OL2: Beta Build 1.4.24 🚵 (PC, Mac, Android)
Edit: There was an issue with build 1.4.23, so we've replaced the all links with a new 1.4.24 version!
It's beta day! Since the demo is getting an update later this month, we're releasing the beta extra early so you all can test the new content first. We now have the first full Moment of Step 2 playable. I'm really curious to see what people will think of it.
A note though, this Moment requires a ton of alterations. Because of that, and because it's coming out earlier in the month than usual, there's more stand-in BGs than betas tend to have. For example, Tamarack's kitchen is used as a placeholder for the MC's kitchen. It's not an error, we're just trying to get the story out sooner rather than later.
Disclaimer:
No Information in the beta can be shared publicly.
Screenshots can't be posted, videos can't be uploaded, even discussing what occurs in the events publicly is not allowed and will get your access to future builds revoked.
You can do all of those things within the private GB Patch Discord server or leave your feedback as a comment.
Download Links:
Android Download (If Google Drive doesn't work, use the Dropbox Mirror)
And since we've had some problems in the past with so many people downloading beta builds that they get locked out by Google Drive, I've uploaded mirror builds! If the first ones listed don't work, you can try these.
Android Download Mirror (Dropbox)
Or you can bypass the quota by logging in to a Google Drive account, then on the file's download page, click "Add shortcut to Drive" in the upper right corner. Save it to your Drive, then create a new folder, put it inside, and download the folder!
Save files from the prior beta should work in this beta!
New Content:
Step 2 Moment: Assistance Part 2
Added art that was missing in prior build
Fixes to typos/errors from the prior build
###################
Okay, this is very exciting. I'm not sure how people are gonna feel about Step 2's vibe. Hopefully, it's a good(?) time.
Comments (100)
The Lift! it was such a cool moment! Really well written and such a lovely depiction of finding connection through a shared passion! I cheer for more ballet stuff and more cello! The art angle really gives the characters depth. Though, of course, it depends on how you play! The mc I've played so far is really into ballet so makes a lot of connections to Qiu there, and also has a lot of fun there. It was a great moment. I really enjoyed it.
Last comment I'll write, a few people said Qiu tells them something along the lines of "I didn't want to stress you, I love you", but I can't get that line although I did what apparently was the way to do it, I don't know if that's exclusive to best friends (because the confession as romantic is kept for later) or if it has way more requirements I don't know of.
Here after fully playing the Assistance moment (careful of spoilers) and I loved it. I loved the interaction with Qiu, although I made my first comment before playing the moment, my opinion didn't really change. Qiu moment was really well made and I did freak out more than once seeing Baxter, even because while I did knew he was older, I didn't think the difference visually would be that much, even emotionally, there's clearly a big mental gap, but it was so wholesome at the end when Baxter himself was there for Qiu and us, I get it that right now he was in his "people pleasing" phase, but it kinda felt like he was being genuine/happy about this little catch up with Qiu and the MC, like old times. It was really nice/wholesome as a way to end the moment, even if Baxter is more of a people pleaser I do believe that in that moment he was a bit happy himself.
I definitely said this before, but the more angsty vibes of this game (and specifically step 2) makes this feel a bit more realistic and relatable, not to mention I love being dramatic in my works XD One thing I think is an improvement is definitely how more grounded OL2 feels compared to OL1 (I'm not saying it's bad, I love it and it's extremely wholesome) but the angsty moments there I felt like got handled a bit too fast and resolved really fast, this game taking it's focus and time on the angst of this step/game, I do actually hope that this angsty vibes carry over for at least step 3 even if just with the MC, I feel like it makes the happy moments better once you reach them, obviously I don't think the game should just be about a MC putting down the mood for everyone and always making everything dramatic or sad, I just mean that the angst is very much appreciated in my opinion, even if it's going to stop at Step 2, I love the build up from Step 1 to 2 about it.
Since you mention that you're not sure how people would feel about Step 2's vibe, personally I'm loving it. I can understand the urge to have everything be more cheerful, but teenagers especially can be a bit of a mess so I'm happy to let my Player Character (as well as the cast) behave in ways that aren't necessarily "optimal". I think as long as they all find their way to a better headspace eventually I'm pretty happy for that to be a bit of a journey, and just enjoy the growth it takes everybody to reach that point (I say this as somebody who has over time had my B&A character get into more and more arguments whenever given the option since I know I'll always be given the growth moment later) EDIT: Was also pretty happy to see Baxter again, even if I did keep getting forcefully reminded that this is pre-growth Baxter
if the mc doesn't immediately follow qiu outside, baxter's sprite doesn't show up and there's an 'image not found' at the bottom of the screen
Hi!! I've seen people stating that they've gotten Qiu to say that they love the MC, how? I tried not going to the park and replayed it from the start but not getting this? (slamming my face into a pillow from jealousy here 😭 ) However loving the angst and the music, chefs kiss
Really?! Now I'm envious too, that's so cute if it's true.
