Exactly two years ago today, on October 27th, 2023, we first launched Dungeon Tavern into Early Access on Steam. The game has gone through many changes since it's release. Despite an originally rocky start, we've received a lot of fantastic feedback and support from our audience which has helped us find our footing with the game. We've come to a point now where myself and the rest of the team can earnestly say we're proud with what this game has become and what we have to show off.
Much of the story and content was completed as of the last update- so the 1.0 update is mainly focusing on core features, quality of life, and putting some of the finishing touches on the ending sequence we showed off in the last patch.
Changelog 1.0:
SAVE & LOAD: This is where most of our effort has gone since the last update- the game was originally intended to have a more simplistic, fixed state, save system. However one of the biggest requests has been for a multiple save slot system, with manual loading. Now you can relive your favorite moments/scenes, or just use the save system to help with some of the branching choices!
HIDE & LOG: Two more highly requested core features, you can now temporarily hide the text UI to better view the animated CGs, as well as pull up a log of recent dialogue lines. Accidentally skipped some dialogue? Don't worry, you can get caught up again.
GAME ENDINGS: We've gone ahead and polished up the ending scenario more from the last update. Most notably, adding voice acting! The whole main sequence should be fully voiced now- we've tested it ourselves, but if you run into any gaps in the voicework, please let us know.
Otherwise the ending vignettes have been expanded a little, some of the artwork has been updated, and there is a new (SFW) CG that's been added to the ending sequence to help convey some of the dramatic circumstance.
NEW CGS: Kreyton and Bambi now have an additional CG, giving them a bit more parity with Inga.
INGA UPDATES: As promised, we've gone and re-worked/expanded on Inga's story interactions!
MAX BONDING, REVISED: Now whenever you fully max out your bond with a character, you can continue to spend time with them! Instead of skipping ahead to the next time period, you will have a choice of triggering one of the sandbox-styled overworld sex animations.
NEW ACHIEVEMENTS: Now with the endings in place, we've gone ahead and added some new Steam achievements related to the various story outcomes! Each ending has an animated CG associated with it, so the achievements are just an extra bonus on top!
Roadmap Recap:
We originally launched into Early Access with a roadmap- we've since been able to not only complete every goal on said roadmap, but have also added a bunch of content not originally promised!
Lets take a look back at the history of the game and recall the things added in previous patches-
Guest Character: Kreyton from Cloud Meadow
Main Story Day 4
Sandbox Gay, Lesbian, & Intersex Animations
New Tavern Area: Exterior + Wagon
Sandbox Item Gifting & Trading
Controller Support & Improved Steam Deck Compatibility
Voice Acting Introduced To The Game
Guest Character: Bambi from Clumzor's Webcomic, The Party
Main Story Day 5
Sandbox Cumming Animations
New Tavern Area: The Attic
Sandbox Stockade Animations
Free Roam & Relationship System Added To Story Mode
Ending Sequence
New Original Character: Inga
"New" Original Character: ??? (THE DECEIVER WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED)
New Full Screen Animated CGs
What's Next?
We are leaving early access, but that doesn't mean we're just going to be walking away from the game. We've been having folks beta test this 1.0 update ahead of time as we've been working on it to make sure everything goes smoothly, but no game launch is without its bug fixes. We will of course be keeping an eye on the game prior to launch and addressing any bug reports or feedback you guys might have.
That being said, we also have plans for some additional content! We will be using update 1.1 to add some things that are extra bonuses to round out what's already here, instead of anything that the game needs to feel "complete." For instance, we have one more guest character we'd like to add- Redd Ryder, who is a character from the first game we released on Steam, Spooky Starlets! She will have her own sandbox animations and 2 story CGs. There's also an optional bonus sex scene featuring Celeste I want to add to the game's story mode. Maybe some other scenes if we have the space and time for them. We want to also fill in as many voice acting gaps as possible- revisiting the hangout side conversations and ensuring all of those are fully voiced as well, as right now a couple of those scenes are still voiceless, as they are "optional" content. (Guest character scenes will remain unvoiced however.)
Beyond 1.1, we are setting our sights on a potential larger update/expansion. Many folks have asked about wanting to play as Celeste and seeing the game's story from her perspective. We really liked that idea- in fact, we liked it so much, we've been coming up with a lot of great ideas for how we can properly do it justice, allowing for new scenes and expanded content.
That being said, we want to give ourselves time to do this right, to be able to revisit the project with fresh eyes and be able to treat Celeste's POV like a sort of "Shadows of the Erdtree" type situation. Basically our hopes for a Celeste POV update is less of a 1.2 and more of a 2.0. Once we get some of the aforementioned bonus content in the game, we'll be temporarily shifting our attention to some other projects. Some are older/existing ones, such as a major overhaul/update to Spooky Starlets. (Which is the sort of thing we want to do for DT's Celeste update.) Some are newer projects that we've had to put down to make sure we've been giving Dungeon Tavern the time and attention it deserves.
Back to the current patch, Dungeon Tavern will be discounted for the next two weeks! If you were on the fence, or wanted to get the game for a friend, now is the time to do it! Some other titles in the TinyHat adult games label will also be discounted, so go check those out too!
As a post-script, many thanks to user MrUbiePie who came up with a beautiful 3D model of everyone's favorite Imp, Izzy. With his permission we 3D printed it and painted it, which is the Izzy figure you see in the newspost image!
