Author Sim is now officially released with a 10% launch discount! Check out the full game here:
Alongside the full game's release, the demo has also received a major v1.0.0 update! Here's a look at some of the changes:
Actions & Mini-Games
Replaced the old reading mini-game (Recall) with a new mini-game (Reading Comprehension), where players identify the correct trope reflected in a passage with missing segments
Updated the Mini-Games Skill Tree so that early upgrades partially (RC I) or fully (RC II) reveal the missing segments of the passage
Reworked the old posting mini-game (Photo Editing)
Replaced the brightness and sharpness sliders with a movable knob inside an adjustment box, and players must drag the knob within the box to adjust the post's brightness and sharpness
Updated the Mini-Games Skill Tree so that early upgrades (PE I and PE II) reduce the size of the adjustment box, while a later upgrade (PE III) enables a proximity alert that becomes louder as the player approaches the perfect setting
Added a chance for social media posts to go viral, granting significantly more likes and followers based on performance in the posting mini-game (Photo Editing)
Added keyboard and mouse icons to the top of action mini-game windows to indicate the required input method
Revised the difficulty descriptions in the action mini-game windows for improved clarity
Changed the success and timer-stop sound effects used in action mini-games
Adjusted the formulas used to calculate book ratings, book sales, post likes, and followers gained to improve overall game balance
Added month numbers to book sales bar graphs
New Features
Added Book Cover Decoration, allowing players to customize their book covers before publication
Added 9 background patterns, 10 title fonts, 19 centerpieces, 19 puff quotes, and 38 colours to choose from
Added a randomize option to generate a random cover
Cover cosmetics are unlocked as players continue decorating more covers
Book covers are displayed in the blog window and statistics page
Added a Cosmetics tab to the eStore window, featuring permanent cosmetic items unlocked through the Money branch of the Items Skill Tree
Converted the animated sea creatures into cosmetic items
Added additional computer wallpapers as cosmetic items
Added an Appearance section to the settings window for customizing the computer background and this section is unlocked after becoming a successful author for the first time
Apps & Windows
Added The Dictionary of Literary Tropes to the bookmark window, a reference book containing every tag unlocked across all lives, along with its definition and discovered synergies
Added book blurbs to books in the bookmark window so that players can read them before purchasing
Added tag discovery progress bars to books in the bookmark window so that players can track their progress without opening the book
Added a new five-star image that appears when a book's tag discovery progress bar is full
Adjusted the prices of books in the bookmark window and items in the eStore window
Added copyright pages to novels displayed in the blog window, showing the publication year and publisher
Improved the appearance of awards displayed in the blog window
Added unread email notifications to both the email app and inbox
Increased the maximum number of emails and novels displayed in the email and blog windows, respectively
Added a one-time loan option to the bank window
Added a list of recent factors affecting player happiness to the community window, shown when hovering over the happiness emoji
Added an orange outline around the computer screen to indicate when time is paused while writing or when the settings window is open
Main Menu
Added a lifetime statistics screen displayed after completing a life
Added a new page to the statistics app listing every published book, along with its publication information, ratings, sales, tags, and synergies
Fixed an issue causing incorrect values to be displayed on the statistics page
Replaced the switch skill tree button with tabs
Rebalanced Relaxing mode and renamed it Standard mode to better reflect its difficulty level
Increased book sales in Standard mode
Revised difficulty mode descriptions for improved clarity
Added new achievements for surviving until Year 4 (Dream Achieved +) and Year 5 (Dream Achieved ++)
Added an explanation to the tutorial toggle option in the main menu settings window clarifying that the tutorial runs when starting a new life
Renamed "New Game" to "New Life" and "Load Game" to "Load Life"
Tutorial & Information Panels
Updated the tutorial to explain the new mini-game mechanics
Added a separate short tutorial that runs the first time the player writes a novel in the manuscript window
Added an explanation of the eStore app to the tutorial
Revised the text in app information panels for improved clarity
Other Additions
Made the introduction scene permanently skippable
Updated the credits in the game and text file
Added pop-in animations to loading screen elements
Reversed the order of several pairs of confirm and cancel buttons for improved usability
Check out the demo here: