Windlantern HuanHai · Dev Gazette
The Linshui Gazette, Issue No. 1: We Rebuilt Part of the Game
It's been a while.
The demo launched just two days ago. One honest note first: what you are playing right now is the pre-overhaul build — we have been rebuilding a large part of the game in parallel, and the new version has not been swapped in yet. Starting today, this office will publish a weekly development gazette: what changed, where things stand, and when you can play. This first issue covers the overhaul and the schedule.
The overhaul — four big changes
- Twelve years, two counties. Your first posting is Linshui: two three-year terms, with a first review at the end of Year 3 and a final audit by Censor Pei at the end of Year 6 — any document you signed can be brought back onto the desk. Then you cross the river to Fengyang: a new county, but your predecessor's ledgers and your own reputation come with you.
- The Leverage Box. Signing documents used to be a choice between "approve" and "reject." Now there is a third way: when you spot a falsified account, you can keep the evidence — file it away, let it grow, and play it at the moment it hurts most. This is no longer a game about catching errors. It is a game about setting traps.
- Twelve endings. The upright official, the mediocre one, the disgraced one… and one hidden ending we will only name: "The Guest Becomes the Host."
- Grudges carry over. The game remembers how you treated every single person, and it carries those memories into the chapters that follow. A kindness from years ago may return to repay you — and an old grudge may come back to settle the score.
The schedule
- Now: the free demo on the store page is playable (the pre-overhaul build);
- November 11: the rebuilt opening launches first, as a free update to the current demo;
- November 20: the full new demo launches — the Leverage Box system, playable through the first review at the end of Year 3, with saves carrying into the full game;
- December 10: Early Access launches — all twelve years included, the six Linshui years and the Fengyang sequel chapters. $9.99, 10% off at launch;
- After launch: the first major update adds leverage crafting, and reading experience (font size, layout, text presentation) is on the roadmap for continuous improvement.
Languages & voice
Full text in Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, and German, with Chinese voice-over.
The next issue will be all about how the Leverage Box plays. If we are already on your wishlist, Steam will notify you when the new demo lands. If not — your verdict matters, and so does your wishlist. Leave your judgment in the community hub; we read every word.
— The Linshui County Office