v2.0.0

New

• All-new 16-bit pixel art. Every scene and character in all six levels has been redrawn in a richer pixel-art style, with one shared colour palette, bold outlines, light and shadow, and far more detail than before. Text, menus, buttons and your saved games are unchanged. (#34, #36)
• Scenes come alive. Torches flicker, fireflies drift through the forest, rivers flow, snow falls in the mountain village, waves roll at the harbour and the boat rocks in the storm. Animations are slow and gentle, and they stop if your device is set to reduce motion. (#34, #36)
• Characters move and react. Everyone has a calm idle animation (blinking, talking, a cat's tail, a snake's tongue), and enemies flinch with a flash and a short knock-back when you hit them in a fight. (#34, #36)
• Bigger, more detailed enemies in fights. The rat, dog, wolf, thief, snake, yeti and stone golem each have larger fight art, with a hurt pose when they take a hit. (#34, #36)
• A calm sea for the trip home. After the island in level 4, you sail home under clearing skies and a faint rainbow instead of back through the storm. (#34, #36)
• The yeti looks happy in the village. In the friendly ending of level 5, the yeti smiles and waves instead of crying. (#34, #36)
• A celebration banner for finishing the game. The final screen now shows a red banner with 恭喜你！ in gold above the temple's mirror. (#34, #36)
• Hanzi Quest is now "16-bit". The title screen, About panel and app description now say 16-bit instead of 8-bit, to match the new art. (#34, #36)

Fixes

• Animations run at the same speed on every screen. On high-refresh-rate displays, scene effects and the flash and shake when someone is hit used to play faster than intended. They're now timed by the clock, not the screen. (#34, #36)
• Security updates for the desktop apps. The Linux and Windows apps now use Electron 43.8.6, which fixes several published security issues in the version they used before. (#36)

Testing status

• The new art has been played and checked in a desktop browser, and every scene was checked as a picture against its story node. It hasn't yet been tried on a phone or with reduce motion turned on. (#34, #36)
• The AppImage and Windows builds of this version haven't been tested yet.
• The sprite problems listed in #20 came from the old art, which this version replaces. They'll need a fresh look against the new art before #20 is closed.
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-2.0.0.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.2.0.0.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.2.0.0.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.9

Fixes

• The blue flower no longer disappears into the sky. In level 4 the flower's petals were the same blue as the sky behind them. They now have their own deeper blue and a dark outline. (#20, #35)
• You can now see the seeds the snake gives you. If you make peace with the snake in level 4, the seeds appear on screen as it hands them over, and the ending shows a new sprout grown from them instead of a full flower. (#20, #35)
• The captain now stands in the boat. At sea in level 4, the captain used to bob up and down in front of the boat, out of step with it. The captain now stands on deck and rocks with the boat. (#20, #35)
• The yeti's chest no longer has see-through spots. Two missing pixels on the yeti in level 5 looked like dots on its chest and let the background show through. (#20, #35)

Testing status

• The sprite fixes were checked as drawings on the scenes they appear in, but haven't yet been played through in the app or on a phone. (#35)
• Levels 4–6 have now had the same visual check as levels 1–3, so every level has been checked. Other sprite issues listed in #20 are still open.
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.9.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.9.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.9.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.8

New

• S / M / L now sizes the story text, not just tooltips. The size buttons in the top bar now change the dialogue, choices, speaker name and the pinyin above words, as well as tooltips. M is the same size as before, S is a little smaller and L is a quarter larger. Your saved size carries over. (#28, #31)

Fixes

• Pinyin no longer runs together. With pinyin (拼) turned on, neighbouring words' pinyin used to touch, so 站在船 read as "zhànzàichuán". Words now have a small gap between them when pinyin is shown. (#28, #31)

Testing status

• The text size and pinyin spacing changes have been confirmed on desktop and on a phone. (#28)
• Levels 1–3 have been checked more closely for visuals. The final levels will get the same check as they become available. (#20)
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.8.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.8.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.8.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.7

Fixes

• No more gaps inside words when pinyin is hidden. Some words, most noticeably 船长 (captain), had extra space between and around their characters even with pinyin turned off. This happened whenever a word's pinyin was wider than its characters. Hidden pinyin now takes up no space, so every word is spaced normally. About 200 words were affected, including 上上下下, 常常, 想想 and 商店. (#27, #29)
• Turning on pinyin (拼) for a bubble now shows it instantly instead of fading it in.

