You may or may not have realized we were cooking a second update this month, but here it is!

This update adds gift-giving, with the ability to give gifts to NPCs for an attitude boost (no more than once per day) and also to receive gifts on certain occasions. Birthdays, added in the previous update, have been further expanded upon.

And finally, most importantly, since it is the season, a new holiday called Renewal Festival has been added! This is a festival celebrating the renewal of ties of family and friendship going into the new year, marked by feasts and the giving of gifts. Renewal Festival is celebrated on the very last day of Festember. You'll receive gifts from friends and partners through the week, culminating in a celebration in the residence hall on Saturday night.

Given the content in this update, I really wanted to get it out before the holidays, hence the unusual timing! The downside here is that this update will take the place of what would've been the January monthly update. However, through January we'll be working on a lots-of-little-things type update which will be released on the usual schedule.

A huge thanks, as always, to the contributors and supporters who make this project possible.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

v0.6.1 release notes:

• Added the ability to give gifts to NPCs
• NPCs will evaluate a gift based on their interests and inclinations, their relationship with you, and its value, and shift their attitudes towards you accordingly
• Giving a gift an NPC really likes is a new romance milestone
• NPCs gifted an accessory (like jewelry) will usually be seen wearing it thenceforth, as long as they still like you
• NPCs may also give you gifts on your birthday or other special occasions… or sometimes just because!
• Added the Renewal Festival, a holiday that takes place at the end of Festember, celebrating family and friendships with feasts and gifts and ringing in the new year
• A Renewal Festival feast now takes place in your residence hall on the night of the holiday, culminating in a countdown to midnight
• Stealthy Sionnach runs during the holiday week. Anonymously gift one of your hallmates and get a gift in return at the Renfeast!
• A new seasonal section at JT Ult is the place to go if you want to buy and decorate your own Renfest tree
• Your character’s parents will now send gifts on certain occasions
• Having a birthday now actually advances your character’s age!
• Birthdays of your friends and romantic partners now show on your phone’s calendar and reminder apps
• NPCs now dress in their best formalwear on certain occasions (specifically, for the moment, exactly one occasion: the Renewal Festival feast)
• You can now choose to hide displayed dorm room decoration items from the dorm inventory screen. Hiding them does not eliminate any stated effects, only prevents them from showing in the room description
• Added a bunch of mostly formal/sexy clothing (contributed by Hee Ho)
• Many fixes and tweaks