Hello again! Beta 2.0 is now available to download and play, featuring a large story update - the second lesson chapter is finally available. It takes you through some of the other gameplay mechanics and features a lot of cinematic cutscenes and storytelling. Definitely go and play it! Along with that, a bunch of smaller features were added and tweaked, and I've also made my mind up when it comes to events.  Let's go through with it.

Story preview

I prefer you to play through the story rather than me telling you about it, so here are some screenshots instead from the development of this chapter. It's such an enjoyable process to finally let the characters really become comfy in their existence, having them express who they are on the big screen! And I think, what's even more exciting is that this is just the start. They are all kind of rigid in the beginning, but beneath their surfaces, I think they have a lot of unique perspectives to tell you the world of Kemoverse.

Event information

Events! What about them? Well, they're slowly starting up again after the small event hiatus back in December. The focus from now will be on world related story events - you might've seen the 'Everlight festival' post I did before. That was a small lore event with unique clothing rewards and is set to return next year once again. In fact, the goal is to host four different lore events every year that will give unique rewards - Winter solstice, Summer solstice, Novah's Blossom and Novah's Memento. Each one sharing their Kemona traditions and values with you with their own unique storylines and rewards.

Aside from lore events, community events will be held as time and effort permits, and made to be less directed and guided than before. Be sure to  check the paper on the campus tree for upcoming events, or check our discord for any updates.

Other changes

Some fun new stuff were added and a bunch of smaller bugfixes that might've been annoying. Stickers have now changed from <sticker> to ::sticker::. Eating bugs from your inventory now makes them physically appear in your hand (veggies, mushrooms, and such will also appear in the future). Dorm room doors now has an option to knock which will let the inhabitants (if they are there) know you're knocking. The young species can now use a skirt, and thus, the unlockable skirt patterns.

As for fixes, various visual flaws were corrected: animations play slightly smoother, certain lightning errors were fixed both outdoors and indoors, and disabled shaders in the settings now show clothing patterns and npc shading correctly. The seed box and aquarium/bugcage furniture item now works as intended.

You can now also express some funny sounds by typing specific emotes. Simply type, for example, "!slurps everyone around them." and it will show in the chat as "* Player slurps everyone around them." and play a little slurp sound effect. The full list is below and it will add a funny variety of audio effects with others!

For the next Beta

The plan is to work on the next lesson chapter and revise the soundtrack. The story writing part itself will take a month or so to finalize, while the implementation of the story might take a month or two to be finished. The goal is to add a similar amount of story gameplay time (one hour). The in-game music is also in the process of being revised, as in, adjusted and mixed to be more balanced, loop better, and just sound better and more iconic! The eventual goal is to assemble the Kemoverse Online Beta soundtrack, which will be paired with a future physical DVD release which will contain every Alpha and Beta build I have in my archives. But that's a long way in the future!

Until then, I will be dutifully working on everything about Kemoverse, the world, the experience - its uniqueness, its uncompromising experience, its emotional purity. All the characters and their lives, the project itself, the world and its reality. It lays close to my heart and will be seen to its completion!

See you in the Kemoverse!

Complete changelog

• Lesson 2 was added and its post-lesson quests, contributing a total of one hour of gameplay.
  • The lesson focuses on Onrakh and Ikt, with Onrakh introducing planting and fishing mechanics and Ikt having a talk with you.
  • After the lesson and the following story, additional storylines are available from Nanesh & Lorah, Takar, and Temk & Zirak.
  • The continued story introduces a new character, Temk.
• Existing teacher life schedules and scripts (Merka, Ikt, Onrakh, Anjraz, Retakatekt) were checked and fixed up.
  • All teachers should now properly spawn in predictable locations and have consistent interactions.
    • Ikt now appears in the library, once again, and can trade a token for a book.
    • Onrakh now appears in the library in the afternoon and offers soap along with the ink.
    • Onrakh, Ikt, and Retakatekt now sleep properly in their own dormitory on the second floor of the school.
  • The player is now required to at least go through Lesson 1 in order to gain the tradeable (ink, instruments) options.
  • The player is required to at least go through Lesson 2 to see Ikt.

• Specific emotes starting with a certain prefix has added sound effects, which are tuned to the TTS pitch.
  • Animal noises: !sniffs, !meows, !woofs, !growls, !scoffs, !squeaks
  • Vocal noises: !sighs, !giggles, !laughs, !chuckles, !hmms, !mhms, !uhms, !nuhs, !ahas
  • Non-vocal noises: !harkles, !spits, !shushes, !slurps, !gulps, !hics, !tsks, !coughs, !sneezes, !snores
  • The audio volume of this effect can be changed in the settings.
• New smaller features and tweaks were added.
  • Typing out symbols (!, ?) now displays them with a bigger font.
  • Typing out stickers now uses "::" (e.g. ::SAPLING::).
  • Eating bugs from your inventory now makes them physically appear in your hands.
  • The doors to student dorm rooms now has an option to knock, which sends a knock message to anyone inside.
  • Most in-game music for story cutscenes has had adjusted volumes.
  • The TTS effect can now be applied in scripts using "ch ttse <effect>".
  • The jester hat has improved appearance, animation, and has added sound effect.
  • The young specie variations has slightly improved clothing, and has now access to a skirt.
  • The character hitbox is more accurate now when the character is sitting or laying down.
  • The megaphone now amplifies your voice properly, making it audible over a bigger range
  • A "/discord" server command is now available for funders.
    • This gives funders their appropriate Funder role if they have joined the discord server.
    • Funders have to have installed the Discord addon from addons tab and restarted the game.
• Certain gameplay and visual improvements were made.
  • Most animations are now slightly smoother when starting and ending.
  • Various tail bone errors were fixed when using the tail equipment.
  • The fixer outfit alpha hiding the upper back is now fixed.
  • The slingshot and the composer play button not always synchronizing is fixed.
  • The hot weather forest night was made less bright.
  • The strange morning shadows in the art room and sanctuary was fixed.
  • Pressing movement keys while laying on beds no longer puts you in a weird pose.
  • Clicking links or copying text from the text box no longer pauses the chat.
  • The seed box not giving you certain plant seeds now works correctly.
  • Fish aquariums and plant pots now work and synchronize correctly.
  • Clock furniture item now show the correct time.
  • Disabled shaders now show player clothing patterns and proper NPC shading.
  • Dog species now have corrected body collision parts.
  • Bugtraps can now properly be removed.