Product Updates
Changelog
Follow along as we build XScapeKit. New features, improvements, and fixes - we're constantly evolving based on creator and player feedback.
New Feature
April 2026- Drop screenshots and walkthrough images directly into your story description - great for tutorials, devlog entries, or showing off what's inside
- Paste from clipboard works out of the box - snag a screenshot and paste right into the editor
- Drag and drop image files onto the editor as an alternative to clicking the toolbar button
- Resize any inserted image with corner handles - drag a corner to scale it down (or back up), aspect ratio locked so it always looks right
- Supports PNG, JPEG, WebP, and animated GIF so you can include walkthroughs without jumping through video hoops
- Images are automatically sized to fit the description column with rounded corners, so they look good on the landing page without any extra effort
- Up to 5 images per description - enough for a full tutorial walkthrough without letting the page get out of hand
- Accessibility / A11y updates throughout the story landing pages, story description data and landing pages.
- Video support is planned but not yet supported in most areas.
Bug Fix
April 2026Editor preview formattingv0.30.1
- Editor node previews now show rich text formatting - multi-line text, bold, italic, underline, and colors display correctly instead of collapsing to a single line
- Formatting in Narrative and Dialogue node cards now matches what players see in-game
- Tightened HTML style sanitization to only allow color values across all elements
Security
April 2026- New profanity filter on usernames blocks offensive words at signup and when updating your profile
- Security updates added for all platforms
- Backend platform updates
New Feature
April 2026- Switch between character poses directly from the dialogue editor - no more jumping to the Media Library to change expressions
- Compose new poses on the fly with the Compose New Pose shortcut in the pose dropdown (for layered sprite characters)
- Custom narrator names - set a nameplate label like 'Guide', 'Narrator', or '???' for narration nodes, or hide it entirely
- Variable-driven names - use player input (like a name they entered) as the speaker or narrator nameplate
- Full-screen stage preview now accessible from the dialogue panel with device sizing controls
New Feature
April 2026Character Image Sizingv0.28.0
- Control how large or small each character appears on stage with a new Size slider (1-100%)
- Size is set per character, per dialogue node - make characters bigger in close-ups or smaller in crowd scenes
- Full-screen stage preview lets you see exactly how characters will look in the player at phone, tablet, and desktop sizes
- Adjust sizes live in the preview and watch characters scale in real-time before you publish
New Feature
April 2026Sprite Sheet Slicerv0.27.0
- Upload a sprite sheet and slice it into individual poses with a visual grid overlay - set columns, rows, and padding to match your sheet layout
- Import from Aseprite - drop in your .json metadata file and frames are auto-detected with labels from your Aseprite tags
- Interactive slicer with pan, zoom, and hover-to-highlight - see exactly which region maps to each pose before slicing
- Re-slice anytime - update your sheet and regenerate poses without losing your grid settings
- Works alongside layered sprites - use whichever workflow fits your art pipeline, or both
New Feature
March 2026- Upload expression, outfit, and accessory layers - then mix and match to compose character poses from any combination
- Live canvas preview shows your composed sprite instantly before saving, so you can fine-tune each pose
- Batch generate up to 50 poses at once - 3 bases x 4 expressions x 2 outfits = 24 poses from just 9 uploads
- Deletion safety - warnings tell you exactly which poses will be affected before you remove a layer
- Broken image resilience - if a pose image goes missing, the player shows a graceful placeholder instead of a broken icon
New Feature
March 2026Media Library Overhaulv0.25.0
- Browse all your creative assets in one place - characters, themes, and audio in a unified media browser
- Filter by asset type, search by name, and sort by date, name, or file size
- See your total storage usage at a glance with a per-category breakdown
- Dynamic media type system - new asset categories appear automatically as they're added
Improvement
March 2026- Use player input as a character's display name - ask for the player's name, then have dialogue show it as the speaker
- Editor preview now always shows your latest changes, not the last published version
- Fixed hook editing - clicking Edit on an existing hook now loads its actions correctly
