oath News

[h2]Changelog[/h2][p]Happy new years! This update goes back and reworks the base game of oath, so that QoL features added in the free DLC are also present in the base build as well, when you don't have the DLC installed![/p][p] [/p][h2]Story Unlock Revamp v2[/h2][p]A lot of players don't find the majority of the games content - with them stopping once they reach the end of the 'story', and not investigating further to unlock the bulk of the actual games content....[/p][p]Originally, the unlock for this was very obscure, with lots of digging around needed to find - this was when this content was still relatively small and seen as a bonus and not the bulk of the game. With the prior update to the base game, this was changed so that if you try play the story again, it now unlocks![/p][p]However, I've seen that even this didn't really work... a lot of players would just go "oh well, that's it!" - not helped by the button being named "home". I also assumed players would see the vast amount of unfound achievements and consider there more to the game than the 15 minutes of the story button, but nonetheless apparently not....[/p][p]To help more players actually play majority of the game, two new changes have been made: [/p]

• [p]Home is now renamed to Epilogue - this should clear some confusion and also guide you naturally to the new content, with the obvious assumption that it continues on the story. The button will still change name after full completion, but at that point, it no longer needs to be called epilogue either![/p]
• [p]Epilogue now unlocks as soon as you finish the story - no more vague "maybe you missed something..." - a little immersion breaking of a message too in hindsight. The game will auto-unlock the epilogue, but also still trigger the additions of the previous update, meaning that the 2nd run will kick you out early and give you the achievement. It is also still possible to unlock the epilogue through the secret route in your first playthrough, and the secret route is still needed for all achievements.[/p]

[h2]Achievement Changes[/h2][p]Two of the achievements have been reported as buggy, which have been fixed prior in patches - but only applying to the DLC build. This has been backported to the base game so one of the two achievements should now properly work no matter the build you play, and the other achievement has been removed entirely.[/p][p]Why? Well, the achievement in question was Oracle - which required you to visit each of the 40 or so artist rooms. Doing so is a bit tedious and really doesn't need an achievement, I prefer it now as a fully optional thing to do which unlocks things like the bonus music game-wide and just the fun of finding artists you care about or want to visit instead of being forced to go to all of them - increasingly frustrating if you accidentally missed one and now have to figure out which. Also, with the update of more rooms later in development, it was weird how only half of all rooms counted to the achievement, so now it's just more uniform with it being a fully optional thing untied to any achievements.[/p][p][/p][h2]New QoL Changes [/h2][p]There's been some major changes to both the base game and the DLC with this update:[/p]

• [p]Better item pickups: Before, no matter the version you played on, items in the world would stay present after picking them up. This was due to restrictions in how the maps worked, but this has been solved during work on emerald and backported to oath. Things such as the vinyl record or the diamond ring will now disappear on pickup as if you had actually... picked them up![/p][p]The scuba suit seller has also been moved slightly to be better visible to the player.[/p]
• [p]Graphics adjustments and additions: A bunch of slightly broken graphics have been fixed - from things 1 pixel off, the wrong colour, or with other errors. The diamond ring item mentioned above has also been changed to have a new sprite to better fit it being... a ring, as well as had the wall moved so it's easier to spot as somewhere you can go to. A small animation has also been added to the elevators and train rides as well, and the star above the key in the story has been made red to better indicate to players that there's something new here. The art menu screen has also been fixed.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]QoL Changes from DLC[/h2][p]Some changes have been made to the base game, majority coming from the DLC:[/p]

• [p]Improved base game graphics:[/p][p]every single room and map from the base game has been revisited and slightly updated, mainly with some shading updates. The main cities also have a little bit extra detail - not too much that it's unrecognizable, but enough to polish up some edges!![/p]
• [p]Bumping into walls is more obvious - you won't do a walking animation if you are walking into a solid object, and a "bump" sound effect will play.[/p]
• [p]Fixed menu (aimed at steam deck):[/p][p]While playing on steam deck, I noticed the settings menu seems to scale slightly differently to desktop. To fix this, the buttons in the settings menu are now slightly smaller, with a redundant option removed in order to both declutter and fix this issue[/p]

