The Last Sovereign News

[p]Well, after many years in development, we're finally here. The game is complete, features like achievements are set, and the polishing is done. Of course I will continue to be on-hand for bugfixing, my supporters will keep funding more illustrations, and I can always be convinced to tweak something with a good enough argument, but this is the complete stage I have been working toward for years.[/p][p]New players: Feel free to dive in and enjoy! There are going to be a variety of celebrations of the game over the coming time, but I'll be trying to mark spoilers clearly.[/p][p]Old players: Thank you for following the game so long! This launch might be a fun time to boot up the game again, especially if you haven't seen all of the recent additions and QoL changes. If you are one of the people who don't review Early Access games on principle, I'd gladly take your review now![/p][p]From this point on, I will be shifting my update patterns slightly, putting out larger art updates less often. These should continue until all the scenes are illustrated, at least, and I'll bundle any fixes or tweaks in with these updates.[/p][p]I won't be blasting you with too many announcements, so if you're interested in my work, please feel free to follow me in various places:[/p]

• [p]One of the most effective ways is to follow my developer page here on Steam. You will get rare emails when I release something new, but otherwise not get too many messages.[/p]
• [p]We have a lively community on Discord whether you want game advice or memes.[/p]
• [p]I post updates on my blog, which will hopefully be more durable than other platforms that could disappear.[/p]
• [p]If you want to support the game on other platforms, you can vote for it here on GOG.[/p]
• [p]I sometimes use social media like Twitter, though not very well. =P[/p]
• [p]Of course I'm grateful to my supporters on Patreon and SubscribeStar, but I think everyone knows about those by now.[/p]

[p]It has been an honor and a pleasure to bring such a massive and complex RPG to completion. I will absolutely be creating more in the future, though I need a palette cleanser with a fun little side project like Don't Save the Princess. Thank you for your interest in TLS, and I'll see you in the next one![/p][p][/p][p]EDIT: There have been no major problems, so I'm bundling all the minor fixes so far into version 1.0.1. See blog for details, though they will not be relevant to most players.[/p]

[p]I haven't been making announcements for every minor build, but I've continued to fix bugs as we inch closer to version 1.0.0 (more on that later). The bigger news is that the image pack DLC is finally here![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]As requested from ages ago, this bundle of image content is now available without needing to join Patreon or any other site. This includes basically all of the custom art in the game, meaning all the scenes as well as battle images, but not assets like tiles or enemies.[/p][p]My basic philosophy with DLC for this game is that it shouldn't lock off any content or make the main game feel incomplete, so this is an optional addition for those who want it. If TLS is worth enough to you that you want to buy the image pack, or you want all of these images at their original resolution, feel free to grab the DLC! And if you do, reviews never hurt. ^-^[/p][p]We also have a couple of reminders. First, you have only a limited number of days to participate in the demographics poll if you want to vote for your favorite character or anything else:[/p][p]https://forms.gle/SimoMjMdQoa5AvcE9[/p][p]Second, thanks so much to everyone reviewing the game! Every review through this period helps extra much, and I hope that new players will try my work thanks to all of you. ^-^[/p][p]And speaking of the release, it's coming up soon. Valve says I can't set a date, I just click the big button to officially launch. Prior to that, you'll see another update with some new polishing I'm working on, maybe even a new illustrated scene, and then this will become the launch version.[/p][p]Thanks for following the game this far, and please look forward to the official launch![/p]

[p]We're getting close to the official launch, everyone! I'm still doing some final polishing and fixing a few bugs caused by the new features, but we're closer every day. Along the way, we have time for some fun. ^-^[/p][p]Way back in 2017, I did a big demographics survey of TLS players. It was fun and I've always wanted to do so again, but since the first one took so much time, I promised myself I wouldn't spend time on it until I reached a good break point. So if you want to be counted among TLS players, vote for favorite characters, or give your opinion on a wide variety of things in the game, please click through: [/p][p]https://the-last-sovereign.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-great-tls-demographic-survey-2025.html[/p][p][/p][p]This is just the beginning: I've also been analyzing the game data to get some fun statistics, ranging from the total number of words to map sizes to how much profanity Sarai uses. You'll be seeing these fun sorts of things over the coming weeks, to celebrate everyone who has been playing the game this long. ^-^ [/p][p]And on that note, thanks to everyone who has reviewed the game! We got a great surge and I hope to keep seeing new reviews as the game officially launches. [/p]

[p]There's a new public update! More info available here:
https://the-last-sovereign.blogspot.com/2025/10/tls-0812-public-release.html [/p][p][/p][p]This update includes a sweeping set of fixes clearing out my list of QoL and other improvements. Full info in the version history page on the blog.[/p][p]If you have a Steam account, please consider leaving a review to help prepare the game for the big launch, as this will be a major chance for new players to find the game. I hear from some people who say they'll only review complete games as a matter of principle... if that applies to you, think about what you want to write, because TLS will be leaving Early Access soon![/p][p]Of course I'll fix any reported bugs, and Annikath will continue illustrating scenes, but otherwise we should have a smooth path to the big release. Now it's more about timing and launching when I can support the release than any obstacles in development.[/p]

[p]New update for supporters on Patreon or SubscribeStar! More info here:[/p][p]https://the-last-sovereign.blogspot.com/2025/09/tls-0810-released.html?zx=b221ac8ba0f0f3b7[/p][p] [/p][p]TLS 0.80.1[/p][p]- Two new investments have been added that only appear in negative scenarios. These will never be optimal, but should make the investment system a bit more forgiving.[/p][p]- Ledger and investment returns windows have been overhauled, with fancier formatting and investments divided into tabs by location. No balance changes.[/p][p]- When considering an investment, an additional window will pop up giving Megail's thoughts and other information.[/p][p]- Three characters got new portrait/dialogue images to better match the art overall: Elleani, Tertia, and topless Simon.[/p][p]- Various random mobs have small amounts of added dialogue.[/p][p]- Two additional illustrations in the intro sequence.[/p][p]- The prologue now grants a book that can serve as a tutorial for players new to RPGs.[/p][p]- The first visit to the Stineford region has some added dialogue for Hilstara and Robin.[/p][p]- Tweaks to events in Stineford, encouraging player to talk to Megail first.[/p][p]- Additional dialogue upon completion of the spider house in Stineford.[/p][p]- Chapter 2 roam has been modified so that the player cannot miss Withered Mountain.[/p][p]- Hiring mercenaries has been tweaked: rewards for multiple companies increased, upkeep costs reduced, personal discretionary penalty removed.[/p][p]- During Yarra's Route, there are new options for the Orc Council and Ogre scenes.[/p][p]- A few characters from Dari's quest make earlier cameos in Ardford.[/p][p]- Similarly, Melymn appears inaccessibly in Theltiar.[/p][p]- Some conversations before the final battle have been tweaked or extended.[/p][p]- Grynyth "Play" placeholder removed for now.[/p][p]- Lilith has an additional conversation variant.[/p][p]- One new bust image: Luanell now has a unique sprite/face/bust compared to other Givini women.[/p][p]- Error with Sho's battle images fixed, adding a new battle pose.[/p][p]- Graphical tweaks to OE succubus children and one of Lynine's assistants.[/p][p]- The base "map" tiles on the walls have been modified from a general map to the TLS continents.[/p][p]- Revised scene art: Tertia TF[/p][p]- New illustrated scenes: Carina + Yarra, Gawnfall O**y, Sarai's First Time, Yarra Teasing, Riala Prologue, Final Pan Out[/p][p][/p][p]After all that, I don't have a lot to add! Tired now.[/p]