Headliner: NoviNews news & patch notes

We're excited to have Headliner: NoviNews participate during the BAE event this year! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33367165/caa1f7fc78a992a89a1e72265022a1d7e20e1c85.png

What is BAE?

A celebration of adventure games in all shapes and sizes!

When?

January 20-24, 2022 The Developer Livestream will take place on Saturday, January 22 at 4pm PST

Where?

Right here on this Steam Page :)

Hello Headliners, We noticed an interesting trend in some recent reviews, specifically referring to the game's commentary on COVID, or imply it was man-made, or how certain president used it as political tool... So I just wanted to clarify: this game came out in 2018. COVID wasn't even a rumor back then. Frankly, I'm not sure if I should feel flattered or distraught so much of the game came true and people are noticing parallels. Honestly, it's been a really, REALLY weird two years watching so many of my hyperbolic, unrealistic scenarios slowly grow more timid compared to reality. But here we are. (And as for the game promoting any specific theories - it's always up to you to pick if you publish a story or not. It's always up to YOU to decide if a theory has merit or not.) Regardless, thank you all for playing! And however you feel about the game after playing, I hope it at least made you reflect about the various topics presented. Cheers, Jakub Creative Director Unbound Creations

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33367165/152cd2ac767e85723539f815341c39344b6901ef.jpg We partnered with four other games to bring you the Bundle of Consequences! Save 20% if you complete the set. (And for the time being, H:NN is an extra 15% off on top of that) Death & Taxes In this 2D, short narrative-based game, you assume the role of the Grim Reaper... on an office job. Your job is to decide which people are going to live or die. The consequences of your choices are yours to bear, while the mystery of your incarnation awaits revelation! Do Not Feed the Monkeys A digital voyeur simulator where you watch strangers through surveillance cameras. Invade their privacy and witness their most intimate moments, but don’t interact with the subjects – anything could happen if you dare feed the monkeys! Headliner: NoviNews Award-winning adventure where you control the news and its impact on society, your friends and career. Different choices lead to unique combinations of endings. Share your story with the community, and see what the players before you did. Not Tonight Person of European Heritage #112: Welcome to Relocation Block B, your new home. Your designated role is 'Bouncer'. Work hard, stay out of trouble, and we might let you stay in the UK. Papers Please Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled. For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint. An apartment will be provided for you and your family in East Grestin. Expect a Class-8 dwelling. The bundle is available until January 1st,!

Click Here to Get the Bundle!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33367165/8f3122ac84662d472c68c3da1a4aa215a671e4fc.jpg

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who has supported us for the past year :) It's been a long journey but we finally feel comfortable enough to invest in new languages and grow our audience. We already started on the new languages and will be sharing more details in January