[h2]Graphics Overhaul[/h2][p]As mentioned, the graphics of the game have been overhauled in a couple areas to breathe new life into as many aspects as possible:[/p]

• [p]Animated tiles: A lot, and I mean a lot of the games graphics are now animated. The best example of this is when swimming underwater, all the coral will move in the water around you! Smaller examples include the flames of torches now actually moving like fire, water and shorelines rippling, and grass and posters moving in the wind. I feel this adds a lot more life to the game! This was in the DLC before, but now is present in the base game[/p]
• [p]Updated textbox: one of the main characters has a new textbox to help distinguish when you (the player) are talking/thinking versus when they are talking to you. A small change but should help out for any confusions[/p]
• [p]Updated level of detail: mentioned slightly above (coming from the original post about it in the DLC) but the base game has been considerably changed graphically. There's now more detail present in all areas of the game, with new sprites, and shading added to make the earlier areas consistent with the graphical style of the later ones. [/p]

[p][/p][p]Thank you for playing my game! I'll do my best to continuously update and improve the game if anything such as missed bugs get found or large QoL features can be added.[/p][p][/p][p]PLEASE NOTE: Uninstalling the DLC will not work correctly due to how the game files are set up - with DLC files overriding the base game files to save your disc space, uninstalling the DLC through steam will remove all the new files, but keep any overwritten ones! To truly go back to the base game (while unadvised), you need to fully uninstall the game as well as remove the DLC checkmark. Swapping back and forth might cause unintended bugs as well, so it's not advised.[/p][p][/p][p]PLEASE REPORT ANY BUGS IN THE DISUCSSIONS TAB! With this big of a rework to a lot of vital parts of the game, there may be some bugs introduced or missed - if you get any errors that cause a crash or other bugs, please post it in the discussion tab with a copy of the error message if you can! This will help me patch out any unintended stuff super quick![/p][p]Known bug(?): mentioned with the paragraph above, DLC files stay even when playing base game once you remove the DLC - I'm unsure if the latest update installs some of these DLC files incorrectly or if its purely due to me downgrading my build. I'm currently testing this but if you have never installed the DLC but now have a new-looking main menu, please report it as a bug! [/p][p][/p]

[p]As mentioned in the 1 year anniversary post, I've been working on a brand new game using the same underlying base as oath - a free, shorter experience called 'emerald' that ties into the song and music video of the same name by myself and maji*! [/p][p]And... it's out now! [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Go check it out! It's a free game so it's a bit smaller than oath is, especially now after all the updates and expansion, but it should still take you around 2-3 hours to see everything the game has to offer.[/p][p]emerald is also available entirely in Japanese too! The translation is machine-done, so there's totally going to be parts that are misconstrued or even maybe nonsensical (I really hope not though!!) but it's generally a test at adding a completely localised version of a game build, and I hope it lets more people enjoy the game! [/p][p]If you enjoyed oath and are looking for something new, give it a play! I hope you enjoy!
As a bonus, oath is on sale for two days to celebrate the release.[/p][p]I made emerald free as a thank you for all the love and support on oath, and so that more people would get to try it out! However, the soundtrack this time will be available on Nov 7th as a paid 'DLC', so if you wish to support, that's the best way to do so - outside of just sharing the game around! Thank you![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]While working on emerald, I managed to figure out how to implement true animated sprites, which are present all over the new game! Initially I planned to release emerald first, then retroactively go back to oath and re-vamp a bunch of the graphics! However, I was so excited with this new addition I almost immediately went right back and created the update... So the new graphic update is out now!![/p][p][/p][p]you will need to download and install the FREE expansion to oath if you haven't already (oath: there is a you that remains) - and honestly, I don't know why you wouldn't've - it adds a ton to both the base game and a new story all for free... But if you have the DLC installed or if you now download it, the entire game will be updated with 1000s of new animations for sprites! Some of my favourites are the underwater section being super lively with all the new swaying corals, as well as vending machines subtly glowing and water coolers having little bubbles. I hope the update makes the world feel much more alive, with all the new small motion added!! [/p][p]I remember one of the earliest comments back near release being that the fire in the story sections halls should move, and at the time I agreed but wasn't able to implement it. Well, it's in now! All the fire now dances around and it's awesome. I hope that person one day sees it too!!

