Changelog: 0.3.2b Sanctuary in Time

Greetings, one and all!

Version 0.3.2b of Sanctuary in Time is about to go live! Normally, such content is reserved for patrons first, and then released to the general public later. But because this update is concerned with making the game more accessible to our visually impaired fellow players, I don't think it would be right to restrict its availability. So, the 0.3.2b update will be going live for both patrons and the general public at the same time.

It's my hope that the updates found in this build make the game more accessible and easier to play for our entire community. So, dive in, check it out, and let me know if you have any issues.

Above all else, have fun!

Max (Novus Operandi)

Sanctuary in Time is a text-based, adult management game with a sci-fi twist! Fill the halls of your citadel with beautiful female followers rescued from throughout history, add structures, upgrade them, and survive the forces that killed your father!

Save files from previous versions of the game should be compatible w/ this version. See installation instructions on the File Download page for details on how to transfer save files.

Special Thanks.

• Thank you to player david_solomon1 and other players for bringing the text-to-speech issues to my attention. Player david_solomon1 in particular provided detailed feedback & suggestions that were instrumental in my ability to implement the new accessibility features.
• Thank you to the folks at NVDA for providing tips & suggestions on how to make my application more accessible and text-to-speech friendly.

Text-to-Speech Accessibility Overhaul!

After learning that Sanctuary in Time did not work well (or at all) with text-to-speech applications, I decided to do some research, dig into the code, and figure out how to change that so our visually impaired fellow players could have a better experience.

During the course of this process, I reached out to the folks behind NVDA, a widely adopted and freely available text-to-speech application, and received some excellent tips and advice from them on how to make my game more accessible to the visually impaired. I also used NVDA during the testing process for the new features, so users of that program should hopefully have a seamless experience. Though it’s my hope that Sanctuary in Time will work properly now with other text-to-speech applications as well.

In the course of figuring out why my game wasn’t working well with text-to-speech applications, I discovered - much to my dismay - that the underlying Graphical User Interface library I used to build my game is not natively compatible with text-to-speech functionality. So in order to make my game compatible, I would need to import some 3rd party utilities, and then figure out how to integrate those throughout my existing program. This included creating custom versions of many common interface widgets, such as Buttons, Text fields, and Checkboxes, so they would behave in the manner desired. The resulting process took a lot more time and effort than I initially expected (about a month), but it ended up being a great learning experience, and I now feel that Sanctuary in Time (as well as future programs I make) will be a lot better off because of it.

So, without further ado, here’s the list of changes you can expect.

New Accessibility Updates!

• The program should now be more compatible with NVDA text-to-speech accessibility software, as well as similar applications.
• Keyboard traversal using Tab (to move forward) and Shift-Tab (to move backward) through interface elements should now work properly and be better optimized throughout the whole program.
• The weekly Turn Report has been updated with a dynamic bookmarks system. Pressing up or down on the arrow keys will now cause the text of the report to scroll up or down to various important areas, such as the headings for individual reports, the headings for different buildings and rooms discussed, and the sections that discuss each individual follower. If text-to-speech is enabled, the reading of the report will also jump back and forth to these different areas as you select them, so that users can skip certain sections of text, or jump back and hear a previous section re-read.
• Various text elements throughout the game have been adjusted to be more text-to-speech friendly, such as the removal of lines of asterisks from the weekly Turn Report (which were being read aloud as ‘twenty stars!’), the rewording of Devotion requirement headers on a follower’s management page (which read the abbreviation ‘REQ.’ as ‘Wreck!’), and other areas where adjustment was necessary.
• In the application launcher / Options Menu, the link to the Patreon page for Sanctuary in Time can now be opened by simply pressing the ‘Return’ key when that Text field has focus.

New Text-to-Speech Enabled Widgets!

• Text fields now read aloud their content upon receiving focus.
• Certain Labels or sections of Labels will now read aloud their text upon receiving focus.
• Progressbars now report their label text, and the fact that they’re a ‘progressbar’.
• Buttons now report their label text, the fact that they’re a ‘button’, and if ‘disabled’, they announce that as well. The ‘Return’ key works to activate them when they have focus.
• Checkboxes now report their label text, the fact that they’re a ‘checkbox’, whether they are currently ‘checked’ or ‘not checked’, and what keypress will toggle their state. If ‘disabled’, they announce that as well. They also report their new state of being ‘checked’ or ‘not checked’ each time you toggle them.
• Comboboxes (i.e. dropdown menus) now report their label text, the fact that they’re a ‘combobox’, read off the value currently selected within them, and if ‘disabled’, they announce that as well. Using the up and down arrowkeys will move the currently selected option, each of which will be read aloud, and doing so will automatically make that selection, with no further keypress being necessary.
• Tabbed sections will now announce themselves as ‘tabs’, read off the label text for the currently selected tab, and then give context by mentioning the total number of tabs available. Pressing arrow keys left and right will shift focus to the various tabs available, and doing so will automatically select them. Pressing Tab and Shift-Tab afterward will shift focus to the various elements contained within those sections.
• Lists of selectable choices (such as those found during narrative events) will now announce themselves as a ‘list’, and read off the currently selected item in that list. They will also give context by announcing if they are ‘one of two’ options available, etc. Pressing arrow keys up and down will move focus between the different options available, each of which will be read aloud when it receives focus, and pressing the ‘Return’ key will make your final selection.

New Keyboard Shortcuts!

• A new section has been added to the Tutorials Menu called ‘Keyboard Shortcuts’. It details the information found below.
• Alt + ‘o’ now opens the Options Menu.
• Alt + ‘t’ now opens the Tutorials Menu.
• In the main interface, Alt + ‘a’ now shifts focus to the Advance Turn button, but does not automatically activate it. Pressing the ‘Enter’ key afterward is required. This is done to prevent accidental turn advancements from pressing the wrong shortcut key.
• In the follower management screen, Alt+’a’ now shifts focus to the Accept button at the bottom of the window, while Alt+’c’ shifts focus to the Cancel button instead, but the buttons do not automatically activate. Pressing the ‘Enter’ key afterward is required for confirmation.
• Alt + ‘s’ now shifts focus to the Stats readout for the settlement. Pressing Tab and Shift-Tab afterward will cycle through the various types of values on display, such as the Strength and Devotion section, the readout for settlement resources, as well as energy stored and silver stored.
• Alt + ‘b’ now shifts focus to the Building selection buttons.
• Alt + ‘r’ now shifts focus to the Room selection tabs for whichever Building is currently displayed onscreen. Pressing Tab and Shift-Tab afterward will shift focus to the various sections of that room.
• Alt + ‘f’ now shifts focus to the Filecards for followers in whichever room is currently displayed onscreen. Pressing up or down on the arrow keys will scroll through the various Filecards available. And pressing Tab and Shift-Tab on an individual Filecard will change focus to its various sections and buttons.