Fixed an issue where if the player first spend money on allowing companions to learn combo skills, then later added Hibiki to the team, she would be unable to learn dagger skills.
AI Update: If the player has learned 'AOE Energy Absorption,' the auto-battle AI will use it when VE is below 50%.

Hi everyone,

The past couple of weeks we've been working hard on fixing bugs & improving the overall experience. Of course we've also been working on the content for the full release tomorrow at 17:00:00 UTC, 2 June. Unfortunately, we weren't able to keep a changelog for this update since we were so stressed with just working on the game itself.
I will still probably make a final post before release tomorrow or later this evening so stay tuned for that!

- Gigicom

Flashlight Pickup Blocked by UI Widget

Fixed a bug where the flashlight couldn’t be picked up after restarting the game.
The UI widget was blocking the interaction—now removed!


Improved my custom crouch system by adding a CanCrouch? flag before sprinting transitions.

No more getting stuck under objects—crouch/uncrouch now works smoothly even in tight spaces.


This was tied to the same crouch logic—also fixed with the new CanCrouch? checks.



There’s still a slight delay between mouse input and character movement—currently investigating frame pacing, vsync, and GPU load.


Some notes have small/hard-to-read text. Planning to increase font size and overall readability.


The flashlight is off-center and flickers in dark areas. Working to recenter the beam and ensure it’s always bright in low-light areas.


After pulling the main lever, the loud beeping doesn’t stop. Will make sure this stops after using the lever.

Some notes in the lower mine level don’t show text—checking my DataTable linkage to fix this.

Time flies, and another week has gone by. How much progress have we made on the things mentioned in last week’s dev log?
If you already know, you can skip the [Update List], since I also posted some updates during the week.
Due to time constraints, I used Google Translate and didn't support many languages.
Also, this dev log includes some [Future Plans], so if you're interested, check out the details below.
(Since we support multiple languages, some wording might sound weird—thanks for your understanding.)

[Update List]
Zone 3
Happy to report that Zone 3 stages are now complete, offering more challenges for players.
Although… the story is still being translated...

Character Skill Buffs
This time we did a major rebalance and buff for all characters, along with related testing.
Each of them now has their own playstyle, and you can build unique strategies in the tower defense game with them!

Zombie Encyclopedia
You can open the encyclopedia during preparation.
It contains zombie information—
And your kill count too!!
After killing just one, you'll unlock the zombie's entry. (Just seeing them isn't enough...)
The more you kill, the more complete your analysis becomes, and you'll get more data about them.

Achievement Badges
After adding difficulty levels, we also added corresponding achievement badges.

Brand-New Map Backgrounds
Stages no longer use placeholder backgrounds.
We also adjusted the stage locations and achievement badge displays on the map!

Weapon Icon Redesign
Because in the past... I had no inspiration at the time...

Map Icon Redesign
Because in the past... I had no inspiration at the time...

Zombie I Redesign
Because the original Zombie I was my first attempt at drawing…
After drawing a few more times, I felt it didn’t look good, so I replaced it.

Sortie Count / Affection Display
That little heart in the lower left—each sortie adds +1.

Brand-New UI
Because in the past... I had no inspiration at the time...

UI Improvement - 1
Now the unit info UI only appears when you click on a squad.
If you don't click anything, the UI closes automatically.
Pressing [F] locks the UI so it won’t auto-open anymore (press again to toggle back to auto-open).

UI Improvement - 2
When you successfully click, the selected tile turns red.

Hotkey Support
Time control hotkeys: Space / Z / X / C
Quick sell items: Shift + E

Text Speed Options
New text speed options added in the settings menu: 1x, 2x, 3x
(Actually, it's 1x, 3x, 5x — after testing with multiple languages, even 3x still feels slow!)

[Future Plans]
New Stages
Not sure how many players have already cleared Zone 3 in a day,
but stages 31–40 are in the works!

Limit Mode
Limit Mode is confirmed, but I want to make it more challenging.
So it will likely be added after dual-character deployment is available.

Zone 3 & Future Story Content
Zone 3’s story is still being translated.
Because my code (character appearance logic) supports 11 languages at once, we need to complete translations before updating.
Fun fact:
I found that in the old language pack, I mistakenly translated "serum" (via copy-paste) as "sortie".
Also, I entered "button" as "massage"...

2-Character Deployment
Still balancing—some combinations are way too strong, making other combos hard to balance!
Currently, it's planned for Zone 4, since Zone 2 with dual deployment is just too much... (Zombies and mutants would cry)
(Still considering for Zone 3...)

More Characters
You’ve probably noticed 5 unreleased characters, but actually 3 more will appear in the upcoming story.
So I plan to pull back the current 5 characters.
Also, I have a big dilemma—
If I put all 5 into the beginner character pool, new players will have a harder time progressing.
So new characters might go into the Limit Mode pool and lean toward debuffs instead of only buffs.
After all, each of our current characters has a specialty—they’re masters of their own fields!
If the playstyle is too similar, it just feels off.

