#type: patch

(note that this is not a mod that adds much new content to the game besides very basic things like what I put down for Shopping and new conversations with Lee for the moved menus, so it's still in a largely "pure" form; my own personal edits/modifications aren't in here, though GB Patch has already stated their opinion on modding to be positive)

I have the itch.io Windows version of Our Life and thus that's the version I "patched," though this should work for the Steam version as well.

How to make this work:

(Optionally, clone the entire Our Life folder that the game and its files are in; this is only necessary if you're paranoid/worried about something going wrong, so you can have the original and the patched version.)

Download the files from the link below. If you don't have certain DLCs, the files in their folders for my patch should be deleted/ignored. For example, not having Derek's DLC means ignoring the files in the folder "DLC_Derek".

Merge the "game" folder you downloaded with the "game" folder in the Our Life folder you want to mod.

Load Our Life as you normally would, which should take you to the title screen without any errors.

Original/alternate method I recommend trying if the above doesn't work:

Unpack the .rpa files in Our Life's "game" folder. This can be done in a variety of ways, but I recommend rpaExtract. Simply drop the .exe into the "game" folder of Our Life, then select and drag all the .rpa files (yes, you can do them all at once) onto it; a window will pop up to show you its progress.

As before, download the files from above (excluding/deleting folders for the DLCs you don't own), then merge the "game" folders. You'll be asked to replace files, which you should agree to.

Once the unpacking is complete, open the game to confirm that it loads normally. You should only try deleting the .rpa files you just unpacked if there are any errors.

I tried to touch on as much as possible, but I may have missed something along the way (whether from my own edits or the original work). I also do welcome asks pointing out other oddities as well, even as minor as typos, and I'll fix them at my soonest opportunity. The nice thing about having the .rpa files unpacked is that edits to singular moments/scenes only requires redownloading one or two of the script files, so it's easy on one's internet. Whether any issues have cropped up due to having the files unpacked, I'm not sure (nothing happened during playtesting on my end), but I'll deal with as many as I can as they're pointed out to me.

I'll say that replaying the game isn't required for most fixes, though stuff such as the Sandcastle issue would require playing that moment again, since it's a new variable I had to put in (any save that did the split bill scene prior to having this patch won't meet the requirements to get the split bill proposal anymore).

Finally, the last thing I'll say is that I've split the Changelog into two categories: Fixes and Quality of Life. Fixes are self-explanatory in that they're things I patched out/adjusted from the original game that appeared to be errors, oversights, or something that just seemed off from what was expected, whereas Quality of Life leans towards things I've done for convenience/immersion's sake. You can consider the latter like optional bonuses.

Happy playing~

☆Changelog☆

⚙Fixes⚙

edited the line of Noelani's eyelids in one of her eye expressions to better match the others

STEP 1

Shopping

added a check and extra narration during the keychain scene if the MC took the money from Cove in Sandcastle (it varies slightly depending on if they also accepted the money Cliff offered them)

Sandcastle

added variables for if the MC tells Cove about the deal and accepts the money he offers to prevent a false check in Cove's Step 4 proposal, which made it possible for Cove to propose with the split dollar bill despite such a dollar never existing

STEP 2

evened out the values required to get Sporty/Studious Cove

fixed Cove's blue pajama shirt, which was four pixels too high compared to his purple pajama shirt with the compass on it (you can see this in action if you swap between both shirts in the Step 2 Cove Creator)

Step 2 Intro

removed a check if the MC is crushing on Cove, which sets a variable signifying that the MC can see themselves in a romantic relationship with a boy; the way in which the variable appears again in the orientation/sexuality menus imply that this is different from simply crushing on a boy, and the Step 3 intro doesn't have such a check at all, thus my removal of it

added dialog so Lee will now comment on if the MC is crushing on Derek instead of Cove or is crushing on both boys at once; according to Derek's DLC, the MC would have known him for a few months by then, so Lee would naturally have known/figured it out by then

fixed a couple checks in the orientation/sexuality menus (for why this bullet point is here rather than in Growing, see the Quality of Life section):

