DD# 279 History Is Written by Those Who Stand in the End

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another developer's diary.

As you may have noticed, the diary is a bit delayed. That is because I was trying to put as much content as possible into the game before my special operation moved on to the next stage, as previously announced. After today's update, the game's daily update will pause until this grand operation outside mainland China is completed. Success or not, throughout NEOLITHIA's history, we have together witnessed many seemingly impossible achievements. Now, it's time for another bold move in our endless evolution. Just like any investment, such an operation may fail. But even a failure can still provide feedback to our system for improvement. Before the end, all failure is just psychological. In the end, NEOLITHIA always wins!

First, let me tell you something funny. In last week's developer's diary, I mentioned some "Pro-Ukraine" elements who blindly hate all Russians, and I do not like those people, even though Grok calls me one of the most "Pro-Ukraine" game developers myself. This week, a Danish HOI4 streamer got banned on Twitch for such hateful speech. Maybe, just like many previous developers' diaries, it's another quick prophecy fulfilled. Cheers!

Alright, let's move on to the actual game content of this week. 1, Siberia Front The development continues to expand the world and the story. The leader of Березина is finally here. (Well, at least his art assets are here.)

He is a cold, calculating villain from the view of his enemies. But just like many other villains in this game. I intentionally make them look very cool, with deep character, rather than cartoonish villains. After all, we can all be villains in other people's stories. For millions of years, since the collapse of the Tower of Babel, humanity has been speaking different languages and holding different ideas, often coming into conflict. Everyone believes what they do is right. Such is the beauty of free will. Human history is a history of conflict, struggle, and war. Just like in this war, people simply cannot understand each other. The Russians think they are right. The Ukrainians also believe they are right. And both sides have many supporters that the other side does not want to admit. How will history be written? The winner may have the prevailing narrative for a while. But how about many centuries later? Maybe we will never know the answer. Even Spanish inquisitors cannot expect the concept of "White Guilt."

This is Russian Combat Sambo. I may still not be a good animator among my other game development skills. But I play Sergei Dragunov in Tekken enough to mimic some moves.

The appearance of Березина also becomes much earlier in the story.

The first time you get into Siberia, they will try to tell you to leave.

Meanwhile, just as previously foreshadowed, the Phoenix Legion is here, and they are on the Russian side of this war.

You can find their soldiers in a certain basement of a church-turned-mobilization-center. But why? The entire basement is now accessible, with many new areas you can explore. On the top left, you can find a room that flies the Phoenician Flag. You can find a contract on a computer. (What happened in 2023? Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is my fucking ammunition!!! ) Previously, you may have enjoyed their services yourselves. Now, for the first time, they are hired by another party, appearing as enemies you need to overcome. They can join any other enemies to fight on their side to achieve their goals. After all, they are not loyal to any other factions. They are here only for money and the war itself. They are also instructed to commit suicide rather than being taken as prisoners. They are a supernatural faction. They know full well what kind of worse-than-death fate may happen to them if they are taken alive by some unspeakable horror or evil cults. Well, this game allows you to do many similar things to various human enemies. So, you get the idea. You can't brainwash them, enslave them, or take their souls, at least, for now.

But, if you are familiar with the game's lore, you may have noticed their involvement in helping Russia is technically illegal. Hmm...I wonder where I put that legal document? Alright, it's now the second part of this week's major content update.

2, The Council of Ten! Yes, such ancient law exists. But it's in Venice. So, we are heading there. Have you wondered why all those different secret organizations have not blown each other into oblivion and taken humanity with them yet? Well, it almost happened many times, especially during the Crusade era and in prehistoric myth ages. But eventually, they agree that mutual destruction is not what they want. Nobody will be left to write any human history if that happens. So... The 1310 coup is simply a cover-up for something far darker, and the ten on the surface are merely puppets of the 10 who are really in power. So, it's just like a shadow UN behind the veil, right? Right... Yes, the council appears much weaker than in its SAPC++ era. This was entirely unthinkable before. But, hey, they were once so badass before. You can find the legal ground for why the Phoenix is technically illegal. Maybe you can even play some political games against them later. Fun fact: There are so many Treaties of Vienna in history. This one was from 1606. Not the one the public knows about. But it is actually the reason why the Habsburgs and Ottomans signed a peace deal and didn't summon something supernatural to wipe out all of Eastern Europe that year. The Council also has its flag. Strangely, the Council of Ten only has 5 figures on its flag. A Grand Masquerade is just about to begin!

