#tbota update

[thebarontheabyss]

Patrons of TBOTA, the update is OUT NOW!

READ HERE

Journey to the realm of Hell, the eternal damnation!

Choose how Hell manifests before you: Neon-drenched metropolis, Victorian industrial, the classic brimstone and fire, or even the suburbs.

Learn more about Yaga—her regrets and her rage.

Do some shopping in the Bazaar of Dis—buy a Roomba for He Without Name or an upgrade for the bar!

Go to dinner with Lilith\ Damian in their home. But be careful; the dessert might ruin the meal.

Please remember: Your feedback on the update will help me so much! So feel free to send your thoughts via ask or leave a comment on the COG forums. Everything is valid, from your love to your critique. I can handle both! :)

And with a personal final note: OMG, Chapter 4 is done. This was truly a hellish update to write, but I'm so happy with how it turned out in the end (it took only two rewrites!)

I hope you enjoy it, and I'll keep you posted for the next update, which will be a BIG ONE.

[thebarontheabyss]

The Abyss Beckons Once More.

The Bar on the Abyss 2.0 Update is Here!

Start your afterlife anew with new mechanics, expanded content, and deeper choices that will shape your MC's journey in the Abyss and beyond.

READ HERE

What’s New in 2.0?

50K+ Words of New Content!

Choose Your Grief Path: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, or Acceptance—select the emotional journey that fits your MC and explore how it shapes their afterlife.

36 Career Backgrounds: Deepen your backstory with various career paths that unlock additional choices and provide unique perspectives on events unfolding around you.

A New And Improved Skill System!

Your Spirit Gift: Choose from six mythical artifacts that enhance your abilities and open new ways to approach challenges.

Detailed Death Choices: Define the circumstances of your character’s death—was it a tragic accident, a deliberate act, or something darker?

Bug Fixes and Improvements: Enjoy a smoother reading experience with numerous bug fixes, text-flow improvements, and better formatting.

How You Can Help

Thank you for reading The Bar on the Abyss, I’d love your thoughts on the new update!

Your feedback is more important than ever— suggestions for more choices, ideas for how your character should react, and thoughts on the latest content; I’m all ears and eyes, like some biblically accurate angel!

Based on your feedback, this update will continue to evolve, with a few “patches” while I work on the next chapter.

So don’t be shy—I want to hear both the good and the bad!

I’m so proud to have brought this update to life. This year has been so hard, but writing this game and connecting with all of you has been truly the best experience.

Thank you for reading The Bar on the Abyss and sharing this eternal journey with me. I wouldn’t change a thing.

See you in the Abyss!

[thebarontheabyss]

Hey patrons! 💗

So, what did you all think of the short stories collection?

Did any of them stand out to you? What worked or didn’t? Is there else anything you’d love to see more of in the future :D

Also, exciting news: I've begun working on Chapter 5—we’re moving forward!

After the new chapter's update, I'll dedicate the following to overhauling some of the game's romance aspects, sort of a 3.0 update.

Thanks for reading. As always, your feedback means the world to me—please let me know what you think!

Catch you all soon in the Abyss!

[thebarontheabyss]

The Prologue is about to get tripled in size 👀

In addition to the 11 options for your cause of death, I'm adding 5 unique variants for each - corresponding to all new paths of grief, so you can *REALLY* customize your death, lol.

(For example, this is the Disease + Anger path)

I can't wait for you to read everything, but I want to fully implement the paths before I release it.

So prepare for a big-ass update, hopefully by the end of July.

BTW, if you want me to add any causes of death to the game, feel free to send your thoughts—I'm already editing everything, so now's the time!

Well, going back to the kitchen.

[thebarontheabyss]

Tomorrow, your afterlife starts anew.

Hello Patrons!

After two all-nighters, I can finally and officially announce that The Bar on the Abyss 2.0 update will be released tomorrow, Friday 16th :D

I will post the full list of features and changes with the update, but here's a small preview: I added 3 more solutions to the confrontation with Pyriphlegethon!

Your new Spirit Gift will now enable you to avoid a fight altogether: charm them, use your insight to uncover the true reason for their attack, or apply logical thinking to break their resolve.

See you tomorrow :D

[thebarontheabyss]

Patrons of TBOTA, the update is now officially live!!!

A new night shift has begun at your bar—one that will change everything.