↳ added checks in the "you didn't really have a romantic interest in other people," "there was only one person you'd ever had romantic/those kinds of feeling for," and "You weren't interested in guys" options, since they only checked for the MC's feelings on Cove and not Derek

↳ there is now an additional menu for the MC's physical attraction if they're crushing on both Cove and Derek, where they may choose between them; conversely, the "only one person you'd ever had romantic feelings for" option will no longer appear if the MC is crushing on both boys

Kyra will no longer ask the MC about cream in their coffee if they're vegan

Family

fixed the gossip section where Lee talks about Derek, blocking off negative options if the MC is crushing on him; Lee will also not press the MC on how much they like Derek if the player has the Derek DLC (since a crush or lack of one would already be more defined there)

Dinner

fixed a check during the card game scene that caused a Warm-Moderate Cove to not speak up about paying for the MC's round

Birthday

fixed a check during the scene where ice cream and cake is passed around; an MC who is at Fond/Crush with Cove, lactose intolerant, and also vegan would get both branches of dialog+narration where he asks if they have pills but also lament that they can't have anything due to animal products

fixed a vegan MC being able to ask Cove for a bite of his dessert

Escapade

fixed the onion rings option so it disappears if the MC is vegan; I thought it was intentional at first for vegans to be able to eat them, but it's locked off for MCs in both Late Shift and Baxter's Step 4

Responsible

moved a reaction a vegan MC has to a question Derek presents about their dietary preferences; it was originally set after Mr. Suarez spoke up, which made it somewhat confusing

Siblings

the game now checks if the MC likes marshmallows or not when deciding whether to remove the "cereal with marshmallows" option; originally, it only checked if they were vegan/vegetarian

STEP 3

changed the necessary requirements for Cove's personality for balance, and adjusted the values the previously-fallible Cove Creator buttons gave to match; Moderate Step 3 Cove is now feasible, and being tied in Warm+Cold or Studious+Sporty points no longer defaults to Cold/Studious, returning to the coin flip of old

fixed initiative variables for MCs that crushed on both Cove and Baxter, causing Baxter's initiative level to be set for Cove as well; the variables in Baxter's moments have been adjusted to compensate for the oversight

cleaned/touched/fixed up Baxter's sprites (most notably his khaki shirt shifting colors when he has a bag, his swimming trunks not being complete when he takes his shirt off, a smudge of white underneath his hiking bag, and a pixel of his unshaded skin color on his shaded upper arm)

Step 3 Intro

added a missing "'s" in Baxter's introductory dialog

copied over a variable confirming that the MC wants to have dance lessons with Baxter in an option that should've had it (considering where it's relevant)

carried over a variable for the MC's best friend status with Cove in Step 2, as well as if the MC chooses options during the Step 3 intro (if not dating Cove) that state he's their best friend; the lack of this prevented dialog from playing on poppy hill in the Step 3 ending where Cove would call the MC his "best friend in the entire world" (if they're not in a relationship and not on Indifferent with him) due to the game never setting the variable in the first place

added a setting if the MC's hobbies didn't change from when they were younger, allowing their athletic points from Step 2 to carry over into Step 3

fixed checks in the orientation/sexuality menus (as with the Step 2 Intro, see the Quality of Life section for why this is here instead of Talks):

↳ as in Step 2, the game will now check for the MC's attraction to Derek instead of only checking their attraction to Cove; however, this time it will ignore a crush on Derek if the MC has fallen out of contact with him

↳ fixed a missing check; in the original Growing orientation/sexuality menu, the game wouldn't ask for the MC's feelings on genders if they were both asexual and aromantic (for obvious reasons), but it neglects to do that in Step 3's version

blocked off certain negative options for Baxter if the player has the Baxter DLC and chose Fond/Crush for him

