I don't know how strictly accurate this is, but one of the things I find shocking about watching historical dramas is how many people there are around all the time---according to Madame de... (1953) a well-off French household in the Belle Epoque maintains a workforce of at least 3, and the glittering opera has staff just to open doors. According to Shogun (2024) you can expect a deep bench just to mind your household, and again, people who exist to open doors.
Could people....not open doors in the past? Were doors tricky, before the standardization of hinges? Because otherwise, the wealthy used to pay a whole bunch of people to do it for them in multiple contexts, and I find myself baffled.
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💖 Day 3.5 is now available! 💖
For the last couple of months, only Server Boosters had access to the 3.5 update... Buuuuut now it's available for everyone to play in the 14DWY Discord — and soon itch.io once I'm happy with the QA and state of the game — so please don't feel pressured to join unless you want to!!
The full devlog + even more screenshots are under the cut ^^
What's been added to the 3.5 version?
📺 Streamer Mode!
I've been told that it's difficult to stream and monetise age-restricted videos on YouTube and Twitch, so I added an option to remove the sexual content and strong language used in the demo.
Now y'all can invite Ren into your bed for cuddles without putting your streamer career on the line /silly /lh
This won't affect the 18+ rating or dark themes/elements of the game, however! Although Streamer Mode will prevent you from seeing any "gruesome" CGs in the future, most of the core elements of the game will still be tied to the choices and decisions you make. So you won't miss out on the overall experience by using streamer mode!!
⚙️ Custom Pronouns!
It only took me one entire year to get around to it, but you can finally choose your own preferred pronouns (or use a set of pronouns instead)... At the cost of being able to change them mid-game ^^;
Since the original pronoun screen wouldn't update until a new scene was displayed, I temporarily disabled the feature. But once I find a workaround, I'll bring it back!
💗 Choose how others perceive you!
You can now choose how the cast and narration perceive you! Originally, the narration was kept strictly gender-neutral (outside of pronouns and genitalia picked by the player), but this will soon change in future updates.
For more clarity: you don't get to choose the words specifically, but you can choose between masculine, feminine, and androgynous terms!
📋 Separate top and bottom genitalia!
You can now choose your tatas and pps separately! >:3
Alongside that, you can also choose your preferred body type!
I removed the "both" genitalia option because a few players still assumed it was an obscure version of "intersex". That wasn't my intention and I don't want to mislead anyone, so I took it out for now ^^;
I also didn't want to include a screenshot of the new genitalia choices in action (because it's NSFW), so y'all get the same character menu screen for the nth time instead lmao
📱 Relationship Screen Overhaul!
You can now change your own status for more immersion, and long-term Server Boosters will eventually be able to submit and use their own icon within the game as well!
Stalking finding your friends has now become easier by using "Buddy Maps"; a new app that allows you to see the location of all the cast members!
I want to offer players more incentive to check the relationship screen since they tend to miss the status updates, so hopefully this might help ;v;
It also says it "updates every few hours" so folks don't go overboard and check every 5 seconds to see where Ren is gdsghf (also keep in mind that he's a hacker lol)
🖤 Additional Scenes Update!
Day 2 received a brand new CG!!!!! Originally, I planned on only adding a few CGs sporadically throughout the game, but it didn't feel right to leave Day 2 so... empty... so I added a brand new CG to (hopefully) make things feel more balanced and natural!
If you decline Teo's offer on Day 3, Leon will now call and try to convince you to reconsider. However, players are still allowed to decline, and if they do, they'll reach a dead end.
After listening to feedback on itch, I changed some of the dialogue during Days 1-3 to make it seem more consistent! They're only small changes though, so it's honestly not worth looking for sdgjssga
🎶 Updated BGM and SFX!
I wanted to try out a different style of music to see if it fits the vibe of 14DWY more! The BGM features more acoustics to suit the "beachy" theme of Corland Bay, though I made a conscious effort to include piano elements as well to stay true to the original!!