Meet Cassy - A young demigod has taken refuge in your bar, bringing big revelations. Drink milkshakes with her and uncover secrets!

Peisinoe is in a bind, and the stage calls for an unexpected hero—will it be you? Perform live on stage (or simply ask the Raven to read poetry) and save the day!

Helped a certain celestial couple solve their marital quarrel? Meet them at the bar and discover more about them!

Navigate through a night of challenges: impress a nightlife journalist, diffuse a potential brawl, and maybe play Cupid for Shelly.

Start your romance paths with Hastur and Peisinoe.

And FINALLY: Face the Raven, get your answers - but beware, you might not like what he has to say.

UGH, I'm beyond thrilled to release this update and can't wait to hear what you think!

Remember: Your feedback on the update is invaluable to me. Send it via ask or leave a comment on the COG forums. Everything is valid, from your love to your critique. I can handle both! :)

(LINK TO WIP)

HAVE FUN IN THE ABYSS!

[thebarontheabyss]

What would your MC wish for if they could?

In the upcoming 2.5 update, I'm introducing a contract that you will be able to read and sign before accepting ownership of the bar in Chapter 1 (this is a job offer after all, right?).

This contract includes… fascinating new details and, most notably, your pension plan—a wish granted by the Council of Nine.

Would you wish for resurrection? Meaning? Revenge?

And, most importantly, would you even exist long enough to make that wish? 👀

[thebarontheabyss]

Aghhhh I've just completed the Prologue!

I expanded the initial 11 causes of death options into 5 branches each (using the new paths of grief system) resulting in approximately 50 variants for the beginning of the game alone. 😵‍💫

In addition, almost every cause can be chosen as a murder, a suicide or by the hands of fate.

Now I'm starting to review the rest of the game, adding options for causes of death, paths of grief, and new backgrounds for your MC. There’s work to be done, but i’m very optimistic about a release by the beginning of August!

See you soon ❤️

[thebarontheabyss]

Just in time for the spooky season, the new update is here!

By popular demand, you can now browse the Library of Pseudonium and discover 10 new entries—tales from across the realms of TBOTA, each with its genre, format, and mood.

READ HERE

But be warned… the cosmos is dark and filled with terrors, and so are some of these tales... 👀

You can try uncovering these hidden tomes in Memoriam (Chapter 4), but if you're not up for a fresh playthrough, don't worry :D

I've added a new section in the stats menu called "The Archive" that will contain all songs, books, and notes from the game.

For now, all 10 entries are unlocked and available, even from a new save.

I can't wait to hear what you think about this new collection—writing these short stories has been an absolute joy, and I’m excited to read your reactions.

Happy autumn, and see you soon in the Abyss!

[thebarontheabyss]

Hello patrons!

So good new, my funemployment era is ovec which is why I was less active in the past few days :)

But don't worry; this won't affect game development any more than it has. Now that everything is settled, I can get into a proper writing routine!

In other words, the next update is in progress—and as usual at this stage, it’s larger than I anticipated.

See you soon :D

[thebarontheabyss]

Greetings to all patrons of TBOTA!

The bad news: Tomorrow, I'll upload an important update to TBOTA that might break previous saves a bit. I’m not 100% it will, but I don't want to surprise anyone and want to give you a bit of a headstart! The good news: If your Death goes by they/them, they'll actually have plural verbs :D

Yes, the bug that has been hunting my game since its conception has finally been solved with the help of the incredible Nocifer, whose WIP you should DEFINITELY check out. It's great!!!

There might be some missing verbs I missed, but from now on, all descriptions of Death should match their gender correctly (and lmk if you find any other pesky errors)

Oh and... work on Chapter 5 is going well so far ;)

[thebarontheabyss]

Hello patrons! Feeling a LOT better and can finally resume the work.

And the next update is coming faster than you think—this Friday!

In it are a lot of bug fixes for the 2.0 update, and of course, 10 new entries for the Library of Pseudonium—a collection of short stories filled with lore, mysteries and of course, death 📚

See you soon.

[thebarontheabyss]

DAILY TBOTA 2.0 UPDATE NEWS

If you choose Anger as your path of grief, you can make Death cry on your first meeting with them :D

(Don't worry, they won't hold it against you.)

[thebarontheabyss]

heyy! so whats like. the biggest thing coming in this update? like, an you give us a crashcourse on what were getting??

