The newest update for Above the Fold is the first to focus on progression, and as such comes with some fairly drastic changes. Chief among them is that story types now unlock gradually.
Where before, you had access to everything from local news to global conflict from the start of the game, you now unlock topics as the paper grows. The locked story types are now darkened in the guide on the map, and the reporters for hire will mostly be interested in the story types already unlocked.
Content wise, this update comes with new daily quotes and one new music loop.
While there is nothing in this update that will mess up your save game, you may want to do some staff changes after updating, if your reporters are mostly specialized in story types that are suddenly locked - or accept the additional challenge of making it work.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these changes, and any requests you might have for future patches.
Changes in Alpha 9.5
- Story types now unlock as you progress in the game
- 1 new "Hump Day" loop added to the Map
- Added 22 new things your reporters might say, depending on their state of mind
- Changed the button for deleting saved games
- Updated the in-game map key to distinguish locked story types
- Lunches bought and upgrades completed are now counted (for later achievement use)
- Reporters wanting a raise are now more vocal and may lose more happiness
- Reporters for hire are more likely to have (dis)interests that match available stories
- Until the mid-game, certain story types will not appear as Theme of the Month
- The word count now updates correctly, when stories are replaced