she's called the cops because some guys are hassling a girl in the parking lot. The girl being hassled is Keira. Max intervenes but can just keep them away from Keira until the cavalry arrives or fight back. Each option has pros and cons for everyone involved. Regardless of the outcome, Max will get escorted home by Officer Carter (Meghan). After a conversation between Meghan and your Mom, Max will overhear Noe and Karla arguing next door. In the evening, Haylee will stop by. Depending on your choice during the fight, she's either impressed or upset with you. If you have high enough affinity, and the correct persona, she wants you to teach her how to handle herself. If you haven't kept your affinity high with your Mom, she may interrupt you and kill any mood you might have established. For those unaware, there is a sexual encounter on Kimberley's bad-boy path after the pool event on Tuesday (v5.2). Kimberley's bad-boy path is her solo route. She'll get jealous if she sees you flirting with other women; she even gets upset if your head accidentally lands between Alison's breasts when breaking up the fight between Alison and Patricia in the pool. Kimberley's nice-guy path is her group (and ultimately harem) route. She will encourage your relationship with Patricia as she feels Patricia is too trusting and inexperienced with men. As a nice guy, Kimberley feels you are a good person and can be trusted not to hurt Patricia. --Spin

Fixes for reported issues. Game not continuing if choosing not to kiss Maria on Tuesday. Richard's profile picture in the relationship app (Kimberley's father).

Version 5.2 contains the evening's events, closing out playable day 5 (Tuesday). The pool event is the largest in the game so far. I wanted to create a bigger scene not only from a development perspective but also to give you, as players, more content. This has impacted development time, and your feedback will help guide the balance between time and content. In addition to any bug fixes, the scene on Sunday morning at the Thomas house offers an additional Bay Boy point with Maria. This is intended to help players who were struggling to activate Maria's scene on Tuesday. If you already played the Sunday scene and selected the relevant option, the additional point will be applied when you load a saved game. The pool scene also has different paths depending on your persona and affinity with the characters involved. As the game moves forward, that will become more widely used with other characters. This update includes two short animations. One is added retrospectively to the Movie Theater scene with Natasha, and the other is in the pool scene. As always, your feedback will help shape further game development.

I know you're all keen to get your hands on the next update, and I'm working hard to bring this to you as soon as possible. Max's member will get more screen time as we progress through the story. It may even make an appearance at the pool scene. If you've played Natasha's movie theater, you'll know that Max doesn't have any hair down there. This was primarily out of necessity, as I wasn't happy with the relevant hair products at the time. The community has voted to change Max's personal grooming habits. Going forward, Max will have a small amount of hair down here to compliment his youthful looks. Previous images will be reworked to match. I've also been looking at animations, with a short sequence added to Natasha's movie theater scene.
Kimberley's lifeguard swimsuit will be in the pool scene, but with a slight change from the previous scenes it appeared in. The help information for the Persona system mentions the following: "Your available actions/dialogue will be set based on your persona with the main character in the scene (which, in most cases, is the first character you interact with for that event). This can result in interesting interactions if you cross paths with two characters at the same time who view your persona differently." While Kimberley won't be the first character you interact with, the pool event is centered around her intention to train Alison, making Kimberley the main character for the pool scene. Your interactions with her will influence the overall tone and the options available to you.

Progress on v5.2 (Tuesday Evening) is moving along as expected. I had Daz update on me, which almost caused an issue. I don't like to update software in the middle of making an event, as it can cause unexpected consequences. Luckily, the problem the update caused resolved itself. If you choose the supermarket scene, you have a choice of how to proceed with Lauren. You can take inspiration from Theadore, Lauren's husband, and go down the male domination route. Or opt for a more gentler approach and show her that not every man is like that. Each path will have pros and cons regarding character progress and the avenues they open. Pictured is Jennifer Moore, a wealthy business owner. If you play the supermarket path, you'll bump into her on the way. First impressions count, although you may have unknowingly already made an impression on her with your past actions. Jennifer's opinion of Max will reflect that of her daughter, assuming your path has involved interactions with her daughter up to this point. Jennifer's first appearance was in Kimberley's yoga class on Sunday, although there was no direct interaction between her and Max during the class. That's not to say she won't remember you. The default path, if you don't have the supermarket job, is to help Kimberley evaluate a new lifeguard. Alison has applied for the job of lifeguard, hence why Theadore needs help at the supermarket. You will join Patricia in being the willing victims in need of rescue. These scenes complement each other in terms of story. Lauren has taken Alison's place at the supermarket, and although Theadore might be a slavedriver, he calls you in to help her. Or you can join the girls in the pool as Kimberley puts Alison through her paces. The pool would usually be closed, giving you and the girls exclusive access. Following either path, there is the possibility of a late evening event when Max gets home. There are two versions of the event, which will only activate based on your decisions during the day. Based on feedback, I will add some additional relationship points for existing scenes involving Maria. This will make it easier to trigger Maria's event in the latest update. --Spin

Version 5.1 contains Maria's scene, closing out the afternoon events. This also includes a roundup of bug fixes. I'm grateful for all the feedback you've provided and will continue to monitor and track your issues and critiques. For those of you who like Maria, I hope you find something to enjoy in this update. GRAPHICS Maria's scene includes extended use of blended transitions. This smooth flow creates a pseudo animation feeling, as well as easing the back and forth between two characters speaking. Your feedback on event will help determine how much the feature is used in future events.

This update includes the following fixes.

• Lunch event with Amy.
• Meghan's profile image.
• Natasha's trophy image.
• The afternoon lecture no longer defaults to Design.
• Park event with jogger

There have been questions about music, achievements, game mechanics, love interests, and more content. We've avoided any bugs sneaking through into the build, which is an all-around good launch. While it doesn't show on the store page, cloud saves are enabled. These are configured for cross-platform compatibility for those who play on multiple systems. Look to the Steam Community Hub if you have questions or encounter issues. Keeping threads on-topic will help other players contribute or quickly find the answers they are looking for. The small blocks in the image above give a quick visual representation of the events that make up the story so far. Parts of the story run through mandatory events, and parts are where the player chooses which path to take. With the various routes available, seeing everything in a single play-through won't be possible. As a story game, more story content is obviously a priority. Besides the story, there are other aspects of the game to be worked on. Which, as players, do you want to see? Music, steam achievements, in-game story map (similar to the visualization above), re-play mechanic, locked gallery images (to show ones you haven't found yet), etc... What's next for the story? --Spoilers-- The next scene is with Maria. Mrs. Thomas has asked for Max to stop by after college. Depending on if you did the spying scene the night before, she may have caught you watching her through the window. This scene will have some variation for those not interested in pursuing Maria as a love interest. Following that, there are two paths to choose from. If you've accepted the Supermarket job, Mr. Adams will send you a message asking for your help. This scene will also involve Lauren. There will be a short scene on the way to the Supermarket involving Jennifer. If you decline or didn't accept the job, you will assist Kimberley in evaluating a new lifeguard. This scene will involve Kimberley, Patricia, and Alison. Both paths then converge, and there will be an extra scene in the evening, depending on if you took a specific action earlier in the day. Maria's event will be released separately, with the remaining evening's events coming out in a subsequent update.

You play as Maxan 18-year-old college freshman venturing into adult life. Several branching paths are already in the game, allowing you to shape the direction you want Max to take. The main story and character arcs have been mapped out, and as EA players, you can help shape how it all unfolds. I look forward to this journey with you and hope you enjoy playing my game.

It's getting closer... I hope you enjoy the story and look forward to future development.