A medium-sized update, featuring a little bit of new content, quality of life changes and...
~a few accessibility features~
Yes, the main addition is an "Auto Run" feature. Simply push the 1 key on your keyboard and you'll always sprint in areas where it's allowed, so you don't have to hold the shift key down the whole time.
Another tweak is that there's now a little buzz sound when you try to run in a room where it's not allowed. This is to make it clear that your inputs are working properly, you just aren't able to run in that room. (This sound only plays when auto-run is OFF and the shift key is pressed.)
Thanks to Mike's Productions for suggesting these additions! They're fantastic ideas and will hopefully make the experience easier for those who have physical difficulty with specific game controls.
I also intended to include a text skip option in this update, but the feature is just broken on RPG Maker 2003. I tried adding Maniacs Patch, but it broke some other parts of the game. Also the text-skip feature could only work in debug mode, and it's not something I can really work around. I wish I could've added that here . :( Instead, I went through a lot more dialogue lines in the game and increased the scroll speed to maximum. Lots of NPC, background object, and story dialogue has been sped up to a less irritating speed.
-PATCH NOTES-
v1.7, 10-24-25 (current version)
* Added a new toggleable "Auto-Run" feature. This is for general
quality of life as well as accessibility for those who have trouble
holding down the run button continuously.
* Added special SFX to indicate when the "Run" feature is not usable. This
is to make controls feedback more clear.
* Added new NPCs to various obscure areas.
* Modified some NPC dialogue
* Added new visuals to a cutscene on the fortress roof.
* Fixed some minor color-inconsistencies in the red area
* Enabled sprinting in most of the Cellar area.
* Fixed an error in the credits sequence
* Increased text scroll speed on a lot more dialogue.
* Added some visual feedback for inaccessible doors.