Hang (Cove's Version)

fixed a check where Cove would call the MC his best friend even if they're not; I added narration for this since otherwise they were either his best friend or simply his neighbor with no in-between

adjusted dialog/narration so Miranda will ask about vegan options for the MC if the MC is on Indifferent with Cove; this seemed more in line with what happens in Birthday, where Cove would only comment on the MC's veganism/lactose intolerance on Fond/Crush

fixed options that would normally set Step 4 Cove's pants, but don't due to old/scrapped variables being used instead; this caused any Cove not made using the Cove Creator to have the tan shorts with polka dot trim

Errands

fixed variables that mixed up giving Cove studious/sporty points depending on what the MC offered/asked him to do; offering to carry his bags (+1 studious because they're encouraging him not to be active) and asking for a piggyback ride (+1 sporty since it's a physical task) worked as intended, but asking him to carry their things gave +1 studious whereas offering a piggyback ride gave +1 sporty

Late Shift

fixed some missing checks in the fast food menu, such as jalapeno poppers still being available for vegans

Boating

fixed arm wrestling with Baxter to properly account for the player's chosen version of Hang and check their athletic points if they've not yet played either; while I was at it, I also enabled non-muscular MCs to win with enough athletic points

fixed a check that was looking at Step 2 Cove's sporty/studious values instead of Step 3's during the arm wrestling contest, as well as when he plays rock-paper-scissors against Baxter

Sightseeing

removed a duplicate word in one of the MC's optional pieces of dialog

added missing words in a couple lines of narration

switched a word to singular rather than plural

added an option during the "first crush" conversation to account for the possibility that the MC met and began crushing on Baxter in Soiree but started crushing on Cove by Step 3; the game initially prevented the MC from saying that they crushed on Baxter first so long as they're crushing on Cove in Step 3, even if the timeline with Soiree wouldn't line up with it

fixed the menu when the MC decides to date Baxter that checked the MC as being okay telling people about their relationship or not; the option to shrug implied the variable it had set originally, but Baxter's response implied the opposite and followed up with contradictory dialog, so I kept the variable but moved Baxter's response to a new option

Hang (Baxter's Version)

removed unnecessary word

adjusted the dessert options since it previously didn't check for vegan MCs

fixed a voice line of Baxter's that didn't play due to the audio in question being empty; I changed it to a different take of the intended line

fixed a check that looked at Step 2 Cove's values instead of Step 3's when the MC is choosing to live commentate on what's happening with the sprinklers

adjusted narration/dialog in case the MC wants to try everyone's desserts but is vegan, as originally they would try Miranda's non-vegan dessert of the chocolate-dipped ice cream cone; this also means that such an MC is (unfortunately) locked out from trying Baxter's since the ice cream sandwich and cartoon face popsicle are both creamy

Drinks

adjusted checks for the menus at the cafe for dietary preferences (such as excluding the lunch meat sandwich for pescatarian MCs and making it so the waitress no longer asks vegan MCs if they want cream in their tea/coffee)

excluded citrus sunshine mocktails for vegan MCs since they tend to be sweetened with honey

Mountain

fixed the food menu, which initially only checked for a vegan or vegetarian MC

Planning

added an "'s" where one was previously missing

as in Hang, fixed a voice line of Baxter's that didn't play by changing it to a different take

fixed an incorrect variable when the MC recalls their day of party planning; originally, it checked for a kiss in Planning in general rather than the "non-dating" kiss specifically

added a space after a period where one was previously missing

STEP 4

as in Step 3, fixed the Cove Creator buttons, returned the coin flip in case of a tie, and rebalanced the point system

fixed Cove's smaller blush not being properly blocked off by his nose

cleaned/touched/fixed up parts of Baxter's sprites (notably one of his eye expressions having the shadow bleeding into his hair, the belt buckle being partly-transparent on his normal sprite, said sprite and the one with the purple shirt but no blazer not being consistent around his waist area, some of his skin being shaded the wrong color on both of his brown suit sprites, and his reception and brown outfits in general)

fixed options that didn't set the variables they should've; this caused skipped narration when the MC spots Cove at the open window (in his Step 4) for any MC that did not see him as family nor was in a relationship with him

