We've updated the Clever Girls Demo!
This update focus on addressing crashes, bugfixes and major refinements. We're planning on releasing more updates too! See below for all the details on what we changed, and what we plan to change! Note:
Old version save data should still be compatible with this build. Please report any remaining issues with saving and loading data on the Steam Community, or with the in-game bug report form link.
New Features:
Added a "Recent Dialogue" window to the pause menu, which shows the latest non-VN dialogue that has printed to the screen. Use this to read any in-battle or exploration mode dialogue that may have faded out too quickly. Currently, however, it only shows the single most recent dialogue event. This will likely be improved in the future.
When switching characters near obstacles, the player character is now adjusted to a nearby open area if there is any available. This won't fix every situation where switching from a smaller to larger character will get you stuck, but it should fix most. The full game will have "rescue points" set up to handle the situation where an appropriate adjustment cannot be found.
Updated Unreal engine version from UE 5.3.2 to UE 5.6.1. This version is expected to have significantly faster rendering for some CPUs, and contains many engine-level bugfixes and performance enhancements. We've tested the build, but if there's any new issues that we didn't catch, please report them.
Bugfixes / Tweaks:
Fixed issue where VN dialogue was automatically advancing without player input
Poacher Radio Operators now turn to face the location where they think their most threatening target was when they use the radio. This makes the Ventriloquism ability more effective on them.
Increased interaction range for throwable objects
Fixed GPU-related crash on startup for AMD RX500-series GPUs. (Let us know if it still has problems!)
Make a certain sign in a certain level have higher contrast, to better show off a very good joke
VN events can no longer be advanced by player inputs while the log screen is visible
Fixed an issue where autoplay would skip cutscenes
Fixed mouse sensitivity and some other option settings not applying upon level load
Fixed multiple objectives not checking when completed
Fixed a bug whereupon opening the Options menu on the main screen might have caused the Play Story Demo button to instead start Quick Battle
Turboskip now requires a hold input (even when pressing the on-screen button)
Adjusted the autoplay pause time before advancing.
Fixed an issue where autoplay wouldn't advance after cutscenes.
Fixed various crashes upon loading into some autosave points. Save data is expected to be intact still, so old saves that had this issue should now work.
Reduced foliage shimmering
Reduced foliage shadow noise greatly
Greatly increased the allotted reading time for many non-VN dialogues.
Fixed an issue preventing individual scene viewings from being recorded, therefore preventing some conditional dialogue from playing.
Affected scenes include:
The broken mascot interaction. A variant of the VN will play if Daisy has seen the mascot before (If the mascot event is viewed after the update.)
The event where the perfect campsite is found. Sawyer now acknowledges that you've been to that campsite before if you stopped by earlier.
The security camera blocking cutscene. A shorter variation will play in subsequent encounters with security cameras.
Removed an FX layer off a Daisy expression that would often clip off the top of the screen. Daisy is tall!
Various typo fixes. Made some Shade lines more in-character.
Various small level geometry optimizations
Known issues (to be addressed in future updates):
Some save games have unintuitive location names. We're in the process of reworking the system that these names are derived from.
After Sawyer leaps into the scene during her tutorial introduction, she freezes completely still for the rest of the cutscene. This will be fixed in the next update! Probably. For now, just pretend she's petrified from stage fright.
In some cases the "spotted" visual effect will continually retrigger on subsequent turns, even on characters that are clearly hidden. This is only a visual issue and the hidden character is not actually being spotted. We're working on diagnosing this one.
Breakable barriers still can't be targeted directly with thrown objects, and can't be jumped over. This will require some reworking of how breakables work to fix cleanly, so it'll likely be fixed in next patch.
Shade's animation for diving into water snaps her in a strange way. Still figuring this one out! Motion warping is being strange.
We plan on continuing to add new stuff to the demo. See details below!
Plans for future major updates in the Demo:
One of the consistent things we've heard from players about the demo is that combat was too easy! This was partially intentional, as we didn't want combat to keep any players from completing the story. However, it left many players wanting more. We want to use the demo as a testing ground to make sure our battle system is refined enough to make the full game a ton of fun.
So, we have a future update planned that will add some new battles into the Quick Battle Mode! We want to show a more refined version of the battle combat we have in mind, with enough depth to it to match what we want in the full game. Our goal is to make these battles will be more "realistic" to the final product, and should represent an average, mid-game battle an experienced player might face.
We'll also use them as a test bed for gameplay iteration! We have plenty of ideas for new abilities, enemies, etc. We also have heard plenty of feedback about UI design and control usability, especially in regards to moving those dinosaurs around complex terrain. We're going to give these issues plenty of attention as well.
In the future, expect more enemy types, better, more competent AI, and a higher difficulty for players more used to tactical games. These battles will be entirely standalone and separate from the story demo; They might have a few lines of dialogue, but won't have any major story components.
When we have more details, we'll announce them here.
Other, smaller planned demo updates for the future:
Dialogue noises!
Refined sound effects
Rework of the Radio, Ventriloquism and Social Call mechanics
UI Rework! The main menu and pause menu need visual improvements, and the battle UI can be much improved.
Controls enhancements
Explore mode dialogue: characters will have small comments and conversations when you walk near them in the world.
Model improvements: animations, blinking, etc.
More fixes and improvements! Still a few stray crashes and bugs, as well as our known issues.
What's next apart than the other stuff?
To be announced! We're working on some very exciting things we can't talk about yet!
Character profile social media posts! Official confirmation of each dino's species (you would not believe how many people have been asking for that, my gosh. We see you, dino nerds!)
Are you a publisher that wants to collaborate with us? Send us an email at [email protected]! We've been approached by a few already, but talks are still ongoing!
To close us out this time have a screenshot: This VN event featuring a very sad Daisy was prevented from playing by a bug (which has now been fixed.) See if you can find it in the new build! Thanks for following! Stay tuned for more updates!
