Sometimes Always Monsters News

A long time ago, when we were first charting out the timelines we wanted to build for the game, it quickly became apparent that a number of players would have to play as Sam; a character that they might wholly despise. We pursued that path because of the unique gameplay opportunity we could present the player, giving them the chance to self-sabotage their rival from within their own skin.

One thing we're still trying to figure out is how to adequately communicate the type of control or freedom that's given to those certain ASM import players. We want our players to know that it's okay to hate the protagonist of this game, and to willingly destroy their life. It's actually quite a lot of fun to do!

We think that the new Continuity Updates outlined below are a good start for some of the cases.

[h3]Here's what's in the update:[/h3]

• Stopped Ruth from turning into Hassan when she sat down in some places
  
• Added lottery tickets with ludicrously low odds and high payouts
  
• Gave voices back to the unique hobos near the funeral home in Slab Town
  
• Edited some typos in Alexa's book reading scene
  
• Prevented the bartender in the break room from over-serving you booze
  
• Fixed injury diagnosis from doctor after getting hit by a car
  
• Made the hospital receptionist in Gator Bay and Slab Town actually help you
  
• Fixed a glitch where players could get stuck in the chair during the finale scene
  
• Stopped your spouse from walking infinitely after you smoke cigarettes with them
  
• Added lettuce to the BLT recipe
  
• Updated recipe for Ball Park Franks
  
• Prevented DeMarcus from entering Easy Target anytime except during his mission
  
• Fixed a glitch where the table could start floating in the finale sequence
  
• Removed an inappropriate dead body from the player's chair in the finale sequence
  
• Increased quantity of toothpaste gained through purchase to 8 units
  

[h3]Continuity Updates:[/h3]

• Applied sequence for ASM imports where Sam was killed by Mr. Parker in the casino
• Applied sequence for ASM imports where you kept the book, paid Sam's debt, and got married
• Improved sequence for ASM imports where you kept the book, but Sam got married

Each of these updated continuity sequences give earlier indication that your timeline is being read appropriately, and to give greater foreshadow for what's to come. Obviously this decreases some of the surprise we'd saved for the end-game, but it's worth the trade off, if they bring extra clarity.

If these scenes help clarify the storyline a little more, let us know. Since we started this process of bringing the deep cuts to the forefront, we've realized more opportunities to inject extra content like this at various parts of the game. If you all enjoy this kind of content, then we'll keep doing more of it.

Also, if you feel that we've got something wrong with them, let us know. We've both been putting in long hours for these updates, and fatigue makes mistakes. There's only two of us, and many more realities.

We really hope you like the pieces, and that they help you understand where the story is going much sooner. Also, that any major issues you've encountered have been resolved by now. Drop us a line in our Discord, on the Steam forums, or write / update your review for the game to let us know how we're doing.

- VD

[h3]A Small Addendum:[/h3]For the sequence where you kept the book, paid Sam's debt, and got married, there is still another update needed for the finale. We'll work to have that concluded as soon as the devs can get some rest.

There are a lot of different ways that ASM could have ended, and we've got storylines on chart for each of them. However, sorting the backend logic of all these continuities has been a real challenge for us, as one overlooked factor can cause a completely outrageous scenario to play.

We're currently working on making sure that every import is playing as intended, and that the new early-stage sequences are playing for the right players. Our update yesterday only got it halfway right and some of you saw a new scene erroneously. Apologies, we've updated the conditions in this patch.

If you think your reality isn't being respected, take a look at the cases outlined at the bottom of this post and see if there's an update relevant to you forthcoming. We've have a lot that'll be released in the next few days, and we want to make sure you understand the story as intended.