Generally speaking, and I know i've said this prior, but this is likely the last major update to oath - there wasn't ever intentionally going to be another update, but adding this felt like something I had to do! If theres any other really cool things I discover later down the line, maybe there will be another update to oath (and maybe emerald too?) but for now I hope you enjoy the complete and definitive experience of oath! [/p][p][/p][p]Thank you so much to anyone that's picked up a copy of the game, and I hope you enjoy my new game, emerald![/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[h3]PLEASE NOTE! this bugfix applies only to builds of the game with the there is a you that remains DLC expansion installed. Please go download it if you haven't! the DLC improves the base game + adds bugfixes to the main base content as well, and is seen as the complete package.[/h3][p]The DLC is completely free to download, and while the download size is big, it should only take ~1GB more actual space on your drive - it just replaces a lot of older files.[/p][p]Get the DLC expansion here: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]BUGFIX NOTES:[/p][p][/p][p]Hi![/p][p]This patch aims to fix some slight bugs players might've been experiencing in relation to some achievements, as well as reduce lag![/p][p][/p][p]- lag when transitioning between areas in the DLC overworld has been massively reduced! I came across some new tech while making a different project, and it worked here so it's been implemented![/p][p][/p][p]- The "Oracle" achievement has been made easier to get. Some users report it not unlocking even once visiting all rooms. There seems to have been no error code-wise, I'm assuming players must've accidentally missed a room - however, I've decided to make the achievement slightly more lax. It'll unlock just shy of all rooms, which should hopefully alleviate edge cases where you miss just one or two![/p][p][/p][p]- One of the ending achievements / areas was apparently bugged - even after going through a segment near the end of the game, returning here incorrectly did not reset the room back to normal for unknown reasons (it worked in earlier builds!) The fix implemented forces a reset to this variable, and should solve this issue. If you revisit this area in game now, your next visit should be reset to normal! Hopefully!! This will make getting some achievements easier and potentially be unintentionally soft locked away.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks for the support as always, I'm working hard on emerald right now! I hope you enjoy it when it releases![/p]

[p]It's been 1 year since oath's release![/p][p]One year back when I released the EP / game, I didn't imagine it to become the size it now is, or resonate with so many people - over the months after release I ended up adding 3 substantial major updates to the main game, then basically adding a sequel through the free DLC to tie into my album. [/p][p]Over the last year my game, which I thought might at most get 20, 30 people picking it up, has had over 1500 sales and lots of love from both people I know and people just stumbling across the game. If you've given it a chance, whether you've played 15 minutes or 20 hours, thank you for playing my game.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]A 40% discount for this week![/p][p]In celebration, the game's 40% off for the next week in case you or anyone you know hasn't yet given it a go - the same discount the game had on release 1 year back! It should be live soon from this announcement - starting ~ Sept. 4th!![/p][p][/p][p]A new VIP remix out now[/p][p]I've also releases a VIP remix of my song superstar which I released with Niomi at the end of last year - me and stephie styled it up to be more oath-like in sound and had a fun time with it!

You can listen to it here![/p][p][/p][p]And finally...[/p][p]I'm working on something new!![/p][p]I'm currently working on a brand new game, which will tie into it's own release. It's built on-top of oath (I guess you could call it an oathlike haha) and will be a decent bit smaller/shorter.[/p][p]BUT! It'll be completely free! Check it out when the steam page goes live probably in around a month from now, with the game releasing in exactly 2 months![/p][p][/p][p]It's got a brand new story and a new little area to discover, so I hope you'll enjoy it when it releases![/p][p]Unlike the there is a you that remains expansion DLC, this game will be completely standalone - this way it won't overwrite oath itself or bloat oath - but you can totally see it as a smaller standalone expansion.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again so much for the love! Happy 1 year anniversary to oath

