Publishing and Player
Release chapters when they are ready — without making players lose their place
A long story does not have to be finished in full before readers can see it. Authors can now select individual chapters, publish them, then gradually add the continuation and release new versions of chapters readers already know.
For players, an update no longer means an unexpected loss of progress. If a save can safely move to the new version, the game continues from the same place. If the story has changed too much, the choice stays with the player.
Publish only the chapters that are ready
Every chapter is selected by default in the publication window. An author can clear the chapters they do not want to include and leave only the parts that are ready for release.
Imagine *Scarlet Sails* as a seven-chapter story. For the first publication, the author selects chapters 1 and 2. They become the first version of the work, and each chapter receives chapter version 1. The remaining chapters stay in draft and are not yet visible to players.
Later, the author selects chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. This creates the second version of the work:
- chapters 1 and 2 are released as new version 2;
- chapters 3 and 4 are published for the first time and receive version 1;
- a previously published chapter that the author does not select does not disappear — its earlier version is carried into the new publication.
Selecting a chapter therefore means “release this revision,” not “hide everything that is not selected.”
Before publication, Romergo shows which chapters exist only as drafts, which have already been published, and whether their drafts have changed since the previous release. This makes the contents of the future version clear before the author presses Publish.
Every publication stays complete
Players never receive a random mixture of files that changes while they are reading. Every release is a complete, immutable version of all currently available content. It fixes the chapter text, scenes, transitions, and the required images, music, and sounds in place.
In publication history, authors can see:
- the release number and date;
- the story’s visibility;
- the note for the version;
- which chapters were added, updated, or retained unchanged;
- the version number of every chapter.
The history is also available to a connected AI assistant. It can inspect earlier versions before the next publication and explicitly select the chapters that should be released.
A new version does not interrupt an open game
Once a player starts playing, the current session stays pinned to the version of the story that they opened. A new author publication does not replace the story on screen or break the first save made after the update.
The next time the story opens, Romergo checks whether the continuation point still means the same thing: whether the required chapter and scene still exist, whether transitions and the checkpoint are available, and whether variables and interactive-interface state remain compatible.
When everything is compatible, progress moves seamlessly. New variables receive their initial values, and the position inside the scene is safely limited to its current duration.
When seamless continuation is not possible
If the required scene was removed, a transition no longer exists, or important state has changed, Romergo does not pretend everything is fine or silently restart the game. The player sees three clear choices:
1. Continue the old version with the existing save.
2. Archive the old progress and start the new version from the beginning.
3. Leave and decide later without changing anything.
“Continue the old version” always opens the complete earlier release instead of assembling a hybrid of old and new chapters. If the author has permanently removed that publication, it can no longer be continued.
Saves across devices and offline
A cloud save remembers not only the player’s position but also the publication and chapter versions. Its revision number prevents an older device from silently overwriting newer progress.
Queued local saves, guest play, and downloaded offline copies also remember their version. Older local data is read through a compatible transitional format. If the complete earlier version has already been downloaded and remains available to the player, it can be continued without a network connection.
As a result, authors can release a work chapter by chapter and return to its earlier parts, while players understand what will happen to their playthrough with every update.