Cove's Step 4

adjusted the check when Cove proposes to the MC to properly account for the potential split dollar variable

fixed multiple instances of height-related narration (along with the ability to give Cove a piggyback ride) not playing properly due to checking for height variables that were never set; the game now checks for the ones from Step 3

adjusted a check for the MC to say "Here we go again…" when Cove jokes about who gets the single bed; it originally checked only for the MC and Cove to be dating in Step 3 (which can still miss out on bed sharing disagreement scenes), but now checks to see if the MC did not want/tried to share/offered to give Cove the bed in Drive, or spent the night with him in the Step 3 ending but didn't share the bed, regardless of relationship status (basically, any scenario where there was a bed that they didn't share)

moved a variable that made certain narration (exclusive to MCs who had a plan to propose, tried to do so, then backed out) inaccessible, and added in a missing variable for the MC cancelling the proposal they'd planned

Cove's Wedding DLC

fixed a check that prevented toned and buff MCs from scooping Cove into their arms (unless they were also tall) due to checking for an unused variable instead

as in Cove's Step 4, fixed height-related narration not playing due to checking for unused height variables rather than Step 3's

fixed how the game defines Baxter's hair as "dark gray" instead of "black" (it's meant to still be dyed)

fixed a check when the MC leaves the decision on the catering up to Cove; the dev notes imply that the game should check on whether the MC is lactose intolerant or not yet doesn't, so I adjusted it to check for the new variable of if a lactose intolerant MC avoids lactose (see the Quality of Life section)

Derek's Step 4

removed a variable that would be incorrectly set for MCs who were short in Step 2 but average height in Step 3, giving the option for them to say that they were taller than Derek when they're not

fixed a check that prevented muscular MCs from throwing Derek over their shoulder at the waterpark due to using an unused variable (MCs who were tall or tall in addition to being muscular were allowed)

Baxter's Step 4

added a missing word in a line of narration

added an "'s" where one was previously missing

fixed the food menu at the bowling alley to check for pollotarian MCs

Miranda will no longer offer a vegan MC nachos (which are already excluded from the food menu for them) if they chose to order nothing

swapped the checks after Baxter finishes using the stencil; before, he would improperly give the MC credit for the guideline if the MC didn't involve themselves, and give both of them credit otherwise

fixed variables for MCs where a line of narration (exclusive to romancing Baxter) was completely inaccessible due to the game checking for the MC being upset with Baxter, which is impossible due to the block the line it's in requiring the MC to not be upset with Baxter; I changed them to initiative checks instead

copied over a missing variable that prevented Baxter from properly thanking a Nervous MC who complimented him on his "shorts"

fixed a line of narration for pollotarian MCs that would improperly list most of the food as "pescatarian"

fixed a check in Baxter's intimacy scene with the MC if the MC wears both skirts and dresses according to their character creation, then takes their dress off; this could cause Baxter to slide his hand under the hem of their skirt even if they were just established to have been wearing a dress

fixed the food menu to better match the one in Drinks since it's the same cafe; for example, Drinks prevented vegan MCs from ordering pastries whereas Baxter's Step 4 didn't

adjusted the drink menu to knock off the citrus sunshine mocktail for vegan MCs, as in Drinks

added a missing word to a line of Jude's dialog

❁Quality of Life❁

STEP 1

Step 1 Intro

moved the confirmation for lactose intolerant MCs from Barbecue to here, as well as added a menu for if the MC takes medicine or avoids lactose completely; this makes it so a player doesn't need the Step 1 DLC in order to have a lactose intolerant MC, and the latter option mentioned removes lactose options from future menus

↳ for avoiding lactose, I looked through all food/drink menus and adjusted as best as I could to account for this, since it wasn't a thing before; moments that had their menus adjusted include Shopping, Barbecue, the Step 2 Intro, Growing, Escapade, Boardwalk, Late Shift, Hang (Baxter's Version), Drinks, Mountain, and Baxter's Step 4; moments overall that have had added/edited narration to account for this include Shopping, Long Day, Fireflies, Library, Barbecue, Mall, Birthday, Responsible, the Step 3 Intro, Hang (Cove's Version), Hang (Baxter's Version), Planning, and Baxter's Step 4

added the other two bracelets (beach-themed and candy) back in, which are seen during the mini CG in Fireflies