[p][/p][p]On the 27th of June, my brand new album, there is a you that remains is releasing! It's a 9 track long project with some of my best work, that I hope you enjoy! And alongside that, a companion work, a free DLC expansion will be releasing for oath![/p][p][/p][p]With my previous project, my EP called oath, I released this video game alongside it - originally meant to just be a bespoke music player for the EP, it evolved into a complete game - and in the following months leading to December of last year, I kept expanding on the game until it just got bigger and bigger....[/p][p][/p][p]The base game and story of oath is complete - playing through the story mode + the 'home' mode to completion is the narrative and story I wanted to tell with the project. Paired with the EP itself, the 3 or so endings, secrets and world to discover in oath are done and all there for you to find![/p][p]Since the final update, I moved onto my next project, my currently upcoming album, and thought about ways I could make the rollout anything to the level I did for oath - I didn't really want to release a new completely separate video game or anything, but I still wanted something fun...[/p][p][/p][p]So, I ended up working on an expansion for oath! This expansion I've been working on alongside my album for the last however many months, and it'll be out on the same day - June 27th - as a companion piece to that body of work!![/p][p][/p][h2]What is there is a you that remains?[/h2][p]So, what does this expansion add?[/p][p]Well - the main thing is the brand new button on the main menu - anew.[/p][p][/p][p]Clicking that at any time will shoot you straight into the bulk of the new content - a completely new narrative and world to explore that ties into the story of my album, there is a you that remains! [/p][p]You can play this story at any time, and it's completely unrelated to the main game / oath's story as well! But- I'll discuss the new mode in a little bit - first, I'll go over some of the other changes made to the game that come alongside the DLC.[/p][p][/p][p]New GUI, QoL and other changes!![/p][p]You might've noticed that the title screen looks... completely different now! It's been redesigned, alongside all of the GUI to fit with the new project. [/p][p][/p][p]Things such as the EP player have been overhauled especially (now called music player, which has been reflected in a recent-ish main game update!), and now also includes all the songs from the new album as well![/p][p]Installing the DLC content will replace your old title screen and GUI with the new album-related look. The progress indicators / changing main menu / current character icon does still stay though! If you prefer the look of the old menu, it's still available if you don't install the DLC.[/p][p][/p][p]Being said...[/p][p]The DLC is now considered the "Full Version" of the game!
All future bugpatches / adjustments and any base game QoL features have and will be worked specifically into the DLC package - it's free to download, and in my eyes replaces your current version as the main way to play/experience the game! Upkeeping both base and DLC builds just gets way too messy, so my focus is entirely on improvements to the 'full' version, with DLC enabled.[/p][p]You will also need to install the DLC to 100% the game, as unfortunately you cannot designate DLC-specific achievements, so the 20ish or so new achievements do require DLC installation as well.[/p][p]QoL features?[/p][p]I've been listening! Some of these features are already implemented into the base game - the bulk of the game now being much more easy to unlock, the base main menu music not being so... loud, and plenty of small tweaks and fixes. Over the development of the DLC I've watched many people play the game live, and taken notes on some things to change.[/p][p] For example:[/p][p][/p][p]Right at the start of the game, new players were getting confused on who was talking - the mysterious figure in front of you or the narration/you - mostly due to the textbox being the exact same. A small but important change here is the other person now has a new textbox seen above that makes it much clearer to tell apart your dialogue from theirs!
This is a relatively minor change, but there's plenty like it that have been added in the DLC - including better interaction detection for many, many areas (reading a sign next to a door will hopefully not make you walk inside, but actually read the sign for example), as well as bugfixes, spelling error fixing and just some more polish even to areas which were fine before, but are now slightly nicer.[/p][p]Installing the DLC will retroactively add all these additions to the base game, just like a regular update/patch would! This does also mean however, if you do uninstall the DLC the game will revert back to v4.18 - the final version prior to the DLC's development.[/p][h2][/h2][h2]The new expansion...[/h2][p]So... what's in the anew mode?[/p][p]As mentioned, the DLC adds a brand new story to the game - with a new main character and world to explore.[/p][p][/p][p]This new map is 4 times the size of the base games map when it launched - combining all the new areas added with updates, the new world is still bigger than all of them plus more! It's more interconnected than ever, with dynamic music between areas, and a ton more characters that roam all around the world that you can talk to. The map above is only a snippet of the full thing![/p][p]There's a myriad of improvements in interaction compared to the base game too:[/p]