- Preview button saves your work automatically before opening, so new nodes appear immediately
New Feature
March 2026Theme Your Story's Feelv0.23.0
- Style input prompts: customize the background, borders, colors, and animation when players enter their name or other input
- Theme popups & toasts - control how hook-triggered notifications and modals look, with text alignment and custom background images
- New Overlays tab in the theme editor - all input and popup styling in one place
- Responsive device preview - see how your theme looks on phone, tablet, and desktop with portrait/landscape toggle
- Full-screen preview now includes Input and Popup modes alongside Dialogue, Choice, and Narrative
New Feature
March 2026Auth Updatesv0.22.0
- Minor update: better handling of sessions on forgot password and logout
New Feature
March 2026Hooks Engine & Audio Libraryv0.21.0
- New Hooks system - attach sound effects, background music, popups, and variable changes to any node in your story
- Audio Media Library - upload and organize audio files in Studio with folders, search, and inline preview
- Toast & modal popups - show messages to players on node enter/exit, with variable interpolation support
- Volume control - players can mute or adjust volume during gameplay, with preferences saved across sessions
- Global hooks - create story-wide hooks that fire across all nodes based on triggers and conditions
- Hook builder - visual editor for configuring triggers, conditions, and ordered action lists with drag-to-reorder
New Feature
March 2026Variables Enginev0.20.0
- New Variables system - creators can define text, number, and boolean variables in the editor's Variables panel
- New Input node - prompt players for input (like their name) during gameplay with themed, accessible input screens
- Dialogue interpolation - use {$variable_name} in dialogue, narrative, or choice text to display variable values
- Character variable names - link a character's nameplate to a variable so it updates dynamically (e.g., player's chosen name)
- Variable state saves automatically - player input persists across save, load, and auto-save
New Feature
March 2026Theme Library & Editorv0.19.0
- New Media -> Themes page in Creator Studio - browse, create, and manage all your saved themes in one place with visual preview cards
- Standalone theme editor at full width with a larger live preview - see your changes in more detail than the story tab
- Full-screen preview mode - see your theme at actual player dimensions in a 16:9 viewport, switch between Dialogue, Choice, and Narrative with keyboard arrows
- New dialogue box width control - set your dialogue box to 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, or 60% width for a floating panel look
- Hover text color for choices - separate text color when hovering over choice buttons, with interactive hover preview in real time
- Upload custom background images directly on standalone themes - no need to apply to a story first
New Feature
March 2026Named Custom Themesv0.18.0
- Save your theme customizations as named themes - give them a name like "Dark Forest" or "Neon Cyberpunk" and reuse them across any of your stories
- Browse and apply your saved themes from a dropdown picker right alongside the built-in presets
- Update a saved theme after making tweaks, or save your changes as a brand new theme
- Rename or delete saved themes at any time from the three-dot menu in the picker
- Your theme library is yours - every theme you save is available on every story you create
New Feature
March 2026Player Theme Customizationv0.17.0
- Upload custom background images for your dialogue box, choice buttons, and character nameplate for full visual theming
- Choose from 23 curated Google Fonts and 4 built-in presets (Classic, Modern, Minimal, Paper) as starting points
- Independent opacity controls for backgrounds and text - semi-transparent dialogue box with crisp text on top
- Position your character nameplate above or inside the dialogue box with precise offset sliders
- Narrative node theming: upload full-screen backgrounds with 4 fit modes (Cover, Contain, Pattern, Centered), set default colors and animation style, customize title font and size
- Live preview with Dialogue, Choice, and Narrative tabs updates instantly as you adjust settings
- Organized tabbed editor on the story detail page: Dialogue, Choices, Nameplate, Narrative, Typography & Global
New Feature
March 2026Cutscene Nodesv0.16.0
- New Cutscene node type lets you add full-screen images between dialogue sequences - perfect for establishing shots, location changes, and chapter breaks
- Choose between instant cut or smooth fade transitions with configurable duration