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33367165/fab06a9267f1649528b1abe501895b5e2770f065.jpg Many of our fans were asking for it, and it's finally here! The Official Soundtrack features 37 moody and atmospheric tracks. And, best of all, we're donating the proceeds to the Washington Epilepsy Foundation, as per request of the composer who is struggling with the illness. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33367165/02c3b9489c806b512264ba7a27dba1f8c45fca84.png Check it out Here! On top of that, we also updated the game with a TON of new tweaks, typos, and minor improvements :) Here's a full changelog for YOUR ENJOYMENT -------------------------------------------------- 1.3.5 Fixed Sticky Articles not bouncing back to table properly when moved up several times Fixed a bug where Dronno would replenish energy just by talking to him Fixed Boss Last Day conversation (when fired) incorrectly showing "boss angry2: Not to mention costing us the BetterBuzz funding!" (replaced script check with _NewsLostBetterBuzzFunding==1) Fixed Assassination cutscene freezing on day 11 Fixed sporadic and super rare and totally non-game-breaking (nu-uh!) Nintendo Switch crashes Fixed Typo in Bro06_AdFavor_Therapy_Start ("Yeah, whatever, I know, I don't look sick, so OBVIOUSLY I don't shouldn't be getting help, huh?") Fixed Typo in ending text: "My dog escaped cruelty, and plotted revenged" Fixed Typo in Day 3 note: "something different and unique" Fixed Day 11 Justin Home Conversation incorrectly labeling Justin as the speaker for the player's line "I should check on him at the hospital tomorrow" (when drug overdose + alcohol) Dronno will now get +2 energy when fed batteries -------------------------------------------------- 1.3.4 Changed scripting in "Bro12_NonJail_Ending_LeavingForGalixia" convo nodes FameTurnedTown->Anxiety1 node so the 2 lines referring to therapist or meds only show up in appropriate conditions Changed bro bad ending (no NHS) scripting so that Affordable drugs no longer prevent him from overdosing (only performing well does now) Update Credits with proper Music annotations -------------------------------------------------- 1.3.3 Main Menu Settings will now run all setting labels through CTextPreparer::Prepare Added code to export all texts in CMCanvasTextPreparer Changes to how CEditorFungusFlowchartTextExporter works Renamed PlayerCreate canvas to "uiPlayerCreate" Removed a number of unused dialogue nodes in fungus conversations Removed unused "Button" UI.Text from uiDogNamer Removed unused "Close" UI.Text from HeadlinerEp2ShopScreen Removed unused "Master" UI.Text from HeadlinerEp2PauseMenu Fixed a number of buttons having empty 2nd lines in uiMainMenu SceneLoader will no longer Parse the whole canvas, just he DoneText CMTutorialBase will no longer Prepare text since it is prepared previously Fixed Home Billboards being replaced via incorrect entries in TextTableData GameLoader canvas renamed to GameLoader for Localization CLocalizer will now strip (clone) from end of ObjectName Renamed Dunabuy "Coming Soon" canvas sign to ComingSoonSign for Localization Renamed RudyMartBanners canvas to "RudyMartBanner" for Localization Renamed GrandOpeningBanner canvas to "DunaBuyBanner" for Localization Renamed RoompBanner0 canvas to "WolffSpeechBanner" for Localization GraffitiManager will now Prepare texts BEFORE splitting them into lines DogBowlController will now get TextIDs from TextTable and prepare them WallPainter will now always use controller mode, but show Close button if using pointer -------------------------------------------------- 1.3.2 Added Localization system (WIP) Added Language selector to Main Menu settings (WIP, Switch only right now) CanvasTextPreparer will now check itself for UI.Text elements, not just it's children Fixed a bug where putting in the Player name or DoNotfill would break the dialogue when it was used Character convo no longer parsed when loaded, but only when displaying on screen Character names are now Parsed in convo StreetChatterData and EncounterData will no longer be Parsed on load (since it's already parsed by SpeechBubble::Say()) CMStreetGraffitiData will no longer be Parsed on load (since it's now parsed by already parsed by CMStreetGraffitiManager) Home Bilboard Adds now haave all the texts replaced by lines from TextTableData DayStartLogic: The text is now loaded from TextTable, and each line is now run through CtextPreparer EndScreen: All texts are nowbe run through CtextPreparer Office "Breaking" newspaper template no longer has CanvasTextPreparer; the preparer is now only on the actual BREAKING text MainMenu, "Last Headliner" box "Offline" message will now be run through CTextPreparer Renamed a few UI.Canvas objects so that they can be looked up by localization in CTextPreparer better -------------------------------------------------- 1.3.1 Removed a bunch of old deprecated dialogue files and re-organized PAXDemo files in a separate folder Replaced all hard-coded Office and Street Tutorial messages with strings from TextTableData Replaced all hard-coded Street Intro Texts with strings from TextTableData Fixed the first walking tutorial not showing up on Switch -------------------------------------------------- 1.3.0 Fixed not being able to select the "Player Name" filed or Dog "Name" field with touch screen Added Age Ratings and British English to Player Settings -------------------------------------------------- 1.2.3 Fixed minor grammar issue in Cop12 convo ("catch up on some readings" should be singular) Removed Quality control from settings on Nintendo Switch Cover art: Music Vectors by Vecteezy

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/bfc1c05fee00aac648217ecbf72a1c2ddff7e4e9.png 🎉🎉🎉 We're humbled and excited to share this news, and hope to see you there! (Also, we're working on an official Soundtrack, as well as a small patch with bug/typo fixes. Keep your eyes open second half of September!)

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/2c5fd0b54f1a8d9915e3544a13600992b294def6.png 🎉🎉🎉🎉. Here's the link to the awards page: https://seriousplayconf.com/2019-award-winners/ Thank you for the recognition! And thank all of YOU reading this for supporting us along the way 🙇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP6wJt1S2Uk Hilarious "summary" of our game by @GrayStillPlays. We got a few chuckles and thought you might too :) What's your favorite bit? I'm still LOLing at "weird anti-immune killer cells are eating your body" and Dronno MVP 😅🤣

Award-winning "Papers, Please meets Oxenfree" adventure where you play as a news editor & shape public opinion. Set in a genetically-modified society plagued by mysterious disease and foreign threat... https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/4de7f40806cbeb50bfdc787c792027d2a695cd4b.gif https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/cb88c8cf6d26ede92bed2bb780f45cbd756f3a92.png The new version of Headliner: NoviNews is official!

