Weekly News #166

So, another week and a half has passed since the release of the new full version of the game, as well as recent news - the past week and a half were not as productive as these, and we clearly have something to tell. There is a lot of news, a lot of content, even more improvements. Well, we will start with something ... Important and expected by our audience - news about the release of the game on Steam. Perhaps you have already seen this news in Discord or our other resources, but we will repeat it.

Firstly, we now have a Steam Developer Page, which you can subscribe to here to receive news about our projects through the Steam platform itself: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45695595

In addition to the fact that we have a developer page on Steam, naturally a page of one well-known project from us has also appeared. You can find it at this link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3288630/Academy_Life/. Add it to your wishlist and there will be a little more news about the release on Steam soon! Well, now that we have sorted out this interesting issue, it's time to talk about what has been done right now in the game itself. Well, as has already been said above, we really have something to tell.

So, the second point is randomized NPCs. Here we had to implement a fairly large and pleasant innovation, especially for those who bought our game. To be more precise - an improvement of systems related to artificial intelligence, and to be even more precise - we built it into the message interface for the RNPC. You can communicate with them directly through this interface: find out how they are doing, what they did, and many other things related to their life. In principle - it works more or less the same as the interaction with the RNPC of the same name - “talk about something”. Well, the interface itself can be seen just below:

In addition, the game now has a similar interaction in the male/female RNPC call interface - call him/her from anywhere in the world and talk about whatever you want! This is all available for Super Best Friend ($25) subscribers in test mode, but in the near future we will try to open it up in a limited format for Best Friend ($10) subscribers. However, at the moment we can't promise anything - we are working on improving the availability of this entire feature.

So, now that we've sorted out the AI, it's time to move on to some other points. For example, we've listened to your wishes and improved the game for the girl. How? The scene in which your heroine can interact with a female RNPC right in bed - it was added as a new interaction, which you can see just below in the interaction menu with her:

You can also see what the scene looks like here: https://x.com/kaitosi11/status/1937964745681731921. The scene itself supports different toys, petting of different kinds - many interesting opportunities to improve the gaming experience of you, as a player, for the female gender.

In addition, there is also a slight improvement in the visuals of the RNPC due to the point-imposed filters. How does it work? During the day/morning, the RNPC is lighter, like a highlight, like in real life, and at night it is bluer. Cold assessments prevail.

In addition, here you can also introduce another innovation of a different kind, which in principle concerns the picture to a large extent - its adjustment. You can lighten the image a little, make it more contrasting, change the color shade - completely and entirely adjust the picture to suit yourself.

Changes to all this will apply to any kind of filters and significantly affect the overall picture.

In addition to all these rather interesting innovations, we also introduced five different sets of clothes for male RPNCs, which can be seen just below:

As well as hairstyles for these same male RPNCs:

Third, plot changes. We, as always, made and redrawn a certain scene with Ayano Yoshida, which you can see here on our Twitter: https://x.com/kaitosi11/status/1943226915411612132. In addition, we have slightly improved the storyline with Suzuki Matsui, or to be more precise, we have added a new business system there, which can open up to your character with the right choices of the story type.

You have the opportunity to improve the Eagle's bar, withdraw money from the account, and manage this very club. To be more precise, at this stage of the plot, the club is no longer the property of the Eagle, but is transferred entirely and completely to you, so if you haven't seen this content, you can go and watch it, try it out.

Fourth, some system improvements and changes. We have something to talk about here too. For example, you may have noticed that quite a lot of people ignore entering their character's name and then can't change it. A necessary cheat was added specifically for this, which you can see on the screenshot:

In addition, another long-needed innovation comes here: choosing how to buy goods in the online store on your character's PC. You can buy it again for cash or from an in-game bank account - as you wish!

Another simplification comes here too. The main interface adjustment buttons are right in the main interface itself! Many players didn't even know about such a feature as changing the interface size - we made it more obvious and added a new button, and there - a button to hide the interface.

Well, and the last changes, but in terms of significance: new keymaps were added to the general controls in the game when playing on a PC device: U - opens the diary, I - inventory, M - in-game map, and T - the menu for equipping clothes for your character, and the overall weight of the game was reduced by 250 megabytes due to a fairly large deletion of rudimentary files and their compression.

Fifth, fixed bugs and errors in the game. Refactoring and other technical improvements. In principle, we have already told about a lot of what was done, so we can finally proceed to the full list of changes and what was done in these one and a half weeks:

New content:

AI (LLama3) was built into messages with randomized NPCs similar to interaction with RNPCs “talk about something”: opening the contacts menu and further messages will open an interface like in any messenger in the real world. After that, you will be able to correspond with the RNPC exactly the same way as with a conditional girl in the real world (but a real artificial intelligence will answer you), giving you a new experience from the game. In addition to the fact that it exists, this AI has memory, understands what it is, who it / she is and where it is, which elevates potential interaction instead of the usual three buttons about the question of where he / she is, to the format of formulating a direct question, and all this affects your relationship with the RNPC, which is why this can be a fairly easy and relaxed method for improving your relationship with him / her.