- Add optional caption text that overlays the bottom of the screen - great for "Meanwhile..." or "3 hours later..." moments
- Control how images fill the screen: Cover fills edge-to-edge (may crop), Contain shows the full image with your chosen background color behind it
- Creators can mark cutscenes as unskippable for key story moments, or let players click to advance
New Feature
March 2026Creator Profile Storefrontsv0.15.0
- Creator profiles are now full storefronts - subscription tiers display in a sidebar (desktop) or swipe-up modal (mobile) so visitors can subscribe right from the profile
- New About tab lets creators tell their story with rich text formatting - up to 10,000 characters
- Posts now show image thumbnails with hover animations, engagement stats, and a stronger subscribe-to-unlock call to action for gated content
- Creators can choose from 17 custom icons for their tiers - pick the one that fits your brand
- XPerience type badges show at a glance whether content is a Visual Novel, Escape Room, or Detective Case
- Copy your profile URL with one click from Creator Settings to share it anywhere
New Feature
March 2026- Choose how often you get email notifications - immediately, as a daily digest, weekly digest, or turn them off entirely
- Digest emails group your notifications by type and creator, so you get one clean summary instead of a flood of individual emails
- Similar notifications are now grouped together in the bell dropdown and notifications page - expand a group to see individual items
- Notification sound plays a short chime when real-time notifications arrive - toggle it on or off in Settings
- Old read notifications are automatically cleaned up to keep things fast and tidy
New Feature
March 2026- Control your notifications - toggle in-app and email notifications on or off from Settings
- Fine-tune email preferences per notification type: new posts, new followers, tier changes, and XPerience updates
- Disabled notifications? The bell icon shows you at a glance, with a quick-enable button right in the dropdown
- Email notifications are scaffolded and ready - styled email templates coming soon
- Notification settings consolidated into one place under Account Settings for both players and creators
New Feature
March 2026Real-Time Notificationsv0.12.0
- Notifications now arrive instantly via WebSocket - no more waiting for a page refresh
- Toast notifications pop up the moment something happens, so you never miss an update
- Get notified when creators you follow publish or update an XPerience
- Notification bell is now available in Creator Studio and the Editor, not just the main app
- Follow/unfollow spam protection - rapid toggling no longer floods creators with duplicate notifications
New Feature
March 2026In-App Notificationsv0.11.0
- Get notified when creators you follow publish new posts - never miss an update
- Creators receive notifications when someone new follows them
- Subscribers are notified when a tier they belong to is deactivated
- Notification bell in the navbar shows your unread count at a glance
- Click the bell for a quick preview, or visit the full notifications page with filtering and infinite scroll
- Mark individual notifications as read, mark all as read, or delete ones you no longer need
Improvement
March 2026- Tier pricing is now locked when active subscribers exist - no accidental price changes that affect paying supporters
- Deactivating a tier with subscribers shows a double-confirmation dialog explaining the impact before canceling subscriptions
- Subscribers keep access until their current billing period ends when a tier is deactivated
- Removing benefits from a tier with subscribers shows a warning before proceeding
New Feature
March 2026- Write posts for your audience with rich text formatting - announcements, updates, and behind-the-scenes content
- Schedule posts for the future, reschedule, unschedule, or publish immediately from the Studio
- Set post visibility to public, subscribers-only, or a specific tier
- Your published posts now appear on your profile under a new Posts tab - visitors can like them with a single click
- Profiles now show separate Followers and Likes icons so they're easy to tell apart at a glance
Improvement
March 2026- Tier descriptions now support rich text formatting - use bold, italic, lists, and links to make your tiers stand out
- Narrative node animations are smoother - fade style respects your duration setting and consecutive narrative nodes transition cleanly
- Story splash screens now render formatted descriptions instead of raw text
- Creator profiles load correctly for visitors who aren't logged in
New Feature