Not sure if this is the right place but in Step 2 when we are talking to Tamarack and the prompt is "You're really doing it? Thanks", if you go to the last slide for dialogue options it shows text message selections
I think this is an option for silent MCs, like writing a message in the dirt or with Qiu's notebook in step 1. It makes sense if an MC who doesn't speak but does write has a phone now they would text people even if they were with them.
My mc went to the park crying into their jacket saying she was worried something happened to them but after hearing some people get Qiu to say i love you i need to replay it:)
Hi! Idk if it's the right place for it but I wanted to ask if anyone else might have the same problem as me. So I'm replaying from step 1 and even tho I picked that I loved the rain, the game automatically assumes I hate it at later events. I always pick every option that I like being in the rain and that it doesn't bother me, but I'm still getting all the reactions for hating it. Maybe it's a bug or something went wrong for me, but i thought I'll mention it just in case. Anyway i love the game so much 🫶 i'm having lots of fun playing ❤️
the amount of tears i shed during this moment! it was so good oh my goddd!! my poor baby😭😭😭 this update just reminded me that one of the biggest highlights for me personally is the ost?? the way the music builds up and adds more instruments, ramping up the intensity during the emotional scenes... gives me goosebumps every time!! special shout out to "unease" in particular! (which i must say is my fav song in the ost<3)
I agree! the music is so evocative
"Then Qiu floundered forward. They cut through puddles that went up to their ankles and got into the road" We are missing a period at the end of this sentence. Haha. This is what happens when you write something so well that I have to keep replaying it and actually reading through it every time. This was a really great moment.
Thank you for the report!
Im Still so down bad for Baxter.. But its such a sweet moment letting Qiu know theres someone there for them.
Oh Baxter you beautiful bastard <3
I really liked this moment, especially how it played out with Qiu💕 I do feel like the ending may have been a little bit abrupt though I got such emotional whiplash! 😭 loved the ending though that was deffo a good surprise 😊
Thank you! But you accidentally misspelled Qiu. Can you make sure you write it with the i before the u?
I've noticed that suggestions for this moment weren't made available for the first and now second part to the moment. Are we allowed to do so for this thread, or do we have to go to Discord to do so?
I'm sorry, I just forgot to do it because the beta has come out at odd times under odd circumstances. I posted one for the Patreon now.
This moment was so angsty…but that was also the first time I saw Qiu say “I love you” to the MC! 😳 They are so adorable!!!! ❤️
How did you get that to happen? I am having a hard time finding that bit of dialogue 😭😭
That might have been one of my favorite moments thus far I LOVE IT
The way the suspense built up was so good. I kept having a FEELING throughout that whole thing that was screaming “Something isn’t right”
AAAAAA ANGST! I LOVE ANGST! >:D
Really amazed at how so much got told within a span of this moment and it was all paced well. Gradual tonal shift and escalated conflict and feeling the tension from every party mentioned even if they weren't directly there. Very good first moment! The only problem I personally ran into were laggy animations especially when the comic style dialogue boxes were used. The standard boxes were fine as far as I could tell.
Sorry it was lagging. You could try changing the renderer! Pressing Shift + G and change the renderer. Changing it to ANGLE renderer.
Even with the update, My android version is crashing at the bridge.
I'm sorry for that. Is it an error screen or does the game fully close out?
IM SO READY if you dont think i havent been biting my nails since the last drop because of that cliff hanger ending youre insane, SCREAMS
LMAO REAL
Do I need a previous version to play the android version or something? I don't know, it just won't open for me. Trying to download from Drive it just tells me "internal error" and trying to open the Dropbox version after it's downloaded doesn't work. It just... doesn't do anything. And I did uninstall a lot of previous games so I'd have plenty of space, so I know that's not the issue.
Do you have it where google is allowed to install unknown apps?
I see that love interests running away in a fit of angst to the worry of an entire neighborhood is an our life staple. First Cove, and now Qiu
Ugh I'm crying, Qiu's favorite color is silver, and my MC's last name is Silvers <3 I know it's unintentional but I love my babiesss <333
I'm a sucker for the angst, great beta 🫠 Any moment with Ren is a good one
I actually cried… It’s so heartbreaking (I feel so bad for them). You portrayed the emotions so brilliantly—I love this ending! Also, not sure why, but it’s been really laggy for me (?)
i agree!! the animation is a little laggy and reloading a scene gets very laggy as well. but that may js be an issue on my side🫠
I completely forgot step 2 takes place in 2014 until it mentioned Vine 🫢
Don’t remind me I already felt my age 😂😭
Man when y'all said the angst cranks up in step 2 y'all weren't playing around 😅 just this first moment was HEAVY, I can't imagine the others. I was getting stressed playing thru it 😭 I think y'all did a nice job touching upon some of the deeper rooted issues and the complexity of being a teenager and how different it can be for each person. As someone who works in mental health, I have a different perspective on some of things I personally noticed, so I found it cool I was able to connect to the story from that perspective
This moment capitalizes so well on the amazing dynamic music system!! Especially Qiu's portion. It's one of the best new OLNF features in my opinion.
