Good morning! Surprise release?!
Download the update here (PC/Mac only for now)

Love by the Water's comprehensive UI update is now available for ALL Patreon/SubscribeStar tiers! This is NOT a content update, but it is an enormous update all the same with a completely overhauled UI and over 800+ renders/30+ animations worth of updated lewd scenes from the first two chapters. It's worth a download, I swear!

This isn't a normal update, of course, so I won't be staggering the release, but I do need as many people to play it as possible before we go ahead and make it public. While this update does not feature any "new" content, it's still a major update that has fundamentally altered the way the game plays. The changelog is pretty massive, and I'm definitely worried about all of the bugs y'all are bound to find, so I want to make sure we have time to iron them all out.

For more detailed information on the reasoning behind a lot of the changes made here and the purpose of this update, make sure to read the last two dev logs, which you can find HERE and HERE.

v0.6.5 Changelog:

Completely overhauled UI/UX:

Every single menu, button, and setting in the game has been completely redesigned. The main menu has been redesigned with 40+ brand new dedicated character sprites, a changelog banner, updated menu buttons, new icons, new music, and even a hidden pickle. The settings page includes dozens of new quality-of-life settings including multiple customizable quick menus, a brand new custom cursor and CTC icon, increased dialogue/dialogue box customization, and more. The save and load pages have been condensed into a single, dedicated page. The about, history, and quit pages have also been overhauled.

Brand new photo gallery and scene replay pages, overhauled character biographies:

There's a brand new photo gallery launching with 175+ unlockable photos pulled from Patreon and a new scene replay gallery hosting all 30+ unlockable scenes (scene replay is no longer stuck on character pages). Both pages let you sort by character and view hints on how to unlock every picture/scene. There is also an optional cheat in the settings to help make hidden photo discovery even easier. You can also use a Patreon/SubStar exclusive password to unlock everything in the game, but this will be saved for public release (if you want the password now, you can DM me with proof that you're bug-hunting or answer a riddle in exchange for it hehe). Character biographies have also received a major visual overhaul, and you can also find a character's replayable scenes on these pages. All of these pages are accessible from anywhere in the game (making it easier to check what Abby's favorite movie is during the game!).

Seamless save rebuilder:

Turning on the save rebuilder in the settings allows players to quickly and easily jump to any chapter in the game OR rebuild their exact save from scratch by answering a series of questions. You can also jump directly to any scene with a major choice. This should help with photo hunting, as well as make up for the unfortunate reality of this update breaking everyone's saves.

Dozens of quality-of-life changes:

Alongside the brand new quick menus, render hint systems, and fuller dialogue settings, you can also change the name of your player character at any point during the game. You're able to flip what side of the screen choice buttons and the drawer quick menu appear on (helpful for those playing with one hand!). When using the new drawer quick menu, you can not only change its size/opacity but also hide it entirely until it's hovered/clicked. Character names now also appear color-coded in dialogue (most of them at least... ahhh!!), but this, and lot of other things, can be toggled off entirely.

Re-rendered lewd scenes:

This update also comes with 800+ renders and 30+ animations worth of updated lewd scenes from the first two chapters of the game. Updated scenes include: Sasha's shower and clothing haul (Chapter 1), Behr/Cass library test (Chapter 2), Mallory's cosplay show and solo h-scene (Chapter 2), Sasha x Wake bedroom scene (Chapter 2), among other minor render updates here and there. Examples below:

Updated code base:

The biggest purpose of this update was the opportunity for me to fix many coding errors I made as an amateur game developer. I've now been able to fix many pathing issues, organize my scripts, and just generally ensure this game will be easier to develop and code for going forward.

v0.6.5 TL;DR changelog:

• New everything

• 800+ updated renders

• 30+ updated animations

• Sexily broken saves

PC/Mac only for now. I want to make sure the game is running perfectly for everyone before I ask Estrada to make the Android port.

Thanks for reading! We'll talk more about Chapter 7 and other BTS changes (the Itch and Discord are also receiving overhauls) in a separate dev log. In the meantime, please give the new update a try and let us know your thoughts! We're really counting on you guys to help us iron out any and all bugs! Thank you so much, as always, for the support :)