Hey everyone, I've admittedly been neglecting to post updates here on Steam, but that changes today! First of all...

...From now on, the Demo will be extended every month!

What this means is that the demo will join the monthly release hype and always be 6 months behind the latest content. The new monthly patch notes will be a celebration everyone can look forward to! I hope this strikes a good balance between letting all of you finally see how the story continues, and still honoring those who support/ed me on a monthly basis. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! (Small disclaimer: The "free updates every month schedule" schedule will not be followed forever (unless I miraculously gain so many supporters where this somehow becomes a sustainable business model). As of now, the full game is still planned to be a one-time purchase. Thank you for your understanding!)

With that out of the way, here's what's new:

Demo Content

• 10k new words!
• The continuation after the criminal record reveal!
• A new character!
• A new escape room!
• 1 new CG!

Patch Notes

• 15k new words. (115,000+ in total)*
• A new alternate sprite for Ashor!
• Every character now has something to say about every escape room item.
• 11 new backgrounds!
• A track previously only available from buying the soundtrack finally appears in-game!* (by Zaxcess)
• Two updated music tracks.* (by Zaxcess)
• Added the "Page View" feature to the flowchart for improved keyboard/gamepad controls.*
• Added a minor explanation to the flowchart.*
• The title screen now changes based on which floor you were last on.
• Added additional lighting to all sprites.
• The talk icon now only wiggles when there are new hints for you to read.
• Added a counter to the affection gauge in the profile menu.
• Accounted for additional unique conditions in the break room.*
• Added sound effects to item combination.
• Stabilized saving the game during escape rooms.
• Fixed the conditions of various puzzle hints.
• Made the minimap more elegant by removing the border.
• Changed the dimensions of the minimap.
• Made transitions nicer.
• Applied the "old pixel art" setting to one flowchart node.*
• Minor dialogue changes.
• Fixed typos.

*Beta only
More generally, Artificial Selection has finally reached a total of 100k+ words! I'm extremely proud of this milestone, and want to give heartfelt thanks to all my supporters on Ko-fi. Working towards a new update on a monthly basis has given me such a huge surge of motivation, leading me to be more productive than I've ever been in the past 4 years of AS' development. (Granted, being done with uni also helped a lot.) Thank you for your thoughts, theories, and of course, bug reports!