*Hallelujah chorus* It's here. The Party House. Monster capture. The freedom of the sea. All you gotta do is get that ship (good luck, btw). So what are you waiting for? :P Good news! There were no exclusions per the recruitable monsters, unlike I projected. The bad news: some of the default names I came up with are super corny. Feel free to change them as you see fit! ^_^ What else is new? The usual fine adjustments, too many to list. There are now 49 achievements as well, and we ain't done yet. A few of the old achievements also have new icons, giving them a little more personality. Ep4-2 will add three more, bringing the game up to speed with the original in that regard. But the final game will probably have double that much. Some other important changes: [list] [*] I've continued to have problems with EF degeneration, so I finally added another filter within the Attribute system (for HP, too). Hopefully, it should make things a bit more stable; but you shouldn't be rewarded for being a thief, or for using thieves in your party... even though I like Elwyn and Lala a lot. :( [*] Fixed the animations for multi-target weapons like the Flying Disc, Toy Top, and Starfish Disc; they no longer repeat for each enemy. [*] Added a new option: Theft Alert. So you can know when you're being bad. [*] Changed the Starlight combo; its effect now lasts five turns and it completely protects you from critical hits (trust me, you'll need it soon enough). [*] Elwyn, Lala, Lance, Hiram, and Ananda now start with higher stats to make them more viable for combat when you first get them. This update is automatic for people who recruit them after the release of Episode 4, but for those who already have them, these characters will receive their increased stats when you cross the threshold of Episode 4. [*] Powered up Maire's exclusive weapons, hopefully making them more useful. [*] The Tailor now tells you where you can find the various items she can modify. [*] Weakened Lala's Sonic Boom and Rushing Wind. I put it off for a long time, but I knew it had to be done eventually. They're still pretty strong... just not completely insane. [*] Also weakened the healing combos Miracle Aura and Moonlight. [*] I thought about this one some time ago, but wasn't sure... however, it makes perfect sense. Attack skills conferred by Rune Shards now grow stronger with each use. The "integration level" is essentially an additive to the spell's power. Some might have expected this to be the case all along... well, now it really is! [/list] As a thank-you to players who have supported the game's development thus far, you'll receive a special accessory called the "Attribute Pardon" upon entering Episode 4. This very special item will cancel out the negative attributes of the character who equips it. You'll only receive it if your save file was created before the release of Episode 4. NOTICE: This is, for all intents and purposes, "Episode 4-1". It introduces a lot of fun new features, and I was very eager to get it finished and released. However, it doesn't include the full scope of what was to be the complete Episode 4; namely, Raya doesn't learn any Combos yet, and has no scenes at the Party House. But when her Combos are finally implemented, she'll learn them instantly if you've met the prerequisites for them. Now I can return to my underground lair and relax while finishing the next couple of areas and tying up any loose ends... while YOU enjoy this wonderful new addition to my dream project. And I know you will! :) With much love, ~ Jeremy