Book of Hours News

(Lovely image above is courtesy of the Lucid Tarot, which we hope will be available by Christmas.)

Another big update only two weeks after BANCROFT? Why not. COSELEY is a great big grab bag of quality-of-life improvements, and a couple of new features. I'm not done with QoL yet, but the next update (DAYMARE) is more content-focused. That's going to be a while away though, because Lottie and I are taking a couple weeks off, because apparently working all the time is in some nebulous way bad for you and you're supposed to 'relax' and have 'fun' and all that other human nonsense.

Patch notes, and my glosses, follow!

• Zoom-to-cursor is back! I've reworked it from my eccentric experimental version to be more what people expected, and switched it on by default. You can still turn it off in the options menu if you don't like it
  
• Auto-arrange changes; undo button, separate merge and arrange, variant ordering on reclick
  Keep clicking the arrange button (or pressing Tab) to see the effects
• It's now possible to dream on a Memory when night comes, preserving it for the following day
  You can't do this with Weather, and you can only do it after nightfall
• Dedicated verb icons for workstations
  Lottie wanted these in to add character - and they're also pavingthe way for another UI upgrade
• Added a small feature to make the endgame, and rare scenarios in the midgame, easier (psst it relates to Numa)
  psst psst there's a way to finish the game when you're ready without waiting for the right time
• More performance optimisations! Still ongoing, still experimental
  I'll keep working on these, but do drop me a mail if you're still struggling on a machine that's above minimum spec
• There's now a second phonograph in the House
• on new saves only* (i.e. if you haven't opened the Severn Chamber yet in this playthrough). The Governor's phonograph also now accepts different aspects (run something through it to update)
  
• TAKE NOTE! If a Soul card becomes contaminated after this update, it will sometimes be able to pass on the contamination to books
  Expect more from contaminations and maladies later - but I'm feeding these in very cautiously
• You can now mute copied-text popups (and/or re-enable them in Options)
  Sorry, folks, finally got to it
• The harp in the Windlit Gallery is a little different (on new saves only)
  
• The Librarian can now burn correspondence
  Right now that means 'spare reminder from St Rhonwens isn't wirh you forever' but it may be more relevant in future updates
• You'll no longer get two simultaneous Numa incidents when playing on 6x speed
  I was hunting this one for a while - thanks to D.K. for giving me the final piece in the puzzle via their bug report
• One candelabrum moved in the nave of St Brandan's so you get a little more space in the window-shelf
  We'd have done this a coupla weeks ago, but the other half of Weather Factory, who does the art, just put in a couple of fifty-hour weeks to get the Lucid Tarot finished. WELL DONE LOTTIE. Same with the art bits below
• Entrance hall chairs now show in front of shelved objects
  
• Added a visible path down from Earl Brian's field to make the cliff-link clearer
  
• The Mirrors in the Hall of Division now accept Grail (as usual, you'll need to run a recipe through them to see this, if you're playing an existing save)
  This is more thematically on-point; also there was a single solitary Soul evolution where you could still lock yourself out of an upgrade, and this resolves it. Thanks to those who reported this!
• You'll only see the Wisdom Tree tip once (finally got around to this)
  
• Swimming in the sea is now possible, though not always wise, and a swimmer should ensure they know where their towel is; AND examining Fabric no longer destroys it; AND clean fresh linen now has restorative properties
  All these three points are related. I wanted to stop destroying Fabric, as part of upcoming feature tweaks for both analysis and Mommet work. So I wanted to give towels and linen something else to do. (previously they were one-shot Memory generators - they had just looked nice in the room art, and it's often hard to find a use for these objects). PS people should stop trying to give their dirty laundry to Mrs Kille, people, she's a midwife not a laundress
• Added an extra quarter-second delay to the room preview window
  still too intrusive? now too slow? needs to be configurable? we'll see, it's all a grand adventure
• Added a Revert button to the crafting helper panel, which returns the window to the first available recipe
  
