Episode 5 Balance Patch Live

The first of what will probably be a series of balance patches to Episode 5 has just gone live!

Here's the TL;DR of it, though I'm sure I'm missing some items:

1. Supercop Franklin has once again been nerfed. Suspicion points for being weird around him (are now capped at a lower maximum than previously, and if the mine collapse is the only "major event" keyed to police suspicion in this episode, it will no longer put the player on his radar.

2. If Oscar

   still has the library and is not fleeing town, the panic section following the Estate now signposts that visiting the library does not move the story forward by marking it with (explore).

3. Added confirmation screens to

   farms keyed options to signal that they will progress the episode.

4. We've expanded the

   final scene with Sybil by adding several additional explore options, including the ability to mention Miles to both Sybil and Kaneeka.

5. We've given

   Julius an optional, early introduction to the story if you visit Avery during Episode 2.

6. Expanded Avery's Episode 3 hangout

   to allow for more opportunities to ask about their friendship with Julius.

7. We've added an extra set of explore options

   to the farms basement before the timer starts to better orient players with that section of the episode, especially for players who have avoided Avery and the Tremaine/Calloway subplot in earlier chapters.

8. We've added a subtle overlay effect to indicate when the player is

   under the compulsion of a stone carving.

9. Added a timer that forces the player to

   take at least two explore options after the countdown starts in the basement before selecting a concluding action to the scene.

Thank you so much for playing! ^^ Tony and Abby