Version 0.978b is already available for download for subscribers of the Super Best Friend tier ($25). To view the post with this version, follow this link: https://www.patreon.com/school123/posts/released-0-978b-161125299
Version 0.978a is already available for download for subscribers of the Best Friend tier ($10). To view the post with this version, follow this link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/released-0-978a-160210926
Another week and a half has passed since the last public release. During this time, we've significantly improved many aspects of the game, including bug fixes, performance improvements, and more. However, first things first.
First, randomized NPCs. Quite recently, in previous updates, we implemented systems that allowed NPCs to meet and form relationships with each other. However, this only happened at the beginning of a game session, during generation, and afterward, these relationships were completely static. Now, however, this has become a massive system: NPCs can break up with each other, get back together, and so on at any time. This only happens in one case: if the NPC isn't dating you. NPCs with low commitment often change relationships like gloves—one month they date one, the next month they date another, and so on. Highly responsible NPCs, on the other hand, may date their partners for years and try their best to maintain their relationship, even if you try to influence it (despite this, you can still ruin absolutely any NPC relationship in the game). They will initiate relationships within the game session itself based on the same concept: less responsible NPCs will "attack" practically anyone they meet to date for the sake of not being lonely, while more responsible NPCs, on the contrary, may remain single for years until your character comes to fix it. All this will also affect your relationship, but more on that below.
The relationship system between NPCs and the player was somewhat crude. It didn't bring anything new, but that's changed: now, if you're dating, different demands will be placed on the girl. Some value more time with you, others value affection, others value the sexual aspect of your "family" life, and some value all of these things—without exception. All of this directly depends on their personality, influence stats, and their previous relationship experience (if any). If your partner doesn't like something, they'll let you know—first by warning, then by issuing an ultimatum. They'll try to negotiate with you to change what they don't like about the relationship, and if you can't reach a consensus, they might leave you. This is a global mechanic that will make relationships more interesting, more realistic, and most importantly, more immersive.
Another fairly significant change in the recently added mechanics is phones. Previously, every NPC had these phones, but now not everyone does. They may simply not have this phone in their inventory, making it impossible to call or message them. However, you can gift it to them, slip it into their pocket, or otherwise make sure they have it in their pocket, and they'll be able to use it to its full potential. Besides, since it's now an inventory item, you can steal it and leave the necessary RNPCs without a phone at all - steal from some, give it to others, or sell it, which will be ready in the near future.
So, the next global system is personal information about the NPC. Previously, it was displayed in the biography menu, which didn't look very good, but now you have to ask the NPC personally about it: what their job is, how many sexual partners they've had, their phone number, and also... when their birthday is. This is a new small system: during the NPC's birthday period, you can receive significantly more relationship points for gifts.
When we talk about personal information, we also mean information about the relationship of one NPC to another NPC: now, when you select these interactions, this menu appears:
It displays all the NPCs you know, and all this is present instead of the usual ID/first/last name input. You can also open this menu in the "Find Character" location interaction; there's now a separate "Find Among Friends" button!
Continuing with all these innovations, it's impossible not to mention other simple but pleasant additions. Among them are a dozen new beard styles. These are simple stubble with varying appearances, but they give you the opportunity to create the character you want!
Another change, the last in our little marathon, but not the least on the list of changes: the AI of the NPCs has been significantly improved: due to the recent addition of an inventory, they can use various items in their daily lives. They spend money every day, earn it once a week, and occasionally have a little more than they need. Some NPCs tend to spend more money and save less, while others are the opposite – some can walk around with huge sums in their pockets after a year of gameplay, while others will be permanently short of money for everything. This vast system makes the NPCs' off-screen lives more interesting to watch.
Secondly, system changes. We'll start with a trump card here – a new language is available in the game. It's Korean. Those who've been following the game for a while know that the game had a Korean language long ago – we restored it, translated 90 percent of the untranslated content, and also did a huge amount of work to restore and revive it.
A new global system has been added to the game. The gym and physical attributes system has been significantly improved, thanks to a competitive element we added to the corresponding "Gym" location. There's now a dedicated "Open Leaderboard" button there – it displays the top ten randomized NPCs who have gained the most kilograms in the "Bench Press" movement. This is a completely dynamic list: you can influence these randomized NPCs by getting onto the leaderboard either through your own efforts or by "eliminating" participants in any way possible. The rewards for top spots are significant and are calculated using in-game currency. First place receives 35,000 credits per week, second place 18,000 credits per week, and so on.
Another minor change: a feature to disable the voice narrator/screen reader has been added to the sound settings. This feature, which, when you hover over it with your finger or cursor, echoes what's on the screen in the corresponding language, is now available. Firstly, this makes this feature available on Android, and secondly, many people had trouble disabling it – this change has made it easier to do. Just go to the sound settings.
Third, the story and new locations. We've tucked this into one subheading because the weekly news is already quite extensive. Initially, we re-drew another scene with Hitomi Watanabe. You can see it below:
New locations also fall under this heading. Very soon, the game will feature a variety of locations and the ability to visit NPCs in their apartments/houses—and that includes some improvements.