Of course I can! :D

So, while the 2.0 update introduced new mechanics, this update focuses on narrative expansions and complete rewrites of some aspects.

This also means it is harder to summarise as neat bullet points, but I'll try my best hehe.

Oh, and beware of spoilers if you haven't read all the available chapters of TBOTA! >

The Bar on the Abyss 2.5 UPDATE:

Overhauling the Loneliness, the Curse, and Your MC’s Motives

I’m completely rewriting all aspects of how the curse, the entity, and your MC’s motives tie into the narrative.

Here are the big changes: your MC is no longer “trapped” in the bar by the entity but by an employment contract. Why would you sign up for that? For the pension plan—a wish granted by the gods. It’s a much better hook IMO, gives your MC more agency, and meshes amazingly with the grief paths for roleplaying.

Of course, the Curse and the Loneliness are still a big part of the story, but they’ll be introduced differently. For example, I’m removing scenes where the entity forces your MC to agree to things (like during staff interviews). Instead, your MC will have actual motives and agency behind their decisions.

Romance Overhaul

I’m reworking the romances to feel more natural and engaging.

You’ll have earlier opportunities to flirt with Peisinoe and Hastur.

The romance paths for Death, Lilith/Damian, and Morgan/a will be better paced across the demo.

Now, a lot of this is WIP, and I'm still wondering how much I want to change, so Please let me know if you have requests or ideas for changes you’d like to see!

Other Additions

In Chapter 4, you could glimpse into some of the cast’s dreams. I'm adding the option to ask them about it, but don’t expect everyone to open up about it.

I’m adding “death scars” cosmetic options to the character creation by popular demand. For example, if your MC drowned, their skin might have a bluish hue.

The new options will integrate with existing mechanics. For example, a lawyer-background MC can now grill Death and the Raven about the contract’s clauses (aka Karen simulator)

As you can see, it’s a lot of work, which is why this update is taking longer than I anticipated.

Progress is going well, but I can’t give a finish date just yet. I thought it’d be ready this week, but, well, I tend to underestimate how much I want to tweak and add—especially when I go back to earlier chapters lmao.

So, for now… it’s TBD. :D

[thebarontheabyss]

Hey there, patrons of TBOTA! 👻 I thought I'd share one of the things I'm overhauling for the next game update :D

Introducing the new skill system:

Insight

Logic

Physique

Charm

Finesse

Creativity

These new skills will be MUCH more useful in the game and for your MC. More interactivity, basically.

I'm also revamping your MCs' career choices in the prologue. Instead of the usual 5 options plus a "write your own" choice, there will now be a total of 31 career options that will open up unique choices throughout the story. And because why not, here is the complete list:

Scientist, Astronaut, Lawyer, Surgeon, Architect, Psychologist, Professional Athlete, Firefighter, Outdoor Guide, Dancer, Detective, Stuntperson, Politician, Actor, Performer, Bartender, Salesperson, Repair Technician, Medic, Security Specialist, Chef, Martial Artist, Writer, Painter, Journalist, Wood Craftsman, Social Worker, Teacher, Advertiser, Nurse, Spirit Medium.

So, which will be your first choice?

[thebarontheabyss]

The Abyss has a gift for you!

I have another TBOTA 2.0 update news! This time, it's about another feature coming with the update: your Spirit Gift.

On your first morning at the bar, the Abyss itself will grant you an artefact based on your strongest stat.

Use this gift for special spirit abilities, to fight, charm or discover hidden secrets 👀

Sword of Damocles (Physique): A blue-flame sword that grants you an innate mastery of its use. For a warrior-bartender, use it to participate in various fight scenes along the game!

Ring of Houdini (Finesse): A black ring that grants you incredibly agile and fast hands, use it for bartending… or pickpocketing.

Dorian's Necklace (Charm): A silvery necklace that makes you alluring to all beholders. Use it to convince and enchant patrons, or calming a army of ghostly warriors to stand down.

Goggles of Da Vinci (Creativity): Leather goggles that reveal patterns and possibilities invisible to others. Use it to find unique solutions to problems, for example—in the realm of Memoriam.

Pythia's Bracelet (Insight): A bracelet that lets you feel people's true intentions. Usable as a passive voice in your head, guiding you along the way.

Hatshepsut's Brooch (Logics): A brooch that enhances your thinking and problem-solving abilities. Use it to figure out things before anyone else or to bypass riddles.