Oh, one more thing

I found some random German trash-talk about my game. So, it's only fair for me to add more content that they don't like.

After all, a wiser German once said

"Game content lends dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl." Have fun!

Alright, that's for this week. Back to my special operation. See you on the other side.

The full update log of this week

20260516 English ##########Content############### [Egypt] Dr. Kyofu’s random species study may now also randomly require penguins. [The Church on the Hill] The map of the more dangerous side of the basement hath been expanded, and a secret room hath been added. [The Church on the Hill] More Russian flags have been placed within the basement. ##########System################ [Enemy Troop] The entire EnemyTroopSharedCodeManager module hath been reforged and refactored.

A new feature is given

common addition enemies that can join any other enemy groups. (Yea, it concerneth the Phoenicians.)

Total sections of code changed

105 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【埃及】恐怖博士的随机物种研究现在可能包含企鹅。 【山丘上的教堂】扩展地下室相对危险区域的地图。加入了一个秘密房间。 【山丘上的教堂】地下室加入了更多俄罗斯国旗。 ##########System################ 【敌人队伍】重构了整个EnemyTroopSharedCodeManager模块的代码。新功能：通用的可以加入任何敌人队伍的敌人。（对，是凤凰军团。）全部的代码修改区块数量：105

20260517 English ##########Content############### [Character Customization] A new playable male character appearance is given: Alexei Rubikov [Character Customization] A new playable male character appearance is given: Phoenician Soldier [Localization] The names of all current members of Березина have been added, that the translation may be locked and made steadfast. 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【角色自定义】新可用男性角色外观：阿例克谢·卢比科夫 【角色自定义】新可用男性角色外观：凤凰军团士兵 【本地化】加入了所有当前Березина成员的名字来标准化翻译。

20260518 English ##########Content############### [Enemy] Certain enemies can now choose to explode and slay themselves before they are knocked out in battle. (In this dark world of unspeakable horror, there are fates far worse than death. And sometimes ye yourselves are the monsters they fear. If they succeed, thou canst not revive them, harvest their souls, nor enslave them.) [Steam] The game’s tags upon Steam have been updated according to the newest changes. [The Church on the Hill] The basement hath been further expanded. [The Church on the Hill] A new Sub-Area hath been added in the basement: Left Corridor. [The Church on the Hill] The Left Corridor is now open and accessible. [Enemy] A new Enemy is given: Phoenician Mercenary (A basic form for this day; more of their features shall be added on the morrow.) [Enemy] Hostile Phoenician Mercenaries shall now join any who are already attacking thee. (They are the ultimate opportunists. Yet others shall not join them in assailing thee.) [The Church on the Hill] Russian War Bears and Phoenician Mercenaries now spawn in the Left Corridor. ##########System################ [Battle] A utility function hath been added to force the graphics to refresh for a few frames during battle, without affecting the flow of combat. [Map] A new function hath been added that can find all accessible endpoints from a starting point, yet only within a given array. 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【敌人】部分敌人现在会在战斗中失去意识前引爆爆炸物自尽。（在这个黑暗的充满不可名状的恐怖的神秘世界上，有任何比死亡更悲惨的命运。而有时，你们就是他们所畏惧的怪物。如果他们成功的话。你无法复活他们/收割他们的灵魂/奴役他们。） 【Steam】 根据Steam的最新Tag更新更新了游戏的Tag。 【山丘上的教堂】继续扩展了地下室。 【山丘上的教堂】地下室新子区域：左侧走廊 【山丘上的教堂】左侧走廊区域现在可以进入。 【敌人】新敌人：凤凰军团佣兵 （目前仅一个基础版本。更多他们的特性会明天加入。） 【敌人】敌对的凤凰军团佣兵会加入一切正在攻击你的人。（他们是终极的机会主义者。但是，其它人不会加入他们来攻击你。） 【山丘上的教堂】地下室左侧走廊区域现在有俄罗斯战熊和凤凰军团雇佣兵。 ##########System################ 【战斗】加入了一个工具函数用于让战斗画面刷新一定的帧数而不影响逻辑部分。 【地图】加入了一个新的函数可以获得从地图上一个点可以抵达的任何地点。但是，仅限于一个给定的区域内。

