After the unfortunate delay last year, I immediately began working coming up with a plan to resolve the progression and content issues mentioned. The plan was worked out fairly quickly, but over the holidays work just generally doesn't get done. But I went hard for the prior two months to get the release, so I guess that break was needed.

Come January though the plan is put into action and going well! At this point, it's basically mandatory the full story up to Act 4 is included in the EA launch. The reason is the progression system is well integrated with the story now. And this isn't just a surface level addition, it also resulted in some change in philosophy with how "Events" play out and if some scenes need dialogue or not.

But I think it's becoming more of what people expect. But there's still a lot of work to be done! And this added complexity on top of the other sim aspects means a lot of testing is needed even after everything "works".



The short of the story is thanks to a misunderstanding Naomi is a guest in your home. This is sudden so initially she doesn't trust you at all, but as the relationship grows you get closer.

Before this was just simple story progression, but now it's based a bit more on additional factors. Requiring some engagement with sim elements. But once things progress to the point of H content this progression affects things more broadly. I'm vague on the stat names for now cause they may change before launch.

• A stat will affect what outfits Naomi is willing to wear/Outfits you can purchase with "Spare cash", and later on what outfits she'll wear "going out"
  
• A stat may trigger an event where Naomi approaches you more directly rather than vice versa
  
• A stat may increase how much extra money you have at the end of the week
  
• A stat will unlock more positions the player is capable of, or affect how many times you can cum in a single session.
  
• Naomi's experience with certain activities will unlock more things to do in that activity

At the moment though while these stats will affect much of gameplay, for now there's no plans for a significantly branching story. It's more focused on allowing you to access content you're interested in, and reward engaging with Naomi in different ways.

This is a first project of this type for the people working on it, so we don't want things too complex but know complexity and depth is where the fun is.



As for when in the game H content is unlocked, I can't give an exact play time yet, but the goal is not too fast and not too slow. I can say there's a prologue and several acts before things kick off properly.

We'll make a proper announcement soon, probably end of this month we'll set a release date or at least narrow it down.

Like I said much testing and polish will be needed to ensure these interlocking elements work and aren't too easily broken, and the addition of the story content requires an attention to quality too with some new environments and assets being added.

I know a lot of people were disappointed in the delay, but the response was very positive and I hope you guys are happy with the release when it comes. More news soon!

~sacb0y

Frost Rifle freeze duration: 1.5 seconds -> 1 second
Reduced strong zombie health
Increased crystal zombie health
Decreased first zombie health
Decreased health gained from infections as the first zombie
Fixed error that allowed Battle Pass owners to choose a mode every 2 rounds (instead of 3). More changes will come to this system in the future.
Fixed erroneous human combo calculation

Annihilation: 5 minutes -> 4 minutes
Assassin: 5 minutes -> 3 minutes
Infection: 5 minutes -> 4 minutes
Killer: 5 minutes -> 4 minutes
Synapsis: 4 minutes -> 3 minutes

Increased zombie rewards
Increased zombie damage
Decreased killer damage
The losing team will be killed upon losing
Added missing RPG to survivor

Improved user interface
Now shows your rank
Now infections and kills are properly stored

Muted players are now stored
Fixed many bugs related to muting and unmuting

You can now report other players through the scoreboard

We set a very low limit at the start so that we could closely monitor difficulty and balance. The limit will be slightly raised from 3 to 5 on February 10th at 18:00 UTC

🔹The skies now have a random chance to have an aurora effect! The intensity varies. This feature is multiplayer-enabled.

🔹The time of day is now synchronized during multiplayer games.

🔹The duration of the day/night cycle has been changed from 60 minutes to 30 minutes.

🔹Sunlight shafts have been enabled.

🔹Moonlight shafts have been enabled.

Dear Users,

We have received feedback from users who cannot uninstall the app properly.

1. When you close the steam, and N0va Desktop is still there, please do not click EXIT NOW; check the taskbar to exit n0va first.
2. And if you do that and reopen steam and try to uninstall N0va Desktop, there is a problem N0va Desktop is still there, but it shows it has been uninstalled.

The solution is
1. close the n0va Desktop (taskbar right corner, right-click it and "Exit")
2, browse \Steam\steamapps\common/N0va Desktop (or the place you downloaded before) and Delete it directly,
3. if you cannot do that, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and stop any .exe with the name "N0va Desktop", and then Delete the file.

We apologize for the inconvenience you met.

N0va Desktop CS Team

ーーーーー
◆New characters
・Valentines Day RiCO
・Valentines Day iCO

◆New weapon
・Lover's Gaze

◆New event
・Idol! Music! Valentine's Day!

