Hello there, world! A couple of days ago, I released the 1.9.6 update, which fixes plenty of bugs and issues as well as updates some older text-based issues. Let's take a look at everything that's been worked on in this version!

NEW CONTENT:

• Added new cutscenes in the South Bridge areas.
• Added multiple Alder Wood item drop points.
• Added a Cheat Chest to bypass the Alder Wood quest requirements, in case the player doesn't want to collect all 20 pieces.
• New Carrasco textbox theme!
• New BP Shop theme!
• Added "Location-Based" guest party members system.
• Added a page to the credits.
• New Woodbury Forest theme.
• New Woodbury Forest battleback.

TWEAKED CONTENT:

• Altered requirement settings from "=" to ">=".
• Altered Alder Wood quest dialogues.
• Altered Woodbury Forest scenes.
• Updated the second splash screen.
• Made sure the intro system message included the new title change.
• Renamed the South Bridge save name.
• Tweaked the damage output of a draining skill.
• Tweaked the stats of the Kral for balancing purposes.

BUG AND GLITCH FIXES

• Fixed a choice graphic glitch while in cutscenes.
• Fixed layer calls in Chapter 1/2 transition.
• Fixed an issue with the locked party icon.
• Fixed an issue with message widths not resetting in the Resting Quarters.
• Fixed an issue with tileset passibilities.
• Fixe an issue where the Woodbury Forest guard doesn't let you back into the New Woodbury sector after leaving.
• Fixed an issue where some items couldn't be picked up by walking over them.
• Fixed an issue with centered text on some signs.
• Fixed an issue with a redacted character being called into a scene.
• Fixed an issue where backgrounds of choice menus weren't showing up for certain ones.
• Fixed an issue where butter was an item drop in the forest. Yepp. Butter. You heard me right. On the ground. In the grass. Just laying there.
• Fixed an unseen issue where one of the Goldewin brothers past the bridge would give you every recipe by talking to them. Whoops.
• Fixed an issue where you can't leave the Waterfall Cave.
• Fixed a graphical issue where status icons in the pause menu were stationed behind health/mana bars.
• Fixed an issue with audio effects in the Waterfall Cave.
• Fixed name/face issues in some dialogue.
• Other minor tweaks and fixes.

Alright, so that was 1.9.6! If you notice, there are a few fixes and content bits not included in this update. Apologies, but time crunches! I wanted to make sure the Carrasco story event was accessible as soon as possible, which was impossible without fixing the Alder Wood quest stuff.

1.9.7 will have the Otnemarcas "Warehouse Story Event" finalized, as well as make the final tweaks to a certain studious side-quest that was left unfinished in 1.9.6. I'm hoping to finally release the first Carrasco Tournament to players.

I'm also excited to put the finishing touches on a new character to possibly show them off somewhere in the demo. This character is connected to the beginning of the game, which I'd love to give players a sneak peek at if possible.

I also hope to sneak another character into the demo, even if it's just a mention of them.

Finally, I of course will be playing through the demo again and fixing any bugs or glitches I wasn't able to get to beforehand. I also plan to update the shadings in the Woodbury Tunnels, as I wasn't able to update that with 1.9.5, which saw a LOT of reshades through the game as a whole.

I'll keep you all updated here! If all goes according to plan, 1.9.7 should be the last demo update! I'll be taking a very small break from dev work, maybe a couple of weeks, before beginning work on the next step...EARLY ACCESS!

See you all later, Travelers!