Highlights:

• Controller and Keyboard support (with an alternate Office functionality mode)
• Office articles will now "stick" when dragged to the top (you no longer have to hold the mouse)
• You can now stamp Staff Memos and Letters (yes, this was requested a lot, lol)
• Re-balances and re-writes, making the game bit more forgiving and with a wider "middle-ground" path
• Improved performance and fixed ton of bugs/typos!

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/95dbc1c9d5d1cea3c8bbcbff974305c85a71806c.gif

Full Changelog below:

1.2.2 Justin no longer asks you how your date went (Bro04_Crashover0) if you didn't get the date with Evie Radio no longer mentions truck accident if it didn't happen Removed Doggo AI log spam at home -------------------------------------------------- 1.2.1 Fixed a bug that could freeze convos if 2 convos were played right after another (accidentally re-introduced the "doggo freeze bug") -------------------------------------------------- 1.2.0 Replaced station cop portrait with a new portrait made by Emmy Added tutorial for Keyboard/Joystick mode Changed intro to Evie Convo in Day 12 which didn't segue from boss taken away / riot started to rest of convo Fixed boss incorrectly saying there are no quotes when being taken away Changed intro text messages Fixed not being able to stand up from couch/chair on Nintendo Switch Fixed UI input being eaten when pressing D-Pad too fast on Nintendo Switch Fixed dying cops/rioters occasionally freezing in place instead of playing dying animation Fixed typo in Evie convo in Day 12 ("They’ve taken taken the boss away") Fixed home Dronno conversation typo ("... prohibits me from pursing punitive actions..." should be "pursuing") Fixed several article typos and overflow issues Removed Main Menu "Quit" button on Nintendo Switch In conversation, if you click/tap away from the dialogue, pressing up/down will now re-select the first option Adjusted amount of Police/Drones/Drunks/Crazies who spawn randomly PlayerCreate and Doggo Namer will not let you select the InputFields if using controller (otherwise get stuck) and include a note saying to use mouse/keyboard to select those fields Rioters will no longer attack drones Change default twitter share text to mention the game's name Slight improved performance in NPC logic checks Randomized NPC attacker time when looking for targets so it doesn't happen all on the same frame causing stuttering Fixed the 1-2 second stall when conversations are started (commented out conversationManager.PopulateCharacterCache() in Conversation::Start() ) Fixed stuttering every other second (I think) by making attacker FindClosestTarget() function use a smaller, pre-cached list of attackers Fixed lag when Molotovs explode caused by rioters sending "MsgCrimeCommited" message to all objects (funny this was really only a problem on Switch eh?) -------------------------------------------------- 1.1.7 Suicide blame articles will no longer be stapled (so you have a choice not to blame anything) Justin now credits you during his show for inspiring his jokes Fixed scripting in Conspirator convo meeting Fixed typo in Evie convo in Day 10 ("...and missing some of my prescriptions." missing "my") Fixed typo in Conspirator Meeting Invite convo ("Remeber" was misspelled because you're writer can't type for sh*t) Fixed typo in Justin covo on day 6 when talking about conspiracy article ("And that articles" should be singular) Fixed typo in Evie11_Date1 convo ("Thank you for publish..." should be publishing) -------------------------------------------------- 1.1.6 Added new "sticky mode" to office where articles will stick zoomed in when you release the mouse, unless you pick up another one -------------------------------------------------- 1.1.5 Fixed type in end screen text ("I gave comedy got new face") Henri's name will now show up in conversation after he introduces himsel. When talking to Doggo, "You" is now replaced with Player's Name (Thanks PeachyAenne!) -------------------------------------------------- 1.1.4 Fixed a bug where RollerTanks weren't showing anymore Tweaked some of the ending texts -------------------------------------------------- 1.1.3 Truck Accident will only happen on 2nd+ playthrough and only when badmouthing the government Re-balanced protesters and preachers to appear only when the newspaper stance is more extreme (allowing for more middle-ground) Added a new article on last day if Henri the homeless man was helped Changed startup tutorial to be clearer You can now still buy dog/drone food even if Rudy sells out to BetterBuzz You will now still see last day of office even when fired (so you can see all the final papers) Edited/re-wrote parts of Justin's early dialogue Edited/re-wrote parts of Evie's dialogue Re-wrote some newspaper articles Fixed a bug in final Evie convo (at home) when the screen would fade to black, and then briefly fade out before changing to next day Fixed a bug where BetterBuzz PTSD and Medicinal Purposes articles would show up on the same day (now they show up on opposite playthroughs) Fixed a bug where your brother might die in a case where he wasn't supposed to (health not nationalized but drugs affordable) -------------------------------------------------- 1.1.2 Added support for controlling the game with keyboard/joystick Added experimental Switch support Purchased home decor items will now be preserved on future playthroughs (but only if the game is actually completed) Added support for saving Persistent Data to config instead of PlayerPrefs (for Nintendo Switch) Added Nintendo Switch tutorial messages The Boss will now give you a bonus on day 8 if you manage to make BetterBuzz investors happy Fixed typo in Cop conversation on day 2: "my counselor didn't approved me" should be "approve" Fixed type in Hermann conversation : "Sofia was the love of my live" should be "life" Rudy no longer mentions player filling out the area of the player creation (was getting too much...) Toned down some of the explicit languages (f-bombs) Added a Max Save Slot cap for Nintendo Switch (4) Re-arranged office desk objects to prevent things from being blocked in controller mode Updated Office Quota Messages graphic Added a new version of Wallpaper Color picker that works with keyboard/controller Lowered volume of clock when speaking to boss Change RunAtPlayer AI to update destination at set interval instead of every frame (intro crowd now does it once a second), which should improve performance Decreased volume of drone humming sound Fixed an issue where Day 2 "Travel" ad would appear in both normal and spoofed versions (Header stock art courtesy of Vecteezy)

