Cicada Springs, v0.9.5.0 | Big Time

**There was an issue with the previous download link - that has been fixed. For anyone who wasn't able to get the most recent version yesterday, try again!

Hello and Happy New Year to all of you! Apologies for once again sliding in on the last day with this update. I'll be releasing it now instead of tomorrow morning so that everyone has a chance to download it regardless of time zones.

This time of the year is always stressful, especially if it means trying to get anything done. But thankfully, this update is rather large. I'll get on all that's changed a little further below, but for now I want to express my eternal thanks for all that my readers, players, and fans do for me. Without all of you, things like Cicada Springs couldn't happen. Nor could my previous game, or likely my next.

If there's one thing that I'm thankful for moving into the new year, it's all of you.

Moving forward, this is a rather large update. I would highly suggest reading through all of the things that have been addressed here - as many things have been added, rearranged, or renumbered.

Cicada Springs, v0.9.5.0.

Will I need to start a new file?
You should not have to, though as always starting a New Day is advised.

Are there any known bugs?

• The outside map has been altered significantly. Walkable tiles may be tighter.

• Kendra and Margot's likes/dislikes are not fully rewritten.

• The Evening shader may be more unreliable with the new map. 

• For some reason, text on purchasable items doesn't want to center.

New Map

• In the name of making the game less clunky, I redesigned the central town. All buildings are still located in the same general locations.

• Off-Work characters' and townies' positions around the map have been altered slightly.

• If you spawn in-game in the old map, just enter any building and exit it to spawn into the new one.

Dialogue Revision is Underway

I'm officially underway editing all of the dialogue for all of the characters in the game. So far, all main characters' [TALK] menus have been edited so that information lines up with their unlockable bio blocks in the [NOTES] menu. This means rewriting, tagging, and color-coordinating dialogue boxes.

• The Dialogue Variable has been changed from 1-10 to 1-9, eliminating awkward days when Kendra may not say anything.

• All instances of pre-colored narration text is now uniform.

• A total of 44 new lines of dialogue have been added.

• Clover and Charlie will now accept the Hot Chocolate from the Bobo Cart.

• Rewrites include sound-effects, zoom-ins, and more fluid storytelling.

Characters' tastes are being streamlined, and what they accept is being altered slightly. To better implement this change, instances of the words SWEET, SAVORY, ODD, and CHOCOLATE are color-coordinated both in dialogue and in the [NOTES] section.

The [TALK] Menu Dialogues will now unlock bits of information revealed to the player about the character. This will come in handy further in development as the game gets faster and the Weight Levels scale in difficulty.

• In addition I have also added a small "beep" dialogue mod that should help bring the characters' voices more to mind. Characters will eventually each have their own unique tone, but for now the only characters that have this feature are the main 5.

Miscellaneous Changes

• Bobo Cart variable has been changed from 1:7 to 1:5.

• Not counting what has been fixed over the course of conversion, over 30 glitches in conversation were patched over the course of this update.

What's Next?

The most pressing matter is to finish up the rewrites on dialogue so that I can move forward. A loose structure of endings has been netted out, but the actual endings need to be written and tested. In a perfect world, that can happen in earnest next update.

My goal over the course of the next month is going to be finishing up the [GIFT] reworking, correctly tag and rewrite the [ASK] menus, and polish up the [HUB] menus.

I hope that all of these changes go towards making the game feel more like a game and less like scrolling text. The more I play this version the more I feel that the game's truly coming to life now that we're this close to the end.

I hope that you all enjoy these changes, but more importantly, I hope that you all have a very happy New Year.

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