Happy August, everyone! Before we start, I want to deeply apologize for the misleading statements I've unintentionally made regarding the game's release. Yes, we're still so close to being done, but what I failed to realize is that a short to-do list doesn't necessarily mean the final tasks will be easy to do. I misjudged the programmers' final tasks, and ended up wrong about the release date twice.

Don't get the wrong idea, though! Our programmers are working hard and diligently (even the newcomers), and I can't thank them enough! Now, onto some real news.

Now, because of this and a few other features, we will need some additional time to work, but I believe this is worth it. Prior to recently, we were going to be leaving features out of the pre-demo in exchange for an earlier release, but regardless of whether or not they truly impact the experience, we want to give you all everything we've got.

Let's start with the big one. It's an idea that's being dug up from the depths of UTTO's development, all the way back from 2017, and that's the removal of a hard number in the form of LV, and the addition of a morality meter.

Why, though? Well, originally, it didn't have much purpose, and there was no reason for the LOVE system to be changed in what used to be a game about Mt. Ebott, but through the reboot, in a part of the world where we fangame devs make the rules, we're measuring progression differently. The more you spare, the more left the heart slides. The more you kill, the more right it slides. This will all make sense in a minute.

The reason this meter now exists isn't just to look cool, but rather to change progression in UTTO altogether, giving the player a tangible reward for pacifism as much as the game does for killing, which also includes the addition of two new stats that affect gameplay: WITS & LUCK.

When the player hits a morality milestone with one or more characters, they receive an Experience Up (working title, likely will receive 2 names based on moral choices), and they'll receive stat bonuses based on what the player has done. If the player ranks up via sparing, WITS & LUCK will increase sharply, TP/WP/BP (dependent on character) & DEF will increase at a neutral rate, meanwhile HP & ATK will increase minimally. The same applies in vice versa if the player ranks up through killing.

Now for an explanation of what WITS & LUCK are. Let's start with WITS.

WITS is what makes ACTing strategic as opposed to a guaranteed win, as these are children, and they shouldn't be expected to succeed all the time. Children aren't always the brightest, and so they may come off as awkward, annoying, or even offensive, failing their ACT or even angering the opponent, which creates a greater risk on the battlefield. With better WITS, these children learn what makes everyone tick, and can better negotiate their way out of danger. WITS also applies to shop prices, as high WITS on 1/4 characters will unlock what used to be a greyed out option in the talk menu of a shop, which prompts the character to haggle for better prices. 1/4 characters means there's a 25% chance of success, and it increases by 25% each character with proficiency in WITS.

Next is LUCK. Naturally, with 4 characters and more difficult battles, LUCK may come in handy. With high LUCK, the player soul has a greater chance to spin when struck, and avoid damage for one or more targeted characters. You know, the stuff of miracles. LUCK is also tied with any chance-based interaction in the game, but only by a little. It makes stuff like that 25% during haggling with a shopkeep count, and more. It's a simple stat that can have wonderful consequences if gained.

We may also add a bonus spinner ala Mario & Luigi so that you can pick a stat you like to increase, or strategize and increase stats that didn't gain much of a boost from your moral choices. It's not a guarantee, but it definitely would make things more interesting! LUCK could even play into rigging the spinner with better chances for higher numbers!

Lastly, I wanted to talk about an additional feature that's small, and doesn't really have any visual assets to provide thru mockups. It's small, but interesting and even provides more opportunities to be creative for us devs. Say hello to "Vessel's Vision".

The idea here is that Louis, as a vessel, has a special awareness gifted to him by our presence. Any item he can take with him will, to him, will be shrouded in a red aura when nearby, and will pulse similarly to the vessel gateways seen in the Void Scene. This also applies to objects that contain items, like for instance a dresser, or a bench the item's hiding under. This allows us to come up with more item placements beyond "press z and hope there's something here" and "we want you to have this, so it's on the floor for you". Unfortunately, the pulse is engine-exclusive, so I'm not sure how I can demonstrate it without simply a comparison. Another small detail regarding this is that Louis' eyes will very likely in the final build receive a shader effect, the blue in his eyes becoming redder and redder as he comes closer to these objects our gift to him allows him to spot.

That's all for now! Vessel's Vision should be an easy addition, but the entire morality leveling system will take a substantial amount of time. I hope you understand, but we really want this game to be the best we can get it for your enjoyment and our fulfilment. I'm sure we can release before the end of this year, especially with all the hard work going into the game, but ultimately, that's for fate to decide.

If you want to come and hang out with the devs, as well as the rest of the community, be sure to come and join our Discord. Here's a link to it below, if you didn't know you could click the name of the platform, or want a quick way to share the link with friends: https://discord.gg/qTfFpQX

Thank you all for following the development of UTTO! We'll see you next time!