[h3]Here's what's in the update:[/h3]

• Giving flowers to Rose at Meaningful Motherhood now removes them from inventory
  
• Edited several typos while playing C&C with Sheena's friends in the arcade
  
• Moved a horse out of Kralskod's way
  
• Removed a duplicated line from Sheena's post-play sequence talk
  
• Made Sheena realize the day she played C&C on wasn't always last night
  
• Fixed an animation glitch when Casey calls the player in Gator Bay
  
• Edited a typo in Ruth's achievement "Swordsong Chronicles"
  
• Removed a suggestion to call Shelly if you already called her while on balcony
  
• Gave the spouse some things to say during your visit to the alien museum
  
• Shelly now gives greater warning about the boredom/tedium of skipping the tour
  
• Added an emergency rescue service to the phone while in the wastelands of Sequoia
  
• Prevented people from using any cell service while you're in the wastelands
  
• Added some additional confirmations that you've successfully imported a save in intro
  
• Prevented the player from unintentionally rejecting their lover's kiss during TV time
  
• Talking with bus friends now satiates loneliness
  
• Masturbating with a rubbook or tugbook now satiates loneliness for up to 3 times longer
  
• Dramatically decreased loneliness probability by 50%
  
• Added extra phone calls for those who left their spouse at home
  
• Increased duration of loneliness satisfaction after calling your spouse
  
• Fixed the lock on calling UNTER after visiting the psych ward
  
• Replaced missing art when Mel's paintings are put on the table
  
• Updated conditions for the new "Paid Parker" scene we added yesterday to only play for ASM players who paid $10k, gave Larry their journal, and did not get married

We also added temp conditioning for new early-game sequences for the following ASM imports:

1. Sam is alive, and MC is author and married
2. Sam or the MC is dead and haunting the other

These new scenes will greatly improve narrative clarity for certain ASM importers.
If you fit these cases, expect the next update (Build 410) or the following (Build 411).
If there are other import cases you think need addressing, please comment below.

Once more, thanks for your patience and feedback while we assure everything's working as intended.

- VD

We've been reading a lot of the feedback and doing our best to understand some of the issues people are having with the game. The largest being, people seem to be missing a lot of the game's content because they're very focused on writing their novel.

We want people to be aware that the game will not tell you to when or how to explore the cities, or lead you to the best content. If you stay inside and do nothing but write, there's a good chance you'll miss a lot of great stuff. So, we're adding a pre-game notice hinting so.

The second largest complaint was from import players who saved up the $10,000 to pay for Sam's gambling debt in ASM. Most in this case are confused about the continuity of the sequel, and why they're not playing as the protagonist they expect to be.

So, we're adding some extra content to reveal pieces of the story a little earlier in the game. This will help ensure players understand that their specific timeline has been considered much sooner.

Of course there are more complaints (many we agree with) that we'll be remedying in the near future. So, we thank you all for your feedback and helping us understand how things are presented.

[h3]Here's what is in the latest update:[/h3]

• Removed duplicate character from Spouse's epilogue
  
• Added preface to vignette scenes for context
  
• Posted a design philosophy explainer in preface to the intro
  
• Fixed issue with epilogue spouse changing sprite inappropriately
  
• Reverted leftovers back to their original design
  
• Prevented players from teleporting out of the epilogue by getting too drunk
  
• Updated prisoner "Lucy" sprite to appropriate female model
  
• Fixes for controller users unable to leave showers
  
• Trisha will no longer force you to smoke a cigarette after going to the club
  
• Cleaned up some typos in the C&C fantasy game with Sheena
  
• Allowed all gambling machines to update your status with the casino
  
• Prevented player from eating and sitting inside Shelly, while she's already on the couch
  
• Smoothed some party movement for groups going to the gun range
  
• Updated flower cart store wallpaper (no longer Bullet Burger)
  
• Changed actors in the film City of Kings
  
• Fixed an issue where some theater chairs forced endless movie watching
  
• Prevented players from watching a movie twice in a single theater showing
  
• Fixed an issue in the Gun Range where your spouse's sprite would turn into Yasi
  
• Made bus friends aware of Hermes' return after he goes missing
  
• Recipe for PB&J Sandwich now works as intended
  
• Prevented re-entry to Kingston Mansion once finished Alexa's adventure
  
• Fixed a hard lock with the Kingston Mansion attendant
  
• Once completed, book readings will now vacate from phone notifications
  
• Enabled player movement after they regain sanity from their final delusion
  
• Dream sequence trigger for import players who kept their book (paid Mr. Parker) in ASM
  
• Added the ability to feed treats and food to the dogs
  

The update should be live now, and ready for download. We hope that you find some changes here that you can appreciate, as we continue to steamroll any more bugs.

