Usurper Reborn - v0.28.1 Release Notes

NPCs Feel Alive

The world simulation has always been running behind the scenes — NPCs shopping, training, exploring, socializing — but players never saw it. This release surfaces that simulation directly to the player, making the world feel genuinely inhabited.

Location Presence

• When entering any location, you now see which NPCs are currently there and what they're doing.
• Activity descriptions come from the live world simulation: "examining a blade on the rack", "browsing the armor on display", "deep in prayer at the altar", "nursing a drink at the bar", etc.
• Only NPCs you've actually met are shown (based on memory, impressions, or relationship history). Strangers blend into the crowd.
• Up to 3 NPCs displayed per location. If more are present, a count of the others is shown.
• Fallback flavor text for NPCs without a recent simulation activity, based on the location type (e.g., "warming themselves by the fire" at the Inn, "perusing the stalls" at the Marketplace).

Gossip System

• The Inn's "Listen to rumors" option is now "Listen to gossip" and draws from real simulation events.
• Gossip pulls from the news feed — marriages, divorces, births, deaths, affairs, scandals, coming-of-age events, and more.
• Overheard snippets are wrapped in conversational flavor: "Did you hear?", "Word around town is that...", "People are whispering about...", etc.
• Falls back to the classic static rumor pool when the simulation hasn't generated enough events yet.

Mood-Aware Shopkeeper Dialogue

• Shopkeepers now greet you based on their current emotional state and how they feel about you.
• A shopkeeper who likes you and is in a good mood: "My favorite customer! What can I do for you?"
• A shopkeeper who dislikes you and is angry: "You've got nerve showing your face here."
• A grieving NPC who recently lost their spouse: "Sorry, I... what did you need?"
• Neutral NPCs cycle through emotion-appropriate greetings (fearful, sad, hopeful, joyful).
• Mood also subtly affects transaction prices (±5-15%), rewarding players who build good relationships.
• Integrated into three shops: Tully (Weapon Shop), Reese (Armor Shop), and Jadu (Healer).

NPC-Initiated Interactions

• NPCs with strong feelings about you now occasionally approach you unprompted (5% chance per turn).
• Friendly NPCs (impression > 0.5) may: gift you gold, share useful information/tips, offer a compliment, or cast a minor healing spell.
• Hostile NPCs (impression < -0.5) may: threaten you, warn you to watch your back, or attempt to intimidate you.
• Cooldown system prevents the same NPC from approaching more than once every 10 turns.
• Story NPCs are prioritized when multiple NPCs have strong feelings.

Website Updates

GitHub Sponsors Section

• New "Support the Project" section on the landing page displays GitHub Sponsors.
• Sponsor avatars, names, and tier information pulled from the GitHub GraphQL API.
• 1-hour server-side cache to minimize API calls.
• Graceful degradation when no sponsors exist or PAT is not configured.

Marketing Copy Refresh

• README and website landing page rewritten to better reflect the game's living world and narrative depth.
• New ARCHITECTURE.md document added for developers.

Pascal Reference Files Removed

• Removed 115 legacy Pascal source files from PascalReference/ directory. These were from the original 1993 Usurper source used as implementation reference and are no longer needed.

Files Changed

Modified Files

• Scripts/Core/NPC.cs - CurrentActivity property, GetMoodPrefix(), GetMoodPriceModifier()
• Scripts/Locations/BaseLocation.cs - Enhanced ShowNPCsInLocation() with activity display, GetLocationContextActivity(), ShowShopkeeperMood(), TryNPCApproach(), ShowFriendlyApproach(), ShowHostileApproach()
• Scripts/Locations/InnLocation.cs - Gossip system replacing static rumors
• Scripts/Locations/WeaponShopLocation.cs - Mood-aware greeting for Tully
• Scripts/Locations/ArmorShopLocation.cs - Mood-aware greeting for Reese
• Scripts/Locations/HealerLocation.cs - Mood-aware greeting for Jadu
• Scripts/Systems/NewsSystem.cs - GossipKeywords array, GetRecentGossip() method
• Scripts/Systems/WorldSimulator.cs - Sets CurrentActivity on NPCs during simulation ticks
• web/index.html - Sponsors section, marketing copy refresh
• web/ssh-proxy.js - /api/sponsors endpoint with GitHub GraphQL integration
• scripts-server/usurper-web.service - EnvironmentFile for GitHub PAT

Deleted Files

• PascalReference/*.PAS - 115 legacy Pascal reference files removed