A new possible interaction was added to calls for RNPCs - talk about something. It does exactly the same thing as its counterpart in the menu of the interface for interacting with randomized NPCs.

The game has implemented a bar business, which opens up to your character after completing certain events in the storyline with Suzuki Matsui - if earlier there was a placeholder instead, now it is a full-fledged system in which you can develop your business, improve it, and also generally have a profit from it on an ongoing basis.

Some options for the storyline with Suzuki Matsui were added, which will diversify it a little, and also make it more elaborate in certain moments of the gameplay.

A scale button for the interface was added directly to the main interface of the game: all this allows you to quickly adjust it and increase / decrease it depending on your preferences. Many did not know about this feature, now it is more obvious.

The ability to switch the general interface of the game to the old version was added to the game settings interface for some specific types of people who wanted to do this before.

An 18+ scene with girl+girl content has been added to the game. You can watch it here:https://x.com/kaitosi11/status/1937964745681731921. It supports a huge amount of possible variation, and is generally quite diverse, takes into account many factors, and uses some long-added items used only for the plot (toys for this very process). 

A new option for customizing the game has been added to the settings menu - graphics settings. With it, you can make the RNPC picture and backgrounds the way you want in terms of contrast, brightness, shades of red/blue/green. Do everything to your taste.

A new possible cheat has been added to the developer menu interface for it: change your character's name due to too many requests to add this cheat.

The online store on your character's PC, which is accessible through the room, has been given a choice of how to buy items from there: through cash or a bank.

A little more possible animations have been added to some scenes with randomized female NPCs: RNPCs blink, breathe, and have some other light animations that make the scene more lively.

Now, depending on the time of day, the RNPC sprite coloring filter also changes: for example, during the day it is more "reflective", since the sun shines on it, and at night it is more blue. The same works with any other time of day - this is done for greater realism, dynamism, and overall improvement of the game's visuals.

Five new different hairstyles have been added for male RNPCs, which are available in the RNPC editor, and can also be generated on it when starting a new game.

Five new clothing sets have been added for male RNPC, which can be accessed in the RNPC editor and can also be generated on it when starting a new game.

The game's size has been significantly reduced (around 250 megabytes) by compressing the existing PNG/JPEG game files, as well as generally removing vestigial game files that were no longer used by the game but were present in the directory and taking up space.

Some useless story options have been removed that lead nowhere, and instead just repeat an event until the player selects the "right option".

A button to hide the interface was added directly to the main interface of the game: you can hide everything unnecessary from the background, which is necessary when testing the game or when taking screenshots of backgrounds.

New keymaps were added to the general controls in the game when playing on a PC device: U - opens the diary, I - inventory, M - in-game map, and T - the menu for equipping clothes for your character.

A minor refactoring of the systems responsible for the occult club system was carried out: the corresponding calculations were improved, certain bugs in them were fixed and more understandable and logical conditions for using this entire system as a whole were created.

A minor refactoring of the systems responsible for interactions with randomized NPCs was carried out: the systems themselves were improved, they became more stable and understandable from a logical point of view, and in general, the calculations of parameters, character traits and other things became more accurate.

The systems responsible for the movement of the RNPC around the locations were refactored: the system became more logical, male RNPC stopped living in women's toilets and vice versa. Performance became slightly, but better.

Some internal systems, such as AI, as well as asynchronous translation, were refactored. The systems themselves became more stable, began to cause fewer problems and exceptions, became slightly faster, even with low Internet speed of the game. The AI systems themselves began to take into account more different input data to provide a better gaming experience and their use.

A minor refactoring of businesses and systems associated with it was carried out: pricing, profit were slightly changed and the overall stability of the system was improved. It began to cause slightly fewer problems and exceptions than before.

The script responsible for assembling the RNPC sprite on the screen was improved: caching systems were improved, and the operating principle was changed so that it does not take up much device power and does not cause any crashes in the future.

Minor editing of the systems responsible for distributing RNPC activity was performed - the system itself became a more productive and better version of itself, thanks to slightly larger elements connecting it.

The Chinese translation of the game was updated: some untranslated parts of the game were translated, the translation in other places was improved, and in general it became better.

Fixed bugs:

Fixed a bug with incorrect display of the RNPC appearance in his appearance card through the occult club management interface.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could throw exceptions when displaying scenes with randomized NPCs, if the RNPC had tattoos/piercings, etc. In some rare situations of the gameplay.

Fixed a bug due to which the RNPC sprite could become deformed and distorted after some specific interactions and using engine functions.

Fixed a bug due to which the game threw exceptions when displaying some RNPCs in the activity menu during their group activity of a certain type.

Fixed a bug due to which the memory cache of a randomized NPC and his appearance could also contain scenes, which in general significantly broke the picture, although not often.

