Hey there,

So, Shards of Her 0.4.4 The Tempest update is here, featuring new story content and updates to the previous ACTs. There are improvements across the entire game, including writing, visuals, and audio.

While there is still much work to be done, I wanted to release this update now as it offers an overall enhancement to the game in all aspects.

"They survived one Dawn, hoping for peace... They should have prayed the dawn never came again." - Aethra

There are new characters entering the scene, with more to come. Some characters are also leaving the scene, as the game world is quite dangerous, and lately, whispers can be heard once again.

STORY & LORE - Bits and pieces were rewritten throughout the entire game to fix some story inconsistencies or simply rewritten for better flow. New lore details have been added, both in-game and in the Characters menu. So, make sure you check it out! In some cases, certain characters will have their full backstory included in the biography on their Characters page. So far, there are two such characters; you'll discover them as you play the latest update!

VISUALS - This is an ongoing work. The Prologue scene has been improved, and where possible, the quality of the renders was enhanced or they were re-rendered. I'm striving to achieve a cinematic level with each shot and to deliver the best possible experience, both visually and story-wise. Visually and in terms of writing, the entire game will be upgraded as we progress.

UI - The Main Menu of the game has been slightly changed. The animated buttons are not final, and regarding them, please let me know if you experience any performance issues, such as menu lag or other similar problems. The Options menu is also undergoing some changes, and the Fragments menu (previously Extras) is not final at all. I have other plans for it in future updates.

As you can see, a new small menu has appeared TOGGLE PERSISTENT VALUES, this menu will be used temporarily for the next few updates. If you load your last saved game and don't receive all the unlockables in the CODEX Menu, you can use this new menu to manually set the missing items to TRUE or FALSE. Please note that these values only cover content up to the latest build, as in this version, you need to unlock everything manually through gameplay.

The MEMORIES menu has also been updated with an introduction and a new UI. Lastly, there's the new CODEX Menu. While the UI for this menu is still being worked on, we'll discuss it further below.

AUDIO - New music has been added. I didn't have the chance to update the music in the older ACTs for this release, but that will be done in the future to enhance the experience – though not necessarily with drastically different music than before. Additionally, the narration at important points in the game is now voiced over by a dear friend, and I truly appreciate the time she dedicated to this. More characters will have voice acting in future updates; I'm currently working on that.

Now, the STEAM Page was updated with the new features and each one explained, not really necessary to write it here too, what wasn't covered in the Store Page it was in the previous DEVLogs and on this post, I hope I did not forget anything! Let's roll up with the final patch notes for this update.

SOH 0.4.4 The Tempest Update

• Engine Updated
  
• ACT IV Story Content
  
• Voice Overs for Narration
  
• Script/Dialogue/Visual Fixes (Overall)
  
• Story Fixes (Story Inconsistencies)
  
• New Animations
  
• New Achievements
  
• New Intro Screens for ACTs
  
• Game Conditions Updated
  
• Notifications for Codex Entries Added (Overall)
  
• *Persistent Data Values for Characters/Shards/Timeline & Realms
  
• Added Skip Intro Option
  
• NEW UI for Memories
  
• In-Work UI for Options
  
  PROLOGUE - Veil of Illusion
  
  
• Visual Enhancements
  
• Small Dialogue and Narration Changes
  
  ACT I - Awakening
  
  
• Visual Enhancements
  
• Dialogue Fixes & Spellchecking
  
• New Scenes Added
  
• Small UI Changes
  
• NEW Character Introduced
  
  ACT II - Echoes
  
  
• Smoothed Transitions
  
• Dialogue Fixes & Small Changes
  
• Visual Enhancements & Fixes
  
• Small Story Inconsistencies Fixes
  
• New Small Scene Added (Nakata & MC Scene)
  
  ACT III - Reckoning
  
  
• Dialogue Fixes & Small Changes
  
• Small Story Inconsistencies Fixes
  
• Smoothed Transitions
  
  *Persistent Data Values for Characters/Shards/Timeline & Realms - Due to the new persistent data update, when you load a save game from a version prior to 0.4.4, the game will attempt to unlock content in the CODEX Menu based on your previous progress. However, if you know you experienced something in an older playthrough that didn't unlock in the CODEX Menu, you can use the TOGGLE PERSISTENT VALUES option in the Main Menu to manually unlock everything up to the 0.3.6 build.
  
  NEW Codex Menu
  
  
  • CHARACTERS - Explore the lives and legends of those who shape the destiny of this world. Uncover their pasts, their powers, and explore their evolving forms.
    
  • REALMS - Explore the realms touched by both divine grace and primordial darkness. Uncover their forgotten lore, and prepare to walk their paths once more.
    
  • THE SHARDS - Delve into the mysteries of the Seven Shards, remnants of a shattered goddess. Learn their histories, their powers, and the sins they embody.
    
  • ASTROLOGY - Decipher the language of the stars. Explore the months and signs that guide the fate of this world, and discover the hidden connections between the heavens and the earth.
    
  • TIMELINE - From the whispers of creation to the clash of destinies, witness the turning points that defined a universe. Uncover the truth behind the legends, one event at a time.
  
  *New features and content will be added to the CODEX Menu in future updates (TBD/TBA).
  *FRAGMENTS Menu will go through some updates in future.
  
  
  The echoes of sorrow have been heard.
  This act of Remembrance reveals the price of the past.
  Now... the Reaper comes to collect.
  
  
  
  

Dressed not in shadows, but in light seemingly woven from sacrifice itself, her wings unfurl like the heart of a sun newly risen, not consuming, but fiercely warming. Where darkness lingered and sorrow took root, she brought the gentle promise of renewal.

Perhaps an unseen resonance lingered near her tears, an echo of the ultimate love that forged her being in celestial fire.

This was no final judgment, no inevitable harvest come due. She was the cloak to despair's lament, the fierce tenderness that shields the fragile spark of life when all else seems lost. The deep wounds of a broken world called to her, not for reckoning, but for mending.

Hope itself had taken wing, not to erase the darkness entirely, but to prove that even the deepest night must yield to dawn, that even the greatest loss can ignite the brightest, most protective flame...

"Even the longest night ends. I am the dawn that follows."