v0.3.1 weekly update: introducing the new body type

Hey there cadets!

Progress on the next version is pretty good thus far. Today we're going to talk about the new body type that will be introduced in this new version and what it means for the game.

The androgynous body type

One of Starwatch Academy's main theme is transformation and thus far there hasn't been much of it in the game aside of Curie's event on Day 3.

When we started testing transformations in the game, especially slow ones, we realized the switch between the male and female body types was pretty brutal and neither of those really allowed us to have the player experience that moment where the lines are little more blurred.

This led us to create this third "in-between" body type we call the androgynous one, which will sit between the male and the female body types on the spectrum of transformations.

One of the perks of this body type is its ability to wear most of the male and female clothing items. Blurring the lines has some advantages :)

Uniform merge

Introducing a third body type into the game has made it necessary for us to review how clothing items work in the game. Thus far, the male and female uniform items were completely separate and this cause an obvious problem with a new third body type now in the game.

As of the next version, all common uniform items will be merged into unique unisex items. This change will be automatically applied to your save as soon as it is loaded.

Story update

We've been busy fleshing out some of the relationships with characters that were delayed. Ideally the next release will expand the relationships and interactions with three of the characters, allowing you to meet them in more places, and have more casual and implicit scenes with each. The focus of this lies on two of the more exotic characters you've met so far, with an intent to allow you to peer past the curtain of typical human life when you do get to know them better.

Additionally, we've also taken some time in revamping some existing scenes, to account for future additions and items. We're not going to talk too much about it yet, but we're busy cooking up some interesting new ideas.

Final Word

We hope you're excited as much as we are about all of this new stuff. Next week, we'll dive into purchasing and using transformative mods, and transformations in general.

Have fun out there!