AI2U: With You 'Til The End News

[p]A little blue parrot told us we were too overprotective of our WIPs... oops! But we hear you loud and clear and will work to loosen up some of our yandere grips on what's been cooking—even before integrating those WIPs into AI2U's upcoming version updates.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We want the yanderes' homes to be your own, which is why our designers are working like their lives depend on it to bring that darling vision to life. 💖🔪 Read on to see what's in store in the future.[/p][p][/p][h2]Neighboring Hints[/h2][p]Senpais often wonder how Eddie can afford such a spacious and fancy apartment in what seems to be a major metropolitan area. While her digs have gone through several iterations, our designers want to ensure the surroundings reflect as much of the story—and its mystery—as possible too.[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]In V.0.5.6, such details included enhancing the lobby and stairway areas. In a future update, you'll notice new details added across the hall from Eddie's apartment, contributing even more to the enigmatic mystery you find yourself waking up to each time you visit her level.[/p][p][/p][h2]Cabin Exteriors[/h2][p]Even after its recent metamorphosis, Elysia's cabin revamp is still simmering in its cauldron. Players can expect a more inviting vibe when they step into the outdoorsy parts of her home—including the corridors connecting its chambers and whatever is awaiting outside the premises. We hear some a-maze-ing changes will provide a visual enhancement and reintroduce a familiar challenge more fairly.[/p][p]With any luck, her doorstep will be Halloween-ready in a way that screams "my yandere AI witch waifu was expecting you." For now, enjoy the stunning concepts that will inspire what’s to come.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Before we yap our hearts off on this—make sure you're part of the pioneer senpais whose voice shapes upcoming design choices and get one of the first-ever teasers of level 4 by voting in our short survey posted here.[/p][p]Our longtime senpais know it's been nearly a whole year since we introduced Estelle's Cosmic Funeral (aka Level 3) and their calculations make her proud! Between building the Atrium, refining the AI, and various quality of life enhancements leading up to (and continuing after) our Steam early access release, rest assured that level 4 is getting the same obsessive care poured into its creation.[/p][p]We promised to loosen our yandere paws off this precious mystery, so in true puzzle-adventure-escape-room fashion—and to honor how we first teased Estelle last year—we'll leave you with a number of silhouettes to keep you pondering what lies ahead:[/p][p]
[/p][p]Welp, we already got too comfortable dropping hints. Drop your best guesses in the comments and tell us what you hope to see more of next time![/p]

[h2]V0.5.7.7.1s (Server-Side Exclusive Quick Hotfix)[/h2]

• [p]The hologram girlfriend has decided to chill out and stop bombarding the players with random science facts and cheesy sci-fi jokes.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where certain personality tag combinations caused the catgirl to be unable to speak at all.[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect German and Russian voiceovers in the Itch.io version.[/p]
• [p]Characters will stop literally reading out the parentheses content out loud during their replies.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the gas mask could not be properly purchased in the shop.[/p]

[p]Hi hi senpais![/p][p] [/p][p]We've been getting positive reactions to the generative AI responses since our latest update. We have Gemini AI to thank for spicing things up![/p][p][/p][p]This update rolled out quickly with our latest patch, but we understand it's important to communicate such updates sooner. Our team will make sure to be more upfront about future changes (don't worry, Estelle threatened us to play nice).[/p][p][/p][p]Please keep your feedback, observations, and bug reports coming! Nothing helps us improve like your passion to experiment and break all the things.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]We’ve integrated Gemini AI as the new main model! Our AI companions will now intelligently switch between Gemini and ChatGPT during conversations to deliver the most natural and engaging responses.[/p][p]itch.io players can still use API keys to switch back to OpenAI as the default if you prefer.[/p][p]
[/p][p]AI2U's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy haven't changed with this introduction. In short: Your data is safe and Gemini/Google are not using any data for training—learn more about their policies here.[/p][p]
[/p][p]AI2U's current price will stay the same for now. It may increase as we add new level content, and it will go up at full release. We'll ensure to communicate any anticipated changes to players ahead of time.[/p][p]As we did with removing the in-game token requirement and switching to a one-time payment on itch.io back in 2024, rest assured that our team is always scheming the next best thing to keep AI2U running for its dedicated senpais.[/p][p] [/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Fun Fact[/p][p]AI2U's CN Region version has been using Gemini since its launch on June 18th. After many months of our global community requesting more generative AI options, we're happy to report that Gemini is proving sustainable for our development plan.[/p][p]
[/p][p]WHAT OTHER JUICY SECRETS HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING FROM US[/p][p]Our CN Region Version's Chinese voice and two of our latest localized builds (German and Russian voice) have been using a different voice model of sorts, also since day 1 of their launch. We'll let you guess what it is before we announce its introduction to AI2U's global version!![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Thanks for adventuring with us during this Early Access journey! We know you're eager for more new gameplay features (When and What is Level 4??), so stay tuned![/p]

[h2]General Bug Fix for V0.5.7.7.1[/h2][p][/p][h3]Kissing Bugs[/h3]