Testing status

• The spacing fix was checked in a test browser before release.
• Levels 1–3 have been checked more closely for visuals. The final levels will get the same check as they become available. (#20)
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.7.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.7.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.7.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.6

Fixes

• Third-tone pinyin looks right on phones. On phones and tablets, pinyin with the third-tone mark (ǎ ǐ ǒ ǔ ǚ) looked bold next to the other letters. The game now includes its own pinyin font, so every tone looks the same on every device. Desktop pinyin is unchanged. (#25, #26)

Testing status

• Tapping words in choices (added in 1.3.5) has now been confirmed working on mobile browsers. (#23)
• The pinyin font fix has been confirmed on a phone. (#25)
• Levels 1–3 have been checked more closely for visuals. The final levels will get the same check as they become available. (#20)
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.6.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.6.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.6.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.5

Fixes

• Tap a word in a choice to see its meaning. On phones and tablets, tapping a word in a choice used to pick that choice right away. Now it shows the word's pinyin and English. To pick the choice, tap anywhere else in the box. This works in fights too. (#23, #24)
• Long press no longer selects text. On phones and tablets, holding your finger on the game text doesn't select it or open the copy menu anymore. (#23, #24)
• Tooltips close when you tap elsewhere. On phones and tablets, tapping anywhere other than a word closes the tooltip. (#23, #24)

Desktop works as before: hover a word to see its meaning, and click a choice to pick it.

Testing status

• These changes have been confirmed working on mobile browsers.
• Levels 1–3 have been checked more closely for visuals. The final levels will get the same check as they become available. (#20)
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.5.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.5.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.5.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.4

Fixes

• The house sits on the ground. At the end of a level, the house no longer floats above the grass. (#20, #22)
• The thief is asleep in the park. The text says he's sleeping under a tree with a bag beside him, and now the picture shows that too. (#20, #22)
• Running from the thief takes you back to the rooftop instead of the park, where he's asleep. (#22)

Improvements

• Speaker names have tooltips. Hover or tap a speaker's name (老人, 船长, …) to see its pinyin and English. Names are also bigger, closer to the size of the dialogue. (#22)
• Spoken choices are in quotes. Things you say to someone appear in “ ”, so talking (“谢谢你！”) is easy to tell apart from doing (走进去). (#22)
• Tighter punctuation. There's no longer a gap between ！ or 。 and a closing quote, as in standard Chinese typesetting. (#22)

Testing status

• Levels 1–3 have been checked more closely for visuals. The final levels will get the same check as they become available. (#20)
• Native speaker review of the dialogue is still pending. (#4)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.4.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.4.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.4.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.3

Fixes

• Clearer pictures. Sprites that were hard to recognize have been redrawn. (#20, #21)
  • The dog and the wolf are now drawn from the side, so they no longer look like the rat. The wolf is bigger, with a long snout and a bushy tail. The guard dog snarls with its head low, and it's a calm, friendly dog after you feed it.
  • The old man has two eyes and a white beard. Everyone shares one skin tone, the captain wears a navy coat with a gold badge, and the doctor's red cross is easier to see.
  • The sun has rays, and the coins look like coins.
  • Objects like the house, key and coins stay still. Only creatures and people bob.
• Every speaker has a picture. The girl at the library, the neighbor, the shopkeeper and the child now appear when they talk, and the stolen bag appears when you find your name on it. (#20, #21)
• The wolf is beside the fire. In the forest, the wolf and the old man used to stand on top of the campfire. They now stand beside it, as the text says. (#20, #21)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.3.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.3.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.3.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.2

Fixes

• Text corrections from native speaker review. 门开了！里很黑。now reads 门开了！里面很黑。, and 那里 shows as one word ("nàlǐ — there"). (#4, #19)
• Fewer false "unsaved progress" warnings. The home button only warns when something changed since your last save or load. (#19)
• Load your last save after losing. Game-over screens offer 回到上次存档 (load last save) when you have a save for the current level. You can't save at 0 health, so a bad save can't replace a good one. (#19)
• Feeding the dog uses up the fish. The key and the warm clothes are kept, since you need them again later. (#19)
• Simpler level-end screens. They only offer "go to next level". The old "rest" option sent you to the title screen, and your health already refills at each new level. (#19)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.2.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.2.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.2.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/

v1.3.1

Fixes

• Easier-to-read footer hint. The hint at the bottom of the game is brighter and slightly larger, and now reads "Hover over or tap a word for help", which also covers phones. (#17, #18)
• Readable locked levels. Locked levels on the level select screen (and Continue when there's no save) now use a dashed outline instead of fading out, so "Finish LV… to unlock" is easy to read. (#17, #18)

Downloads

Platform	File
Linux	Hanzi.Quest-1.3.1.AppImage (mark executable, then run)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.Setup.1.3.1.exe (installer)
Windows	Hanzi.Quest.1.3.1.exe (portable)

Or play in your browser: https://caleba42.github.io/hanzi-quest-app/