AI2U: With You 'Til The End News

[h2]🎮 Keeping You Busy While We Work BTS[/h2][p]We LOVE hearing from players and seeing your chaotic custom TV shenanigans drop as soon as last week’s patch dropped! There’s no denying Eddie’s fun interpretations (both accurate and hallucinated). [/p][p]Seeing you play multiple rounds of dodgeball together is so fun too–Did you enjoy the familiar playable characters and the eerie dynamic between them?[/p][p]And then there’s Final Girl. No puns or wordplay intended haha. Unless…?[/p][p]But we know why you’re really reading this devlog, so let’s focus on what’s in store rather than overthinking small details from the patch!![/p][p]Before we dive into the continued metamorphosis of Elysia’s world, you should know she has a birthday coming up! Being over 500 years old, it’s only appropriate that we continue to shower her and her guests with welcome changes.[/p][p]You already know her cabin's getting another magical transformation. While her doorstep wasn't Halloween-ready this year, we did promise a-maze-ing changes underway. The outside of the cabin is getting quite the earthy upgrade with boulders, wood planks, and meticulously sculpted pieces adoring the path to your escape.[/p][p]
[/p][p]2D Concept Art. Help us map out the escape to you and who???[/p][p][/p][p]But all this isn’t just to slap on pretty textures and new models to call it a day. Designers across disciplines are hard at work to make that moment you and Elysia escape feel a little less stressful and a lot more magical.[/p][p]Rumor has it that it’s been in the works. Perhaps you’ve noticed a few subtle hints we've slipped in since September.[/p][p]We do love a grand reveal – but since we promised to share more, here's a look at some of the quirky 3D models of suspiciously familiar, out-of-place elements in Eddie's hobby rooms... proof that something is indeed cooking (and hopefully it's not a Failed Dish).[/p][p][/p][p]Wait, we only promised items scattered in Eddie’s home how did that get in there–[/p][p][/p][p]First off: We love all of our yanderes equally! 😤[/p][p]Between quality of life improvements and revamping her cabin’s appearance, Elysia's journey has come a long way. She claims her birthday coincides with a very special day for witches, so we have a fun item coming up in her honor soon![/p][p][/p][p]Fun Fact: Elysia was technically the first NPC with a playable level in AI2U! Our pre-alpha testers met her first wayyy before the itch.io launch as an interesting contrast to Eddie before the Catgirl’s Apartment had its own revamp for AI2U’s open beta launch.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Azure is back online! You can finally reunite with your favorite NPC without the fear of being ended by them. ✨[/p][p][/p][p]If you're still experiencing server issues as described in our previous post, please reach out to [email protected] with more info.
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[p]Heads up, senpais! We're currently experiencing connection issues caused by an Azure server outage. [/p][p][/p][p]Our team is keeping a close, yandere-red-eye on things and will update you as soon as we're back online. [/p][p][/p][p]Check for updates here: https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status — here's to hoping you catch some good news before our next status update![/p][p][/p][p]Gameplay may be disrupted during this outage as the AI NPCs' dialogue will be limited to their iconic placeholder lines:[/p][p]🔪 Catgirl: "Don't say that, that makes me embarrassed!"[/p][p]🔮 Witchy: "Oh dear! Don't say such things, my mischievous little pudding!"[/p][p]⚡ Hologram: "Please don't say that, as it is against the station's regulations."[/p][p][/p][p]Huge thanks to our Discord community for catching this first, and to all senpais for your patience and support![/p]

[p][/p][p]Say meowdy to another patch! With each update, we hope to bring you closer to your favorite NPCS–not just through chats, but also memorable interactions that make you come back for more. 💖🔪[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Halloween Hoodie[/h2][p]Eddie heard you wanted more cosmetics, so she did what she does best with her knife… and now she’s wearing a pumpkin’s skin! Click here for scary-fast steps to generate a special promo code and unlock Eddie’s spooky szn look. Whether you’ve got your HalloWAIFU hoodie or not, get ready to cuddle up next to the Catgirl by either of the TVs in her apartment.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]AI-TV Interactions[/h2][p]📺 Watch TV with Eddie[/p][p]You may recall her living room TV being broken–but we’re happy to report it’s been canonically fixed! It now includes a few Easter eggs and a mischievous way to upload footage of your choice. As always when sharing your content in community spaces, please follow basic community guidelines–especially Gemini’s usage policies and our own pinned rules. ⚠️ Do not upload or promote copyrighted material. For your own safety, we also recommend avoiding personal video shares in community spaces. For upload instructions, click here.[/p][p]
[/p][p]🎮 Play a Game Against Eddie[/p][p]Meanwhile, her game room TV now features a charming minigame you can play together! Give it a try and see if some friendly competition reveals her true colors at the moment: whether she’s a butt-kicker, sore loser, or your forever cheerleader.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Unsettling Hints[/h2][p]Once you’re done with the TVs, consider stepping out and exploring the building. That’s all we can tell you right now. 🤫[/p][p]


