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There are many ethical concerns with using AI art, I think that if you're interested in knowing more there is a significant amount of information about that out there since it's a very hot-button topic at the moment. Just searching for "ethics of AI art" for example, would lead to a lot different resources from articles to reddit posts, etc. 

I am no expert on the subject, but generally, how I sum up the main problem, is that there is no public-use AI that I know of that has been built on art that they sourced ethically. In many cases it was taken without permission, and in the cases where they do claim to have permission, it seems like that permission was gathered retroactively (because AI is a relatively recent phenomenon)

AI needs a massive database of images to begin to learn the patterns of how to create more images, and in this situation that core seems to be built without properly gathering the rights to do so for essentially every mainstream AI image generator.

Generally this is primarily a graphical and user-interface overhaul. We do plan to have some new content and some new puzzles, but we're trying to be very careful not to disrupt the story as it currently stands.

We're not adding any new people to the main family tree, for example, and I don't have the bandwidth to create an entirely new family tree like I would if this were a sequel.

Instead, I'm working on ways to include bonus content to investigate into and solve that fits nicely into the story I've created.

The discord is found on the main menu of the game. If you mean that the main menu won't even come up in your current browser, you should be able to temporarily open it in a different browser, and click the discord link there. (Don't bother playing it in a browser that's unfamiliar with you, you can close that browser once you click the discord link)

I'm not sure. I wouldn't trust it if it didn't work the first time. If you run into any kind of bug near the end of the game due to not being able to save I'd really not want for you to have to start over

This likely means that your browser isn't allowing the game to save cookies or there is an issue with an adblocker.

If you come to the discord I (or someone else) can set you up with a downloadable version of the game that will save your file locally instead of into your browser data.

You're going to need to do a bit more research specifically into the person you're missing.

If you search for her name directly on the search engine, it will give you some general search tips on how to track individual people down. This includes searching for things associated with them like product and brand names.

For this one you're gonna wanna look more into one of the Notable Roottree who is directly connected to Eli C.

Be sure to re-read any resources you found when looking into him the first time, especially the ones that are also listed on the periodicals page of your notepad.

 Most mobile games are meant to be played across many short sessions, with good breaks between the gameplay. I think that generally this game has a bit too much reading and note-taking and cross referencing to make it an ideal game for playing in short bursts.

I'm really sorry to hear about your save problems. I'm not sure what more I can do. It's saving to a file that's essentially out of my control. As for my connection to the Pittsburgh region, you can read more about that by searching for the local in-game periodical from that region... but the answer is no. I just picked it at random as a place that sounded reasonable.

I prefer, if you could, remove the names of those people. Maybe just say "some siblings".

I can try to be super vague here but give you enough to find it. It's not on a website though you need the computer. Check the older resources related to the job of the more well known one.

It's in the menu of the game, you can get there from settings.

No problem, I really appreciate it! Because your questions are now removed I can kinda answer both a bit more vaguely without giving anything away to people that don't already know the answers/questions. 

The male's job in particular that you were missing is in a magazine article. It's easy to skip over the significance of it because the article is about that person's offspring, not them directly.

The other job you guessed at is found on a website that lists some clients of a specific company. To remind you which list, one of the entries lead you to find some advertisements involving vehicles. That's the easy one to find. The other thing in the list that you can search for leads you to some information about a local performance. That can help find the second person's job.

I am not planning on releasing a paid version here on itchio. As for the name you were missing, there is a periodical that you likely didn't find. It's mentioned offhand in a pretty major book (the main one in the game) and some people skip right over it because it feels a bit like "lore".

I'd appreciate if you edit out your spoilers, but yes, there are answers for both. One is located on a webpage and the other is located in a periodical article.

If you come to the discord I (or someone else) can tell you the answers less vaguely, if you'd like.

Once you fill in the three sisters correctly the tutorial will automatically move on, you don't need to do anything special.

When you search for the Roottree Sisters it mentions that they specifically have a job associated with one brand of clothing. That's a good place to look into.

Thank you very much!