Long Day

edited narration for if the MC took Cliff's money, took the money in Sandcastle if they told Cove about the deal, or both

STEP 2

Step 2 Intro

added a menu for a lactose intolerant MC so they can decide if they still avoid/no longer avoid lactose

moved the orientation options from Growing to the call with Lee, meaning the player is no longer forced to play Growing in order to set their Step 2 orientation; I've added additional dialog to fit it

↳ (I didn't delete any dialog/narration for this, so you're really just getting more Lee content)

Growing

adjusted the narration to compensate for the "missing" orientation menus (Cove will still ask the MC about it, it's just that the MC doesn't decide during Growing what their orientation is)

Mall

added minor narration for reassuring vegan MCs when they approach the smoothie kiosk

Birthday

adjusted some of Cove's dialog when he asks the MC for their leftovers, depending on if the MC chose to eat some of the dessert or none of it

STEP 3

Step 3 Intro

continued the menu from the Step 2 Intro where the MC can choose whether they still avoid lactose or take medicine for it

moved the orientation menus in Talks to the call with Lee here, meaning the player is no longer forced to play Talks in order to set their orientation (they can still talk to Cove about it in Talks, the menus are just moved to here instead)

↳ this also means that Baxter has unintentionally been appointed Specialest Bean™ because he's met after the call with Lee, so if the MC was initially uninterested in boys but crushes on him, then they can "realize" that Baxter is an exception to the rule; I added minor narration for this as well as narration if the MC originally only had interest - physically or romantically - to Cove/Derek

↳ (as with Step 2, I didn't remove any dialog/narration, unless one counts the copy-pasted option that just replaced Cove's name with Baxter's if the MC was dating Baxter; it obviously wouldn't fit this early, but he gets his own menus in exchange)

Errands

made the requirements for the MC to piggyback Cove more difficult (listen, my tiny scrawny MC could do it if I'd just played Charity beforehand and it felt like a crime)

Boating

removed pointless checks during Cove's arm wrestling match and rebalanced it so non-muscular MCs can still beat him with enough athletic points (it was originally an automatic loss)

Sightseeing

balanced the check for whether the MC can lift the heavy bowling ball or not; originally, they could automatically do so if they hadn't played either version of Hang, but now it requires the MC to pass an athletic point check if they've played/not played Hang and aren't muscular

Hang (Baxter's Version)

added narration for a vegan MC when Miranda and Terry are debating on ice cream

STEP 4

Cove's Step 4

added narration where Cove will be referred to as "the object of your affections Cove Holden" if the MC is crushing on him but not in a relationship with him; as stated above, narration at all would've been skipped regardless, but even if it wasn't, it would've defaulted to simply "friend" due to a menu that the player never gets if their MC is crushing on Cove even if not dating him

balanced whether the MC can give Cove a piggyback ride to take into consideration if he's buff (thus heavier) or not, meaning it's possible for tall MCs to not be strong enough to give him one (unlike in Errands)

Baxter's Step 4

lactose intolerant MCs (whether they take pills or avoid lactose) can now receive the "special muffin" that vegan MCs would

STEP 2

Birthday

added a swear point if the MC yells at Jeremy, "You're a dick!"

STEP 3

Late Shift

fixed a check when the MC can potentially talk to Cove about seeing the inside of the house originally owned by the "mean not-grandparents"; it originally checked if the MC had experienced Planning or Drinks beforehand, but neglected Mountain

Reflection

added a missing variable to confirm that the MC has heard Cove's scar story; the lack of this prevented a line of narration playing in Baxter's version of Hang if the MC heard the scar story in Reflection specifically

Serendipity

added to the check that allows the MC to bring up Cove's Jeremy impression, which initially only checked for Errands (thus ignoring the moment in Wave if the MC joined Cove in going to the park)

