After Dark (scientifically accurate apocalyptic horror) UPDATE 16 NOV

Heya! Just played this, and so far im a fan! Keep it up author!

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Okay i finished it and BOY am i a fan.

Michael [mike, hehe) is such a knight in shining armor lmfao i love him.

Are Mike and Rainyday the only two RO’s introduced so far?

Im also gonna admit that i rather shamelessly save scummed every time i went to search for stuff just to get the best items out of everything, HAHA. Oh boy am i a fan of these variable events, on my first run w the shopping bag no one was in the house. On my second run there was a Zombie lurking there that traumatized my MC, fun times.

If i may ask, what are the specials skills MC can have? In my two runs, i had a mc with med skill knowledge and then a lock picking mc, wonder if there’s more? Does it correlate to the stats you choose at the beginning?

Also, is there a number we can find in the demo to phone anyone or is that to be added ? I have a sneaky suspicion the number we call will be our secret RO hehehe

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Wow so many question! I’m very happy you’re so invested in the story.

Uhm, let’s say yes for now, but if you want a more spoiler-y answer you can check my first message on the thread where there’s a list of all the ROs!

Some are yet to be coded, so I can’t tell you all of them. You can’t get them all in one run, though!

Kind of. It’s a mix of stats, personality, and choices.

It’s just a silly thing for now (calling a certain number will unlock an achievement), but I plan for it to have a real role in future updates.

I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you much more (ugggh, it’s so difficult to not spoiler things!), but I hope you’ll keep enjoying it! Feel free to say hi in the Discord server as well :smile:

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I have a question about Kay because is literally my favourite person

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and I get I romance stat with him
BUUUT In your spoiler tag of RO he doesn’t appear and I’m going to cry if you dare to kill him, I totally will :sob::sob: why I’m always fall for the characters who I will not be able to romance??? If you can and you are Okey with that, can you put in a spoiler tag or something if we can’t romance him or if it’s some kind of mistake and you are going to add his ro in the spoiler tag? At leas tell me he is the aro and he won’t die cause LMAOO
The worse of all is my MC is already in a relationship with Michael, so I was going to start another file but with Kay…

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I almost forgot about this WIP, it’s shaping up nicely. I’ll have to review it soon.

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Oh no, my bad!

Explanation (with spoilers)

Yes, Kay is romanceable. I didn’t include them in the first route’s list because they’re actually the one in all three of them! :face_holding_back_tears:

Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. A free update is coming at the end of the month, so it’ll be back on your radar soon!

(For those interested, the latest update went live on Patreon last month, and another early access update is scheduled for the end of this month—about a month ahead of the free one.)

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Omg I’m so happy rn HAHAHAA, now I need to do another file for my boi but I’m very happy about it lmaooo
And thank you so much for all your hard work, I love this story so much!

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You’re very welcome! Enjoy :grin: :blue_heart:

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I’m just on the first chapter where we encounter Sam and I must ask before proceeding to play more… Sorry not sorry, but can we somehow make that Abigail’s baby won’t be born/survive? I hate parenting in general, but parenting in the apocalypse is hell😭 (what I meant, I hate when player is forced to parent/co-parent. If Abigail will provide and care for her own child without dying and making a player care for that baby it’s a-ok)

Yes…

…but also yes :grin:

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I’m the opposite :sob:. I hope we get the option to help care for the baby too.

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For real. Just call me Daryl Dixon because I’m gonna help raise that baby into a Little Asskicker 2.0.

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Also an option! This, however, depends on the relationship level of MC with Abigail.

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Thanks!!!
I did a cheeky thing and code-dived to look how to achieve it. Now my poor MC is malnourished, dehydrated and a lil dumdum, but at least he can sleep peacefully😅

I’m sorry if it’s an unwelcome comment/critique but I hope it’s okay to share opinions here ><
To be honest it’s kinda odd that baby-survival thing is not a randomised stat (or a stat depending on, for example, amount of certain loot) but something depending on stats of MC.
With all due respect, why MC’s health, wit and mental state should mean anything for a creature’s survival whom they aren’t even connected with at all? Why players, who don’t want to add up to MC’s problems as they are, should sacrifice MC’s stats for achieving this? No hate, I swear, sorry if my wording is lacking😅

That’s tied to the potential help you give Abby. If you want to help her, you obviously need to be in a position to do so, otherwise, you might make things worse.
If you don’t care about her or the baby, really, you can just ignore her as much as possible and leave her to her fate—there’s no guarantee her baby will survive. Also, as mentioned before, even if the baby survives, you’re not obligated to interact with them at all, you’re not their parent!

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‘scientifically accurate apocalyptic horror’ I already love this

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:bangbang: A major new update is here!

