'Twas a Dream - Build Update #418

One of the most misunderstood things about ASM's conclusion was its alley finale. The sequences that bookend the start and end of the game. They're contentious in context with the rest of the story and a lot of people (self-included) find them at odds with the grander theme and message of the game. It's also caused some greater confusion for people importing their saves, assuming that characters ought be dead when they aren't.

All along, the alley finale was intended to be the furthest point in the SAM/ASM timeline. However, while it was powerful at the time, it was a bit poorly conceived in terms of its lasting effect on the total continuity. It became a creative handicap, and stopped serving real purpose partway through SAM's development. We had hoped more players would recognize it as a meta scene (it was never intended to affect the status of imports), but that was never explained well enough outside of forums and private discussions.

So, in our infinite power as creators, we are officially hand-waving that piece away as a dream. It's not an easy decision to make, considering how many people felt deeply about the sequence, but it is quite necessary to free SAM from those shackles, and let it grow. There is now a new sequence that runs at the start of the game when you import a save that explains it as such, and we're going to stick with that.

We've also made a lot of improvements to overall continuity recognition and other small tweaks as we run out the last of our bug list. Thanks to all of you who helped beat the game up since the last update, we really feel like we're starting to see the last of all reports.

Here's what's in the update:

• Made the default pornography at home relative to spouse's gender
• Added some prompts for to the typewriter to remind players that there's more to life than writing
• Edited a typo on the save screen data
• Prevented conversations with the spouse at television from running while they're not present
• When you throw away the photo of your rival, it will now actually vanish from inventory
• Changed the tone of save import sequence to prevent tonal clashes with new content
• Gave the spouse new dialogue so they now recognize Darkeff / Viper in Gator Bay
• Implemented some environmental overlay graphics to increase walking space in gym change rooms
• Fixed an issue where controller players were asked to use a keyboard during the finale
• Added a "Controller Mode" setting in the options menu to let players control their keyboard style
• Replaced an incorrect portrait with the mechanic in New Creole
• Adjusted more of the hygiene system so that it caps at a certain level
• Fixed an issue where washing your hands actually made them dirtier
• Fixed an issue where mouthwash and teeth whitener actually made you less attractive
• Removed chance of getting dirtier as time passes, capped dirtiness increase while sleeping
• Improved the effectiveness of toilet paper
• Cleared a rogue block that interfered with traffic pathing in Sequoia
• Increased processing speed of Sunset clear after Shelly's sequence
• Changed dog names so that they're appropriate to their model
• Allowed Yasi's adventure in New Creole to take place at any time of day
• Updated some portrait conflicts regarding the town drunk in Quarry Bar
• Pablo's mission should now trigger properly when you enter the shops with him for the first time
• Prevented players from entering 2ELF without Trisha
• Added some missing dialogue for Yasi during the player's final reading
• Stopped some cars from turning toward the player on interaction like NPC people do
• Forced map in memorial flashback sequence to stay centered
• Resolved some conflict between your naked spouse and their reflection
• Changed the universal companion responses in library to be unique to each author and your spouse
• Added text variance for napping while divorced
• Improved callback and reference to import continuities in a variety of scenes
• Edited some dialogue and variance for various import players in the finale

New Content:

• Added a new experimental option to reveal time passage more overtly like in ASM
• New sequence at the start of the game revealing the alley finale from ASM was a dream
• Added new post-library interaction with Lois to make the First Edition reveals easier to find

This will likely be our last update before the ALL CLEAR push, and we begin considering new content and road mapping our potential additions given our available runway. If you've got requests, then let us know!

We encourage all you to give us your final final bug reports, and let us know if there are any lingering irrationalities in your continuity. We believe they should almost entirely be resolved.

- VD