Tri City Monsters news & patch notes

The finale chapters are here! Plus a whole slew of other content, including 6 new cgs, new achievements, new music, and more. Check out my ending guide in the community section to make sure you see both endings for each RO!

I’ve made a point of discussing the future of TCM regarding pricing, and after a lot of deliberation, I have decided to charge for the full release of the game.

This past year has been incredibly stressful as a global shift has made adult content creation incredibly difficult.  Traditionally stable marketplaces for 18+ content have been fraught with chaotic TOS changes, bans, and delistings to a degree I’ve literally never seen or even imagined before.  Things got so bad that TCM actually got delisted on itch.io and can no longer be monetized there for the foreseeable future.  Steam has, so far, been able to hold stronger, but it’s clear that adult content is on the chopping block.

In essence, the change comes as a direct result of this push to deplatform adult content, as it has created too much uncertainty for me to safely release an 18+ commercial game that relies on long-term ancillary sales (DLC, merchandise, etc).  This was not my goal when I set out to make this game in 2021, but unfortunately, 2025 and 2026 brought a lot of bad changes to the indie landscape, and this is the safest way for me to 1) continue developing and 2) recoup some of the cost of development.

All three final chapters will be released at once on July 11, 2026.  At that point, the game will cost $24.99

If you already have the game in your Steam Library when it leaves Early Access, you will not have to pay for the game to get the final chapters. That being said, put it in your library asap if it isn’t already, and if you know anyone who might be interested in TCM, let them know, too.   You have until July 11 to get the game for free, and that includes the final chapters update. An official "Full Release Incoming" announcement is coming shortly.

• Fixes a syntax bug in Amir's mind control choices in chapters 1 and 5

Hello friends! This update fixes an issue where Steam Achievements stopped syncing and the Unlock Everything mod stopped working. The root cause was some critical Steam helper files missing from my game engine- and also the build. Things should be working now, happy achievement hunting!

• Fixed a small error that caused intermittent crashes in Akello 3's sex scene decision tree.

• Added a missing period in Amir's intro chapter

Mori chapter 7 is here and the stakes have never been higher!

There's been a lot of housekeeping behind the scenes so here's a quick changelog.

Firstly, due to the way RenPy creates save data, save files can become unusable if I make edits to the precise line of code your game used as a save point. 

If you find yourself with crashes when you try to load a save file, the fastest and most stable solution is to simply make a new save. 

Thankfully, I have tried to make it as easy as possible to return to your last point. 

In the Options menu, check the "Skip Unread Text" box and start a new game.  You'll be able to use the Skip button to fast forward through everything except choices.   Now, the good news is that I haven't run into this during bug/beta testing, but I have made a lot of code edits recently and am being vigilant about any issues that may crop up. ːespressoː

But wait there's more!

- Second, the Artist's link in credits has been updated.  They moved blogs and forgot to tell me lol.

- The gallery got an upgrade in terms of back-end stability and UI/GUI beautification + functionality, including on controller and in the Steam Deck version.​

- The game is now capable of being modded through the Steam Workshop. Check out the workshop for more information on that!

- The "Dig Deeper" achievement has been slightly retooled so that the achievement is granted the second the click link action is executed.  It should therefore grant the achievement regardless of whether or not a user's local browser or network settings prevent Renpy from opening the internet browser.

- FINALLY we got DESK MATS up in the TCM etsy shop! If you're looking to support TCM, this is a great way to do it!

This patch fixes an issue where the \ was instantly granted upon using the music room instead of using it's 15 minute timer :)

With the implementation of all the controller upgrades and testing recently, TCM has been declared Verified for Steam Deck! This means that you experience playing TCM is just as great handheld as it is on a computer! ːwyllhappyː

This update fixes a "title not defined" error when the player right clicks or hits esc in game, these actions will now bring up the save menu. Thank you very much to the people who let me know, this fix was a little more intense than I expected! As always, thank you for you playing + your patience ːcousin_ichigoː

Thank yall for being so patient while I took a couple months to deal with some back-end stuff!!!  The holidays were very busy for me, and I hope you survived the winter despite the general state of the world at large!

