My fellow Kyosians!
A million-lot question... The short answer to it is: not quite! However, even though this still isn't a release with the voice over, it's actually a pretty major update with new playable content, features and adjustments, and I really hope you'll check it out in more detail!
But before we begin, a quick word on Ollie's "special" outfits - you might remember (even though it was 10 years ago) how we asked you which ones you liked best:
This wasn't just for show - we took the voting seriously and Ollie is now wearing the most popular choices! Here's a screenshot/wallpaper from the game - a beautiful art by Demi with original The Spire background by Adam:
You can download it in full HD and even 4K from our website!
Now... what's in the box, Fifteen?
Well, first of all, we uploaded a new playable build to the beta branch which includes Thea's route up to its final parts. The reason we haven't pushed it onto the main branch yet is that it really does need some testing - not only because of the new content, but also due to the new features that have been implemented (primarily controller support), as well as a major update to the saving system, which was necessary because of the problems that started appearing in older saves after the game grew in size considerably.
Should you decide to bravely venture into the beta build, please make sure to check the notes below! If not, you can safely skip to the next section.
Beta notes
Just a reminder that you can easily switch to the beta branch by selecting Minotaur in your Steam library, then going to "Properties" > "Betas" here:
...then entering the password: Sungatesettlement (or simply selecting beta branch from dropdown if you unlocked it already). At the moment, only the PC build is live, since we still need to figure out a few things with the Mac version, but I will upload the latter in the next few days.
In addition to checking out new content, you could really help us with testing the new features!
1) Gamepad support: at the moment, Minotaur fully supports XInput controllers (such as Xbox and many third-party controllers), and DirectInput controllers (such as PS and Switch Pro controllers) are supported via the Steam Input wrapper. Which means that:
- If you have an XInput controller, you need to make sure that Steam Input is disabled
- If you have a DirectInput controller, you need to enable Steam Input and select "Gamepad" layout in controller configurator templates
Either can be done in Minotaur's "Properties" > "Controller"! Once the build is live on the main branch, I'll adjust game settings in backend to let Steam know which controllers we support, and this will then be happening automatically.
Minotaur (being a point-and-click game) actually plays with a controller much better than I expected - I was pleasantly surprised! Hopefully we can improve the experience further with your feedback. Don't forget to check out the controls help page in-game!
One particularly useful feature mentioned on it is the ability to control the cursor speed with LB/RB. While convenient (I hope), we're still considering adding an adjustable default speed setting, as well as the options to: choose which thumbstick to move the cursor with, adjust RT (fast-skip) threshold and disable vibration.
2) New audio options: the auto-dialogue feature wasn't something that we originally planned, so we had to edit thousands of audio files to make the dialogue flow naturally, but in the end, I think it was worth it, and this mode makes the game much more cinematic. It's important to note that a line pause is calculated based on the duration of its VO audio clip, as in Minotaur, almost every line has a voice over - even lines like this:
However, since we still haven't added the VO to Thea's route, in the beta, a fallback method is used, and the pause is calculated based on the number of symbols in a line (multiplied by a language-specific coefficient, but there's also a minimum for ellipses and such). It's not something that will be heavily featured in the final release, but there are still a few "silent" lines in the game (like after the final "hand incident", you might recall), so please let us know if you think the text speed for such lines needs to be adjusted.
There's also a "mute the protagonist" option, which we hope some of the three precious streamers who play Minotaur might find useful (should they like to roleplay as the protagonist of a route). It does technically work alongside the auto-dialogue, though I imagine there's not much point in enabling both at the same time!
3) Update to the saving system: this nearly drove me crazy... What started as a minor bug during the alpha-testing phase unfolded into an absolute cluster**** of saving-related issues. In short, with the latest addition of a large amount of new content, old saves stopped working properly, causing all sorts of visual, audio and gameplay bugs. Given a vast amount of all types of old saves (starting way back from Nod's route release), as well as dozens of intertwined variables that the game keeps track of while allowing free movement between 20+ chapters, the temptation to simply wipe older data was strong... But we resisted. The update should keep almost all of your progress - I say should because that's what we're going to test, right?
Here's what's supposed to happen - the following should remain intact:
- Bonus content (extras, including their variants, if any)
- Hidden conditions (such as taking the flower in Nod's route or examining Terminus in Mentor's route)
- Unlocked routes and routes' endings
- Cleared routes (chapter select unlocks)
This means that, if you haven't cleared Mentor's route, for example, its chapter select will stay unavailable. It you did clear it, however, it's supposed to remain as such. The only thing that might change are the results of the in-route events:
There was no way to preserve them because of the way they were tracked, unfortunately, but worry not: they're reset in such a way as to make acquiring different route endings as easy as possible. For example:
- To save Ollie's energy in Nod's route, start from the concierge's room and examine all areas in Ollie's world, plus turn off the light in Nod's apartment (it's right there on the top right monitor when Royce comes up). Do not release Mentor and proceed as normal - you can also restore the Axis grid along the way depending on which ending you're shooting for. If you want to get the bye-bye-hand ending, you'll need to start a little earlier from the penthouse chapter, but that'd be the case regardless of the update.