Fixed a bug due to which not all buttons in the settings menu, performance categories, were displayed properly (not displayed at all).

Fixed a bug due to which the filter on the RNPC sprite was applied with unnecessary animation, due to which the opening of the sprite did not look as good as it should, but with certain errors.

Fixed a bug due to which a randomized female NPC in scenes of a certain nature of the "Rider" position could have a different skin color of the body from the face, if such is a milf.

Fixed a bug due to which the front part of the arms of randomized female NPCs could simply be lower in layers than the body, due to which the sprite image itself did not look very good.

Fixed a bug with the incorrect display of the RNPC appearance in its appearance card through the phone interface during calls / SMS or any other contact using this interface.

Fixed a bug due to which in the RNPC cards, where there is a miniature (phone, occult club, etc.), these very miniatures could blink, breathe and generally not be static, as they should be.

Fixed a bug where the scene where the plot character Ayano Yoshida "slips and hits her head" would overlap the background and there would be literally nothing in its place, causing the overall exposure of the image and scene to break.

Fixed a bug where the "take my hand" scene with randomized female NPCs could have some issues with coloring the randomized NPCs with the correct skin color.

Fixed a bug where the RNPC's hands could appear to be behind his back when they should instead be in front of the sprite.

Fixed a bug where the sprite could become significantly distorted visually as the game progressed and interacted with it, turning into something incomprehensible.

Fixed a bug where the game could throw certain exceptions during the 60 minute time skip in case of RNPC generation and/or caching errors.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could start to crash after a long game session on especially weak devices.

Fixed a bug due to which cached RNPC could not be removed from the cache in a timely manner, which caused exceptions in the menu of interaction with RNPC,

although not very often.

Fixed a bug due to which an event with an RNPC with whom you had too bad a relationship and at the same time he had the "inclination" to get rid of your character, occurred too often and could interfere with the game.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could throw exceptions when trying to process the appearance of an RNPC during a group interaction with an RNPC.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could throw exceptions when opening the interface for buying a business on your character's computer.

Fixed a bug due to which it was impossible to use certain Internet functions from some countries, such as cloud saves, AI, etc. Fixed a bug where the game could throw certain exceptions when installing certain modifications manually.

Fixed a bug due to which moving RNPC around locations could cause certain problems, due to which these same RNPC would remain in their apartment for the entire game session.

Fixed a bug due to which in your character's diary in the category of tasks with story characters there could be some errors in the tips and inaccuracies.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could cause certain exceptions when rewinding time more than 60 minutes (calendar, certain interactions, etc.)

Fixed a bug due to which scenes with randomized NPCs could be written to the sprite caching, which in the future, firstly, could significantly overload the general cache, and secondly, due to this, there could be problems with the display of the cached sprite in the future.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could throw exceptions when displaying scenes with randomized NPCs if they had any appearance features: freckles, etc.

Fixed a bug due to which the game could consider that your character is outside during 18+ character contact with randomized NPCs, due to which randomized NPCs could notice you even in your own apartment.

Fixed a bug due to which what concerns the hands of randomized NPCs - could completely break if they are cached in the device's memory and cause further unpleasant graphical glitches.

Fixed a flaw due to which male RNPCs might not have new dynamic shadows displayed from their upper clothing.

Fixed a bug due to which the scene of group "interactions" with randomized NPCs could cause exceptions in some specific situations of the gameplay, although not often.

Fixed a bug where your character could still do clubbing at the festival that happened once a week, even without being in the corresponding club or any other club.

Fixed a bug where some beach/pool events in the academy could have certain issues if the event was about female RNPC getting naked - now everything works as it should, in accordance with the game's events.

Fixed a bug due to which during certain types of events with Yoshida Ayano, where she randomly fights, the BG itself could be missing from the CG background, and instead - an alpha layer.

Fixed a bug due to which in the scene where the plot character Yoshida Ayano asked if she was cute and closed your character's eyes, her sprite was still present on the screen.

Fixed a bug due to which it was possible to infinitely take a book in the form of tips and training for managing the occult club when joining this very club.

Fixed a bug due to which during some interactions with randomized female NPCs, where such undresses and gets naked, if she is on the beach, then this very nudity did not happen - instead she was wearing a swimsuit, even if the text positioned that she was naked.

Fixed a bug where, despite your character having some funds to buy something in the online store interface in your character's room, the game would not allow you to buy literally anything and would say that you did not have enough funds.

Fixed a bug where buttons/icons in your player's PC interface could have the inscription "empty" next to them, despite the fact that there should have been a hint saying what this button was exactly.

As you can see, quite a lot of work has been done, especially when it comes to important technical changes and improvements. The game has become a little more enjoyable and interesting to play, so we hope that you will like this update, because on July 27 we will release a full version of the game, which will not only have all these interesting and tasty things, but also a huge amount of other content - all that remains is to wait.