Fourth, bug fixes and code refactoring. Here we'll simply present you with a list of changes—they include some things you didn't mention in those huge announcements:
New content:
A new language has been added to the game: Korean. The entire game has been translated into this language and is available right now, along with other languages.
The relationship system with randomized NPCs has been significantly reworked: now, if you're dating someone, different demands will apply depending on the woman. Some will value you spending more time with them, others will value affection, others will value the sexual aspect of your "family" life, and some will value all of these without exception. This all depends directly on their personality, influence stats, and their previous relationship experience (if any). If your partner doesn't like something, they'll let you know—first by warning, then by issuing an ultimatum. They'll try to negotiate with you to change what they don't like about the relationship, and if you can't reach a consensus, they might dump you. This is a global mechanic that will make relationships more interesting, more realistic, and, most importantly, more immersive.
In addition to the relationship requirements with your characters, NPCs will also have demands from their current partners. Previously, they only started relationships during game session generation. Afterward, they couldn't break up or start new relationships. Now this has changed—NPCs can break up, get back together, and so on at any time. This only happens if the NPC isn't dating you. NPCs with low commitment often change relationships like gloves—one month they'll date one, the next month they'll date another, and so on. NPCs with high commitment, on the other hand, can date their partners for years and try their best to maintain their relationship, even if you try to influence it (although you can still ruin absolutely any relationship between NPCs in the game). They will begin relationships within the game session itself using the same concept: less responsible NPCs will "attack" practically anyone they meet to date for the sake of not being alone, while more responsible ones, on the contrary, may remain single for years until your character comes to rectify this.
A new option has been added for randomized NPCs: you can ask the desired NPC to address you however you like. Whether it's "beloved" or "darling," you can ask them to use any pet name instead of your character's name.
The system for learning information about a randomized NPC has been completely overhauled: now you need to look it up in some distant category of the biography menu, as before, which could potentially break immersion, but directly ask the NPC via a new interaction – "Ask a personal question...." There are about a dozen of these questions, ranging from the NPC's job to their marital status and whether they are a virgin.
Ten new beard styles have been added for randomized male NPCs, consisting primarily of stubble with varying amounts of variation.
Randomized NPCs now have a birthday: a time when your gifts will best yield relationship points. You can find out when it's due via the new interaction, "Ask a Personal Question...".
Now, when you click buttons that require you to select a NPC, such as "Chat with...," "Don't chat with...," and so on, a special interface appears where you can select a NPC from among your acquaintances, both good and bad. This replaces the need to enter a name/ID, making it a more convenient alternative. Additionally, a new button has been added to the "Find Character..." interface: "Open NPCs Menu," which opens this new interface where you can select characters from among your acquaintances.
The system for training and leveling up physical attributes has been significantly improved, thanks to a competitive element we've added to the corresponding "Gym" location. There's now a dedicated "Open Leaderboard" button there, displaying the top ten randomized NPCs who have gained the most weight in the "Bench Press" movement. This is a completely dynamic list: you can influence these randomized NPCs by getting onto the leaderboard either through your own efforts or by "eliminating" participants in any way possible. The rewards for top spots are significant and are calculated using in-game currency. 1st place receives 35,000 credits per week, 2nd place 18,000 credits per week, and so on.
The phone system, calls, and everything related to it have been significantly improved and modernized: essentially, not every NPC now has a phone. They may simply not have one in their inventory, making it impossible to call or message them. However, you can gift one to them, slip one into their pocket, or otherwise make sure they have one, and they will be able to use it to its full potential. Furthermore, since it's now an inventory item, you can steal it and leave the NPC in need without a phone altogether—steal it from some, give it to others, or sell it.
The AI of the RNPS has been significantly improved: with the recent addition of an inventory, they can use various items in their daily lives. They spend money daily, earn it weekly, and occasionally have a little more than they need. Some RNPS tend to spend more money and save less, while others are the opposite – some can walk around with huge sums in their pockets after a year of gameplay, while others will be permanently short of money for anything. A comprehensive system makes the lives of RNPS off-screen more interesting to observe.
RNPS can now have a favorite music genre of over 100, rather than just six – this selection is determined when they are created at the beginning of a game session. They can enjoy both very popular and more niche music, giving them a more "dense" personality. More part-time jobs have been added for RNPS – about a dozen. Each part-time job brings them money and a basic living, and the part-time jobs themselves have become more unique and dependent on their character. To reduce the number of students working as janitors and so on, they are spread out across locations, filling them with their personalities and corresponding activities.
The ability to disable or enable the Voice Narrator/Screen Reader has been added to the sound settings. A fairly common issue and complaint was the unintentional activation of this feature. Now, it can be disabled this way or by pressing the V key, as usual.
Facial hair can now be generated on randomized male NPCs: not only for those 40+ in the game, but also for younger players (21+), with a slight chance.
On hard difficulty, tooltips for what a particular action does in the interaction interface with randomized NPCs are no longer displayed when you hover your cursor/finger over the desired interaction. On easy and medium, they are still displayed.
Loans, repayments, and all monetary transactions with the RPNS have been moved from the "Questions" category to "Activities."