My primary focus over the last few months was rounding out a really robust controller support system for TCM that exceeds what Ren’Py (the game’s engine) can natively do.  As in my last update, I’d like to give a very earnest shout-out to Feniks- a prolific Ren’Py developer who found time in their busy schedule to help me with some persistent bugs.  Their help was really invaluable as I’m a writer/designer/artist first and a programmer second, if that, honestly.  If any of you are Ren’Py devs yourselves, I can’t recommend them or their (usually free) plugins highly enough.

You can check out my changelog in the TCM discussion forum for a full list of what’s been worked on, but to highlight a few things: there are five new achievements, a bunch of QOL improvements, and for the developers out there who want a good chuckle, I somehow broke developer mode and Feniks had to fix it for me.  Additionally, I went through the whole script and made corrections for clarity, grammar, etc and adjusted some backgrounds to cut down on glare inside the textbox.

As always, thank you all very much for being patient, and I hope you enjoy Amir’s seventh chapter as the stakes ramp up ever higher!

So it's January, and the base game is getting close to wrapping up.  I know I mentioned the complexities and issues I’ve been having with controller support and that’s the primary reason chapter releases have been delayed.  However, it’s now 2026, and I thought it would be a good idea to have a little “State of Things” style devlog to show my broader roadmap for TCM, where we’re currently at, and what I’d like to accomplish this year, so without further ado:

The Base Game is Nearing Completion

Mori, Amir, and Akello are getting very close to wrapping up their routes, which means that the TCM is nearing completion for what I call the ‘base game’.  Before the finished base game is released, I want to have completed the following:

• Full controller support and related bugs fixed

• Full game script edit from beginning to end

• Final pass for polish opportunities

Once these things are taken care of, TCM will exit Early Access on Steam and become a real boy a fully released game.

Market Hostility re: 18+ Games 

It’s been a really weird six months with the scrutiny and censorship of adult games on the internet.  For now, I plan to weather the storm as much as I can but I do want to say that I’ve really appreciated how understanding ya’ll have been as I try to find some semblance of stability in which to plan for the future…

Things are Expensive ;_;

Obviously, the biggest challenge facing TCM right now is how uncertain that future is for adult gaming as a whole.  With that totally being a gray area right now, it’s really hard to plan out what 2026- and the game’s lifespan- will look like.

Because I avoid alternatives like AI, costs rack up quickly for things TCM needs.  This year, I not only paid artists, trailer editors, capsule artists, and composers for work on TCM, but I’m also paying for new merch products and related costs.  Now, of course, the goal of all these expenses is to make TCM the best it can be, but my point is that these things add up quickly.  Prices for these things have also gotten very, very expensive in recent months/years, and this sparks the cycle of worry all over again, considering how much I’ve spent and the threat to TCM’s marketplaces. 

Patreon and the Etsy shop have been helping, however!  And I plan to add new items to the shop as much as I can, and both of them help bring in revenue to cover development costs.  As I weigh the options of moving forward with TCM and how to finance it (and my contractors).  Keeping Patreon and Etsy attractive to both old and new fans will be a focus going into 2026 as that might be the most win-win way to cover costs.

But MERCH

I am very excited to be able to start exploring merchandise; it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.  I plan to add new items regularly (monthly, if I can manage it) and would love to hear suggestions, desires, feedback, hopes & dreams you may have regarding merch.  One thing I am painfully aware of is that shipping costs are absurd, and I am sorry about that!  Unfortunately, Etsy limits my shipping options for items I’m shipping out of my house.  Items that get shipped directly from the manufacturing location (t-shirts and such) tend to have much cheaper options, which is a semi-win in my books, at least.  Here’s hoping things settle down sooner rather than later and international packages especially stop costing an arm and a leg to send.

ARTBOOK

A TCM artbook is currently in development!  It’s going to be a really fancy full-color, hardcover print job and include illustrations from the game, including CGs, backgrounds, sprite art, etc, plus development processes, interviews with Atlas and me, supplementary art from other artists, and a fair amount of doodles and other misc stuff that’s never made it out of me & Atlas’ Discord DMs.  Digital copies are also planned, though details on that TBD as the project coalesces more.

also

He’s Coming

Development schedule and release dates TBA but Raath will be getting his own full route.  Stay tuned for more details

One final note-

I will be at Taiyoucon in Phoenix, AZ on Friday, January 23rd for a TCM meet up! I have not reserved designated table space for this so it will be very casual but if any of you will be attending, I'd love to meet you! Further details about when and where I'll be coming soon, keep an eye on discord or bluesky for the most up to date info.