• Added a missing connection from Gullscry Loggia to Gaol Bridge
  
• Lucid Tarot cards in ending screens display at a better ratio
  I didn't even notice, and I don't know if anyone else did, but it was upsetting my wife to see her art squashed
• Fixed some Ouranoscopy hint and recipe issues, and added a new recipe
  
• Fixed some Stone Stories hint and recipe issues, and added a new recipe
  There'll be more of this sort of thing
• Options in crafting helper panel are slightly easier to click
  
• Fixed an irritation where mousing over Period aspect could bring up an irrelevant unlock preview tooltip
  
• Father Schaller now admits that he reads Sanskrit
  Expect him and other visitors to show more of an interest in some other relevant books in the future
• Westcott Room scroll cubbies now work
  
• Fixed an issue where Memories found as random gathers would sometimes only appear once (with thanks to M.W.)
  
• Wormwood Dream is persistent
  
• Crafting is no longer possible in bed. It was rarely useful, usually confusing, always a health and safety issue
  Are there other things coming that you can do in bed? no wash your mind out, not that. But one of the potential expansions has to do do with dreaming
• A terminological issue re: scientific instrumentation has been addressed.
  Can't believe I forgot what an astrolable looked like
• Added a missing sound for some small things being dropped
  I only noticed this because I was tuning the volume of the spookier sounds in the caves below the House
• Fixed a problem where detail messages weren't showing on consumable objects when they were Considered
  
• Clearer slot labelling on Skills
  So fewer people will get to hour six and only then realise you don't need to use up Lessons for every slot?
• Saves and Backups button doesn't suffer from desynced text
  
• Detail images for very small objects no longer pixelate
  Surprisingly fiddly to fix, but glasses of water are now much charming-er

Loads of tiny fixes and enhancements in this one. The points at the top in bold are probably the ones you'll care about most.

- Zoom-to-cursor is back! I've reworked it from my eccentric experimental version to be more what people expected, and switched it on by default. You can still turn it off in the options menu if you don't like it - Experimental auto-arrange changes; undo button, separate merge and arrange, variant ordering on reclick - It's now possible to dream on a Memory when night comes, preserving it for the following day
- TAKE NOTE! If a Soul card becomes contaminated after this update, it will sometimes be able to pass on the contamination to books
- Dedicated verb icons for workstations
- More performance optimisations! Still ongoing, still experimental
- There's now a second phonograph in the House *on new saves only*. The Governor's phonograph also now accepts different aspects (run something through it to update)
- The harp in the Windlit Gallery is a little different (on new saves only)
- One candelabrum moved in the nave of St Brandan's so you get a little more space in the window-shelf
- Entrance hall chairs now show in front of shelved objects
- Added a visible path down from Earl Brian's field to make the cliff-link clearer
- Added an extra quarter-second delay to the room preview window
- Swimming in the sea is now possible, though not always wise, and a swimmer should ensure they know where their towel is
- Examining Fabric no longer destroys it
- Clean fresh linen now has restorative properties
- Added a small feature to make the endgame, and rare scenarios in the midgame, easier
- Added a Revert button to the crafting helper panel, which returns the window to the first available recipe
- The Librarian can now burn correspondence
- Added a missing connection from Gullscry Loggia to Gaol Bridge
- Lucid Tarot cards in ending screens display at a better ratio
- Fixed some Ouranoscopy hint and recipe issues, and added a new recipe
- Fixed some Stone Stories hint and recipe issues, and added a new recipe
- Options in crafting helper panel are slightly easier to click
- Fixed an irritation where mousing over Period aspect could bring up an irrelevant unlock preview tooltip
- Father Schaller now admits that he reads Sanskrit
- Westcott Room scroll cubbies now work
- Fixed an issue where Memories found as random gathers would sometimes only appear once (with thanks to M.W.)
- Wormwood Dream is persistent
- Crafting is no longer possible in bed. It was rarely useful, usually confusing, always a health and safety issue
-A terminological issue re: scientific instrumentation has been addressed.
- You'll no longer get two simultaneous Numa incidents when playing on 6x speed
- Added a missing sound for some small things being dropped
- The Mirrors in the Hall of Division now accept Grail (as usual, you'll need to run a recipe through them to see this, if you're playing an existing save)
- Fixed a problem where detail messages weren't showing on consumable objects when they were Considered
- Clearer slot labelling on Skills
- Saves and Backups button doesn't suffer from desynced text
- You'll only see the Wisdom Tree tip once (finally got around to this)
- HOTFIX: nasty bit of borked JSON output
- HOTFIX: auto-arrange button wasn't working
- HOTFIX: can drag to move in Wisdoms tree again