20260519 English ##########Content############### [Furniture] A new Flag hath been revealed: AfD Flag (For lo, a certain German leftist crieth out that the game containeth “too much propaganda.” Therefore have I added yet more.) [Shopping] All common flag vendors do now sell the AfD Flag. [Shopping] Bob’s Grocery in the current timeline now selleth the AfD Flag. (It existeth not in the Cold War timeline.) [Prologue] The alternative art style tutorial hath been disabled, for Steam hath secretly removed certain old developer’s diaries, and this feature was thereby affected. [Distress Signal] Березина now appeareth much earlier in the tale. The first time thou enterest Siberia, after the bear commandeth thee to follow him, one of them shall appear near thee and endeavor to persuade thee to return home. [Loot] The item loot table for Phoenician Mercenaries hath been added. (They have a chance to drop M4A1.) [Enemy] A tactical AI hath been added for Phoenician Mercenaries. They now know how to use flashbangs. [The Church on the Hill] A new Terminal hath been placed in the top-left room of the basement. [The Church on the Hill] There are always at least three Phoenician Mercenaries in the top-left room of the basement. 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【家具】新旗帜：德国AfD旗帜 （有德国白左抱怨这个游戏【有太多的政治内容】所以呢，我当然应该专门给它们加入更多这类内容。） 【购物】常见的随机旗帜商人现在会贩卖德国AfD旗帜 【购物】鲍勃的杂货店在当前时间线上会贩卖德国AfD旗帜。（这不存在于冷战时间线上。） 【序章】封印了关于改变美术风格的游戏教程。因为Steam暗中删除了一些旧的游戏日志。导致了这个功能受到了影响。 【求救信号】Березина现在在剧情更早的阶段出现。当你首次进入西伯利亚，某只熊让你跟着他之后。他们的一名成员会出现在你附近试图说服你让你回去。 【掉落物】为凤凰军团雇佣兵加入了物品掉落列表。（他们有概率掉落M4A1） 【敌人】为凤凰军团雇佣兵加入了战术AI。他们现在知道了怎么使用闪光弹。 【山丘上的教堂】地下室左上角房间加入一台新的终端。 【山丘上的教堂】地下室左上角房间总有至少3个凤凰军团雇佣兵。

20260520 English ##########Content############### [Tileset] A new Tileset hath been revealed: The Sunken Library [Map] A new Map is given: The Sunken Library (Yea! That place from a certain SAPC++ DLC hath returned, and it is improved! It remaineth still in a very early stage of construction. The porting and some modifications have but now been completed.) [Music] New Music hath been added: The Sunken Library (For it is verily the background music of The Sunken Library) [Boombox] Thou canst now hearken unto The Sunken Library within thy Boombox. [Global Map] The height of the location description window now changeth dynamically to match the length of the description text. [Global Map] A new location hath been added: Venice (The Sunken Library is counted as its sub-location.) ##########System################ [Global Map] Some old code hath been cleansed and removed. 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【图块】新图块：沉沦的图书馆 【地图】新地图：沉沦的图书馆（对！那个SAPC++的某个DLC的地点回归了，并且还进化了！仍然再早期开发阶段。只是完成了移植和一些修改。） 【音乐】新音乐：沉沦的图书馆 （显然，这是沉沦的图书馆的背景音乐。） 【音乐播放器】你现在可以在音乐播放器中听【沉沦的图书馆】 【全球地图】地点介绍窗口的高度现在根据描述文字动态变化。 【全球地图】加入了新地点：威尼斯 （沉沦的图书馆是其子地点。） ##########System################ 【全球地图】清理了一些旧的代码。