- To get Mentor to update the autopilot, simply start from her route's last chapter and fast-skip it without making a detour to the kitchen
Richie's route path A is unaffected by this, and Thea's route older chapter select preview will simply be gone, replaced by a newer one once you clear the beta.
Please note that we'll need to reset these events at least once more when we move to the main branch!
If anything goes wrong (not how I described it above), please let us know! Not only will this let us fix the bugs in this critical system before the full release, I will also make sure to provide you with save data should yours get corrupted somehow.
Development progress
Arthur waiting for the release of Thea's route:
...Probably hoping people will finally start appreciating him once he's dead.
Anyway, while most of Thea's route has been completed and now even released without the voice over, there are still some things we need to finish. It really is the final push, essentially up to the point of one of the ending videos - which is going to be absolutely epic, by the way, here's a GIF of the work in progress (WIP):
...As well as some of the key scenes, a few of which need backgrounds and/or character art:
There are also some things that only come into play when a route is ready, such as special route results and main menu screens and OST preparation, and we need to take care of those as well. Plus we need to make sure that the updated saving system works properly, which is one of the main goals of the current beta.
That said, we should be able to start recording the voice over for all the new content soon™, as the script for Thea's route has mostly been finalized. However, a full release on the main branch is always a spike in development costs, since we need to pay for third-party services and products, such as the VO, some OST licenses (including separate soundtrack distribution fees), and so on. So we'll have to plan our budget accordingly!
I just mentioned "all the new content", by the way, and I'd like to stress that, in addition to the work that we did on Thea's route and the new features, we also crossed out a lot of tasks from our, hm, extensive backlog, which included content updates.
For example, the stupid "wall of text" puzzle after the Bygone knockout is finally gone, replaced instead by a completely new set of dialogues and interactions with Ollie (a "spot the differences" minigame of sorts). Those were huge fun to make, and I don't know how I didn't think of this much better setup from the get-go:
Mentor's route also got an update in form of an extension of the train scene. I think I mentioned it before a couple of times, but it's only with the release of Thea's route that it will become theoretically possible to take a walk at the last stop, which is an important prerequisite for one of the overall endings:
These new additions are still missing the voice over, but we plan to record it together with the VO for Thea's route.
We also continue working on Unter's route and remaining Richie's paths whenever we can. Unter's route in particular keeps getting crazier... Plague doesn't mess around:
Richie's Nova Corps station is also coming together nicely. He'll be able to explore almost all of NC building in one of his paths, even train a bit at its shooting range:
In addition to all that, there are many adjustments and improvements that we've made to the existing mechanics, most of which are already available in the beta. For example, the fast-skip is much, well, faster now, which makes skipping dialogue a lot more convenient (we strive to be speedrun-friendly); the hot spots system has been completely reworked to be more manageable and avoid slowdowns and other minor glitches that sometimes happened; we have finally found a way to implement an "alternative" streamer-friendly soundtrack, etc. etc.
Oh, and we've also been working on a complete redesign of our website!
We already handled the technical part (migrated to a new server to avoid downtime in future, got an SSL certificate, and so on), and are now populating the site with content. The new version has a number of advantages over the old one: it's mobile-friendly, it has a SEARCH, we're updating its content to better tie in with the in-game and our Discord server lore, and we're also adding new artwork and wallpapers which we produced over these last few decades. And, while I'm not sure if we'll have the resources to translate it, it's at least set up in a way that makes the process of adding translations relatively straightforward.
tl;dr
"That's all well and good, Nick," you might say, "but when's the release with the voice over?"
It's coming! And it's going to be massive. The amount of new content is roughly equal to Nod and Mentor's routes combined - I haven't even mentioned all of the new stuff in this already bloated update (you can buy it as an ebook to further support us, by the way), like Remont's short story, which has already been written, and Thea's pixel trip. We really can't wait for you to experience all of it - with the voice over - and are doing everything we can to bring you version 0.8 ASAP. Now that most of Thea's route has been completed, I personally am quite sure that it won't disappoint - just as the other additions - and I hope that, should you play the new beta (and not have all of your save data deleted), you'll come out with the same opinion.
Regardless of whether you decide to check the beta out or not, I would like to thank you all for your incredible patience and support, as well as to apologize for the long periods between the updates. An update doesn't have to be that massive, and it's not that difficult to post something shorter, so I really have no idea why I've been failing to uphold my promise to post them more often like some drunken New Year's resolution. I will keep trying to break this wicked pattern! While the next major update should be about a voiced release, I will do my best to inform you about how the progress on it is going should it be taking too long.
And now, back to work!
Love ♡🐧
Nick & u7committee