Sightseeing

adjusted a section that gives narration and dialog concerning what Baxter does when the MC and company are not available; Miranda could be mentioned as company for him even if she's yet to meet him

fixed a check during the conversation the MC may have with Baxter about volunteer work; it looks for Cove's or Baxter's version of Hang separately, but those two checks first require a check for Cove's version (thus making the dialog coming from Baxter's version impossible)

↳ fixed a typo in said dialog

Hang

fixed a check that was meant to see if the MC has had significant interactions with Baxter (i.e: any Baxter DLC moment), but it doesn't look for Mountain

added a missing variable confirming that the MC has been in Baxter's car

Planning

as with Hang, added a missing variable confirming that the MC has been in Baxter's car

The Unused Hang Narration

I'm not sure entirely what to do about this one since the narration is so reliant on that moment in Cove's version of Hang for it. Maybe I could find a way to fit that scene/menu into Baxter's version as well?

I suspect what happened is that Baxter's DLC initially worked like Derek's DLC, where the moment that was originally only Cove's (Soiree for Derek, Hang for Baxter) was optional in terms of accessing the DLC boy's Step 4, but then that changed down the line for Baxter? I've no clue of the writing process for Baxter's DLC, but that's my most generous guess.

The "Married Names" Narration

I see what happened in this one. See, when you start Step 4 (the in-between, not Baxter's specifically; it's s4_intro for reference), the game sets two variables by the time it asks you if your MC shares last names with Cove or not:

$ cove_family_name = "Holden" $ mc_family_name = last_name

However, it does not actually change either of these when selecting the option for the shared names; it only does it for the other options (whether keeping their last names as they are or only taking one last name). What changes are these two variables instead:

mc_family_name_combo1/mc_family_name_combo2 cove_family_name_combo1/cove_family_name_combo2

("1" is for the MC's last name going first, "2" is for Cove's last name going first.)

Thus, when you got to Baxter's Step 4 and the game ran this check:

if not mc_family_name == "last_name" and not cove_family_name == "Holden"

The narration goes unused in the way it's meant to be used because the value for cove_family_name never changed from "Holden" if you chose to have a last name combo. It's only changed one part later in baxter_step4_part7 if both last names were shared between the two.

The way it checks for the MC's last name is also not correct. In fact, hypothetically, (mind you, I haven't tested this because I refuse to have an MC married to Cove on a Baxter run; absolutely criminal /hj), I think you could even "accidentally" access this narration if your MC and Cove took the MC's last name solely (unless your MC's last name was literally last_name).

I've changed it to instead check for the combo variables I listed above. That should (ideally) fix it.

The Initiative Check

To answer your wondering, if the MC was in love with Baxter but crushing on Cove, it wouldn't matter in terms of initiative because the MC's initiative with Cove never gets set during Baxter's Step 4. Fixing that, Step 4 then has the same initiative issue I fixed on Step 3 but neglected to adjust on Step 4 (where Baxter's initiative would get set for Cove too), as I simply didn't think about an MC crushing on Cove while playing Baxter's Step 4 because me. As things were, Cove's initiative was getting set to what Baxter's was.

Ergo, it would work only provided that the MC is crushing on/in love with Baxter and set Baxter's initiative to high. I changed things to imitate the fix for Step 3's initiative check and to let the player set Cove's initiative even if they're playing Baxter's Step 4.

(Cold Cove just responds that anything looks good on them, by the way, which is hilarious since that takes two piece of dialog and one piece of narration to do, meanwhile Moderate/Warm Cove's is like thrice as long and with condition-specific dialog/narration. As a Cold Cove enjoyer, I feel cheated. /j)

I've looked over the text you get and I honestly can't tell why that choice was made, so I agree with you that it's weird. I think the intent is that the game is trying to check for a long-term relationship? Because there's even a dev note here (for any uninformed, it just means something in the code of the game that will never be visible in the actual game, but is something the dev either left as a note to themselves or potentially another dev/someone else) that explicitly states that it's a check for the anklet conversation and a "serious relationship."