Prologue Version 1.1 Release

Beards! Side Manes! Easy Color Sharing, and More!

Version 1.1 of the prologue is here and it comes with a handful of new customization options, settings to adjust, and quirks that have been smoothed over. The complete list will be below, but first I want to address something that may be on your mind.

Why am I still working on the prologue, instead of focusing all of my energy into the main game?
The short answer is this: I'm a pretty new developer, and want to set a rock-solid foundation with the prologue before jumping into the deep end. If something goes wrong while I'm working on the prologue – as it often does – I can usually manage to trace back to the root of the problem and fix it, without being overloaded. I'm sure once I really start digging into the main game, they'll be a whole host of new problems to work through. But my hope is that by securing these fundamental systems first, like movement, dialogue, and basic interactions – that my plate won't be too full by the time that train leaves the station.

Less logically, I also just get obsessed with details. I know that the standard in game dev is to leave all of your environments and characters as featureless grey boxes until you're almost in the home stretch, and that totally makes practical sense. I just struggle to keep my motivation that way, and seeing (and hearing) this world slowly come to life really is what really keeps me excited about the whole project.

But enough of all that, here's the complete list of changes and additions:

• More customization
  
  • Two options for head shape.
  • Four options for eyelash design.
  • Three options for side manes.
  • Three options for facial hair.
  • Side manes and facial hair both have their own color option.
• Color sharing
  
  • While customizing any feature that supports color selections, like eyes or hair, you can now "copy" the exact color by selecting the top eyedropper button, to the right of the color panel.
  • When you want to "paste" this color elsewhere, click the bottom eyedropper button next to the other color panel.
• Random name generation
  
  • Click the dice button to the right of your pony's name to randomly generate a new one. 
  • You can now also edit your character's first and last names separately.
• New visual and audio settings
  
  • In the settings screen you can now toggle the game between fullscreen and windowed.
  • Below that, you can adjust the game's resolution. Be warry that the game is designed around a 16:9 aspect ratio, and may appear strange outside of those dimensions.
  • Audio settings now let you adjust individual channels (sound effects, ambience, etc.), in addition to the master volume.
  • All settings are saved separately from your game data, and can be reset at any time from the "general" settings tab.
• A whole new train!
  
  • You may have noticed that in the original prologue, the train at the station appears rather... small. According to Cooper you are eventually destined to leave in that train, so I thought it would make sense to have it appear at least large enough for a pony to comfortably enter it.
  • The station ceiling struts now also cast their own shadows, to avoid confusion as to if they're above the player or on the ground.
• Automatic save file upgrading
  
  • Your data files are saved and loaded from the same spot version 1.0 handled them. They should import automatically into this version, or any version in the future, without being lost or breaking the game.
  • If something does go wrong, you can still delete your data from the 'general' tab of the settings screen and start fresh.
• Various fixes and polish
  
  • Your pony should now layer more accurately against doorways and the walls surrounding them. In the past, your pony's mane or tail could clip awkwardly between the wall and doorways.
  • When navigating the customization menu with your keyboard in the old version, reaching the name would always immediately highlight the text and lock you into editing the name with the keys. This has been fixed so that the names can be selected with the keyboard, then must be "activated" by pressing either SPACE or ENTER.
  • Not responding to a character is treated as its own dialogue option; however in the past, responding to them would actually override the "no response" option, so that if you repeated the conversation and didn't respond, the game assumes you did anyway. This has been corrected so that not responding is always treated as its own separate option.
  • There are special commands that can be applied to any line of dialogue, and are supposed to activate when the line is finished. However saying goodbye in the old version would prevent these commands from triggering, and end the conversation without them. This has been fixed.

Coming up...
Right now, The Herd is using Unity's old and simplified input system, making custom key bindings next to impossible to implement. My next update will be focused on replacing that with their new, modular system, and allowing players to customize all of the controls to their liking. I anticipate that to happen sometime in April.

I promise though, the world outside of Atlas Station isn't completely off of my radar! I'm hoping to have a full reveal of Chapter One, and the adventures you'll get up to, by the end of 2023. I'd love to see you there!