The RPNS's favorite music genres are now hundreds, not just six. This love of music genres is reflected in game session generation.
The database interface now displays the job title of each randomized NPC and whether they are employed at all.
All interactions with NPCs that required selecting an NPC for something have been improved or completely reworked: now, if you ask someone to bully, the NPC's attitude toward the selected NPC will change. Asking them not to interact with you will cause the NPC to avoid the selected NPC, and so on. The group activity module for randomized NPCs has also been significantly improved to better implement these features.
The "Sleep in Class" location interaction in the Academy auditorium has been removed due to its rudimentary nature and lack of relevance after the addition of the "What to Do in Class" interface.
Now, if you ask a randomized NPC about their attitude toward their partner, they will respond that they are dating, rather than that they don't know each other.
Fixed bugs:
Fixed a bug where the piggy bank could be unavailable in the online store, reducing the number of places your character could store money.
Fixed a fundamental bug in the game's storyline that prevented progression: it was impossible to negotiate the space for Ayano Yoshida's performance at the festival. The necessary choices were missing.
Fixed a bug where the game could throw exceptions when attempting to beat the Eagle in Suzuki Matsui's card game in certain rare instances and moments during the story.
Fixed a bug where RNPSs did not appear in the appropriate category of the main game interface in the academy and some other game locations.
Fixed a bug where the story character "Meiko Tsukasa" would be duplicated in the main game interface, causing the story to reset completely when clicking the "Incorrect" Maiko Tsukasa. This affected both the academy pool locations and your character's apartment while cohabiting.
Fixed a bug where multiple story characters could live with your character at once, which was not intended during development and could lead to certain issues. Now, as before, you can only cohabit with one story character.
Fixed a bug where you could infinitely upgrade your attractiveness modifier in the beauty salon interface without paying for it—the game simply did not charge you after the procedure.
Fixed a bug where the "What to Do in Class" interface could freeze for no apparent reason, potentially making it impossible to open the interface at all.
Fixed a bug that caused the game to incorrectly calculate your character's speech points during story choices involving the story character Yuki Oota, reporting that you didn't have enough, even though you actually had enough.
Fixed a bug that caused the new sprite for the story character "Aiko/Secret Fan" to remain on screen even after certain events involving her, interfering with further story progression.
Fixed a bug where, during an event near the storyline involving a female NPC being beaten by another NPC bully and extorted for money, the bully would constantly change his appearance every frame for no apparent reason. This caused both a lag in the entire game and an extremely difficult fight to defeat to advance the quest.
Fixed a bug where the new sprite for the story character "Meiko Tsukasa" could remain on screen even after any events with her, interfering with the storyline.
Fixed a bug where, during story events, the display of story character sprites could fail to hide the previously displayed NPC sprite, causing the dialogue interface with story characters to look extremely strange. Fixed a bug where the new sprite for the story character "Hitomi Watanabe" could remain on screen even after certain events involving her, interfering with further story progression.
Fixed a bug where, when a randomized female NPC had the second basic hairstyle, the background hairstyle could appear incorrectly in mid-air instead of in its correct position.
Fixed a bug where, during certain events involving the story character "Suzuki Matsui," the game could throw exceptions without any apparent reason, even if this was rare.
Fixed a bug where switching product categories in the online store interface did not reset the product pages for those categories, which could lead to unexpected results with empty product lists in all categories.
Fixed a bug where the face positioned in the "Find out attitude towards..." interaction for a randomized NPC would change every frame, causing the NPC's words to be inaccurate.
Fixed an issue where, in the "Destroy..." interaction in the NPC interaction menu, the first and last names of the NPC you selected would not have a space between them, but would be combined.
Fixed a bug where the "Chat with..." interaction with NPCs simply did not work - many mechanics were systemically changed, making this function rudimentary. It now functions properly, and if used along with an NPC's agreement, the NPC becomes friends with another NPC you recommended for conversation.
Fixed a bug where absolutely all NPCs had some kind of part-time job, which seemed extremely odd. Whether they have a part-time job now depends on certain factors of their personality and their luck.
Fixed a bug where the "Mad Grandpa" event in the gym would constantly repeat unless you finally fought him—there were simply no other options to make it work properly.
Fixed a bug where the game could throw exceptions in rare gameplay situations when attempting to retrieve the in-game date and convert it to a datetime format.
Fixed a bug where the game could throw exceptions when displaying a scene of a certain 18+ nature.
Fixed a bug where selecting Spanish in the game settings still showed the game language as Chinese.
Fixed a bug where hovering over the "Break Up with Your Boyfriend" interaction would throw exceptions without any apparent reason.
Fixed a bug where the game would throw exceptions when attempting to propose to a randomized female NPC through the relationship menu.
As you can see, a tremendous amount of work has been done. We haven't mentioned much of what's being integrated into the game, but we can assure you that the upcoming updates will be the largest in the game's history. This is either on par with the last one, or slightly larger, and the last update is the largest in the game's history. We're gradually gaining momentum in development. Now you can try out this micro-update—all of this content is available in version 0.978b. The next full update, as always, will be released on June 27th, but for now, all that remains is to wait.