Stage Rewards – Fixing Bad Luck!?
Reworked the first-clear rewards.
(Final amounts might differ.)
Zone 1 level 5–10: 3 serums
Zone 2 level 1–5: 5 serums
Zone 2 level 6+: 10 serums each time

Lag From Too Many Monsters
Currently optimizing.

Steam Achievements
Will be done, but there are too many elements not yet designed.
For now, I’m just logging everything that will be used for achievements,
so that once launched, we can auto-retrieve completed ones.

[Bug Fixes]
I sincerely apologize for some bugs,
and thank you all for reporting them—it really helps make the game better!
Fun fact:
I discovered that completing stage 1 would incorrectly trigger the first-clear reward for stage 8,
causing the text to display weirdly.

Lastly, thank you for reading all the way to the end.

Fixed the issue where acquired items disappeared when starting or continuing.

Following from last year in September, the Hymble Ventures demo is almost ready for the major update.
After we removed the mechanics that appeared educational about autism, it expanded more room for creativity and love for the game. This led to re establishing the game’s USP’s.

Hymble is still autistic, yet that’s only distinguished from her personality and animations, executed in a subtle manner. Players should naturally pick up on the neurodiversity vibes that way.


This fun, blending mechanic allows you to turn collected fruit into health-restoring smoothies.


The character dialogue is now humorous and gives charm to each character.


The inventory system is reduced to one table of items, plus you see a cute Hymble animation.

• Zorb Ball is now called Hym-Bubble
  
• Boomerang is now called Hym-A-Ring
  
• Hand attack is called Hym-Bam

The hub has a completely new design to better accommodate the basic run and jump mechanics.
You get the Hym-Bam attack as a reward when you reach the windowsill. While the bedroom is sandbox-styled, this gives you a chance to play around with the Hym-Bam attack. You can push toys around the room and break open a surprise box where you’re introduced to Codee!

• New name - it is now called Rocky Farmlands
  
• New short missions - bring the merchant a burger to open his shop, and help a farmer clear pests away from his crops
  
• New NPC’s - magic yielding farmers who react if you intrude their patch

• New level design - many players found it difficult to navigate and felt they were fighting with the camera. After playtesting, we can confirm that those issues are gone!
  
• New name - it is now called Toadstool Park
  
• New puzzle - for raising/lowering platforms. Use the Hym-Bubble in the podiums to control the platforms.
  
• New short missions - help the mother tortoises reunite with their lost babies

Well aren’t you excited? I hope so because it’s been eight months of remaking the demo, and fourteen months since we last updated the demo file on Steam.

Until next time!
JJ

📸 Small Touches, Big Improvements!

Hello everyone!
We're excited to share another small but meaningful update for Photographer's Life Simulator! Your feedback continues to help shape the game and we're working hard to deliver an even more immersive and enjoyable experience.

🎨 New Demo Features:
- Wall Painting - You can now paint the walls of your shop in the demo version! Add a personal touch to your studio with different colors.
- Wood Flooring - Floor customization is now possible! Install stylish flooring to make your space truly yours.

🖥️ UI Overhaul:
- A complete user interface redesign of all computer related menus. The new layout is cleaner and more pleasing to the eye, making your workflow faster and more enjoyable.

As always, thank you for playing and sharing your feedback with us.
Be sure to check out the new features in the screenshots below!
We've also updated the images on the Steam store so you can check them out!

Happy shooting!
- The Photographer's Life Simulator Team

Im trying a new format where i go deeper in details regarding the game creation

Hello Commanders!

We’re excited to share a special gameplay showcase for Border Base! After 2 years of development, it's time to give you a deeper look into how the game plays, what makes it unique, and why we think fans of colony sims will love it.

We’ve prepared 4 new gameplay videos, each focusing on a different system in the game. These are from our current Alpha version—so keep in mind, visuals, UI, and animations will all get better as we move closer to Early Access.

Let’s dive in:

1️⃣ Core Gameplay Overview – Actions, Tools, and Priorities.



2️⃣ Resource Systems – Cutting, Mining, and Convoys
In this video, we break down the 3 main ways to gather resources: direct harvesting, mining, and claiming supplies from passing convoys.



3️⃣ Food, Farming & Soldier Energy
Managing your colony means keeping your people fed and energized. Learn how energy works, how to grow crops, cook food, and keep your squad in fighting shape.



4️⃣ Command, Recruit, and Expand Your Crew
Learn how the Command HQ system lets you recruit new soldiers and workers every 3 cycles—and how to make smart choices to grow your base.



We’d love to hear your thoughts! These videos are just a first look—there’s so much more we’re planning to reveal soon.

💬 Drop your feedback in the comments, wishlist the game if you haven’t already, and get ready—Border Base is coming to Kickstarter and Steam Fest soon!

Stay strong out there,
– The Bitzooma Team

Steam Cloud support has been added!

Additional changes:
- fixed a bug where the first node of a chapter was not rendered properly
- fixed a bug where the dialogue would be re-rendered when trying to select a reply
- fixed additional spelling errors