Scroll wheel will zoom out once you're done with the tutorial.

The game should save but depending on browser and OS it has had some issues. The best way to be sure it is saving is to finish the tutorial, then to use the "save and quit" button in the settings. If you restart the game and don't have the ability to skip the scene with the news on TV, then the game is not saving properly.

After the tutorial ends you will see another sticky note on the computer that leads to a periodical search.

When you do a search for Rhose Roottree in the search engine, there is a mention that you can sometimes find more information about people by searching for things like brand names associated with them. That will help you solve the first puzzle.

Have you tried doing a search for Rhose Roottree in the search engine? There's a somewhat general hint there that gives you a push in the right direction when it comes to how to make discoveries in this game. 

It says to find more information about people search for the brands and products surrounding them. That's the hint that can help you find her.

It's really tricky because its the only level where you need to purposely call upon the dark art. The sequence is: Block rain fire block sap fire block block fire

I do want to address that based on the design of the game, there are people you can't solve without the list and the tree structure. It think it would be a very different feeling game that would need many more clues without those aspects, it's not a setting I could just enable.

I could have made it clearer that the list you have came from the person that hired you, but it seemed to waste precious time during the tutorial and story which is already pretty text heavy.

On the bright side, I just spent an hour frantically googling and hacking together home and end functionality into the notes. It will hopefully be coming in an update pretty soon.

The game cannot be uploaded to Steam, due to its reliance on AI art.

So for me, releasing it for free on itchio was the option that made the most sense. I do have an exe version I give out on the discord for people that want a local copy, but generally, I plan to leave it here and playable in browser for as long as I am able.

I believe this may be caused by an adblocker or some other software that is preventing the game from running properly. I have been unable to reproduce this in the offline version of the game, and when it happens online people have mentioned that their browser console is spamming messages about elements being blocked.

I can get anyone with this problem an .exe version of the game, just follow the discord link in the main menu/settings menu.

Sure, sorry that was unclear. The main menu of the game has a link that takes you straight to the game's discord. You can also find it in the settings menu.

During the beginning of the game, when you do a search directly for Rhose Roottree there is a hint that will put you on the right path to finding her name.

People on the discord can get you an executable version of the game.

If you come to the discord I won't be able to help you get your notes back, but I can get you an executable version of the game if it would prevent that from happening again if you'd like.

If you'd like to come to the discord I can try to catch you back up to where you were before, and also help you with the last four. Up to you.

I'm glad all my iteration on the story paid off! The story evolved a lot, and each time it did a few more connections began to take shape.

Thanks for playing!

Thank you!

I hope you managed to find the final 2! If you need any hints feel free to drop by the discord.

Glad it helped you in that regard. Thanks for playing!

I appreciate it! If you know anyone else who likes mysteries, please pass it along!

All of the spouses do have a way to find them without needing to resort to guess work, though they're the most "out of the box" puzzles in the game, to be fair.

If you have any question about how you were supposed to come across someone or any questions about the game at all, the discord can help.

I do appreciate your donation, thank you. As for continuing in the future right now there are no solid plans. This wasn't supposed to even be the scope that it turned out and I do have a full time job to contend with, so I don't have any immediate plans. I do have some puzzle-game-adjacent stuff I've thought about but its a long ways away from becoming a reality.

Thank you for looking more into this! If you can find a way to contact me privately, on twitter here:
https://twitter.com/SuperrodanDotA

Or on reddit here:
https://www.reddit.com/user/Superrodan

I can send you an exe version of the game that should hopefully work even on an old laptop.

No need to donate (I mean it), this game is free on purpose due to its usage of AI art.

(If you are really insistent on donating however, there is a support link that itchio puts below the game window.)

As for the alternate picture, I'd prefer you edit your post if possible to remove their names. One of the people you mentioned, you can think of as a "notable" Roottree, except they were notable before the internet existed. So maybe they could be mentioned somewhere less digital.

There should be a full screen button on the bottom right section of the game window itself when it is running that allows you to maximize the game to match your screen size.