◆Bug fixes
ーーーーー

- Updated all versions to newest stable AGS, so a lot of problems have been fixed.
- Added proper LINUX and MAC ports with WORKING ACHIEVEMENTS!
- Fixed a crash bug regarding inventory scrolling.
- Fixed a crash bug regarding room 7.
- Pressing ESC will now skip the LOGO section.
- Added 4 sliders for individual volume adjustment:
-Speech
-Music
-Sound Effects
-Master
- If you want to revert to the older Shardlight, opt into beta channel "original",
password is "originalbuild", your older saves won't work with this version.

Here's a small guide.
1) Right click on Shardlight, go to PROPERTIES.
2) Properties
3) Betas
4) typing in that text input box "originalbuild" WITHOUT QUOTES, hitting check code
5) Hitting the blue button that will appear
6) The game will begin downloading files and once that's done, your saves will still
be there and ready to be loaded.

- Added Steam Cloud support [cross-platform even]
- Here are saves in case someone needs em!

http://primordia-game.com/Files0/Strangelando/Shardsaves.zip

If you want, u can extract them into your saves and load the relevant names.
Your saves are located at:
1) Windows:

%USERPROFILE%/Saved Games/Shardlight

2) LINUX:
~/.local/share/ags/Shardlight

3) OSX/MAC
~/Library/Application Support/Shardlight

The first game will be discounted until the release of Happy Bones Infernal on 3-14-22!
You'll also be able to purchase both games in a bundle at a discounted price on release day.







Happy Bones Infernal Official Soundtrack








Basically every single enemy in the game has the 1 in 10 chance to appear as a shining version, these versions of enemies are THREE TIMES stronger in every stat, and yield three times the coins, items, and XP!
Some are simply a different color while some appear considerably different.
They always drop a Shining Coin which will be used to open secret passages and secrets!



My oh my, the relationship system! The most mysterious of features in this installment!
At the end of most chapters you'll have the option to spend time with a character of your choice,
by doing this you'll witness specific dialogue only found by spending time with that character in THAT chapter.
If I've done the math correctly there's 70~ possible combinations you can do over the course of one playthrough, each choice yields it's own rewards depending on the level of your bond with that character!
It's an extremely deep system that will grant players so many different choices and special events every time they start a new game!
Roan even has the option to just go to bed every day instead of spending time with people, which leads to it's own special rewards!
Some characters even have the option to be romanced if certain conditions are met.
You will not find any extreme nudity during these events, but you're certainly in for a surprise if you pull this off!



The party system! You are not alone in Happy Bones Infernal!
This game is about banding together to survive against all odds!
Throughout the story different characters will join and leave your party periodically, later in
the game you'll be able to switch out party members as you please!
Each character has different strengths, weaknesses, and skills!
Don't like one of them? Swap them out with their counterpart.
Having trouble with a boss? Maybe swap to a character that can give fire resist to the whole party!
The choice is yours!




There's also a secret party member that can be unlocked by a side quest later in the game, will you find her?



Achievements! In the first Happy Bones game, these were Steam Achievements!
Some have been blacked out for spoilers.
They've now been moved to an in-game achievement system that can be accessed anytime by selecting the journal, as you unlock them they'll be checked off in the journal!

Absolutely, to some degree there will be added content.
Whether that's just special items for events, more costumes, or full blown bonus story and game content I can't say right now, time will tell!




I would say this game on normal difficulty is CHALLENGING, but not super hard.
That being said, Happy Bones Infernal is launching with 3 difficulty options!

-Casual (Not looking for a challenge)
-Normal (The recommended difficulty)
-Infernal (For those who seek a true challenge)

These are selected at the beginning of the game, they cannot be changed, and are displayed on your achievements screen when the Journal is used.
You know, for bragging rights!

I believe by including different difficulty settings this time around everyone will get a chance to enjoy Happy Bones Infernal!



Wishlist Here!

Got any more questions? Throw them down below and let's chat! :)

Translations for Chinese traditional and simplified have now been added.

Happy Lunar New Year! We hope you had an amazing time welcoming a year of fortune and good health with family and friends! Now it's time to celebrate the year of the black tiger, 9Dragons style! Join in the festivities earn yourself some of the amazing items this event has to offer, such as consumables, new event relics, costumes, and even Black Tiger Guardians!

Revel in the courage and bravery of the black tiger with the following bonuses, which will run for the duration of the event period.

• Increases Maximum Life Energy by 15000
  
• 20/1000 of Damage absorbed into Life/Vital Energy
  
• Increases Attack Speed by 50%
  
• Increases Critical Hit Chance by 1500/1000

The Lunar New Year Buff will last for 180 minutes. When the buff expires, you can relog to receive the buff again.

