[Update V1.1] Localisation and QoL

I appreciate every single one of you — including those of you who left negative reviews or refund notes, your feedback has helped me better fine-tune the game and provide a better experience for remaining players — and hope this first update addresses a few concerns!

So what can you expect from version 1.1 of OurLife?

Global localisation

This was one of the most widely requested features and (with a lot of tinkering and trial and error) I am happy to announce that beta global localisation is one of the defining features of this update.

Providing beta access to ~20 languages in settings, players will be able to experiment with localised gameplay. This, however, is subject to improvement as I plan to eventually open up translations to the community so players like yourselves can make culturally relevant changes and fixes.

Because this is early-stage localisation, it does mean a few words might be missed by the translator here and there and that some translations may be incorrect. Because the game also uses dynamic values and pieces strings together to create a final output, some sentence structure may also not localise as intended.

Please be patient with me on this as I trust, together, we’ll be able to improve its quality as the game evolves. Despite how often machine learning translation is used for game translations, it isn’t always reliable (nor is it cheap lol), so I really do apologise for any delays in addressing this.

UI, UX and viewport fixes

Despite the rigorous testing conducted during both alpha and beta versions of the game, it appears A LOT of newer players were having issues with how the game was rendering, and, as such, I’ve introduced some key fixes.

These include improved viewport scaling, text and character anti-aliasing fixes, and a few more fonts players can use to customise their experience. I have also improved how UI scaling reacts to different screen sizes, as well as fine-tuned how full-screen settings work.

Optimised loading speeds

I’m so sorry for releasing the game with such a resource-intensive font, this has obviously now been corrected. The font I had initially selected — NotoMoji Colourful — was 28mb large and had a very large first content paint.

While players could have immediately circumvented this by using the other available options like emojis OR the NotoMoji BW (Plain) alternative, I have completely replaced this font as it’s really inefficient long-term.

Colourful mode now uses the open-source and hand-drawn OpenMoji font created by some incredible souls. If you’d like to support them and show them some love, please do! (OpenMoji graphics are licensed under the Creative Commons Share Alike License 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0))

Lifetime Collectibles | Steam Achievements

Separate to the bug fixes and the localisation, whilst I was marketing the game, I was also working on designing and implementing in-game Lifetime Collectibles that could tie into Steam Achievements.

That’s when I came up with the idea of in-game trading cards that can be purchased using a brand new currency known as LP (Life Points), earned exclusively by completing ribbon-rich lives. With life points, players will be able to “purchase” Lifetime Collectible packs and unlock a range of satirical, parody-based OurLife trading cards to complete sets.

Each set you complete will correspond to a different Steam Achievement, and any duplicate cards can be converted into LP at a higher exchange rate to allow you to draw more. The game now has up to x6 achievements you can unlock, and, therefore, x6 trading card sets (29 cards total) ready to be collected.

Bug fixes and QoL improvements

Below is a list of all of the other smaller-scale changes made to gameplay, including any bug and quality of life fixes.

• Fixed a bug where the Campaign tab would infinitely loop your current office level. US Senators (and equivalent levels) can now correctly see and run for the President/Head of State option.

• All 7 cancer types in the game have been changed to provide more realistic base and stage-by-stage cure chances when seeking specialist treatment.

• Added a universal "Stop Therapy" button to the lifestyle panel.

• Citizens in countries with universal healthcare will no longer be charged the annual therapy fee.

• Children can no longer go to bars with their friends and the "hit the bar" activity now requires a minimum age of 18.

• When playing as a Head of State or under a regency, emergency response, asset protection, and medical outreach costs are now deducted directly from the Nation's Treasury instead of your personal bank account.

• Old Money, Old Money Heir, and New Money are now all selectable traits during character creation.

• Old Money and Old Money Heir now properly conflict with the new New Money trait.

• Fixed a bug where playing with your pet accidentally filled their hunger bar.

• Fixed the pet stat bars so the "Fed" bar actually stays high when your pet is full, rather than showing full when they are starving.

• Fixed the bulk "Feed" action, which was accidentally making pets more hungry.

• Fixed an unintended disparity where married/engaged couples had a 0% passive annual conception rate while affairs generated multiple attempts.

• Long-term committed partners now have a stable 55% passive annual chance.

• Fixed a bug where choice outcomes would print the literal raw code string instead of the relevant value.

• Sibling availability flags now accurately update based on living relatives.

• Fixed a glitch where dead kidnapping victims were re-added as live enemies and continued to trigger escape events from beyond the grave.

Again, all I can say is the hugest thank you to each and every single one of you who has engaged with the game in any way shape or form. It means a lot and I really do hope these fixes will improve your gameplay experience.

What is there to look forward to?

I’ve read a lot of the reviews and refund request notes, and I hear the feedback loud and clear. My aim is to, of course, deepen the gameplay with every update and — for those of you who have requested it — start moving away from the passive storytelling voice.

I had initially attempted to keep events quite passive and generic so as to not tell your characters’ stories for you. But I realise that, sometimes, too much passive autonomy can be boring and games like this should lean more into the specificity (and absurdity) of events instead of shying away from them.

Should you have any outstanding problems I haven’t addressed, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email or by sharing your suggestions and thoughts in our community sub!

Warm regards,

WaveyGaming Productions