I figured it'd be better to give players a live example before I make a poll (to see if they prefer the change or not) and publish it to Itch.
Some new SFX have also been added, though it's very minimal and honestly not that noticeable.
How to download and play the update?
(warning: clicking on the following links will open Discord!!)
To download the Day 3.5 update, simply join the 14DWY Discord server, verify your age, and visit the "14dwy-updates" channel!
Alternatively, you can also wait until the update is publicly released on Itch to play it as well!! (It normally gets released shortly after a round of QA testing/getting feedback from the server, though I may release it earlier if I feel like it hehe ^^)
Enjoy!!
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it's still blowing my mind that i thought we'd be getting something close to cartoon villain lestat at the trial and instead we got... this weeping broken thing who can't help but stop in the middle of it all to give louis a genuine, heartfelt apology for the monstrous thing he did to him. who refused to go along with the narrative that he didn't think he would be hurting louis when he did it. whose shame and love are overwhelming him in equal measure and to such a degree that he can't perform. he can barely stand...
and it actually feels like... the closest thing we've gotten to ~real~ lestat so far in this show? even though it's still just a memory, louis is remembering the sincerity of him even if he claims he wasn't moved by it. he's sitting there and he's...
he's remembering. even as he circles right back around to the narrative that lestat was only there because he wanted them dead. it was just more lestat insanity, of course. a moment of realness in the middle of his revenge to meant disorient, nothing more. with armand being ever-helpful and chiming in to confirm that lestat is the one who does this. lestat is the one who wants to leave you with no sense of what is or what is not. yes. that's right. it's LESTAT...
but louis is almost there. louis is remembering...
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thinking about mizu from blue eye samurai. thinking. thinking so much. thinking about how mizu operates outside of gender. like we joke about her gender being revenge but straight up? it literally is. like she grew up as a boy and is most comfortable being a man, but behind that is the feeling of betraying himself because he isn't being honest about who he is and he lives in fear of being discovered. and when he lived as a woman, she found joy there as well. she fell in love, and though she wasn't good at it, she liked being a wife and enjoying a simple life. but in that life too, she isn't being honest about who she is. and when she reveals her true self, it's not a woman, she's a demon, a weapon. she's to masculine to be a woman, and too feminine to be a man. ultimately, mizu is most comfortable when they are being a murder machine. that's when they feel they are being the most true to themself. like a sword, they are neither man nor woman, but a blend of both, which makes them stronger.
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Can we talk about Sami for a sec?
She's not the precocious kid. Not the one with the sweet voice who'll break your heart with their innocence, curiosity, and optimism.
She's not the defiant kid. Not the one who'll rage and fight and inspire you with their rebellious spirit.
But she's the one taking it upon herself to care for baby Bayrn. She's the one gently reminding them of how to keep out of trouble. She's the one trying to reassure the new kid that things won't feel this bad forever.
I'll always have a special place in my heart for the kids that aren't as noticeable as their peers. The ones making themselves as small and silent as possible to keep everyone else safe and happy. Don't worry. We see you too.
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kevin taking jean's hand in his and turning his arm around to assess his wounds and asking him to make a fist and sighing in relief when he can like he's done this song and dance a million times before with jean. checking him after an incident and making sure he's still in one piece and jean allowing it because he loves him desperately and it's the only reprieve he has from all the abuse. the only time someone handles him with care. and it stings because he has to tell himself that kevin only cares because if jean can't play exy he's no use to anyone and if he's no use to anyone he'll be killed and kevin will be left alone and kevin desperately doesn't want to be left alone. but he's also the reason jean gets to keep his language even if it was only ever whispered in secret. and he's the reason jean had a collection of something to treasure, even of it was just magnets and postcards. and he's also 90% of the reason jean is alive because he made a promise and he couldn't bear to leave kevin even though in the end kevin left him behind. and even after that kind of betrayal he still has unwavering trust in kevin and goes where he tells him to so he'll be safe and defends his name when he needs to. because it's kevin. and maybe he can't be everything to jean but he will always be something to him.
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