HOTFIX: Nume-Brume should now only show up in Numa; you shouldn't be able to skip incidents on 6x speed

FEATURE: Crafting helper panel for workstations
FEATURE: Mouseover to show unlock requirements on rooms
FEATURE: Save-independent endings. You can now unlock a History with one save, and access it from the Histories screen even when playing another save. (When you open the game, it'll log any new Histories from your current AUTOSAVE and store them permanently.)
Two matching spintriae can now be converted into a spool of metal wire.
Items fixed to the wall no longer highlight as Considerable.
To minimise beach-madness, some UI elements only appear once you're out of the first phase of the game
Added an 'Unlock All Resolutions' checkbox option for people who really don't want to play in 16:10
Aspect-finder pulse now keeps going if you leave your mouse over the aspect display
Little bit of camera easing
Fixed some incorrect crafting hints
Expanded hints on Determinations and ending-related info
Fixed Curse of the Flying Scroll/Phonograph bug
Rev Tim no longer pretends like he's going to give you two Memories on first introduction
Roots Origin Determination no longer claims to affect Grail
Tree of Wisdoms auto-closes when you hit Backspace
Clarified some Moth and Lantern History text
Added some clarifying information about Numa frequency
Dog is no longer confusingly found in staff-room if already found elsewhere (in new games, anyway)
Candles, and some llies, are no longer Fuel
Fatigued Soul cards now properly affected by theoplasmic contamination
Deeplight Corals didn't allow crafting.
Deep Mandaic no longer alphabetised under M
Fludd Gallery glassware is a little less greedy for clicks
Some experimental perf optimisations
Added a hotkey to hide the HUD/UI, for screenshot enthusiasts
UI Scale is now a slider
Fixed annoying mouseover flicker bug on aspect preview
Rags are now Fabric
VSync options are now separate from quality settings
Some more of the higher-level Memories are Persistent (but no longer Confounding Parable)
Pennies can now be disposed of
Fixed an issue where you could use hotkey to start a room unlocking while another unlock was in progress, bypassing checks and devouring the assistant
Leathy now consumed when drunk
Added some aspects to Telescope and Cage.
Tweaked some miscued recipes to fit their skills better.
All Altars which accept Lights now also accept Fuels and Pigments.
Dragging an item a very long way from a newly unlocked room while scrolling will no longer make the item disappear
Activated nooks in the dispensary room in the Motley Tower
Tiny icons for things now preserve the correct aspect ratio
Typos!
HOTFIX: 'ghostcrafting' issue (thanks E.K.) where mysterious empty recipe info could appear in helper panel
HOTFIX: no black border around books
HOTFIX: silly bug fixed where books were taking up too much space
HOTFIX: reverted accidental ordering changes in trays
HOTFIX: Reduced likelihood of pulse-search getting stuck
HOTFIX: Occasional issue with cards escaping from inside workstations
HOTFIX: Sun-Cross symbol has suitable aspects again
HOTFIX: ordering for money is sensible again
HOTFIX: truly ridiculous bug where things go BONG when you pick them up or put them down.

As you may have noticed from our Steam updates, we’ve been updating BOOK OF HOURS with loads of fixes and improvements since launch (well, AK has. Lottie been fidaddling about with ART like the hornswoggling dilettante that she is. More on that below). We’ve got some big QoL features nearly ready to go on the beta branch for the game. But first of all, here’s one much-requested change that has made it into the main game. Over to AK:

[h3]NEXT COMPLETED WORKSTATION WATCHER/BUTTON[/h3]

This function was in the game from the beginning, but you had to hammer the BACKSPACE key, and the implementation was a little rough. It’s much easier to keep track of what you’ve done and where you’ve done it, now.