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/67bb73480ed18513dad61e04f6335d91929f641d.jpg Hey everyone, We've been listening to feedback and working on a patch with some big re-balances and re-writes (on top of usual bug fixes). We'd like to share early access to the new version before it goes official, and in turn ask you let us know if you run into any bugs or glitches :)

What's New?

The biggest complaint was that the game is a little too punishing and some events weren't clearly connected to your actions. We re-balanced a number of events, added some extra rewards and articles, and re-wrote some dialogues to make things clearer. There's also now a wider "middle ground" path you can take with less crazy things happening. But don't worry, you can still turn the city into a burning mess, you just have to try a bit harder now ;) On top of that, we're also adding a full keyboard/controller mode support! We're still tweaking it, but the new keys are:

• / Joystick - move around and switch between articles
• / Joy 1 - Interact / Approve current paper
• / Joy 2 - Cancel / Reject current paper
• / Joy 3 - Exit the Office
• / Joy 4 - Pause/Quit menu

We will post the full change log when the patch is officially out, but there's quite a lot of tweaks.

How to access the update?

In your Steam library, right click on Headliner: NoviNews and select Properites. Go to the Betas tab and in the box, put the code "fakenewsfake" (without quotations). Click "Check Code," and it should show a confirmation message below. Now, select "beta" from the dropdown and click close. The game should now update and show next to it in your Steam library. If it doesn't, try restarting Steam. In the main menu, you should see version 1.1.5 on the bottom right, to confirm. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/96c487b1475bd2b79a432f715977227960fe2aa5.jpg

Share your feedback!

As always, we're greatful for any feedback we get! Particularly if you run into any bugs and glitches. Just post in our forums or join our discord, or comment on this announcement! Cheers, Jakub Lead Dev

Toot, toot, new content and life of quality improvements are in! Give the game another go to learn about Deputy Helene and help her solve a murder mystery.... https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/6d02dd94e7647857e9e0bad12a04c3f37f0e1c0f.gif We also added a Mac version and (experimental) Linux version! Here's the full list of changes:

• Added NEW Police Woman character you can talk to most days and replaced Station Cop with a different portrait to avoid confusion
• Added a new murder mystery side-plot for the new Police Woman character (CopQuest!)
• Added new articles that will show up on secondary playthroughs
• Added 2 new achievements
• Added Mac and Linux versions
• Speech Bubble will now show for a shorter/longer time depending on their length
• Added a Speech Bubble Speed slider to Settings and Pause menu
• Change endgame text to clarify the game was meant to be replayed
• Replaced end-game texts to focus on player's actions/accomplishments
• Improved text graffiti quality
• Home: Drones outside will now only start showing up on later days
• Anti-Wolff protesters will no longer show on day 11 or 12 if he is assassinated
• Protesters walking left will now wander around after getting to the end of their march, rather than standing in place
• Puker's puke will now properly come out of their mouth (Ew)
• Fixed Shopkeeper's Daughter sometimes flashing at the end of a conversation
• Fixed minor bug where police checkpoint conversation would make the game think player attended the conspiracy meeting