20260521 English ##########Content############### [Tileset] The passable table of The Sunken Library hath been optimised and made sure. [The Sunken Library] Two NPCs have been added, bearing dialogs that speak unto thee of the current state of the Council of Venice. [Document] A new Document hath been revealed: < > [The Sunken Library] All four terminals in the public area may now be used. Each of them containeth two documents: < > and < >. [The Sunken Library] Reading < > in this place also unlocketh the Faith Tenet “The Grand Masquerade”. [The Sunken Library] The GPA exchange App hath been installed upon those terminals. (For verily, GPA is also a member of the Council.) [The Sunken Library] The name of the Council of Venice hath been changed to the Council of Ten, that it may better accord with the lore of the game and mingle more with the history of the world. (In SAPC++, they were called only the Council, and thus no conflict ariseth.) [Furniture] A new Furniture hath been revealed: Council of Ten Flag [GPA] Thou mayest now use GPA coins to purchase a Council of Ten Flag. [Wiki] The GPA page hath been updated. [The Sunken Library] The Flag of the Council of Ten may now be seen in this place. ##########Debug################ [GPA] An issue hath been fixed: When exchanging GPA coins for furniture, the name of the furniture shall now display rightly upon the popup window. 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【图块】优化了沉沦的图书馆的通行表。 【沉沦的图书馆】加入了两个有对话的NPC可以提供给你关于当前威尼斯议会状态的信息。 【文档】新文档：《维也纳条约》 【沉沦的图书馆】公众区域的四台电脑现在均可使用。均包含了文档《维也纳条约》和《帷幕的历史》 【沉沦的图书馆】在这里阅读《帷幕的历史》同样会解锁【假面舞会】信条。 【沉沦的图书馆】在这四台电脑上加入了GPA兑换APP。（技术上来说，GPA也是议会成员。） 【沉沦的图书馆】将威尼斯议会改名为了十人议会，更加符合游戏中的其它故事，同时也能更好地融合一些常态世界的历史。(在SAPC++时代，他们只是被称为议会，所以没有游戏历史冲突。) 【家具】 新家具：十人议会旗帜 【GPA】你现在可以用GPA金币兑换十人议会旗帜 【维基】更新了GPA页面。 【沉沦的图书馆】十人议会旗帜现在出现在这里。 ##########Debug################ 【GPA】修复了当你用GPA金币兑换家具时，有时家具名称会显示错误的BUG。

20260522 English ##########Content############### [Document] A new Document hath been revealed: < > (For it explaineth why the Phoenix Legion hath come to stand upon the Russian side in this war.) [The Church on the Hill] Upon the terminal in the top-left room of the basement, thou mayest find the document < >. [Asset] Art assets for two ATM machines have been added. [The Sunken Library] Certain ATMs have been placed solely for the exchange of GPA coins. Normal terminals no longer possess the GPA exchange function. [The Church on the Hill] The warehouse area in the basement is now accessible. [The Church on the Hill] Thou canst now loot a Phoenix Legion Flag in the top-left room. 简体中文 ##########Content############### 【文档】新文档：《凤凰军团 – 合同简报》（基本上，你能发现为什么凤凰军团在这里，并且在这场战争中在俄罗斯一方。） 【山丘上的教堂】地下室左上角的电脑上，你可以找到《凤凰军团 – 合同简报》 【美术资源】加入了两种ATM机的美术资源。 【沉沦的图书馆】加入了一排专门用于GPA兑换的ATM机。普通的电脑不再有GPA兑换功能。 【山丘上的教堂】地下室的仓库区域现在可以进入。 【山丘上的教堂】你现在可以在左上角的房间里搜刮到一面凤凰军团旗帜。