Greetings, one and all!
I've got an exciting update to share in version 1.5.1. We've got an all-new feature in natural aging for followers (with physical changes over time + birthday cake!), a new recruitment event in the slave markets of offworld colonies, bonuses to the settlement granted by followers w/ maxed out stats, a few bug fixes, and more!
These updates are coming to patrons first, then after the early access period, they’ll be released for others as well.
So, dive in & check it out. But remember...
Above all else, have fun!
Max (Novus Operandi)
***
New Feature: Natural Aging for Followers + Birthday Cake!
Your followers can now age naturally over time, and you can watch them change as they reach certain milestones in their maturity. Plus, there’s birthday cake!
Natural Aging. By default, your followers will now gradually age over time, and when they reach a new age, this event will be mentioned in the weekly report. (Note that followers will not age beyond 65, remaining vital for physical duties thanks to “Celestial safeguards” in place, i.e. the influence of nanite technology.)
Physical Changes. When followers reach certain milestones in their lives, physical changes can now be witnessed taking place. When young women reach fuller maturity (presently age 20), their breasts and buttocks may increase in size. As they get older still, those breasts may begin to sag a bit as time & gravity weigh on them (at age 30 & up). Occasionally, the appearance of minor wrinkles may be noticed as well (at ages 35 & up). Hair color can also begin to show signs of gray as women advance into even later years (presently age 55 & up).
Celebrate with Birthday Cake! Brief mentions will also appear in the weekly report describing how your followers observed their birthdays. If they have a moderate to high skill in Caretaking, they’ll celebrate by making themselves a special birthday treat (cookies, cake, or pie – of various types & flavor may occur), while if their skill in Caretaking is low, they’ll instead have Eva replicate the dessert. Additionally, if you’re involved in a committed relationship with them (as their boyfriend or husband), they’ll include you in the activities for their special day.
Gene Lab Option to Stop/Resume Aging: Natural aging is the new default. But you can also manually stop or resume this aging process for each individual follower. Look for this choice in the Gene Lab under the new Aging Process selector, which becomes available once a follower’s Devotion / Submission is high enough. (Note that even when aging is disabled, followers will still have & celebrate their birthdays. Their physical age & attributes will simply remain unchanged thanks to “your Celestial blessing,” i.e. the influence of nanite technology.)
New Recruitment Event: Liberate a Slave from the Offworld Colonies
A new recruitment opportunity is now available which takes place in the shady slave markets of the offworld colonies. Unlike the time-travel opportunities which have you rescuing women from their fated deaths in Earth’s history, this event takes place in modern times and gives you the chance to intervene when a woman is being sold as chattel to the highest bidder.
Rebellious or Submissive. Along with the usual variety of any new recruit, these women have a chance to start out as rebellious or submissive (based in part on random chance + their age & personality type). This will be mentioned during the event, and changes how they’re treated in the marketplace. The submissive are allowed to wear semi-modest garments, and may even be displayed without restraints, while the rebellious are stripped, firmly restrained, and publicly punished for the enjoyment of the crowd.
Buy Their Contract. Although Eva’s protocols forbid sending a direct assault on a civilian locale, you can still intervene. So long as you have sufficient silver, you can buy the woman’s contract outright and bring her back to the Citadel. But if you have no desire to do so, you can simply ignore their plight and choose not to interfere.
Then Set Them Free... or Don’t. Once you’ve decided to buy their contract, you have a further choice to make: How will you welcome them to their new life? You can choose to tell them they’re free now and invite them to join you willingly (fostering their devotion), or you can tell them that their life belongs to you now and impress upon them the might of your Celestial heritage instead (fostering their submission). (Slaves who are recruited but not set free during this dialogue will address the player as ‘Master’ afterward, and regular punishments for them can be initiated during the same event.)
New Brief Narrative Event: A Hug After a Hard Day
A new, brief narrative event has been added which only girlfriends and wives will present to the player. They come to you after they’ve had a very hard day, and ask to be held. You have the choice to Embrace Them (resulting in increased Love) or give them an excuse and Decline (resulting in decreased Love). This is a non-sexual scene of intimacy between the player and a romantic partner. Multiple elements of this scene are randomized to increase variety on repeated occurrences.
New Bonuses Granted by Followers with Max. Devotion, Submission, or Love
New bonuses that affect the settlement now appear in the weekly Boons Report, if followers locally assigned (e.g. not assigned to an outpost) have maximum Devotion, Submission, or Love. And the effects of those bonuses are multiplied by the number of followers who possess those maxed out stats.
Followers w/ Maximum Devotion now influence new followers to have starting bonuses to their Devotion & Health.
Followers w/ Maximum Submission now influence new followers to have starting bonuses to their Submission & Health.
Followers w/ Maximum Love now influence new followers to have a starting bonus to their Love for the player.
Misc. Updates
Previously, if a follower’s Devotion dropped too low as result of a Devotion injury, their Love stat would also be dropped by an equivalent injury amount. This logic has now been updated to better account for the importance of the new Submission stat. Now, drops to Love will occur if the stat being actively fostered by the player (e.g. Devotion or Submission) drops too low as result of an injury, and even then, the severity of the drop will be limited to a moderate amount.
Fixed bug in Coaching Menu that could prevent follower limitations from being displayed as available to coach if their primary stat being fostered is Submission (and their Devotion is very low).
Fixed bug in Combat/Persuasion events during which backup is being requested by a follower. On failure of said events, Submission drops were not being properly applied. Now they are.