Hey all, Shirley here with probably the BIGGEST update since v1.5.0. I'd like you to meet the FIRST ever MAJOR update: PyNori version 2.0.0!

So, major update, hm? How exactly is this update "major" instead of what might as well be a v1.10.0? Well, let me explain.

When I first started PyNori, I planned for there to be 2 or 3 major releases and that was it. Also, semantic versioning wasn't even in the picture yet. I was just planning on there being a "v1", "v2", and if I came up with enough content to warrant it, "v3". But, while working on features that were originally going to be saved for "v2", out came v1.0.2 that ended up introducing something new earlier than expected. Aside from an update checker, the ability to get banned from shops was added. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds, and no, you're probably not ever going to get banned from a shop unless you do something VERY specific, and even then, odds are you're only going to figure it out if you peek into the code. On top of that, there's literally no point in getting yourself banned from a shop other than to make the game harder for yourself, so it's pretty pointless. Honestly, just consider it a joke feature at this point.

After v1.0.3 (and because I forgot to update the internal version number in v1.0.3, v1.0.4 followed) came v1.1.0 which simply added a new enemy (Bayet) and nerfed the enemy pools for Kiku Village. At this point, after the bugfixing and much-needed early-game nerf, there was no point in going back to the original plan of just having "v1", "v2", and "v3", so I stuck to using semantic versioning. Thus, v1.2.0 came out, then v1.3.0, v1.4.0, you get the idea. The switch to semantic versioning was extremely last minute, but it was actually for the best.

Then came the first ever "PyNori Feature Vote", which allowed viewers to choose what the next update (v1.5.0 at the time) would introduce, and the "minigames" option won. I was actually somewhat disappointed initially when that happened, as adding minigames was on my checklist for v2.x.x. So, technically speaking, you got a v2.0.0 feature 5 minor versions early. But, probably a little while before v1.5.0 (or v1.4.0, I can't remember) came out, I decided to make a Padlet so I could jot down what I've already implemented, what I'm working on implementing at the moment, and what I plan on implementing later. As for the part where I jot down what I plan on implementing later, because there was so much on my to-do list, I decided to split things up into milestones. I left some stuff to be done by v2.0.0, and the rest I left for v3.0.0. This update checks off the LAST items on the v2 to-do list, even including 2 things I came up with on the spot that (hopefully) will make things several times more entertaining! SO, without further ado, let's get into the nitty gritty!

WHAT'S NEW IN PYNORI V2.0.0???

1: The REAL-LIFE WEATHER has been added to the game! What does this mean? The game checks your location, then sends a request to a simple weather site called wttr.in (to check your local weather), turns the response into JSON-format data, then picks what it needs from the response and formats it in a much more readable way so I wouldn't lose my mind programming the weather events! NEITHER LOCATION NOR WEATHER DATA ARE STORED OR SENT ANYWHERE. You can check the code for proof, and if you still don't trust it even after looking at it, you can turn off Weather Events by going to the options menu on the title screen, then going to the Weather Options submenu and selecting 1. If you're STILL scared of the game "doxxing" you even after turning off Weather Events, I suggest sticking to version 1.9.1 of the game, though it's got some bugs (which this update has patched) that I'll elaborate on later.

2: Daily Challenges have been added to the game! I set up a GitHub repository with a Python script and a workflow that, together, automatically generates a JSON file every 24 hours. These JSON files contain data telling the game what type of Daily Challenge it is (currently there are only 2 types of Daily Challenges, overworld or battle), the player's stats, the weather conditions, and the appropriate data for either type of Daily Challenge. For Battle challenges, the "appropriate data" consists of random HP, ATK, DEF, and Level for the enemy (note: Battle challenge enemies are usually more on the overpowered side). For Overworld challenges, the "appropriate data" consists of the required amount of steps (rounded to the nearest 5), the population (which caps at half the required steps), and the pool of enemies you can encounter.

3: You can now sell items you don't need instead of having to use them! If you've ever gotten tired of having to use items you don't need just for the sake of getting them out of your inventory, that's no longer necessary! If you encounter a shop, type "to sell" in the prompt that asks "What would you like?" (or "What do you want?" if you're doing a kill everything run). The game will then view your inventory and tell you to select a slot, then it'll ask you if you want to sell the item in that slot. If you say yes, you'll essentially receive a full refund for that item. It's removed from your inventory and you're paid the full cost of the item.