Now the features that are almost ready to come out of the oven (or you can try them now on the beta branch on GOG or Steam):

[h3]LESS CLICKY ROOM NAVIGATION[/h3]

Mouse over a locked room to get a preview of its unlock requirements – which will also highlight any relevant assistants you have ready to go…



…and when you click to get the room unlock window, I’ve tidied it up so all the details are in one place.



[h3]SAVE-INDEPENDENT ENDINGS[/h3]

BOOK OF HOURS is a long game – I didn’t especially plan for people to replay it, at least not without waiting for expansions and updates. More – the reason there are so many endings is that I wanted people to play through once and get a distinctive ending that most others would never see. I didn’t really particularly think people would want to save-scum and try out different endings. So endings were locked to a particular save file.

But almost everyone else felt differently! In hindsight it seems obvious that people would want to fossick around and experience at least a couple of endings, without starting a whole new save. (This is the peril of making the games that you want to play yourself.) So I’ve fixed it; all endings are stored save-independently and you can build up a library of logged histories from multiple saves. When the update hits, it’ll pick up any endings in your current save and add them to the store.



[h3]THE CRAFTING HELPER PANEL[/h3]

Used to be that you could lock yourself out of lower-level crafting recipes if you increased your skills too much. This was usually not a problem, because you could usually just leave a relevant ingredient out and not activate the higher-level recipe, but it was much more annoying than I’d realised. This helps with that, but it also makes it much easier to explore the crafting system… and it’s a starting-point for further crafting improvements in this and future games.



The response in beta was enthusiastic, but a few harder-core folks were worried that it might automate away some of the fun of exploration. Banish those worries. (1) it doesn’t show all the recipes in the game, just the ones most relevant to the crafting system (though I’ll probably enable it for Determinations and Histories, too) and (2) you can just leave it permanently hidden if you prefer.



[h3]SCREENSHOT MODE[/h3]

This has caused an unexpected degree of excitement…



[h3].. AND THIS[/h3]

A very small number of people are very enthusiastic about getting rid of the stray penny in their Sundries tray. There will almost certainly be more uses for pennies in the future, but



Back to Lottie’s hornswoggling art, also known the long-awaited Lucid Tarot. I announced this aaages ago before BOOK OF HOURS evolved into the all-encompassing Fabergé egg it became and I had more free time to focus on merch. Let this be a humbling lesson to me to remember that Even If You Are Excited About Something It’s Not Necessarily The Best Time To Tell People About It, and the other sobering truth, There Are Only So Many Hours In The Day. I feel guilty about not having completed it yet so I’m trying my hardest to get the Lucid Tarot out on our Etsy shop by the end of the year – ideally in time for people to order as Christmas presents! Here are a few WIPs to give you a sense of the minor arcana, which I’ve never shared before:



Anyone want to guess who the Knights, Queens and Kings of each suit are? I shared this already on my Twitter, so here’s Aunt Mopsy to get you started:

1. Another big performance pass. That’s AK’s priority for this week.
   
2. Nuisances pass. Why are Pale Mommets so hard to make? Are some skill evolutions technically possible but practically impossible? why is bookshelf x in room y 10 pixels shorter than it should be? etc. etc. etc.
   
3. Another QoL pass. AK hasn’t forgotten he said he’d add notes; and he really wants to sort out that zoom-to-cursor function.
   
4. New free content and/or paid expansions. By Christmas, we’ll be sorting out what content goes free into the main game and what goes into our first paid expansion (though these are free to anyone with Perpetual Edition, too).
   
5. Soundtrack. Everyone seems to like it (everyone has EARS) so we’re getting this out ASAP. Please note that because of royalty splits with our composer, and because it’s not a content expansion, this isn’t included for free in Perpetual Edition like almost everything else. But it will be extremely reasonably priced!
   
6. Localisation. We’re starting with Simplified Chinese and will announce more languages as they’re official.
   

May Hush House keep you warm as the season turns to autumn. More news soon!