Version 0.50 "Beta"

Build notes for version 0.50:

I'm calling this the official "beta" because it contains all the content I want in the official release.  There are just the inevitable  adjustments, bug fixes, line rewrites and re-renders to polish up the game before the 1.0 release can become official.

New Content and Changes:

Since version 0.40 represents the completion of the base game.  Version 0.50 represents the completion of all additional content.   Specifically two things: Embedded paths (pka Walkthroughs), and a bonus difficult mode, which I am not going to spoil.

Paths:
Between various changes to content and new content, I had to write a new set of walkthroughs to reach all the content successfully.  The walkthroughs posted on my web page for Date Ariane kind of work enough I have been using them as reference, but they are wrong in many places.  The new "Paths" can be found at https://arianeb.com/da-remastered-paths/.  The old DA Walkthroughs are some of the most popular pages on my website, in fact looking at the "Top Posts & Pages" it is the Date Ariane main page and all the walkthroughs.

I have to use them myself, I don't have all the answers memorized, and it is annoying to have to switch back and forth between a browser with the walkthrough and the game in a separate window unless you have a two monitor setup.  Even though it will cost me page views, I decided to find a way to incorporate the paths into the game itself. 

I am putting it in the little used "help" section. There you will find a list of the 26 paths listed in the web site, plus 4 paths to get sometimes difficult achievements not addressed in the first 26 paths.  The way it works is you can enable a path you want to follow and the right things to click on will be highlighted in magenta as you go through the game.  You can enable multiple paths at the same time, but it will lead to confusion if you do more than two.  The first five have numbers in front and (new), meaning you start a new game to follow it. Others will have numbers like (1/2), (3), (4), or (5) at the end meaning if you want to start a new game to follow this path, also enable the path number indicated.  Or if you save games at the end of paths, you can just load those paths.

It is far from a perfect system.  Often the game loops through menus, and those menus will have multiple things highlighted on the same path, it's up to you to figure out which to do first and which to do second.  At the end of the path, you will see a message indicating that the path has ended. It is no longer enabled, and wherever it left you, you are on your own. 

Bonus Content:
There is now a bonus mode in the game, whose content I will not talk about here, except to say it makes the game more difficult as the paths no longer work.  To access the bonus, go to "Achievements" clicking on each page to see what you have done and what you are missing until the very end.  As you do this, the game internally calculates how many you have done.  Once you reach a certain threshold, the bonus is unlocked for you.  To use it, start a new game.  Saved games will do unpredictable things when bonus is enabled.

Speaking of achievements, some achievements that rely on "multi-date" content, like "Five Dinners", "Shutterbug", and "Downtown Nudity" can be clicked on when they are incomplete, and they will tell you exactly what you are missing.

Updated Renders:

Besides the bonus renders, I have been updating renders that look odd: The see-thru robe at the end of the game has been replaced with a more realistic robe, the broad shoulders of the male player character have been toned down to be less broad, weird light reflections in the diner windows have been fixed (though to fix these I've had to reveal that the waitress is indeed wearing a top).  I also fixed the male player bed sex animation that is overly lit and stretches the boobs into weird shapes.

Android Port:

I actually created a dedicated android port.  Using smaller images (fine for small screens), I got the game down to 160 MB so it is not a memory hog anymore.  Words are larger, and choices have been moved to the middle to make it easier to select on a touch screen.  The really large "map" menu has been split into indoor and outdoor activities so the entire list doesn't take up the whole of the screen.

Priorities for next update:

Other than bug fixes (message me on Patreon or Discord if you find any), the game is pretty much done.

Also on the list: Create a "Demo", consisting the first part of the game up to and including the dinner scenes, work on setting up for a Steam release.

Progress so far: 1,472 images, not including animations or bonus material.