Chapter 4 Official Release
Official Public Release for players who own the game on Steam and Itch is here! This final version of Chapter 4 includes achievements for players on all platforms, not just Steam.
THIS IS A SAVE-BREAKING UPDATE!
WARNING!!! SAVES WILL BE BROKEN THIS UPDATE! Opening old saves will introduce bugs. Please plan to start a new game or use the Entry Points feature to avoid opening old saves. To be safe, please consider deleting your old saves.
We know broken saves are a huge inconvenience for players, but unfortunately we made too many changes to the foundation of the codebase for it to be avoided.
Verify Integrity of Game Files
If you run into issues with downloading or accessing the Chapter 4 update, please try the "Verify integrity of game files" option in the Steam settings, in the Installed Files tab.
Please report any bugs or issues
If you encounter any bugs or issues with the game, please reach out to us directly so we can help you! You can post in our Discussion forum here on Steam, reach out to us on our Discord server, or contact our support email [email protected]. If you report problems in a review, we may not see the report immediately.
What's new in Chapter 4?
With this update we are adding: 16 scenes (9 lewd), ~55K+ words, 2,226 renders, 97 animations, 28 songs, and 21 sfx.
Ren'Py upgrade and code optimization
This update we upgraded from Ren'Py 7.4.11 to Ren'Py 8+ which allows us to take advantage of the newer optimization features Ren'Py has to offer! We also took this opportunity to refactor our code to integrate well with Crowdin and help automate the translation process.
New Achievements feature added
We've now added Achievements (which were previously only available via the Steam platform) to the game itself so that players on all platforms can access them! All players will get notifications when achievements are completed and can check in-game to see which achievements they have completed or not. If you have the Walkthrough features purchased and enabled, you can also get hints for the achievements in-game.
Unlock All Memories feature added
We added the ability to Unlock All Memories with a toggle in the settings. We already had the feature that allows you Reset All Memories. These are quality of life features to help players who get stuck in bugged states, are playing on multiple platforms/devices that can't share saves, etc. Both can be found in the Options menu in the More tab.
Brand new GUI throughout entire game
Thank you to m. of Tsundere Studio for the complete GUI overhaul! We couldn't be happier with how it all turned out. Be sure to add their game to your Steam wish list:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1703610/I_Just_Want_to_be_Single/
Future plans and pricing
Development of Chapter 5 is currently in progress and planned to release later in 2024! The base price of A Shot in the Dark may increase with the Chapter 5 update, but we will give the community advance notice about any prices changes.
As a reminder, we also have NO plans to split the game into Books or Seasons. When you purchase A Shot in the Dark, you will have access to all future updates until the game is complete (we have approx. 5 more updates planned). The same is true for the Walkthrough & Guide DLC.
Translations coming soon
Currently only the English version of the game is available for purchase. Translations to the following languages are in progress: Chinese (Simplified), French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. We plan to release the translated versions to Steam in the next few months!
Want to help with the translation process?
You can find more information in this post. Volunteers who help translate the game can request a Steam key. We have additional incentives for volunteers who make significant contributions to the translations.
Thank you for playing!
We appreciate all of our fans and players! If you enjoyed the game, please consider leaving a review.
We hope you enjoy playing Chapter 4 of A Shot in the Dark as much as we've enjoyed making it. :)