It brings more than 50,000 words, new features, some enhancements, and a few bug fixes that I believe will improve your read-gaming experience. Here is the full devlog :smiling_face:

Features & Enhancements

  • Persistent Memory for Characters: your party’s characters will now remember your past conversation topics and answers, making interactions feel more realistic.
  • Pansexual Main Character: Your main character can now be pansexual, and can now date…
  • Nonbinary Option for Max: …nonbinary Max, adding more representation and customization to your gameplay.
  • Expanded Special Abilities: I’ve added seven new special abilities, bringing the total to ten. Can you find all of them?
  • Updated Geographical Details: I’ve changed some geographical data, including the pandemic’s starting location. Additionally, I’ve revised geographical distances and character speeds for a more authentic experience. You’ll also notice new geographical and environmental details based on real-world U.S. locations!
  • Improved Conversations: Certain message exchanges with Rain and some conversations with Michael have been revised—now they should sound more natural and relatable.
  • Enhanced Gameplay Mechanics:
    • Collectible Card Game (Beta): I’ve completely revised the collectible card game. It is now in beta! While it’s not fully functional yet, you can already…
    • Card Game with Michael: …play with Michael, and you’ll be able to fight more characters in future updates!
    • Revised Sun Damage and Sunscreen Mechanics: The sun damage system has been updated, and there’s now a higher skin tone level requiring sunscreen (I’m also working on modifying the sunscreen system to operate on a usage basis rather than by bottles, but this is still TBA).
    • New and Expanded Mobile Games: The existing mobile game has been expanded, and I’ve added a new one for you to enjoy!
  • Flavor Text for Name Choices: When choosing certain names, you’ll now see new flavor text to add a bit of fun and more personality to the characters.
  • Relationship Revisions: I’ve adjusted the relationship system to enhance characters’ interactions and narrative flow.
  • Optimized Cell Phone Battery Usage: I’ve also revised the smartphone battery usage, to make it more realistic (and challenging, obviously!).

Bug Fixes

  • Various Typo Corrections: You know, things like tohse.
  • Portable Charger Bug: Fixed a bug where the portable charger from Abby’s house would not charge at all. Your smartphone should now be powered!
  • Friendbook Search Bug: Resolved an issue where players could tell Michael he had been searched on Friendbook, even if he hadn’t been searched. Now you actually need to search him.
  • Other Bug Fixes: I’ve fixed other minor bugs to improve the overall gameplay experience.

Known Issues

  • Weapon System Bugs: There are still some known bugs in the weapon system that I’m actively working on. I appreciate your patience (please don’t use them on me!)
  • Sunscreen System Update: As mentioned above, I’m still modifying the sunscreen system to function based on uses rather than bottles. Right now it’s a bit unrealistic, but I’m working on it!

A few notes…

  • So many changes also mean more chances for the game to break by loading a previously started game. If you want to be on the safe side, start a new game!
  • Moving forward you can expect more frequent updates, with new content and improvements rolling out monthly. However, this means that updates will be considerably shorter. Please consider the new update frequency! :smiling_face:
  • Did you know that my pledgers on Patreon get their updates a month early? If you don’t want to wait, consider a subscription. The new early access chapter will arrive the day after tomorrow!

As always—please, let me know what you think. I’m always happy to receive your feedbacks!

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Updated!

This update brings about 11,000 words, with the second part of the fifth day of the journey.

DevLog

BUG FIXES

  • Fixed an issue where the dialogue incorrectly stated that MC was eating with others, even when they didn’t have food or didn’t want to stop to eat.
  • Fixed a bug affecting one of the mobile games that would conflict with the phone battery.
  • Fixed a bug related to the phone battery not charing in some situations.
  • Typos fixed.

IMPROVEMENTS

  • Improved the memory system tracking events related to MC’s party—now they’ll remember previous conversations and any shared info.
  • Added a way to retry some particularly bad choices in the previous part (3.5.1) without starting over.
  • Added the possibility of random connection failures when accessing the newspaper.
  • Reduced the amount of weight that can be carried.
  • Simplified some rolls for luck checks in various scenes.

NEW FEATURES

  • Added a new achievement related to in-game actions.
  • Implemented a soft save system—currently only available in select scenes, but to be expanded in future updates.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Closing and reopening the menu without progressing in the story partially undoes the actions performed in the menu (especially on the phone).
  • I’m still working on the 3.5.1 known issues!

Enjoy :heart:

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There seems to be a bug, where the game infinity loads during the canoe scene, if you pick the “I now how to paddle” option and then click “I keep paddling”

Sorry, it took me a while because I couldn’t figure out the issue, everything was fine in theory. Turns out that when uploading to Dashingdon, a scene file got corrupted, and when you clicked “I keep paddling” the scene failed to load. It should all be fixed now, though. Thanks for notifying me and enjoy! :grin:

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