March 2026- Format your dialogue and narrative text with bold, italic, underline, and color using the new rich text toolbar in the editor
- Character sprites now stay perfectly still during dialogue - no more shifting when text changes length
- Edit pose labels and images directly from the character detail page with the new Edit button on hover
- Multi-character stage positioning works in the player - place up to 5 characters across the scene with the position dropdown
- New stories start with a guided tutorial template to help you learn the editor basics
Improvement
March 2026- Create free community tiers - set any Tier 1 to 0 XO so fans can subscribe at no cost
- Pricing ranges are much wider now -Tier 4 goes up to 10,000 XO ($100/mo) for premium creators
- All four tier levels have overlapping ranges, giving you full control over how you price each tier
- Free tier subscribers skip payment entirely - no empty transactions cluttering your earnings
New Feature
February 2026Live Subscription Tiersv0.9.5
- Subscription tiers are now fully connected - create, edit, and delete tiers with real XO pricing
- Choose from four tier templates (Tier 1–4) with guided XO cost ranges when creating new tiers
- Toggle tiers active or inactive, enable subscriber messaging, and manage benefits all from one place
- Tier stats dashboard shows active tiers, total subscribers, and monthly XO revenue at a glance
- Delete confirmation warns you about active subscribers before removing a tier
Improvement
February 2026- Write rich text descriptions for your XPeriences with the new editor - bold, italic, headings, bullet lists, and links
- XPerience landing pages now feature a cinematic full-width cover banner with vignette fading at every edge
- Cover images scale responsively from mobile to ultra-widescreen monitors with no hard cutoffs
- Cover image uploads now require a minimum of 1200x400 pixels to ensure crisp display at all screen sizes
New Feature
February 2026- Upload cover images and thumbnails for your XPeriences from the new detail page upload zones - drag-and-drop or click to browse
- Consistent landscape thumbnails (4:3) across all card listings: Studio, Discover, Library, and creator profiles
- Cover images (16:10) display as banners on XPerience landing pages, with thumbnails as the card image
- Unified fallback placeholder across every listing - the XScapeKit logo replaces mixed icons
- Full keyboard and screen reader accessibility for all image upload controls, drop zones, and display components
Improvement
February 2026- New XPerience detail page - manage everything about your story in one place: metadata, settings, version history, and reviews
- Edit genre, content rating, estimated playtime, language, and tags directly from your XPerience page - changes save automatically
- See player reviews and ratings at a glance with the new Reviews section on published XPeriences
- Quick links to Play Published Version and Preview Public Page right from your XPerience management view
- Refreshed story cards in the Studio with cleaner layout, dropdown menus for actions, and monetization badges
Improvement
February 2026Messaging Enhancementsv0.9.1
- Creators can now close and reopen conversations - closed threads show a banner and hide the reply input
- Replying to a closed thread as a creator automatically reopens it, so you never get stuck
- Block and unblock users directly from a thread or from the new Blocked Users tab in your inbox
- Players see a clear 'Closed' status on threads and can resume replying once the creator reopens
New Feature
February 2026- New onboarding wizard for players - pick your favorite genres, set content preferences, and discover creators to follow
- Your dashboard is now personalized with sections for Continue Playing, New from Creators You Follow, Recommended for You, and Trending
- Follow your favorite creators for free - see their latest XPeriences right on your dashboard
- Content maturity preferences let you control what shows up in Discover and recommendations
- New Settings page to manage your account, update your profile, and adjust content preferences
- Creator profiles now show follower counts and a Follow button
New Feature
February 2026- Message creators directly from their profile - available with a qualifying subscription tier or via paid messaging
- Creators get a full inbox in the Studio with filtering, starring, and thread management
- Players can view and reply to conversations from a dedicated Messages page in the main app
- Unread message badges appear in both Studio and player navigation so you never miss a reply
- Creators can configure messaging access and paid message pricing from Monetization settings
New Feature
February 2026- See which version you're playing with a subtle in-game version badge - click it to check for updates
