Ahoy! Welcome to December's roundup.

Progress is moving slowly but surely! I'm really happy with the state of the current build. It is shaping up to be the largest update in the history of the game with an entire new world to explore. It has been a long time since the last update. I really wanted to hit quarterly updates and it hasn't panned out for this one, but I can assure you it is the largest update I have ever put out. The next full H scene drawn by checks will feature Alexander, the Art Merchant, who will double as the curator of the new Scene gallery in the game. Yay!

For those that have played the first part of Heavy Hearts many times, there will be a full recap of the events leading up to the 2nd continent, allowing you to skip everything and get to the new content. The save compatibility issues is persistent, and there is not something I can simply do to eliminate it. For now, I will continue releasing player friendly ways to keep you up to date on the latest progress.

Since it has been a long time since the last update, I am publishing the current Changelog. I will be repeating this again on release along with all the other things that add. Here is what has changed since 0.5.6....

Heads up: 0.6.0 will not be out before Christmas. I aim to have it out shortly into the new year, however.

0.6.0

MAJOR UPDATES

-- Worldmap 2 is now explorable with 3 zones: The main Elven City of Las Luminea Celestian, the Haunted Cemetary of Ebonveil Sanctum, and the Beach called Starfall Shore. The quest guide will get you through the first available main arc.
-- Introducing Alexander, the Art Merchant, and his full fledged H scene for completing his quest.
-- Rural Merchant Kyr now has a pixelated lewd scene if you choose the right dialogue option
-- You can now start Heavy Hearts at the end of Part I and the beginning of Part II, with a full recap of events prior to the game start.
-- Crewmate affinity levels are now implemented. You can now do things to enable new conversations with your team while aboard the airship. FOR THIS UPDATE, CREW LEVEL IS CAPPED AT LV1, so you will be able to see Crew Lv1 animations for all characters. While on the airship, each character will have 1 animation of them in the shower.
-- Heart of Stone for Vivi found on Starfall Shore. Heart of Stone conversations will be used to advance Character Affinity, but as of right now they don't do that since there is only 1 crewmate level.
-- Added surfing Minigame to Starfall Shore.
-- Divided game into 4 parts, each with chapter titles.
-- Level 8 & 9 Mission complete animation as been added.

MINOR UPDATES

-- Dog is now available in all fights after Colonia.
-- Significantly reduced game weight by removing old code and unnecessary effects.
-- Fixed Gossamer Luna Achievements
-- "Friendly" Glithe image updated
-- Huge performance increase that should affect potato PC's. Previously, Luccia's combat sprite contained all of the Orc version of her sprite, even when she was not fighting in orc mode. The assets have been separated now, so the combat sprites are now 50% lighter.
-- Fixed some issues with cave tiles
-- Modified the defunct robot in the cave
-- Modified the logic for the books in the cave
-- Modified the bullet logic for all enemies. Fixed bad bullet behavior 
-- Fixed a problem where Orcosaurus's HP bar looked bad.
-- Fixed a walking Orc in L5 that would walk through walls.
-- Changed Enemy Projectiles significantly. Should be much easier to see and parry now.
-- Modified Arcane Golem Lorestone Logic
-- All effects are now rendered pixel perfect, in an effort to reduce Mixels.
-- Changed the scroll near the Arcane Golem Lorestone to give players a better hint on how to beat it.
-- "Glithe Form" is now available is all non-scripted boss fights after you obtain the ability in Colonia. You can now go back to older fights and use it against boss-type enemies only. Requires 4 Orbs, Rapidly drains your poise, and must be fighting an enemy designated "Boss". If the boss is still alive when your energy depletes, you will be heavily staggered. 
-- Dev message added for unfinished area in the sewer
-- Fixed a bug that made busts display after skipping a scene.
-- Fixed bug that shown Priscilla in the conversation after the Orc Town even if you did not save her.
-- Removed dev note after fighting Orcosaurus
-- Fixed an issue where entering the cave a 2nd time still brings up the dialogue and the fight.
-- Added the ability to exit the cave area from outside the cave.
-- Fixed but where Scab yells "AGHH MY TOE" twice during Orcosaurus fight.
-- Added new character, R-69-Y to the Airship, who will provide mission data if you get lost.
-- Dog now has a heavy attack. He will use it when Luccia uses hers.
-- Fixed some minor bugs in Colonia (afterwards) and gave the NPC's dialogue.
-- Losing to Orcosaurus now brings you back to the field, instead of the game over screen.
-- Fixed some missing or broken quest guides in the Journal menu during exploration.
-- Modified Gobnid difficulty