- VD

Launch day was crazy and we're so happy that so many of you have been playing through the game. The feedback has been great, but also embarrassing. When we set to launch, we genuinely thought the game was relatively problem-free.

While there haven't been too many game-breaking issues, we're getting a lot of reports about little issues that need to be solved. So, we are hammering them as fast as possible.

We're really grateful to those of you who encounter bugs, and report them. There's only so far our 2-man team can get when testing a game with this much variance, and so we appreciate the communication (especially our Discord crew). We will continue updating the game, until the game is issue free.

[h3]Here's what is in the latest update:[/h3]

• Fixed librarian's inability to recognize religious books
  
• Added new pathway in the "No Contest" path against the librarian
  
• Fixed all the chairs in the library to work properly with followers
  
• Added cinnamon to all Drug Stores
  
• Unlocked the doors to the Voodoo House in New Creole
  
• Fixed issue with incorrect Player / Rival names in finale
  
• Removed improper follower from spouse's epilogue
  
• Updated the portrait art of Lindsay to her final version
  
• Added post-quest recognition for Sheena
  
• Added extra one-time dialogue for Sheena after you play C&C
  
• Updated the home sink to allow players to wash hands
  
• Changed the home sink cabinet regarding permanence of toiletries
  
• Replaced (old) clothing with proper clothing after showering at home
  
• Slowed down some rocket hobos that caused infinite loops
  
• Fixed broken look with Detective Ricky that caused some to quit tour
  
• Prevented followers from re-entering the Church of Reflections
  
• Wrote a pinch of extra content for one of the endings (sleeps)
  
• Killed a man (or woman) named SoClose
  
• Implemented new verification system for wedding suit / dress display
  
• Added soap functionality to gym showers (improves hygiene more!)
  
• Returned clothes to player inventory after they shower in the gym
  
• Fixed the dialogue display for the jumping coach in New Creole
  
• Fixed some dialogue awkwardness with Soleil Park ticket vendors
  
• Reset score counters when you finish a game of Pocket Car League
  
• Removed lingering portrait from Spouse's conversation about article
  
• Deleted odd "shoe rack" comments from the bar wall
  
• Added reasons for spouse to let you go to Stalker Media alone
  
• Non-compliance with jail processing will no longer strip you naked
  
• Added spouse / friend spotters and watchers when working out
  
• Added new workout type Squattos on the southern benches
  
• Gave spouse some comments about tipping the comedian in the casino
  
• Applied appropriate portrait to Benny the bouncer
  
• Added hair to prisoner Lucy's sprite
  
• Game-wide fix for skipping delays during dialogue in cutscenes (sorry speedrunners!)
  

Expect another update tomorrow. There are still about 15-20 things in our Trello to fix.

If there's anything you want to let us know, leave a comment below or drop us a line in the Discord to keep us informed on your pressing concerns.

- VD

[h3]It's Finally Here[/h3] Sometimes Always Monsters is now available on Steam.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/441440/

After 6 years of development it's a pleasure to finally release this game. We're so glad that so many of you are enjoying it, and are slowly uncovering all of the options and variety that we have baked into this crazy RPG.

We are monitoring the forums and our Community Discord daily and will be pushing updates as needed. Feel free to drop us a note and tell us what you think of the game, who you chose to take on your journey, or anything else!

If you're curious how to import your save file from Always Sometimes Monsters then check out this article on our official website that goes over the process in detail. It's really as simple as copy & paste.

Finally, we wanted to thank everyone that helped us get to this point. Whether you backed the game years ago, or just spread the word today, this tremendous launch could not be what it is without your support. We appreciate your love for this project so much.

Enough said. Go play the game!

- VD