Hello Element-174 fans! The time for the release of "Element-174 - Part 2" is almost here! But before that we have an update to the original game to prepare for this long awaited sequel. This latest update to Part 1 is referred to as v1.00.0. It's a new version numbering system that would otherwise have been referred to as v0.28. This update revamps the game engine to the current one that will be used for Part 2. As a result, there might be some compatibility issues with previous save games. It's an unfortunate side effect of the engine update, but necessary to keep all versions of the game in line.
Because the core files are so different between this and v0.22, even after updating, it may cause this newest version of Part 1 to not even load up properly. If you update to the most current version (v1.00.0) and the game does not start up, here is what you can do to fix it.
First, go into the game's Steam installation folder. Most likely some version of ...steamapps\\common\\Element-174\\game
Locate the saves folder and copy it somewhere else. This will contain your persistents file as well as previous save games. If there's nothing there, or you don't care about keeping this data, don't do anything. The following step may not even delete this folder.
Then go to the Steam client app and uninstall "Element - 174 Part 1."
Once fully uninstalled, simply install the game (v1.00.0) back in its original folder (or somewhere else if you want to start fresh). Return your saves folder back to the game folder here, if moved.
That's it! Simply updating to the latest version has a chance of keeping some of the old game files which causes the game to not load.
But that's not all this new update does! This is also the start of re-rendering some of the original images in Part 1. Back when I was just getting started, I didn't have the hardware, skills or experience to make quality renders. And this update is the first batch of redone renders, mostly for days 1 and 2. I'll be continuing to make my way through the old game until they're all roughly the same quality as Part 2.
Tomorrow is finally the day! Until then!