We'd said update 1.2.5 would be the finalizing touch of the demo as it currently stands, with the project awaiting its publishing greenlight to carry forward at all. As the year comes to an end, I've felt there is some closure the current prologue demo hasn't received yet, and one that I want to cement for the months of 2022 regardless of what will come of them.
As such, I'm presenting update 1.3.0 as a culmination of our rebuilding efforts for the past six months, on all fronts, and to the greatest degree possible. This is why the demo can now call itself "One Spirit: To Die a Stranger", the name the prologue was meant to receive, the demo covering its first segment as an introduction to everything that is to come.
There are no other news on the project's 2022 roadmap, as we are still working towards securing the options we need to carry on forward. The notes to update 1.2.5 still hold true, except the bit where they said there'd be no 1.3.0.
Enjoy, you guys.
MAJOR UPDATE 1.3.0 NOTES
While the 1.2.5 series of updates were meant to be, essentially, the end all be all of minor corrections and concrete improvements, the past few weeks have meant enough rethinking that it's worth to push one last revision for the demo. Unless the current build requires any hotfixing, its current state can now stay put until the coming of a future release, should it happen at all.
FIXES:
Fixed a partial, leftover glitch from 1.2.5+ that caused the chatbox to flicker between at end of a dialogue branch.
Tweaked the hard pauses during dinner to better coordinate with the scene's cinematic setup.
Tweaked a couple of sprite emotions in specific scenes and moments.
Too many minor style corrections to count.
ADDITIONS:
The prologue now carries its proper name: To Die a Stranger, the demo being only the first segment of its plotline.
The date intro has been polished and updated to reflect this.
Most lore entries, specifically radio-dependent ones, have been overhauled with additional information reflecting the current state and detail of the One Spirit timeline's (OSPTL)'s lore.
In specific points of the game, minor instances of branching dialogue have been added to allow better control of pacing, allowing you to cut some conversations short or drag them out. This is part of our design shift towards heightening player interaction, customization and also retention during longer gameplay periods.
A few subtle dialogue triggers have also been added to reflect choices like these.
Certain parts have had their textual length culled.
Following the example of 1.2.0+, we have continued fusing previously standalone lines for consistency and pacing. One Spirit's interface and literary design requires these adaptations.
The narration's font size has been reduced to allow for this approach.
The epilogue has been entirely overhauled to set the true tone of the full game's grit and character.
Patch 1.2.5 Release
A note by Svadoch
Attention, narod:
I've led the effort to produce one last patch for One Spirit's demo, four months after our crowdfunding shortcoming. Throughout all these weeks, we've gathered the feedback where we've found it, and have brought to the demo, update after update, every change we've designed to heighten it. I'd already mentioned, all the way back when patch 1.2.0 rolled out, that a 1.3.0 update would be unlikely. We've held the line firmly, but this doesn't blind us to the realities of economic management and life affairs. We know our limits, and we know our conviction to uphold One Spirit is also our responsibility to moderate it within reason.
If possible, I would like to overhaul the structure of the demo. Its content may have been polished through time, but its form, its very design, needs a facelift attainable only through hard reworking and major rebooting, all of which is costly on the level of time, energy and money. The first, we've made sure to pour for over a year, with no fear of pouring twice as much if that is what it truly takes. The second, we've derived from a faith that is visceral, and a will to continue that I do not justify to anyone, possibly not even myself. The third, money and capital, cannot appear from thin air. We recognize the limitations of building One Spirit without that support.
And yet, despite that material need, none of what I've built so far truly pivots around it. Every last person that has smiled our way has kept the flame alive - well more than capital, publicity and even critical acclaim ever could. We don't despise these. I simply do not owe to them the happiness One Spirit has brought me in every instance a player has told me their thoughts.
The search for those aspects, however, continues. We will try our hand at means of capital and propagation, and will keep our ears sharply readied for the input of the critics and reviewers we'll aim to find. There are still moves to make before sunset comes.
One Spirit has been a blend of joy and desperation, as all pure struggles are. When choosing a hill to die on, I looked for one where the upwards journey would be vital, dynamic and deeply personal. I've found what I've wanted, and whether it's victory or defeat that comes to us at last, it'll find us on our feet. It is in this type of moment that the spirit is honed. It is the type of moment I value above all.
Whatever will be, will be - and the line will hold until then.
Patch 1.2.5 Notes
Patch 1.2.5 tops off the work of previous patches, but more importantly integrates it. This includes the most comprehensive overhaul released for this reason, and can be understood as a major, finalizing update especially for pre-1.1.0 players. Besides packaging this work all at once, it also adds a few last refining touches.
Do not use older saves!
FIXES:
The transition screen to the mural/notes screen has been reduced to under a second, for lesser wait time.
The rare cases where the text box somehow remains on display during hard pauses or transitions have been fixed.
That one info tip has been updated to the format the others were given in patch 1.2.0. Sorry, we forgot about that one.
Leftover typos from 1.2.0/1.2.2 editing have been corrected. Man, I hate residual shit.
Audio corrections have been applied throughout all tracks. These are a wide variety of very minor fixes relating to volume normalization, especially.
Yuri no longer says "God. Even the air hasn't changed" after the first time he enters the kitchen, even though he'd in fact be capable of being annoying enough to do so, really.
ADDITIONS:
The mural will now let you know which notes are unread from the outside. This is a feature that was delayed during the first phases of the mural's development, but there's no reason to hold it back any longer. Remember that if you let your notes pile up to the point all five areas have the unread notification, you'll be pretty lost still!
Dialogues branch out more, giving you greater interaction and exploration possibilities in all conversations. After receiving positive feedback on our extension of player choice (1.1.0/1.2.0), we plan to keep it up. In the end, One Spirit always had lively, interactive conversations in mind; the demo, mixing different strategies, has helped us see which perform better to this end.
Certain parts have had their textual length culled.
The intro scene's date display has been updated with smoother, lighter text.
"The Happy Tour" lore entry has been revised for style and detail, and also contains more Germany now.
IMMER WIEDER, WIDERSTAND
SVADOCH
Creator, Director, Writer
One Spirit's demo OST is now available on YouTube, free of cost
On popular request, we've decided to release the demo's current OST as a token to the community that keeps asking for it. Have at it, guys.
[previewyoutube="SEUcGT7qzWY;full"]
IMMER WIEDER, WIDERSTAND
SVADOCH
Creator, Director, Writer
The One Spirit demo's OST is now available on YouTube, free of charge
On popular request, we've decided to release the demo's current OST as a token to the community. Have at it, guys.
And farewell.
One Spirit has launched on Kickstarter!
Now or never!
One Spirit's Kickstarter is up and running. We've come far, and further we shall go if this campaign can be ours to take.
