100% agree, I have actually already made a npc in the merc group to act as a guide to help you. He is the dude that looks like a bartender, named Artem. Though you need to be on version Alpha 2 or Beta 1. for that. Also, I am actually currently trying to do a UI overhaul. There was a bit of an overhaul going from Alpha 2 to Beta 1. But I also just released a patch that adds most of the UI improvements to the Alpha 2 build. So some context for you.
I have never went through an did a "Proper" bug testing playthrough of the game. I was mostly just using dev console. So when you are on the dev version of a Renpy game you have access to the console. Essentially everything that happens in a game is under the categories or "Labels" or "Screens" So say this quest step begins at "x" label. Instead of plaything through the entire game from scratch after each update to properly test things I was just using the dev console to jump to the new labels. I could then see ahh cool that works... moving on.
But during my full proper playthrough I did yesterday. I noticed there were 20+ random bugs that I missed. As well as labels that the game could not access. Quest dialogues that were not registering. Wrongly named image and video files. (Usually 1 letter off or even just 1 letter capitalized that should'nt be...) But yea due to that playthrough I fixed a lot of bugs. The big issue was that My version of the game is the Beta 1 version. And a lot of these bugs were from way back in Alpha 1.
So how could I make a patch using my files, that would patch the old game, without adding in all the new stuff to the old game?
Well, there is no clean and easy way to do that unless you keep all your scripts fully compartmentalized from each other. Which I don't...
So I decided to meet in the middle. One of my patrons suggested just releasing a patch for the Beta 1 players. Issuing an apology then posting the Beta 1 update a week earlier than normal.
I did not like that idea, not because it would give out free stuff a week early. I don't care about giving out content early. Hell I give away paywalled updates all the time to people that just have the balls to ask for it. My issue was that it would be like giving the middle finger to all the other players, which lets be real thats the vast majority. I mean I have 15 paid patrons, and this game has 25,000+ downloads just on itch.io. That's not including the 21,000 from my patreon, or the 30,000 from f95zone. Now how could I be ok with helping only 15 people knowing there are all of those out there just getting fucked?
It's not me I can't do that. So I set out to try to make a version of the patch for both paid and free players. Then I added in a bunch of the improvements of the Beta 1 update without adding the new character Pursena's files.
That means adding the new Office, Adding the new UI elements, The Book instead of the PC, the newly added random npcs. The trophy system, the balancing changes. And a bunch more. I mean fuck giving out stuff a week early I just handed out damn near the entire update nearly a month early.
Though the Beta 1 version does still have a few things the Alpha....3? Version does not have. Like the pursena update, and the newly added positions for existing Harem members.
My only complaint is that I do not have a way to do this patch update for the Mac and Mobile players. Which idk if you know this but the mobile players make up nearly half of the playerbase. So I am very not happy about not being able to help them.
BUT YEA SORRY FOR THIS LONG ASS REPLY!! I just woke up and got fired up lol.
I Typed all of this mainly just to ask you, what version are you playing on? So I know if your comment is in regards to the already changed stuff or not?