also funnily enough like 2 hours before the beta dropped i was replaying baxter’s dlc and he was saying how he didn’t contribute anything to his old friends but like EXCUSE ME SIR!!! you can see that he’s really trying to be a good friend here when they’re not even friends anymore ☹️. i love him but it was funny to go from my OL1 mc who’s inlove with him to my OL2 mc who dislikes him LOL
this moment was so good🥹🥹 i am absolutely enamored with qiu and the incredible writing🥰💓
Alright I'm gonna say it here and now between the prologue and the first Step 2 moment this is already shaping up to be way more of an emotional rollercoaster (the good kind) than the first game, you better be careful, you've set some pretty high expectations with N&F after this slice of the demo
AHHH this moment was so good and so sad (i’m not complaining tho i love angsty scenes hehe.. <3 this is exactly why i’ve been so excited for step 2) but UGH i love qiu too much i want to keep them in my pocket and protect them forever 😞
Every time Tammy jumps out of the leaves in the prologue, the song starts playing and I just melt. Such a beautiful song, just like our enthusiastic forest girl.
So this fixes the bug where it errors out after playing with the props?
Yep!
this is a nice thing to wake up to, wait for me, me bbs ToT <3 *downloads immediately
OMG OMG OMG I love it so much didn’t see the end coming tbh but it’s the BEST :DD
had to subscribe to the patreon again for this ECJKW,KJLWskn m
so excited to play this later tonight ugh 🥹
I'm literally crying, I feel for Qiu so much. Step 2 is gonna kill me when it fully comes out!!!
everyone say thank you gb patch team... THANK YOU GB PATCH TEAM <3
oh i’m loving the vibe. it’s heartbreaking obv but i live for some angst
step two is already such an emotional rollercoaster and I'm all here for it
My heart.... This is such a sweet update, my heart is absolutely shattered for our poor kids. First of all Baxter is killing me in this, he was my absolute favorite in OL1 and now here he is being a sweetheart in his own way and trying to help the ways he can. I wish that him and Qiu continue to be friends, they're so good to each other even though we know what happens later thanks to OL1. Qiu is painfully relatable in this... Why do I feel like yall on the development team are gonna have me sobbing by the end of Step 2....
Not this being dropped the day my laptop dies 😭
I hope it can be fixed!
Gah, Step 2 breaking my heart already
There is an error if you try to stay with Baxter/talk to him inside the studio, once Qiu leaves. Baxter's image disappears and there is an error code at the bottom of the screen.
Yeah, it's a missing image
You'd think Baxter would become a taxi driver rather than a wedding planner OML
Yayy! Yippee!!
AAGHH YAYAY PLAYING IT RN
Ahhhh so exciting! Ill be downloading it tonight and starting fresh 🥰
Somehow, even after seeing the script for it, I forgot we nearly got ran over 😭
I thought I was hallucinating at first T-T Thank you <3
The morale I need for the last two hours of my shift. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Theres an error message in the assistance event and the game doesn't let us reply to qiu 💔
If helpful.``` I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred. While running game code: File "game/01_CDDs/01_choice_CDS.rpy", line 202, in execute_custom_menu File "game/Step 2/assistance/assistance1.rpy", line 1492, in TypeError: 'bool' object is not callable -- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------ Full traceback: File "Step 2/assistance/assistance1.rpyc", line 1537, in script call File "Step 2/assistance/assistance1.rpyc", line 1475, in script File "renpy/ast.py", line 1987, in execute File "renpy/ast.py", line 1966, in call File "renpy/statements.py", line 374, in call File "game/01_CDDs/01_choice_CDS.rpy", line 202, in execute_custom_menu File "renpy/python.py", line 1218, in py_eval File "renpy/python.py", line 1211, in py_eval_bytecode File "game/Step 2/assistance/assistance1.rpy", line 1492, in TypeError: 'bool' object is not callable ```
Genuinely screamed when I saw the notification for this
YES YES YES YES
eeeeek i’m super excited
oh my god??? This is literally amazing?????? we've been fed!
EARLY DEMO!? WHAAAATT!
OMG this legit has made my rainy day to a sunny day, Thank you GB patch and to all the team 🤗🫂
This is exactly what I needed this evening <3
EARLY BETA WOOOO
YASSSS
Early?!? YAAAY!
Stoping everything I am doing and playing now
SO HYPPPEEDDDD YESSSSSSSSS
This made my day!!! Thank you!!!
the way i ran to my laptop AHH THANK YOU
This just made my day!!!!!
✨️✨️✨️
YEIIIIU
just made my night
the way i snatched my laptop..
NEW BETA YAYAYAYA🗣🗣
OMG YIPPEE
OMG YAYYYY. i was left in such suspense with October’s beta because the drama was JUST getting good before it ended 😩
OMG YES ITS HERE
can’t wait
WAIT WHATTTTT
Yay!!! I love you guys! I’m on my way home now! 😆