Update 1.1.9 available for PC and Linux (Mac version coming soon)
Syntherapy Update 1.1.9 is currently live for PC and Linux users, and a version for Macs should be going live in the next few days.
The main new feature of this update is French localization for in-game text and dialogue. With the new system created to handle this update, new languages should be far easier to implement going forward. Be sure to let us know if there are particular languages you'd like us to add!
Other fixes include:
Updating fonts to allow for additional characters.
A bug where the game would lock up if the Enter key was pressed multiple times during loading screens has been fixed.
A bug that caused voice lines to occasionally echo has been fixed.
A bug where selecting the Ending Challenge mode but then going back to the main menu broke the selection slots has been fixed.
Text formatting issues throughout the game have been fixed.
We're still working on our next big update for the game, which we intend to unveil on the three year anniversary of Syntherapy's release!
Version 1.1.86 released for all platforms
Update 1.1.86 has been released to all platforms!
The previous version featured a bug during the 'mantra' sequence in session 2. That has now been fixed.
More importantly, 1.1.86 is now available for all versions, including Macs! Going forward, all updates will ship out to all platforms at the same time now that we have a consistent method to compile builds on Apple systems.
With that issue resolved, we're aiming to begin development on some more ambitious updates to Syntherapy that will add more content to the game. We'll have more information on the content of that update available in the coming weeks!
Update 1.1.85
For quite some time, a bug has existed in Syntherapy wherein during a chapter midway through the game, a segment that faded to black would not progress properly to the next section. This bug proved difficult to fix as it did not show up during any playtests on our end. Since it did not result in a crash, no error logs could be used either.
The source of this problem, as has been mentioned in previous posts, was due to changes brought about by updating Gamemaker's software. Identifying the exact issue proved difficult. In the end, a complete overhaul of the game code was required in order to completely restructure how transitions were handled. This took some time not just to implement, but also to test, and until recently finding time required to do this was difficult. This situation has now improved considerably, and now updates should come more quickly.
Unfortunately this update is currently only available for PC and Linux. The hardware we used for the Mac version is no longer capable of compiling builds. We are working to find a solution for this and hope to have a Mac version of 1.1.85 out soon.
We have also addressed an issue where there is no chapter 1 save point, and the first save point comes after the end of your first meeting with Tara. We have added a save point to the first time you access the email hub, which would allow players to skip past the intro and email hub tutorial.
Various issues related to text resizing and other problems have also been fixed.
We apologize for how long this update took to materialize, but we wanted to make sure that it worked properly before putting it out. If there are problems, please leave comments in our Steam forum to let us know so that we can fix them!
Update Version 1.1.8 for Windows
This patch fixes the bug that prevents autoplay progress after the night time phonecall scene for Windows users. A similar patch for Mac users will be released tomorrow!
Syntherapy Development Roadmap for Early 2021
Hello everyone! As Mental Health Awareness Month starts, we'd like to take some time and lay out our plans for Syntherapy going forward.
One big update, which will be available to everyone at the time of this posting, is that we have completely revamped our UI! The main computer hub where you manage your sessions has been completely retooled to look a lot cleaner and open. We may update other elements of the game UI as well, but for the moment we're very happy with how the game looks now compared to how it looked before!
Our next update will include a new game mode that we've been working on for a while. The game mode is called Therapy Training Mode, and it asks the player to read through a series of notes left after a session with a hypothetical patient. Using your knowledge of mental health and therapy, you will have to deduce what you believe the patient's primary problems are and then make a suggestion for a possible diagnosis. We are planning to unveil this new game mode on May 15th as a part of Mental Health Awareness month, and hope that the inclusion of this mode will help teach people about identifying some of the signs and symptoms of poor mental health so that they can seek treatment as early as possible.
Another update that we are working on is one that allows more community interaction with Syntherapy. We are currently looking into Twitch integration for the game. This Twitch-Integrated Mode would allow a streamer's audience to vote on dialogue choices or other key descisions in the game. This mode has no set release date currently, but we are working towards having it be ready during the month of June.
Thank you all for reading this post, and we hope you enjoy the new updates that we're currently working on!
Syntherapy Development Roadmap for Early 2021
Happy 2021 everyone! We hope you all had a safe and enjoyable holidays. In the three months since Syntherapy launched, we've been busy implementing features that our players wanted to see. From large updates such as our flowchart and additional game modes, to UI improvements such as the objective tabs and dialogue popups, we've been taking the feedback we've been getting from you and applying it to Syntherapy.
With the new year here and all of our previous roadmap goals accomplished, it's time to take stock of our current situation and respond to the new bits of player feedback we've received in recent weeks.
Reflections on the Previous Roadmap
We are now in a far more comfortable place than we were several months ago. While bugs are still an issue, they are new bugs introduced by the updates rather than the same bugs that were present at launch. Many of these bugs have been exclusive to the Mac versions of the game and were caused by updates Gamemaker introduced that made our previously-functional code no longer work properly. Going forward we will be staggering our update schedule to occur every other week instead of weekly. This will give us more time to test our updates before going live with them. It will also allow us to have more substantive updates which will broaden the scope of the game.
Flowchart Updates
One of the main focuses of our 2020 roadmap was incorporating a flowchart that mapped out the decisions you make in Syntherapy. Implementing the flowchart was a big undertaking given the scale of choices available in Syntherapy, and we believe our work isn't quite finished yet.
We plan on introducing more graphical indicators on the flowchart to help players keep track of what therapies they had selected at different points in the game and what points can be gained through different dialogue choices. We also plan on including a section of the flowchart that will lay out the exact requirements for achieving each of the 37 different endings in Syntherapy (NOTE: to unlock this section you must achieve at least one of the endings first).
Our current goal is to have these updates to the flowchart ready on January 30th.
Ending Challenge Mode
In our previous year's roadmap, we discussed adding additional game modes to Syntherapy. One of those, the Therapist Mode, is now playable for everyone who has achieved at least one of Syntherapy's endings. We are now also planning on adding the second game mode we discussed: the Ending Challenge mode. In this game mode, you will be assigned one of the 37 endings at the start of the game, and your goal will be to achieve that ending.
We plan on introducing this new game mode on February 13th.
Psychology/Therapy Quiz
When Syntherapy was in development and we discussed the game with people, many assumed that the game's purpose was as an educational tool to help teach about psychology and therapy. We had developed Syntherapy with the idea of telling a character-focused story rather than necessarily being an educational tool, but the idea of a game that teaches players about therapy and psychology is something we think is very important. We plan on creating an additional mode to Syntherapy that will quiz you on your knowledge of various psychology and therapy concepts. This mode will be accessible from both the main menu and the in-game computer hub.
We plan on introducing this new mode on March 6th.
Miscellaneous Updates
One of our updates in the previous roadmap involved making the minigames playable from the main menu. Building on that feature, we will be making the in-game music player also available from the main menu for those who just want to listen to the in-game music.
One recurring issue at launch were problems with the UI and direction. We've taken great strides to address these problems since launch, and will continue to add updates to the UI and direction wherever possible.
SCHEDULE AND RECAP
JANUARY 30TH: Flowchart updates
FEBRUARY 13TH: Ending Challenge Mode
MARCH 6TH: Psychology/Therapy Quiz
If you have any other suggestions for features or game modes you would like to see in Syntherapy, let us know in the comments!
We look forward to the coming year of updates and we thank all of you for being a part of our journey!