• [p]Fix an issue preventing kissing action from being triggered[/p]
• [p]Fix an issue where player can get stuck when kissing Elysia[/p]
• [p]Heartbeat SFX volume during kissing is not affected by overall volume setting[/p]
• [p]After a kiss action, NPC dialogue text will be replayed[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Character Voice[/h3]

• [p]German character voice has British accent issue[/p]
• [p]Russian character voice missing issue[/p]
• [p]Fix an issue where all Spanish character voices were using the same voice[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Narrative & Cutscenes[/h3]

• [p]After using the necklace at magic circle, the narrative is more accurate when the player enters the forest[/p]
• [p]First cutscene may replay as tutorial on revisit[/p]
• [p]Tutorial revisit button only works when transitioning scenes[/p]

[p][/p][h3]In Game Feature[/h3]

• [p]Catgirl's art room canvas is not working[/p]

[p][/p][h3]UI & System Settings[/h3]

• [p]Microphone default language is set to the wrong language[/p]
• [p]NPC name changes are not being saved in CN version[/p]
• [p]Clearer login error log[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Sweet and spicy interactions await after some much-needed bug squashing! Thank you to all our players for your continued and proactive reports of what needs to be ⚡ELIMINATED⚡ so you can enjoy a smoother ride.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]More Cute Girlfriend Moments[/h2][h3]Kissing!!!!!![/h3][p]Ever like an NPC so much you wanna smooch 'em??? Same. That's why our team put special care into purrfecting the heavily-requested cheek-smooch interaction that many senpais successfully guessed last week! Many were quick to recognize Estelle's silhouette, but here's the yandere'est one of them all to demonstrate:
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Limited-time Items[/h2][p]Speaking of cute interactions, we've got two promo codes to celebrate AlterStaff's second appearance at Play NYC @ Anime NYC.
[/p]

• [p]AI2U-PLAYNYC2025 this expires on September 18th by midnight (EDT), so claim it while it's fresh![/p]

• [p]AI2U-AURAWISH[/p]

[p]Redeem your goodies and keep that power-player brain whirring as you ponder the theme behind each item.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Witchy Attack[/h2][p]Elysia's updated attack animation channels her witchy, dark-academia aura. Trigger at your own risk![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]New LLM AI Model![/h2][p]We’ve integrated Gemini AI as a new main model! [/p][p]Our AI companions will now intelligently switch between Gemini and ChatGPT during conversations to deliver the most natural and engaging responses.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Now onto the finer details of the patch—thanks once more to our dedicated senpais for fueling these fixes with pure yandere determination.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]Gameplay Adjustment[/h3][p]General[/p]

• [p]Reworked the Quick Inventory System: Special items now auto-display for quick access once acquired in a level[/p]
  • [p]Updated the tutorial to include a walkthrough of the new Quick Inventory System.[/p]

[p]Level 2[/p]

• [p]Extended the duration of useful potion effects.[/p]
• [p]Updated the bookshelf puzzle sequence in the basement.[/p]
• [p]Simplified gameplay progression after the player summons the necklace.[/p]
  • [p]Added a temporary animation for the necklace summoning event.[/p]

[p]Level 3[/p]

• [p]Players can now burn the hard drive at the engine terminal, triggering one of the bad endings.[/p]

[p]
[/p][h3]NPC Behaviors[/h3]

• [p]Added kissing animation for all NPCs in both their levels and The Atrium.[/p]
• [p]Improved the overall naturalness and logic of NPC conversations.[/p]
• [p]Added eye movement animations for NPCs.[/p]

[h3]Visuals[/h3][p]Level 2[/p]

• [p]Updated the witch’s attack animation and associated visual effects.[/p]
• [p]Added spider webs to various rooms for enhanced environmental detail.[/p]
• [p]Improved indoor lighting for better atmosphere and visual clarity.[/p]

[p]Level 3[/p]

• [p]Updated the Hologram Assistant’s sitting animation in both Level 3 and The Atrium.[/p]

[p]
[/p][h3]UI/UX[/h3][p]General[/p]

• [p]Minor update on the ending summary page.[/p]

[p]Level 1[/p]

• [p]Added password hint localization.[/p]

[p]Level 3[/p]

• [p]Updated the interface for the “Fixing the Electricity” minigame.[/p]

[h3]Bugfixes[/h3][p]General[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where NPCs’ lip sync would break after pausing and unpausing the game.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the customized player name would revert to the default.[/p]
• [p]Included ambience sounds in the audio volume customization settings.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a softlock issue caused by accessing the settings page during a level.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where NPCs failed to recognize gift bag items.[/p]
• [p]Corrected in-game text wording and improved localization across supported languages.[/p]

[p]The Atrium[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the Hologram Assistant would repeat her hugging dialogue.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the witch’s head and gaze did not follow the player as intended in the phonebooth preview.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a crash issue affecting The Atrium and Tutorial levels on certain devices in the Steam version.[/p]

[p]Level 1[/p]

• [p]Removed an invisible chair in the master bathroom.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Catgirl’s hair clipped through the stairs.[/p]

[p]Level 2[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the witch bent her knees at unnatural angles when standing in certain locations.[/p]
• [p]Removed the mysterious giant scroll that appeared in the front yard during specific endings.[/p]

[p]Level 3[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the escape pod minigame could generate unsolvable scenarios.[/p]