Hello everyone!

As part of update v0.70, I wanted to do some improvements to the player experience, as well as adding lots of new content. I decided to focus on the university map screen, and now I'd like to share with you what I've done!

First, let's take a look at the current screen and I'll talk you through my process.

The problems

The map was one of the very first screens I made for the game. Whilst it does a fine job, there are a few things that have bugged me about it for a while.

The background image doesn't match the aesthetic of the game.

At the time I just grabbed a free image, with the intention of replacing it later. But when I tried to create something with the visuals of the game, I kept running into technical issues that I didn't know how to overcome. It's been a minor annoyance for a while that the image doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the game.

One location is always locked off.

Again, at the time I made this it made sense. You can pick between physics and art, so there's one location for each. But in practice, it means that whatever you pick, the other one is closed to you, so there's always one location that's simply inaccessible.

One location isn't shown at all.

The swimming pool was the last location I added to the game, after I had made the map. I made it so you could access it through the gym, but it can be a bit misleading when a character icon shows them at the gym, but they're actually at the swimming pool.

The solutions

With all of that in mind, here's a look at the new map screen:

This is what I've created to try and address the problems, as well as add some extra improvements.

Firstly, the background now matches the rest of the game. You may even recognise parts of it from scenes that take place around the uni campus!

Secondly, art and physics have been rolled into one location, named "Class". Whichever subject you chose, it will take you to that location. When a character is in the class that you didn't choose, their icon will be greyed out to convey that you can't reach them.

Thirdly, the pool is now accessible directly from this screen. You can still move between the pool and gym from within them, but now it will be clearer when a character is swimming versus exercising in the gym, and you can go straight there in one click.

As well as all that, I've made some extra improvements. The phone icon now uses your chosen phone background, which is a nice little extra bonus for those who enjoy collecting them. It also wiggles when you mouse over it :3

I've also made some changes to the back-end which aren't obvious, but would make it easier to expand or adjust the map in the future, as well as open up the possibility of translating to other languages at some point. It also leads into the next highlight...

Not a fan of the yellow buttons? Now you can change them! They automatically turn a contrasting colour when hovered over.

There's one last thing I want to share with you all today. Another small annoying thing I've noticed is that from the map screen, you can see when characters are at home, but can't tell whether they're in their room or the living room without either checking the phone or wandering around the house. So...

Now there are little character icons to show you where everyone is as soon as you go in! This also has the added benefit of making it clear when someone has a nighttime visitor...

And that's all for now! It's my hope that these changes will help smooth out the player experience, and just make the game that little bit nicer to play. I hope you'll feel that way when you play it!

Thanks everyone, I'll have more previews soon <3