There have been a few significant updates to the game in the last month, but the really big news of this update is actually about me. As promised in December I can now make this happy announcement: I've accepted a position as Lead Writer at GrapeOcean Technologies, the creators of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness. I will be taking charge of narrative for their future Baldur's Gate-style RPGs (and helping out on some upcoming Black Geyser DLC). https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness Over the years I've written quite a few games, RPGs included... but it's been a childhood dream to do a full Baldur's Gate-like with a budget, ever since I played Baldur's Gate itself in 1998. So this is a huge deal for me, especially after what a struggle the last few years have been. What, I hear you ask, will this mean for Zone? To be honest I can't say for sure. Certainly I'll have less free time to work on it. On the other hand, I'll be able to afford new art which has been our biggest bottleneck in recent months, and I'm hoping to make some business connections which could mean a massive boost in so many ways. Obviously I won't be giving up on Zone. I've been at it for 5 years so far, it remains my baby, and I won't stop until it's done. Not to mention I take seriously the promises I've made to you who have supported us on this long journey. The dream lives because of you. So let's talk about what's new with the game. The biggest change has been on story segments, which have been unacceptably unstable so far. Thanks to player bug reports I've decided to do a major rework of this old and nasty code, replacing a large chunk of it wholesale. You may notice a difference in how it responds to your clicks; the whole mess is now rather more solid than it used to be. I've also taken another step forward on controller support, which should make the research tree in particular a little easier to operate. Beyond that, there have been some more balance changes, new buffs/debuffs, fixed side-quests, and new features for the consumables system. Check the changelog below for the full nitty-gritty. Anyway, I've gone on long enough for one update. Thank you for being here, and wish me luck. See you in the Zone! Changelog:

• First iteration of controller support on Research screen
• Automatic food selection now prioritises item with lowest food value
• Partially consumed food now properly saves its cash value as 0
• Better Intent icons for Stunned/Idle/Preparing enemies
• Added new buff vulnerabilities to some enemies
• New automatic error-detection system for story files -- story crashes should be much rarer from now on
• Major refactoring of story segment code
• Implemented multi-use consumables
• Slicers now have 2 uses & increased cash value
• New research options
• Fixed save game corruption related to item stashes
• Fixed softlock/crash when using Alley
• Fixed softlock/crash in Discretion Required quest
• Fixed softlock/crash in Sending a Message quest
• Fixed softlock/crash in Hunter's Bequest quest
• Hermit conversation can now be ended properly
• Fixed potential error in Power Plant cave encounter
• Fixed potential errors in Wharf ship encounter
• Side quests Cyn's Favour, Extermination and Rare Delights now properly appear in the Jobs list
• Ambush option in Wharf whale Opportunity now gives a proper resolution
• Performance optimisation on story segments
• Fixed intermittent problem in Options menu
• Fixed transition arrow pop-up not displaying sometimes
• Alley in Esper is now enabled during Chapter 1