Transylvania 0.3.02 is live!

Hey guys,

It's the end of the month again, and another patch is here. The patch notes are further down, but here's a breakdown of what we've been up to with some commentary:

More Art: Since we reached our milestone last month, we are trying to really step up our game in terms of asset production and I'm happy to say that this month you will find lots of new art coming in - there are 3 new scene illustrations, and each of them has variations to give it even more life and progression as the scene unfolds. On top of that there are also 2 new location backgrounds for the Antique Boutique and Floor 2, which have been applied across the board to all applicable passages.

Engine upgrades: We have finally climbed to a plateau where we are comfortable with how the game works. It has taken a big chunk of this month's development, but it was important, and now it's done. Here's what's changed:

-Location backgrounds can now be added quickly and easily without breaking in multiple resolutions, including mobile. You will notice that we now have an entirely different version of Felicia and the Antique Boutique depending on your device. This allows us be more creative with character and background overlay on the PC version without worrying about mobile doing something unpredictable.

-Save system upgrade - you asked for this and here it is! Saves have been ported to mobile. The whole system has been upgraded and now Patreon supporters have access to unlimited, personalized save slots!

Important Note about save data:
Because there is an entirely new save system, if you have an existing save, please first Load the game and Save again using the sidebar in order to migrate your save to the new system. If you try to access the Save Slots from the Patreon menu with old save data present, you will get an error.

Note on mobile version development:
During the survey, we asked you how important this was to you, and we got very polarized results - with lots of 1s and 5s. After careful consideration, it was clear that we should definitely offer some support for mobile players, but desktop will remain our core priority.

With that in mind, this patch brings mobile to where we want it to be: it works. It has all the core functionality now, including saves and patreon benefits like cheat menu, gallery and navigation. It has a custom interface to make playing easier and it has its own image classes so anything that breaks it somehow will simply not be displayed.

In the interest of transparency, this is where we plan to keep it for a while. Going forward and at least until Chapter 2 is complete, we will not dedicate further resources to the mobile version. All of the story content will be playable on mobile, but some images might be missing and the location backgrounds will not be ported for the time being.

Chapter 2:
It has taken me a little while to really fine tune the feeling of Chapter 2, which is why the story has not been going as fast as content in Chapter 1. But I'd rather take my time until I'm sure that the direction is exactly right.

Now, I think I've got it. Whereas Ch1 was the slow descent into corruption, Ch2 will strive to be much more polarizing, delivering both highs and lows in terms of control. Now that Alex is fully gaining her supernatural powers, she will have the opportunity to use them much more impactfully, or to succumb to their increasing demands.

You will see some of this approach in this update, with new branches allowing you to finish Ruxandra's story line and make some interesting choices along the way. I have made minor edits to other events as well, with more on the way. I know that many of you have been waiting to see how the main plot will play out, and all I can say is that I'm as excited as you are.

Hope you have enjoyed this breakdown, let me know if you'd like more of that in the future. 

Full patch notes below:

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General
-added new background art for the Antique Boutique;
-created new sprite for Felicia on large screen devices;

Chapter1
-added new art set for Sabrina's grotesque training;
-added new art set for Elise giving her special piercings;
-extended the Elise piercing event with new description;
-added new art set for the Fishing for Worms event;

Chapter 2
-the library and game room have new navigation nodes and can be visited more freely regardless of time of day;
-improved overall navigation and flow of main events;

Ruxandra
-Ruxandra's story is now fully looped (the first fully complete loop module of Chapter 2);
-new story branches: you can now complete the Ruxandra event without dying;
-new variations;
-new permanent choice;
-new item: successfully completing Rux' event now gives an item that can be equipped and unequipped at any time in inventory;

Mobile
-redesigned the top bar;
-changed the text links into icons;
-added saving and loading;
-implemented the menu upgrade that allows free navigation between menus without having to go back to the story first;
-improved interface of the main body;

Patreon
-added a new benefit: unlimited and customizeable save slots;

Fixes
-passages with a background should now be properly scrollable even if the text is very short;
-Ruxandra's call is no longer infinitely repeatable if you've already dug up her grave;
-improved time pausing and resuming when entering and exiting menus;