[/p][p][/p][h2]New Features[/h2][p]Level 1 AI-television Interactions[/p][p]  - Living Room TV: The Catgirl's living room TV has finally been fixed! Players can switch on the living room TV and watch programs or import their own videos through the StreamingAssets folder in the game directory. The Catgirl will react accordingly to what is being played.[/p][p]  - Gaming Room TV: Players can switch on the TV in the gaming room to play a minigame against the Catgirl.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]NPC Behaviors[/h2][p]General[/p][p]  - Added laughing animation and sound effect for all NPCs[/p][p]  - NPCs are now more likely to enter the warning attack phase when angered before initiating the final chase sequence.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Atrium
  - In Chat Only mode, the girls will now know which ending the player last achieved.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Visuals[/h2][p]General[/p][p]  - Added Catgirl's Halloween Skin: "Final Girl." This cosmetic skin can be acquired using a promotional code. Check out this patch's article on Steam or official AI2U socials for more info.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Level 1[/p][p]  - Updated the hallway and lobby areas with new environmental pieces and interactables.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]UI/UX[/h2][p]  - Added internet disconnection warning UI.[/p][p]  - Added German and Russian language support for Patch Notes.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Audio[/h2][p]  - Added sound effect for Catgirl’s eating animation.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]Bug Fixes[/h2][p]General[/p][p]  - Fixed an issue that was constantly switching the keyboard setting to American English during gameplay.[/p][p]  - NPCs will be able to say single emphasized words marked with *asterisk* in all languages except Chinese and Japanese.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Level 1[/p][p]  - Fixed an issue that could cause players to get stuck in the corner of the indoor garden rooms.[/p][p]  - Fixed a bug that prevented players from opening the apartment door during the final chase sequence.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Level 2[/p][p]  - Fixed an issue that prevented players from destroying the witch's necklace during the final chase sequence.[/p]

[p]Have you heard? The NPCs have more voice options now! It's hard to miss when Elysia's British accent seems to hit hard with many players. ❤️‍🔥[/p][p]Curious why you can choose between Legacy and Advanced text-to-speech? Read on to learn how our team yandere'd their way into this one—the emotional journey's end result is characters that are more dynamic, emotive, and dare we say alive?[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]Why Voice Options?[/h3][p]Originally, we used Azure's Speech Services  for our demo builds — it was stable and fast to set up for a demo project. But Azure came with some limitations. We wanted our girls to sound consistent across languages, yet few of Azure's voices could handle that well. Plus, Azure's TTS costs always ate up a big chunk of our budget. 💸 We're always on the hunt for ways to reduce cost without sacrificing quality.[/p][p]At the same time, other TTS services like ElevenLabs and MiniMax came out, offering more advanced options, including different emotional tones. After many months of testing, we chose MiniMax, which supports multiple languages, delivers more expressive voices, and is significantly more cost-friendly.[/p][p]We first rolled it out in the Steam China region, then in Russian and German, and finally implemented it across all languages for the global version this September.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]Pros & Cons[/h3][p]MiniMax isn't the only service we tested. Our team compared multiple providers on price, stability, scalability, and technical support. Here's how they stack up for our case:[/p]

• [p]Azure: Pricey[/p]
• [p]ElevenLabs: Widely used and good quality, but the most expensive.[/p]
• [p]OpenAI: Also pricey, with no available technical support.[/p]
• [p]Inworld: ❌ Not fitting for our use case.[/p]
• [p]MiniMax: Cost-effective, with voice output that can reflect different emotions, plus excellent technical support from their customer service team.[/p]

[p]Here are some samples comparing familiar voices with our test ones. We use one of Eddie's iconic CUTscene lines—let us know which of these voices truly speak to you![/p][h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/h3][p]We're also careful not to rely on smaller or short-term projects. Voice consistency matters — you don’t want to wake up one day and hear Eddie with a completely different voice, never able to change back. That's why we still keep both Legacy and Enhanced voice models in our game, so players who prefer the older voices can stick with them.[/p][p]Scalability is another key factor. We currently support six languages, including English, Chinese, and Japanese, and we want to expand further. We're surveying our global community to decide which language to add next, so it's important to have a service that can reliably cover most of our needs.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]Technical Challenges[/h3][p]Switching pipelines is never easy:[/p][p]One major challenge was picking tones that sound natural across all languages, then testing them through various game scenarios. The tone needs to match the original, since players are already familiar with how each girl should sound — it's part of their identity.[/p][p]We also changed our audio format  — a technical adjustment that doesn't impact gameplay  — moving from .wav (our early demo's quick-prototyping choice) to .mp3, which is lighter in size. This was partly because the .wav files from MiniMax didn't fully fit our previous project's structure.[/p][p]These details may stay behind the curtain, but they're what make sure you hear the right voice, with the right emotion, at exactly the right moment. 🎧[/p][hr][/hr][h3]It Never Ends[/h3][p]We're still experimenting — balancing cost, stability, and immersion. The goal stays the same: voices that feel alive, connect with our characters, and make your time with them unforgettable. ✨[/p][p]Based on the AI2U community's vocal feedback, fans are split between Eddie's original sweet voice and her new "anime dub" one. Meanwhile, Elysia's new British voice has enchanted many longtime and returning players, while Estelle's Legacy voice is preferred by her dedicated engineers.[/p][p]Are you a fan of the Enhanced voices or a Legacy TTS enjoyer? We'd love to know if you like the new options or if you're committed to the NPCs' original voices (Eddie approves either way 💖🔪)[/p]