It's Friday! And this is a special Friday because it's a RELEASE Friday! That's right! Episode 4 - Part 1 is now live! Update Edit: [i]It's also a sad day for my family. I lost someone dear to me this morning, someone even dearer to my loved ones, and my heart is aching with them for our loss. I wish things weren't the way they are. I wish I could do more to ease their suffering.[/i] [b]Project Details:[/b] 167,666 words in total. (That's roughly the same length as the first two Harry Potter novels combined) 825 possible choices. Patrons can get their version over here [url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/98143999](win|mac|lin)[/url] or here [url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/98144000](android)[/url], and everyone else can get the full game on Steam or Itchio! Episode 4 - Part 1 continues the story after the dramatic conclusion from Episode 3. It introduces several new characters, several new and redrawn backgrounds, several new portraits, several new music tracks, an overhauled story controller, a new free-roam mechanic, a new star system navigation interface, a lore gallery with unlockable entries, a system for players to load custom-made stories written by other players into the game, a seasonal event (Spooktober Heist), and nearly 40K additional words of content (some being intimate content for Kiaria, Lochem and Khalil). It also includes two very special player portraits! Thanks to the amazing ladies from Wanderlust Games, you can now play your Mah'Abeu as a younger version of Damon or Ayame from [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1642870/Andromeda_Six/]Andromeda Six![/url] (Seriously, if you're hearing about Andromeda Six for the first time– You're about to fall in love. Go check them out and support them if your wallet allows!) [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41223954/fcda2dabb554ced96b050a466d07e937c7791d91.png[/img] We've been working extremely hard to bring this release to you, and while we've added a ton of new things, we would have loved to add more. Sadly, we had to draw a line in the sand and release what was available. [b]Some of the things that we could add before the deadline that were requested by our beta testers:[/b] [list] [*] MC is more knowledgeable about the Cephilusk. [*] Added a location hint during free-roam sequences. [*] Made Kiaria more Kiaria when dealing with current events. [*] Your Mah'Abue now crafts the notice being sent to the crew. [*] Several more personality options (with more on their way) [*] Most free-roam scenes now have the crew members touching on or hinting at the current situation. [*] Fixed some logic bugs with Sonia's scene. [*] Adjusted Andreas' scene with an additional choice if he becomes too much. [*] Added some additional logic and checks to the response you can give when the crew/your LI asks about how you are coping. (Might still expand on this.) [*] Your Mah'Abue now has more control over how they handle Nikau. [*] Added Lindi's music track. [*] An additional scene for Khalil [/list] [b]Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added very soon. (over the next week or three):[/b] [list] [*] Implementing some more of the Beta Tester feedback requests. [*] The start of Tabitha's character arc. [*] A free-roam scene for Lebeny, along with an additional scene. [*] Adding a scene with Matthias. [*] Adding additional character expressions to some of the free-roam content. [*] Additional music tracks where there is only silence. [*] Missing Lore Descriptions, replacing the WiP notice with actual content. [*] The new trailer for Episode 4. [/list] [b]Some of the things that we couldn't add before the deadline that will be added down the line. (more than a month from now)[/b] [list] [*] Additional backgrounds and characters. [*] Continuing Episode 4, including the much-anticipated Matthias Elevator scene. [*] Additional Lore items to unlock. [*] More free-roam content, more character content (Reyna and more). [*] Character relationship arcs for Raymond, Matthias, Veera and Tabitha as a prioity. [*] Character relationship arcs for Cephilusk, Andreas and TBD a little further down the road. [/list] As always, despite the hours and hours and heaps of financial resources poured into the project, Infinite Stars is still entirely free! [url=https://www.patreon.com/infinitestars]If you like what we are doing and can afford to show your support, please consider joining one of our paid Patreon tiers![/url] Infinite Stars wouldn't be nearly as cool as it is without the support of our amazing Patrons who believe in us! If you can't afford to support us, that's cool. We still love you, and having you enjoy our game fills our hearts with joy! If you like the game, share it with your friends or give us a positive review to help with the visibility algorithms. Have a peaceful weekend, enjoy the release, and go hug one of your loved ones!