- When playing an older version, switch to the latest with one click (your saves are cleared for a fresh start)
- Reviews now show which version was played, so you can see how an XPerience has evolved over time
- Smarter save protection: if a creator reroutes their story around a node you're sitting on, we'll warn you instead of silently upgrading
- Player library page for browsing your XPeriences in one place
- Auto-save now triggers automatically as you play through each scene
New Feature
February 2026- Stories are now XPeriences - the foundation for new content types like escape rooms and detective cases
- Every published XPerience gets its own landing page with cover art, description, reviews, and a Play button
- Shareable links for your content at /u/username/stories/your-slug with full SEO and social previews
- Custom slugs for published XPeriences - set a clean, memorable URL for your work
- Refreshed creator profile pages with improved layout and cover art display
- Creator profiles now show play counts and ratings on every XPerience card
Security
February 2026- Publishing now requires the dedicated publish flow - no more bypassing graph validation
- Version references are now scoped to prevent cross-XPerience data access
- Improved dark mode support across landing pages and review components
- Fixed play count display on creator profiles
New Feature
February 2026Ratings & Reviewsv0.5.0
- Rate and review stories after playing - leave 1-5 star ratings with optional written reviews
- Star rating badges appear on story cards across Discover, Browse, and creator profiles
- Reviews feed into the discovery algorithm so great stories rise to the top
- Edit or delete your reviews at any time from The End screen
- Creators see new review activity in their Studio dashboard feed
New Feature
February 2026Discover Hub & Browsev0.4.2
- New consolidated Discover page with Popular, New, and Top Rated story sections
- Browse all stories with genre filtering, sorting, and search
- Streamlined navigation -Discover is now the central place to find stories
- Improved story cards with play counts and rating badges
Improvement
February 2026- Rebuilt dialogue typewriter with proper two-phase click handling - first click completes text, second click advances, just like classic VNs
- Rapid clicking no longer skips through dialogue
- Fixed phantom navigation bug where narrative timers could fire after the player had already moved on
- Full keyboard support with Space and Enter for advancing dialogue and skipping narratives
- Security hardening across player and editor components
New Feature
January 2026- Full analytics dashboard for creators in the Studio
- Subscriber growth charts with 1-month, 3-month, and 12-month views
- XO earnings tracking and trend visualization
- Top performing content rankings
- Tier distribution breakdown and fee tier display
New Feature
January 2026- Duplicate any node with Cmd/Ctrl+D
- Scene duplication copies all children and internal connections
- Right-click context menu on nodes for quick actions
- Keyboard shortcuts legend accessible via ? key
- Duplicated dialogue nodes preserve character selections
New Feature
January 2026Story Versioningv0.3.0
- Version history for published stories
- Republish with change summaries for your readers
- Players can continue saves on older versions or upgrade
- Version changelog displayed to players on update
New Feature
January 2026Creator Messagingv0.2.1
- Direct messaging between players and creators
- Paid messaging option with XO currency
- Message threads with conversation history
- Creator inbox in the Studio dashboard
New Feature
January 2026- XO virtual currency for content monetization
- Creator subscription tiers with monthly XO billing
- Single play purchases for individual stories
- Creator earnings tracking and payout system
- XO balance and transaction history for players
New Feature
January 2026- Reusable character library with pose management
- Add characters to stories and assign poses to dialogue nodes
- Public creator profile pages at /u/[username]
- Profile stats showing story count and total plays
New Feature
January 2026Creator Studiov0.1.3
- Dedicated creator dashboard with story management
- Play session and completion tracking
- Activity feed showing recent reader engagement
- Studio navigation with stories, posts, media, and settings
New Feature
December 2025MVP Launchv0.1.0
- Visual node-based story editor
- Interactive story player with save/load
- Dialogue, choice, scene, and narrative node types
- Scene nodes for organizing story segments
- User authentication with creator and player roles
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