Hello to all the new folks!

We had a lot of folks join the project lately, thanks to an article over on 9gag.com - Welcome!  Thanks so much for your confidence & support!

Lemme tell ya- transitions are sometimes quite difficult.

It looks like Lizzie had a much better time with her move, than we did...  Since the release of the 0.9 Alpha, Laura & I have been stuck in a perpetual cycle of failed moving attempts that have really tried our patience.  One moving company cancelled because of scheduling, the next one cancelled, because of a paperwork oversight.

Because of this, Peace Island HQ still resembles a student's studio apartment, than a home office.  We're using boxes as desks, cushions as office chairs/beds, and a small monitor as a TV.  Fortunately, it looks like we finally have everything in order for a move of all the big, heavy stuff on Thursday.  

So, for those of you who were not able to check out the latest alpha, here is a partial list of all the new stuff we added:

- GREATLY improved materials/textures across the island.
- A streamlined back-end that delivers even FASTER performance.
- NPC Animals have smoother/more efficient AI.
- Added preliminary menu screens and a “settings” screen - meaning that you can fine-tune the audio volumes.
- Ten radios around the island are playing in the first version of the WISL radio broadcast, featuring island music, news, and advertisements for local businesses.  
- Two new interiors: an Abandoned Theater, and the Church Cellar.
- New Interactivity - you can now swat toys and objects - and use tethers to move objects
- New original music, including the first examples of our generative music engine!
- More colliders, ensuring that the cat and the camera will pass through far fewer objects and structures.
- Tweaked flora - meaning FAR less “Floating grass!”
- Improved tonemapping, fog, and visual effects.
- Improved loading: When you switch cats, the screen fades to black for a second or two while the world chunks load.
- New animation & controller that provides smoother & more natural movement.

Personally, my favorite new addition is a simple fix to the camera/character controller:  When you bring the camera around to face the cat, the head no longer snaps back and forth- rather, it switches to a forward view, and will eventually start tracking the camera- making it appear as if the cat is impatiently waiting on you.

It's also been quite hot & humid here in Portland, which tends to push one into a languid stupor - your IQ drops by about 30 points, and the idea of moving ten feet to a new cushion is something that requires about five minutes of serious contemplation.

However, the show must go on - We FINALLY have our WIKI up!  This is a resource that I've wanted for quite some time, as the entirety of our writer's bible currently exists in traditional, linear narrative form.  

Don't get me wrong:  it was useful in that form, but when you are dealing with dozens of conflicts involving scores of characters, you NEED to be able to quickly cross-reference information, and that is done SO more efficiently via a WIKI.

I allows us to do stuff like this, for example:

Confusing, isn't it?  Well, this is a "conflict map" that shows where all of the erstwhile humans of Peace Island used to stand on a list of arbitrary local issues.  This allows us to group the population into "factions" that can be used to drive narratives indirectly related to the main story of the game.  

In art, as in life: Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows.  It was surprising to see that people one would think would be at odds were actually in agreement on most issues, where other families were obviously condemned to LOTS of angry conversations around the dinner table... Of course, I removed the names and issues from this image (as those would be minor spoilers.)

OH- ONE LAST THING:

We have the new run of Print premiums ready to go, but unfortunately, their dispatch has been delayed, due to the moving issues mentioned previously.  We plan on shipping the first batch out, this weekend!

THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYONE SUPPORT, CONFIDENCE, AND PATIENCE!  SEE YA'LL IN 2 WEEKS!