Jury Trial News

Greetings Counsel,

Today, alpha version 0.0.5 has been released. While the changes in this build may seem minor, their impact on the game is quite significant. Since the last update, we have been working on the save system, and we’re happy to announce that it is now possible to save the game during a court session or meeting.

The new ‘Recess’ option in the HUD allows you to request a quick break during court days or meetings. When the timing is appropriate and the judge grants permission, the recess feature takes you back to the case folder. Here, you can review materials if needed, but more importantly, you can now save and load the game mid-scene.

This ensures that you can save, load, exit, and resume the game at any time without worrying about losing progress. Implementing this feature required extensive modifications to multiple scenes and systems, but we believe it was time well spent.


New Feature
It is now possible to save and load the game during the following scenes:

• Meetings
  
• Opening and closing arguments
  
• Witness questioning
  

Improvements and Fixes

• The defendant now rises when the judge announces the sentencing
  
• Text that was too long for speech bubbles or the dialogue GUI has been resized to fit properly
  
• Fixed an issue where a person could be scheduled for court despite being dismissed or missing
  
• Added an info tooltip for witnesses
  
• Various other minor issues have been corrected
  

Thank you for your continued support! If you have feedback or encounter any issues with the new build, please let us know on Discord.

Greetings, Counselor,

Alpha build 0.0.3 has been released today! This update focuses on refining the jury questioning process, introducing the automatic transcript feature, and implementing various quality-of-life improvements. For a detailed breakdown, please review the full change log here

As promised, we’ve reopened applications to participate in the current test. The case of this test involves defending a client against serious murder charges from start to finish, offering a compelling and challenging experience.

If you’re interested in participating, simply leave a message in the #application channel on our Discord server expressing your interest. For testing purposes, please include your display resolution. You’re also welcome to share additional details, such as your Steam profile (if public) or any other information you’d like us to know.

Prefer a more private application method? You can apply via direct message—just refer to the pinned post in the #application channel for instructions.

Test keys will be distributed via Discord’s private messaging system, so be sure to keep an eye on your inbox. Please note that all Steam keys provided are temporary and will be deactivated once the test concludes.

Thank you for your interest and support!

Greetings, Counselor,

Today, alpha build 0.0.3 has been released! Besides some quality-of-life improvements and smaller adjustments, this update mainly focuses on changes to the jury questioning process and the introduction of an automatic transcript feature.

Improvements and Fixes

Jury Questioning

• Jury questioning is no longer limited to four mandatory days where the player must question five potential jurors each day.
  
• Players can now schedule the questioning of jurors in the same manner as scheduling a meeting.
  
• This gives players complete freedom to decide when and how many potential jurors they wish to question.
  
• A questioning session can be scheduled anytime between the Pre-Trial Conference and the Jury Selection date.
  
• If the player schedules more than one potential juror for a single day, they will return to the case folder after each questioning session, allowing them to save in between.
  
• To accommodate the new system, the jury questioning assessment has been removed, and an overview of the selected jury has been added, which is shown after completing the selection.
  

Further Changes

• An automatic transcript feature has been introduced, enabling players to re-read dialogue from past meetings, court days, and the current scene. This is accessible within the case folder and during a scene.
  
• The Jury Pool tab within the case folder has been reworked for better usability and clarity.
  
• The dialog GUI now highlights which dialogue options have already been used and indicates if any unused dialogue remains within a topic or piece of evidence. When all available dialogue has been exhausted, the entry point automatically grays out and becomes unclickable. If new dialogue becomes available, the entry point reactivates, making it easy to spot and engage with the updated content.
  
• The rating GUI for jurors, which helps players take notes during the questioning process, is now accessible through the juror sheet button. It has been replaced by a better overview of known and unknown traits, along with a note about the juror.
  
• In this note, Case Creators can provide players with hints or other useful information, similar to the assessments on the person page. This note can also be accessed during juror questioning and selection within the rating GUI.
  
• The Legal Situation tab has been slightly adjusted to improve the display of compulsory and supporting arguments.
  
• Multiple typographical errors and other minor issues have been corrected.
  

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Greetings Counselor,

It’s been nearly a month since we launched our first test phase, and we want to extend our gratitude to everyone who applied as testers and provided invaluable feedback.The insights we've gathered, from positive feedback, player data like playtime that Steam provides, and the suggestions you've shared, make it clear that the concept of the game is resonating well with the community.

We’ve already addressed some of the key points raised during testing, as noted in our latest Change Log, and we’ll continue to do so, particularly with the ongoing update to the Jury Questioning process.

This being the first time we’ve presented Jury Trial to a wider audience, it’s really encouraging to see how many of you are passionate about a game like this. For those who haven’t had a chance to try the Alpha build yet, be sure to apply on Discord by Monday, 7th of October 2024, as test keys will no longer be distributed after that date.

As this phase wraps up, please note that test keys will remain active. So, if you're still in the middle of defending Kareem, you’re all set. We’ll give a heads-up when we decide to deactivate the test keys for good.

Thank you again for your continued support!

Greetings Counsel,

Based on the feedback from the current test, we've released a small update that includes fixes, improvements, and several requested features. Please note that not all changes will apply to your existing save game and may require starting a new game.

New Features:

• Added an indicator on the Office Tab to highlight unread messages in the inbox.
  
• Unread messages in the inbox now appear in bold until they are read.
  
• Players can now skip the juror walk-in sequence during trial days (opening statements, closing arguments, witness hearings, and verdict).
  
• Tooltips have been updated to display the person's name, role, and all associated traits.
  
• The defendant is now included in Jury Selection, making it easier to review their traits.
  
• A save confirmation prompt has been added to prevent accidental saving due to misclicks.
  

Improvements and Fixes:

• Increased the likelihood that a juror will reveal a trait hint during jury questioning.
  
• The first client meeting is now scheduled with a fixed date rather than through the event system. Note: Previously, if the player scheduled the meeting manually before the event system triggered on day one after the case started, the incarceration event could become misaligned.
• The Jury Pool Religion filter now correctly filters for the religion of Thule.
  
• Strikeout texts for jurors and judges are now correctly displayed.
  
• The number of strike points for the judge has been increased.
  
• Increased spacing between dialogue options in the dialogue GUI for better usability on smaller screens.
  
• The game is now properly centered on widescreen resolutions.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused evidence material descriptions to disappear after cycling and switching materials.
  
• Players can now scroll through objection options in the objection GUI using the mouse wheel.
  
• The tutorial has been slightly updated and now includes a link to upcoming changes in the Jury Questioning system.
  
• A few misplaced strikes on answers during jury questioning have been removed.
  
• Multiple typographical errors and other minor issues have been corrected
  

We appreciate your continued support and if you missed the upcoming changes to the Jury Questioning process, you can find them here.