• [p]almost all non-important characters in the game have variable dialogue, being able to say more than just one thing - they've got a bunch they can tell you about that they can choose between saying, and might say different things depending on what you've done or what you're carrying.[/p]
• [p]a good majority of these characters walk around - not only outside this time, but inside too! The hitboxes for moving characters are also improved since their original inclusion, allowing you to walk past them much, much easier.[/p]
• [p]Basically everything is interactable - like, everything. Try it: interact with every single bush in the overworld. Every seashell and every tree. The base game of oath had a ton for you to interact with and discover, but the expansion pushes that even further with much, much more to see and find. On top of that, every single building's interactable objects (which is, 99% of the things inside a building) have unique dialogue specific to that one building. If you're the type of person who likes finding out every small detail or just learning more about a world, there's plenty for you here.[/p]

[h3]..Graphical improvements?[/h3][p]While the expansion is still generally in the same art style - it is DLC after all! - I've tried my best to both give the new areas and world a unique look while still feeling at home in oath, as well as graphically improve places where I could too![/p][p][/p][p]All interiors for buildings and elsewhere have lighting! unlike how the base game was completely static in terms of light and shadow, every single interior in the expansion has deep shadows and rays of light that both are there to improve the atmosphere and look of the places you visit, and also act dynamically too - actually lighting up or darkening objects, characters and you! [/p][p]Maybe a slightly better looking visual style isn't the most interesting addition - but it's an important one to me so I hope you like the new look for all the buildings ingame!![/p][p][/p][h3]So... What can I do?[/h3][p]What good is this big map and fancy looking interiors without a reason to explore them!![/p][p]oath: there is a you that remains follows a similar structure to the later added parts of the base game - such as the coast and underwater areas. You aren't given a direction or objective when you start the expansion - getting up in your house and instantly able to explore the entire world to your hearts content.[/p][p][/p][p]So... How do you progress the story?
Well, there is a you that remains works in a non-linear fashion. Talking to people or going to different places may unlock something new for you, or have you discover a little activity or questline. Keep on discovering new things and one by one you'll start to piece together your overall objective and goal, and find more and more along the way! [/p][p]The main objective isn't the only goal though! As you'll discover, there's multiple different things to find in game (without spoiling anything, obviously), which can lead to different side content, achievements and more. For example, the expansion has a place in game where you can change your current outfit at anytime! Find a cool shirt somewhere? You're free to put it on and play through the game wearing your new outfit. [/p][p][/p][p]And of course, there's plenty of small secrets and easter eggs hidden for you to find too...[/p][p][/p][p]The new expansion isn't insanely massive in length - probably justtt under the base game in terms of runtime, depending on whether you aim for the 100% or just story completion - but it ties into the story I wanted to tell with my new album, and I hope you enjoy it if you give it a playthrough!![/p][p][/p][h3]Bonus!![/h3][p]And like always, there's tons of new music added into the game, from my friends and elsewhere for you to discover while playing. Along with that, there's some new music made specifically for the DLC by my friend maji*, as well as plenty music from my album and other works present as well![/p][p][/p][p]I really didn't want to make the DLC paid (I'm thankful enough if you've bought the base game!!), especially since that would lock the new achievements and 100% behind a paywall - so if you enjoy and would like to support me, I just hope you check out the album side of the project as well! The whole things been in the works even since before the base game of oath was released (keen ears might recognize some of the albums music and even the albums title.. in the base game from back in the September release last year!?) and I'm really happy and excited to share what I've made.[/p][p][/p][p]Out on June 27th, both the album and the DLC expansion, I hope you enjoy!
Thanks for reading and playing my game if you have already, I appreciate you!! You can wishlist the DLC here!! [/p]