Hello everyone, it's been a while!
One of the consistant feedback we had since release was about how hard the game was and how you can easily get lost or have no clue about what to do next. We heard you.
However since this high difficulty was baked in the game's design (in an attempt to make a "true" detective game"), solving this particular issue meant doing some heavy redesign. That's why in our initial updates I focused on QOL improvements (by the way these updates introduced new bugs and I apologize for taking this long fix them).
This heavy redesign (which involved amongst other things reviewing by hand 12000 possible hypothesis) explains why it took so long and the big version number change.
A consequence of the redesign is that your existing save will go through a conversion when launching the game. I tested this with multiple saves from multiple players so I'm confident it will work no matter your save but I've been wrong before, so in case something goes wrong, don't hesitate to reach out.
To celebrate the launch of this big update, the game will be feature a 30% discount.Without further ado, here are the changes this update brings : [h3]New hint system [/h3]
- Now the player amass "clues" as the investigation progresses (leads advanced, connections/hypothesis made, advancing a confrontation).
- These clues can be used to "pay" for hints, of which there are now two types :
- a "tip" which covers the previous existing hints and cost 3 clues.
- a "hypothesis word" hint which will reveal one possible word for an hypothesis and cost 9 clues.
- Making a mistake during a confrontation will cost 1 clue, and advancing will gain you 1 clue as well.
- Using hints no longer directly affect your end of chapter score. Rather they represents your boss's confidence in your detective ability. If they run out during the confrontation, he will take over and it will lower your score only then. In other words, you can reach the confrontation with 0 clues, you can still have a perfect score.
- The achievements have been changed to reflect this, and should trigger on a converted save when you launch it.
[h3]Interrogations & lead/hypothesis changes[/h3]
- Each hypothesis is now linked with a specific lead. Some leads have been removed.
- Progressing through your investigation, you will unlock interrogations (i.e. a line of questioning) also linked to a lead, that your hypothesis is the answer to.
- Each one of 12 000 possible hypothesis has now been categorized in one of 5 categories. Eugene will have one specific reaction for each (only one for the sake of clarity at the expense of diversity).
- Hypothesis doesn't make sense
- Hypothesis is technically or potentially true but doesn't move the investigation forward
- Hypothesis is close
- Each "valid" hypothesis has a clue "pool" linked to it. Hypothesis close to valid will award clues from that pool until it's depleted. Making the valid hypothesis awards the remaining clues from the pool plus extra clues for making the hypothesis.
[h3]Underlining testimonies and favorite testimonies changes[/h3]
- To make easier to identify and go back to relevant sentences from a testimony, it is now possible to underline sentences from a testimony, either directly in the interview or later in the transcript, by holding the left mouse button on the sentence.
- You can add a testimony to favorites directly from the interview.
- Favorites now display 6 spots, and can hold more testimonies by navigating with arrows.
[h3]QOL changes[/h3]
- Changed some mouse bindings/actions to be more consistent (right mouse button only cancel things)
- Update tooltips and added missing ones
- You can now see every hypothesis you previously made from the journal or from the "door" screen
- Changed notifications to be more readable and prettier.
- "Tip" hints previously asked that are no longer relevant will show strikethrough.
- Optimized GPU usage in menus.
- Optimized CPU usage in isometric view.
- Improved swapping between mouse and keyboard controls
- Fixed steam achievement localization
And of course there was also a backlog of bugs I've gone through. I took the time to be thorough with QA testing this time around, so fingers crossed this release should be clean. However if something slipped through the crack, as always don't hesitate to report anything via the form or the forums.
I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who report a bug or suggested a connection/hypothesis.The game should also now launch on Steam Deck and Linux, sorry for taking so long but the fix came with an engine update, and I had to make sure the game was thoroughly tested before making it available again. The experience is not yet optimal but will improve in the future as I tackle controller support.
After our troublesome launch, I'm hoping this update can let old and new players enjoy the game more.
If you think know someone or a group that could like the game, please share the word, it's immensely appreciated!Good luck with your investigation detectives !
Tom