Here it is, the version you've all been waiting for.

Daring Academy Alpha 0.1.0 is divided into two versions: Original Version and Chapter 1 Demo.

Differences on the Chapter 1 Demo:

• It's available on Steam Itch.io and Gamejolt for free, even when the main game is done (0.1.0 to 1.0.0 will only be available on Itch.io)
• Achievements are removed, due to an issue on Steam's end
• Backgrounds in UIs are changed to the apartment, indicating the moving in of the main character and Amelia
• Anything regarding the full game has been changed to mention the demo, that includes logos, version numbers, etc

We strongly recommend you play the Chapter 1 Demo to get a feel of the game, as if you plan on getting all achievements in the game, saves from the Chapter 1 Demo won't give the achievements from Chapter 1 upon playing Chapter 2 and onward, due to issues with Steam demos and all.

Note: As with any alphas, there are a ton of internal code changes and file reorganizations, so saves might not be compatible between the old versions. Alpha 0.1.0 and onwards will try to keep as much support with Chapter 1 saves as possible, but may become incompatible in future updates, so beware.

For Steam Deck Users: While playtesting the game on Steam Deck, we encountered an issue in Desktop Mode where the keyboard wouldn't show up if it the game was in fullscreen mode, even when pressing Steam+X. If this issue appears to you, please connect a keyboard to your device. The keyboard works fully in gaming mode though.

If you have Decky Loader on your Steam Deck, you can change the artworks of the Chapter 1 demo build using SteamGridDB plugin. See the official GitHub for SteamGridDB to learn how. 

A massive thanks to Imbion, Jenivere, Kalosmuffins, Kit from "Kit\'s Workshop", K0maru, RedRan6er, Wavi, LemonadeMochi, Dark_Green, Carter Vandenberg, UnlishedTen8, optimistic1236, SelLillianna, spottyboi, Jayne/Koriko, Twotoneinc, TimberRaven, bikifrench, chlodiami, Alexei, genderlurker, angelicangela., kortniblini, aksanaip, alainax, bdkcisme, jankbithle, Jaydon (A), Gauncamole, Fabryn, Hallowuette, ayinsis and everyone I missed for playtesting throughout 0.0.1 to 0.1.0's development phase. This demo wouldn't be possible without all of you.

You can download and play 0.0.1, known as the Legacy Edition to see all the progress in 3 years of development. This edition of 0.0.1 doesn't change the story from said version but adds smaller things like a smaller cursor, Discord rich presence support, etc. Go to https://thediamondcryst.itch.io/daring-academy-chapter-1-demo or select the Legacy branch in the Steam build settings to play it. Note: Any issues in this version will not be fixed. Saves in that version of the game are also not compatible with the Chapter 1 Demo, 0.1.0, or the full game.

As a final thank you, thanks to Dandelier for making the image in the header perfectly representing Chapter 1. See more of his images in Chapter 2 and beyond!

Here's the full changelog:

• Updated to Ren'Py version 8.1.3.23091805
• Optimized some of the code
• Moved the "Customization" category in the "Accessibility" option tab to the "Customization" option tab

Added:

• Added an anti-cheat detector fighting UnRen, a popular Ren'Py Cheat system
• Added voice sound effects for every character except the main character
• Added the "Voice" volume slider back into the game
• Added flowing cherry blossom leaves to the main menu/game menu and credit backgrounds
• Added a small chance of shooting stars to appear in the main menu/game menu and credit backgrounds
• Added an icon to the Mac executable of the game
• Added a pop-up when a controller is connected or disconnected
• Added an option to make the quick menu bigger (Mainly for Steam Deck users)
• Added new tabs in the control screen for Xbox, Playstation, Steam Deck, and other controllers
• Added icons to specific controls when they're mentioned
• Added new dialogues mentioning Novabucks and their ratio compared to the dollars
• Added new dialogues at the start mentioning Amelia's uneasy feeling about moving out, and saying it's the first of August
• Added Amora's bio (In the non-demo only)
• Added Amora to the main menu (Thanks to LemonadeMochi for discovering my plan with her) (In the non-demo only)
• Added Amora to the in-game gallery screen
• Added a "Reduce Animations" option
• Added more swearing dialogues in Day 3
• Added hover icons to the bottom icons in the main menu
• Added new dialogues in Day 4 explaining how Amelia and the main character got goblin meat instead of ground beef
• Added new dialogues in Day 4 where it explains what are wisp forms to when Kitt (In wisp form) appears in when Clementine is introduced
• Added new dialogues in Day 1 mentioning goodbyes before Amelia and the main character leaves for Hora
• Added a Continue button to phone text scenes
• Added the "Auto" option in the quick menu back
• Added the Rollback Side option back into the game
• Added a "Skip the song" button in the Catching Moments scene
• Added new narration lines mentioning how you can pat catgirls (Enjoy, everyone!)
• Added a "Toggle Voice Sound Effects" option
• Added name references for Amora, Minty, and Delilah
• Added a "Sync Achievements to Steam" button in the achievement screen (Not operational until Version 1.0.0 is released)
• Added pronouns and gender toggles in the options screen while playing the game, allowing for a genderfluid main character
• Added a delete save button to the saves screen
• Added the "Trailer - Chapter 1 Demo" song to the music room
• Added a pink bracelet to Rose's sprite
• Added music captions to the music room
• Added back the light kiss sound effect to Day 2
• Added new achievements: Squoosh Kitt and Squoosh Loya (In the non-demo only)
• Added the ability to squish spirits
• Added a Daring Academy Socials button to the main menu
• Added a Gamejolt button to the main menu
• Added a "Quit Game" button to the Options screen
• Added text mentioning that the floating keyboard on Steam Deck may not hide when pressing the backout buttons once and a workaround around it
• Added a back button to the Save Name screen
• Added controller support whenever clicking on images during phone scenes
• Added an option to change some artist names in the music room to match up with the uploaded songs on music streaming services
• Added music captions to the main menu

Changed:

• Changed the redirection of the Discord icon in the main menu from the official Monster Orb server to the official Daring Academy server
• Changed the "Wishlist the game!" button in the Discord Rich Presence to "Play the demo!"
• Changed the names during the phone texts to not be colored
• Changed dialogue texts to be slightly lower
• Changed Delilah's bio age from "25 cat years old" to '22 cat years old"
• Changed Delilah's bio birthday from "March 13th, 3185" to "March 13th, 3188'
• Changed some of Delilah's lines indicating "Min" to "Minny" (Thanks to Jse for the suggestion)
• Changed the "Continue Game" button to below the "New Game" button
• Changed the coffee store image to be inside the store
• Changed the smoke images to fit with the anime/cartoon style the game uses
• Changed so the game runs at fullscreen by default
• Changed so tooltips from the text fields in the character creation screen feature a line saying how to open the Steam Deck keyboard
• Changed all mentions of dollars to Novabucks
• Changed all character bases to feature a belly button
• Changed Amelia and the main character's friendship years from 10 years to 15 years
• Changed so when Amelia sighs at the start of Day 1, her sprite actually sighs
• Changed the dialogue introducing Amelia to reflect they knew each other before school and mentioning Ruby Sweet babysitting the main character
• Changed the game description in the About screen
• Changed some dialogues and texts to reflect the voice sound effects used
• Changed the image when the main character and Amelia show their schedule to reflect the schedule in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3
• Changed it so Elizabeth kneels down while cleaning the wine bottle in Day 3
• Changed it so the main character mentions their sister instead of their uncle if the "I know what you mean, Millie..." option is selected
• Changed it so you need to click the "Continue" button to end phone text scenes
• Changed it so the main character goes in a general course instead of being player-dependent
• Changed in Day 4 after Clementine's introduction, Amelia's side image has a confused look until thanking Kitt
• Changed so the girls in the main menu now have a tint whenever it goes to nighttime
• Changed so now pronouns only use one variable per language
• Changed so now the extra screens go back to the game instead of the last screen (Side effect from adding controller support, sorry)
• Changed Amelia's sprites to fix her figure, posture, and breast size
• Changed Rose's left hand to be more like an actual hand
• Changed Rose's base to match the panties with the bra
• Changed Elizabeth's sprite to feature a black floral chocker
• Changed Elizabeth's sprite to not have a floating black blob on her base
• Changed Minty and Delilah's sprites to feature breasts lines
• Changed Minty's sprite to feature a paw-shaped mole
• Changed Delilah's sprite to have freckles on her face, neck and shoulders
• Changed Delilah's sprite to remove the heart arm decoration from the bases and made it its own image
• Changed when petting Minty or Delilah, they no longer rotate
• Changed when petting Minty or Delilah, they purr
• Changed the phone system so images sent by characters don't have a background
• Changed the spaghetti images sent by Amelia in Day 4 to 9:16 and to not contain a white outline
• Changed the presplash image to feature Amora (In the non-demo only)
• Changed the volume of the music to be at 80% volume by default, even if the slider is at 100%
• Changed the pronouns screen so sibling and child titles are gender dependent
• Changed so texts mentioning Wisps Forms are italicized
• Changed the CTC Arrow tooltip to mention how changing the font may result in the arrow not aligning
• Changed all introduction gallery images
• Changed so character in name references now dissolve before returning to the character creation screen
• Changed so quick menu backgrounds are now colored based on the textboxes
• Changed so "main_gender" now only controls the main character's appearance
• Changed the "Customization" category to "Gameplay"
• Changed the Name Your Save screen to better fit with the confirm screen
• Changed all character bio ages to use variables
• Changed Rose's bio description
• Changed most night versions of the apartment to have a blue-ish tint instead of being black
• Changed the Twitter icon in the main menu to the X icon, due to the Elon Musk acquisition of Twitter and rename
• Changed so that the Itch.io, Steam, and newly added Gamejolt image buttons on the main menu are based on the build downloaded, due to issues with Steam builds and non-steam store links
• Changed so the "Example:" texts in the custom pronouns screen are bolded, separating the example sentence from the wanted pronouns sentence
• Changed so the respective pronouns mentioned in the custom pronouns screen now link to official sources and examples about them
• Changed the example texts in the custom pronouns screen now mention Rose, Elizabeth, Clementine, Amora, Minty, and Delilah
• Changed so the version text at the bottom of the game is shown based on the version played
• Changed so the title on the window of the game itself is shown based on the build played (Main game or Chapter 1 Demo)
• Changed the "Daring Academy (Alpha Build)" text to "Daring Academy (Alpha Version)"
• Changed the apartment background buildings to feature a blueish tint, matching the city background in Chapter 2 (Chapter 1 Demo soundtrack videos and soundtrack cover will keep the grey versions for contrast reasons)
• Changed the distant city during the sunset part in Day 1 to have a blueish tint, matching the city background in Chapter 2
• Changed the distant city during the sunset part to be distinct from the other distant cities
• Changed the loudness of Spirits by Thediamondcrystal to match up with the other songs
• Changed the opened car door image in Day 1 to be on the right side, indicating right-hand side driving
• Changed the position of the Continue buttons to not overlap UI elements on the Steam Deck
• Changed some dialogues in phone scenes in Day 4 to have Delilah use endearments
• Changed a dialogue in Day 1 so the main character says "Millie..." before the choice menu
• Changed song titles in the music room and the captions to match up with the uploaded songs on music streaming services
• Changed so whenever the game asks to play Catching Moments, the narration line now depends on the version (Main game or Chapter 1 Demo)
• Changed so whenever the game asks to play Catching Moments, it explains more about the skip limitation

Fixed:

• Fixed spelling mistakes
• Fixed an issue where texts during phone texts were cut off at the top
• Fixed an issue where the links in Flaticon's credit mentions are directed to the images and not the authors/website
• Fixed an issue where the Catching Moments Steam page would open more than once
• Fixed an issue in Day 4 where the side image of the main character was blushing, yet the text said their face was red
• Fixed an issue where the "Continue" button in the pop-ups at the start of the game had no outline around the text
• Fixed an issue where Amelia's bio said "Their" when talking about the main character instead of the chosen pronoun
• Fixed an issue where if you didn't select any gender in the character creation screen, it would display "none" whenever the gender, pronouns, etc, are mentioned
• Fixed an issue where the smoke animation would slow down to a stop before starting again
• Fixed an issue where the bird audio in the daydream in Day 1 would not stop when inside Amelia's grandparents' home
• Fixed an issue where if the non-binary gender was picked with the "Male" gender and the day 4 day divider was shown, a "v" was displayed in the notify
• Fixed an issue where the scrollbars in the phone system would create transparency in the thumb bars
• Fixed an issue where emojionecolor.ttf wouldn't be found
• Fixed an issue in Day 3 where Amelia would swear even if the profanity option was off
• Fixed an issue in Day 4 where Amelia would swear when cooking the recipe even if the profanity option was off
• Fixed an issue in Day 4 where the side image of Amelia had a chef hat, yet the CG didn't
• Fixed weird issues with self-voicing in Chapter 1
• Fixed an issue where Rose would be too high in the main menu parallax
• Fixed an issue in Day 2 where if you selected the "Ask her to delete the photo" and the "Go gentle" options, the sayer "main chatacter" wasn't defined
• Fixed an issue in Day 4 where Delilah would use the wrong pronoun in a text message if you went back to buy the oregano and didn't help Amelia and Loya
• Fixed an issue in Day 3 where Rose wouldn't close her mouth after asking if the main character and Amelia drank
• Fixed an issue in Day 3 where it displayed "Delilah" instead of "Delilah (Through the phone)"
• Fixed Minty's crotch in her sprite to be V-shaped and not flat
• Fixed Delilah's crotch in her sprite to be more rounded
• Fixed an issue with the music room where it couldn't find the Chapter 1 Demo Soundtrack album cover
• Fixed an issue where the "Context Warning" text in the options screen was slightly lower than the other options
• Fixed an issue where Amelia would open her mouth a second before she started singing in the Catching Moment song scene
• Fixed an issue where the Content Warning would still be shown even if hidden
• Fixed an issue where Amelia wouldn't open her mouth in the side image once Catching Moments was finished playing
• Fixed an issue where once Catching Moments was done, silence was heard instead of Amelia - In The Warmth Of Her Room
• Fixed an issue where the background in the credits wouldn't change between the different times of the day
• Fixed an issue where ambient sounds would stop if rolling back
• Fixed an issue where Amelia's side image in the pancake scene in Day 4 would be open when she says "Hmmm?"
• Fixed an issue where hair lines would still be shown in the pancake scene in Day 4 even if the option was disabled
• Fixed an issue where the cheese in the cooking scene in Day 4 would hide instantly
• Fixed an issue where the main character's side image after the meat was burnt had their mouth opened when they said "Mmmm."
• Fixed an issue where Minty and Delilah's pat sounds were quieter than the music
• Fixed an issue where all non-binary pronouns were highlighted in yellow in the character creation scene
• Fixed an issue where Catching Moments (Original Version) said Catching Moments (Original Soundtrack) as the name
• Fixed an issue where during the cheek kiss in Day 2, once Amelia's face returned to normal, her CG wasn't blushing but her side image was
• Fixed an issue where when selecting the Non-binary gender, the Non-binary appearance option would already be selected, causing the corresponding appearance button to be yellow
• Fixed issues with controllers in the character creation screen
• Fixed an issue where when selecting custom pronouns and backing out, it would return to the pronouns selection screen
• Fixed an issue where character names in the custom pronouns screen wouldn't be colored
• Fixed issues with controllers in the Save Name screen
• Fixed an issue where if a "check" style option was selected, the button wouldn't turn yellow when hovered
• Fixed an issue where the Extra screen wouldn't be compatible with controllers
• Fixed an issue where the Save and Load screens couldn't be hidden when pressing the B button on controllers
• Fixed an issue where the songs in the Music Room wouldn't be selected
• Fixed an issue where the side image wouldn't show periodically in the prologue

Renamed:

• Renamed the "Continue Game" button to "Continue"
• Renamed the "Achievement" button to "Achievements"
• Renamed "Town Hall Secretary" and "Town Hall Secretary Severus" to "City Hall Secretary" and "City Hall Secretary Severus"
• Renamed the "Quit" button to "Quit Game"
• Renamed a lot of files and folders, mainly the distant city and the apartment images

Removed:

• Removed achievements on Chapter 1 Demo builds only, due to an issue on Steam's end
• Removed the "Gamepad" tab in the controls screen
• Removed achievements: "Completing the Archive" and "Final Moments"
• Removed Lily from the bio and main menu (In the demo only)
• Removed the Relationship Status screen
• Removed the Ze/Zir Pronouns from the Character Creation Pronouns Selector screen (Ze/Zir Pronouns can still be used if needed, you just need to input them as custom pronouns)
• Removed one of Minty's pat sounds, due to issues with the reworked pat scenes
•  Removed all links from Soundcloud, Spotify, Fiverr, etc, due to an issue with non-steam store links in Steamworks