Hey everyone! The past month and a half we've been working on a big, big update! We're expanding the existing cop lady into a whole new character you can chat with daily, together with her own murder-mystery side-plot! *GASP* https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/6d02dd94e7647857e9e0bad12a04c3f37f0e1c0f.gif We've also been listening to your feedback and added a whole bunch of Quality of Life improvements, like a toggle for the Speech Bubble speed, higher resolution graffiti text, improved NPC behavior, and bunch of other bugfixes and tweaks. Finally, we'll also release the Mac version and hopefully Linux (if we can sort some linux-specific bugs in time). https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/397205b75f9ac0ddc41022d7fdee6899a128f713.jpg We're planning to release the update in the next week or two. We are also raising the price into the $10-15 range (TBD). After talking with fellow devs and our community (AKA you!), we feel it better reflects the value of the game, especially with the new content and fixes. However, if you already bought the game, or buy before the update, all the new content is totally free for you :) So here's a heads up to grab it in the next few days, if you want to save some $$

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33367165/e5079cc968671a693926ee1bc6b8a99c342e3b35.png Latest patch fixes a ton of small bugs, balancing issues, and typos pointed out by the awesome folks in our forums and Discord =) We also have experimental Mac and Linux support if you wanna give it a try on the OS :D Here's the nitty-gritty: -------------------------------------------------- 1.0.40s Added experimental Mac and Linux Support Dog home conversation will now reflect the doggo's chosen name Moved Home "Sleep" interact button closer to camera to no longer overlap player Player Create screen smoothed out Avatar preview box and added a background Home Justin OD cutscene, Dronno no loger disappears after Quality settings will now default to Medium if game has never been launched yet Fixed Settings Anti Aliasing not working, and added new Anti Aliasing settings Fixed a bug where penalty count wasn't calculated properly, causing the pay to not be docked after 3 penalties Fixed Pause Manu -> Quit Confirm prompt not showing Yes/No text on buttons Shop Changed "Vintage Computor" to "Computer" (it was a joke nobody got, hnngh) Dronno convo at home, clarified the convo choice that allows player to pick their own title (i.e. Master ) Change endgame text to encourage re-plays more Day 0 Boss clarifies the currency pronounciation (NoviBucks ʯ) Fixed typo in "Innocent Casualty in Police Shootout" article ("Fun" should have been "Fund") Fixed missing "have" in "Genetic Medication Might Have Triggered Incident" article Fixed typo in Boss Day 0 convo ("disbursment" should've been "disbursement") Fixed repeated line in Bro08_Jail (" I know we haven't always been there for each other...") Fixed repeated line in Bro06_AdFavor_Therapy_Start ("Yeah, it's really...") Fixed typo in Conspirator09_SecretMeeting ("...tears up its own DNA to shreds.") Fixed typo in Boss Replacement Gov Agent Day 12 ("....such as you previous boss." should be "yours") Fixed typo in "Novistan Government Engineered the Plague" article ("cultivate" should be "cultivated")

Another update today, fixing mostly minor issues and adding a new checkbox in Settings letting you disable the constant "Beeps" during conversations beep beep beep beep beep Full change log for the curious souls: 1.0.38s

• Toned down the volume of the clock in Boss convo
• Added a new Setting to toggle conversation beeps
• Fixed typo in Evie date 0 convo ("dfficult choices")

Hey Folks! With the release yesterday, we're working hard to address any issues you might have reported (including a hotfix yesterday, fixing conversation beeps volume reported by Mrs. Wow). We just pushed a new patch with a few re-balances, typo fixes, and a little extra office item you will see on subsequent playthrus ;) Here's the full changelog so far: -------------------------------------------------- 1.0.36s Added the "Bias Indicator" Box to Office on 2nd+ playthru Fixed Publishing Brother's Show article not causing penalty It's now easier to help Rudy succeed with selling BetterBuzz Player being attacked is now avoided if they lose the job Justin no longer mentions asking you to post an AD if his show failed and you didn't post it Fixed a whole number of small typos -------------------------------------------------- 1.0.35s Global Volume now affects ALL sounds (preivously Conversation Beeps weren't affected) Fixed minor typos Cheers!

We'll be showing Headliner: NoviNews at Indie Megabooth Friday and Saturday during PAX West! Come stop by!!! https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29997458/15991e8d4e42a4de8a9c410dd60ebb9c21f39d10.jpg If you CAN'T make it, we will ALSO be at Seattle Indies Expo on Sunday, just a block across from PAX, no badge required and beer/food provided! https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29997458/0e3f572c58b9c998b9570c7979a0bd4626a921b8.jpg See ya there, Headliners ;)