I've just uploaded a new patch which has a few more fixes and adds some heavily requested accessibility features to the game. Changelog:

• Fixed Conrad's dramatic pause in Chapter 2
• Minor script improvements/fixes
• Text Skip option added in Camera/Screen settings
• Camera shake effects can now be toggled off in Camera/Screen settings

Initially, I decided against adding a text skip/text speed option because I didn't want players skimming through without reading the story. With a skip option, I was worried that a player might become lost and stuck on a puzzle if they hadn't read the details, and I knew that waiting for the text to display would almost force a player to pay attention and soak in the information. Now, the text display speed is pretty fast as is, so I figured it wouldn't be much of an issue, but when lag is introduced, the display system seems to slow down as well, due to it only updating on a new frame render. There was also a way to speed up the text with a debug button, but it also resulted in the entire game getting sped up. So after taking a break to work on newer projects, I went back into the code and tried a solution to these problems, the efforts of which you'll see now as the "Text Skip" mode. When this mode is on, several things will change: 1. There will no longer be any wait between text character display. (But waiting will still happen for commas, punctuations, and manual script-specific timings) 2. The text blip noise will no longer play, as the time between blips will be nonexistent. 3. Characters will no longer use their talking animations, as they only animate while text is in the process of displaying. Since the display is instant, they have no trigger to use the animation. This mode is intended to help players who are experiencing lag or are very fast readers. However, it takes away a few parts of the experience that I'd rather players not miss if you have a choice, such as the talking animations. In addition, the mode sometimes breaks timing-specific effects that happen on the same line, for example: camera zooms, multiple sfx clips, and multiple character animations. It should be obvious why these can become glitchy if the display is instant, but in theory nothing will ever break completely, the effects will just happen very fast, which is mostly acceptable. The second feature I've added is the ability to turn off camera shake, which is something that should've been in the game since day 1. Lots of camera shake effects can be jarring for some players, so being able to turn them off should help make the game more accessible. Both of these features are turned off by default, and the settings can be found under the new options sub-category called "Camera/Screen." Again, the overall goal is to make the game easier to play as a novel. Sometimes it's hard to find the right balance, but I believe these changes are a step in the right direction, and something I've wanted to add for a while. Thoughts for the future: It might be worthwhile looking into different text display options for the player, such as simply adjusting the speed at which text displays instead of skipping the display entirely. I opted against it this time, since even fast display speeds will still be affected by lag, but having the option for both would be better. There are also other effects in the game that could be jarring, so I might take a look at adding settings to disable them. For now, though, I'll be working on my newer projects, which you can keep up to date with on Twitter. As always, if you find a bug or have a request, you can make a post on the Steam community page, which I check regularly! Thanks again to everyone who has been a part of this community! It's been a while since release and I'm still getting support and feedback from new players, so it really means the world to me that people are continuing to enjoy the game. It's because of you that I'm able to make things like this, and I can't even begin to express my gratitude to those that have taken the time to play. -Matt

[ 2018-10-10 19:01:15 CET ] [ Original post ]