Track down only the finest ingredients to honor the ancestors and receive their blessings. Rice Bowl and Beef Stew can be obtained by defeating deviants level 150+ throughout the land. Apple can be obtained by defeating dungeon deviants over level 150, and Asian Pancake can be obtained by defeating field deviants over level 150. Collect as many of these resources as you can and exchange them for some great items from Festival Trainee, Baekhwa.



Festival Trainee, Baekhwa Resource List


Festival Merchant, Seo Hwarang Resource List


Festival Trainee, Jeoksam Create List


Lunar White Dragon Wardrobe


Black Tiger Guardians


Black Tiger Stats


Upon bringing offering resources to Seo Hwarang, you can obtain Ancestral Rite. Bow to the ancestors by double-clicking to receive their blessings and good fortune. When activating the Ancestral Rite you will receive 1 Aura of the Ancestors and 1 Lunar Growth Support Bag, including a chance to obtain other great items!

Note: This item is like the illusive branch and can only be activated outside of the safe zone excluding Hefei

The following items may be found when using Ancestral Rite

• [event] Aura of the Ancestors (100% drop)
  
• [event] Lunar Growth Support Bag (100% drop)
  
• Elixir Box (Lv2)
  
• Elixir Box (Lv3)
  
• Elixir Box (Lv4)
  
• Elixir Box (Lv5)
  
• Guardian Box (Rank 1 ~3)
  
• Lost Soul Pouch (Lv3)
  
• Lost Soul Pouch (Lv4)
  
• Sealed Bead (Medium)
  
• Sealed Bead (Large)
  
• Sealed Bead (Excellence)
  
• Bead of Storm
  
• Bead of Storm (Gold)
  
• [event] Lunar Soul Exchange Ticket

In exchange for 30 [event] Aura of the Ancestors, you can obtain a Radiant Ancestral Rite in which you can use to obtain all of the following items.

• Lost Soul Pouch (Lv3)
  
• [event] Radiant Refinement Box
  
• [event] Jade Separator Box
  
• [event] Lunar Soul Exchange Ticket

Lunar Growth Support Bag contains the following items.

• Lucky Sweet Bread (3)
  
• Korean Ginseng (5)
  
• Ethereal Mushroom (5)
  
• Exp Bonus Card (Excellence)
  
• Kung Fu Exp Boost (1 Hour)

[event] Radiant Refinement Box contains the following items.

• Pot of Blue Dragon's Soul
  
• Tender Stone of Nine Divines

[event] Jade Separator Box contains the following items.

• Jade Separator (Gold)

From now until 6:00 PM, March 8, you'll be able to purchase the Lunar New Year Boxes from our Marketplace! Read on for the full details of this special, limited-time sale!

Sale Items:

• Lunar New Year Box (1)
  
• Lunar New Year Box (10+1)
  
• Lunar New Year Box (30+3)

Properties: Can Trade, Cannot Sell, Can Store, Cannot Discard

Lunar New Year Box
One of the following items can be obtained by opening the Special Lunar Box!

• [lunar] Spirited Upgrade Coupon
  
• Mirror of Ancient Dragon
  
• Ultimate Tablet
  
• Ancestral Rite
  
• 50,000,000
  
• Honor Student (1 hour, 12x10)
  
• Soul Stone
  
• Unrefined White Liquor
  
• Korean Ginseng (3)
  
• Exp Bonus Card (Epic)
  
• Master Creating Guide (Excellence)
  
• Exp Bonus Card (Excellence) (2)
  
• Search Scope

Event Notice:

• The event begins February 8, 2022, after maintenance, and will run until March 8, 2022, before maintenance.
  
• Any accounts found abusing the event will be permanently banned.
  
• Reward items are obtained at a fixed probability -- there is no guarantee that you will obtain them.
  
• The event schedule and details are subject to change without notice or compensation.
  
• Click the [?] icon located at the top-right corner to open up the Resource and Create window.
  
• Place your cursor over the magnifying glass to check the properties of an item.
  
• Event items and Resource lists will be deleted from the game. Be certain to use/open them by March 8th's maintenance.

Another day, another beta. I'm still working on tiny tweaks to get all the timing issues fixed before pushing it live for everyone. Thanks to everyone helping out in discord!

Changelog v0.2.5 (Beta)
Game

• Fixed enemies not leaving during results screen with constant enemy display on
  
• Levels made before 0.2.2 will now also adjust gravity values both in User Levels and the editor to make them more consistent with how they were initially made.