Happy November!

First order of business- Amir's Chapter 7 was slated to come towards the end of the month, but I've decided to push it back.  I've had a ton on my plate over the last few weeks with implementing full controller support, building a website, and setting up a storefront, and to ensure everything stays top quality, I wanted to space it out a bit.  I'll keep y'all updated with the new release date in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned and thank you for your understanding! ːStarwhalPinkː

Next!  I still have some product from TCM's Kickstarter, and I'm looking to clear out some office space so I can work on getting new products in a permanent storefront! If you're interested in pillow cases, 3D mousepads, or acrylic standees, please take a look! Be warned, I have SUPER limited quantities, so don't wait if you've really wanted something. You can check out the inventory here: https://tricitymonstermarket.etsy.com

Things are intensifying on all sides and the stakes have never been higher!

Also, shout out to everyone who played TCM during the Fall In Love Visual Novel fest! Additional sidenote: the TCM supplementary soundtrack has been updated with new tracks that have come out in recent chapters. If you already own this, you can update it for free to get the new content. ːsilksongː

• New music

• New BGs

• Additional updates to controller support (more still incoming)

I'm happy to announce that TCM will be part of this year's Fall in Love Visual Novel Festival, organized by Studio Élan!! The festival runs from September 24 - October 1 and will showcase over 200 visual novels with romance themes from over 100 developers. Tell your friends I hope you'll take this opportunity to check out some other romance-focused VNs ːStarwhalPinkː

Hello! This small patch introduces a few typo and transitional fixes plus some nice quality of life tweaks for controller.

• A virtual keyboard now pops up at the Enter Your Name screen

• Better controller responsivity inside menus

• Twinstick scrolling where there are two viewports- like the credits page.

Cheers! ːsilksongː

Mori chapter six is here and this time we've got

• New CG

• New Music

• New Achievement

PLUS a couple QOL backend tweaks for added stability. ːtabbycatː

After some feedback, I've gone back in and retooled the sex scene in this chapter to provide more detail and better rhythm.

Hello all! This is patch 0.18.1 that cleans up some issues I've been having with back end flow and UI/UX. Previously, ending the latest chapters for each of our main characters was sending players occasionally to a black screen or to the main menu. Script flow has been fixed to now bring players to the credits screen once the story has finished. ːtabbycatː

Amir Chapter 6 is here and everything's getting laid bare despite Amir's ardent efforts at keeping his secrets secret. New CG, SFX, Achievment, plus additional UI/GUI improvements this time around! Check my pinned post in the community forum for a full update list!

Akello's chapter six is finally here and there's a lot of chaos this time around. In addition to some major story developments, there's quite a bit going on with the back end this time! In an effort to raise accessibility and readability for TCM (especially on smaller screens), the traditional small Ren'Py quick menu has been replaced.

You'll find most menu options on the right-hand side of the dialog box, like usual, however, I've added larger buttons for Auto, Skip, and Back. The default keyboard shortcuts for Ren'Py are still in place for convenience. I hope you will let me know how your experience is with using them and have made a special thread in the community forum for feedback. :) As always, you can leave a comment there, right here, or reach out to me on discord if you prefer.

In addition:

- New Achievement

- New CG

- New SFX, BGs, and Music

- Adjusted Gallery size to allow for more CGs and toned down hover effect

- Removed text on Gallery Thumbnails because it was unnecessary

- Added controller bumper dropdowns to the controls tutorial at the beginning of the game for new players

- Fixed controller navigation on Akello's chapter select menu

- Fixed issue where BGM would restart on the Extras menu for controller users (lol???)

- Adjusted readability of Help/Menu options in the submenus. Thank you so much for playing TCM and have a great July! <3

cloud

Chapter 5 is here! Mori faces the music and has to think about the future for once!

• New backgrounds

• New tracks for this chapter

• Some new character art

Check out my full update in my pinned Discussion post.

• New Music
• New Backgrounds
• New Outfit for Amir