4: At long last, more minigames have been introduced! Not a whole lot, unfortunately (only 2), but that's better than nothing! Introducing Suika and Wordle. In Suika, you have 20 spaces to "merge" numbers until a randomly generated goal is reached. Instead of graphics, though, there are just numbers... and some letters, just so the game can go above 9. As for letters, it stops at F because that's where it ends in base-16 (hexadecimal). Just a heads-up that merges can only go from left to right due to how the minigame was written. By that I mean, if you have a 3 in slot 7 and you place a 3 in slot 8, slot 8 will become 4 and slot 7 will become 0 instead of vice versa. That aside, once there are no more free spaces (zeroes), you lose. In Wordle, you have 5 attempts to guess a 6-letter word that usually* relates to either PyNori, programming, or tech in general. If a letter is green, that means the word contains that letter and it's in the right spot. If a letter is yellow, that means the letter is in the word but is in the wrong spot. If a letter is white, it is not in the word.

* There are plenty of words in the list that are simply other players' first guesses for 6-letter Wordles. None of these words are related to PyNori or anything technology related, they're just nods to the real game. Though, the REAL real game (by New York Times Games) uses strictly 5 letters, but you know what I meant.

5: There's now a sound effect for when a character's Vocal Points are refilled! Did it ever feel weird that there's a heal sound for Hit Points but not Vocal Points? That changes starting now!

6: There's now a new alternate game over sound! Have fun trying to trigger it.

As for the bug fixes, there are really only 3 notable ones, and only one of them can really be counted as a bug. The other fix was just me being forgetful.

1: The puzzle rooms in Shadorako's Lair will no longer break the game if you enter a value that's out of bounds. For example, say you're asked to pick a number from 1 to 10 and you choose 11, the game will no longer jump all the way back to a part of the game you finished 20 minutes ago.

2: The Randomiser quirk now works in Shadorako's Lair. (I had not implemented Randomiser functionality for Shadorako's Lair in v1.9.0.)

3: If you're not on Windows, you'll no longer get errors about rpc_id.dll. You don't even need it because DLLs are Windows only.

Well, that's all for now! I'm not sure about you, but this update seems pretty big to me, so I count this as a win.

But, before I go, allow me to refocus on the topic of Daily Challenges.

There are two flags in the JSONs of every Daily Challenge that simply toggle notices. The first flag is called "difficult". If this is set to true, the game will tell you that the Daily Challenge is difficult. The second flag is called "verified". If this is set to true (and "verifier" has a name), the game will essentially tell you that the Daily Challenge is possible, as well as the username of the first person to beat it.

If YOU want to be the verifier of a Daily Challenge, here's how!

1: Start recording your terminal window with a screen recorder. As long as the text on the screen is legible, it works. Yes, even if you primarily use Bandicam or HyperCam 2. Yes, even if you only get 1 FPS.

2: Once you see "You won the Daily Challenge!", stop recording. If the video shows the message, it counts. If not, you'll have to beat the Daily Challenge on video again.

3: Upload the video publicly to YouTube with the title "PyNori Daily Challenge VERIFIED" and put the current date (including the year) in parentheses. For example, if you're verifying the Daily Challenge for August 12, 2036, you'd put "(August 12, 2036)" or "(8/12/2036)". All together, it'd look like "PyNori Daily Challenge VERIFIED (8/12/2036)". Anyway, after that, tag @PyNori in the description (if that doesn't work, paste a link to the channel instead). JUST in case neither tagging nor linking the PyNori channel works, add #pynori in the description. Whenever I search for PyNori on YouTube, I should come across your video. If you did everything correctly (and didn't cheat), you will receive a comment stating something along the lines of "Congratulations! Your verification was accepted. It may take a few minutes for the Daily Challenge to update on the client side.".

Yes, it actually will take a few minutes (at most, hopefully) for the game to show you that the file has been updated. I don't know why or how, but there's a small gap in time from when the file is updated on the repository to when the game actually realises "oh, something's changed". I'll just blame this on time dilation.

Sadly, this devlog has to come to an end somewhere, and that end is here. Fret not, I'll be back when it's time for v2.1.0 (or if a v2.0.1 is warranted, which I hope not). Until then, Shirley out! Hopefully the Daily Challenges entertain you for long enough in the meantime.

P.S. Since the client side of the Daily Challenge system took so long to test and implement, there are currently as many challenges available as there are letters in the English alphabet! That's right, there are 26 challenges available ALREADY! Some of them are pretty difficult though, which is to be expected given these are generated purely with RNG, so good luck trying to beat them all! I think you'll need it...