Today we're releasing a rework of – and expansion to – the University!

The University has been a bit of an outlier for a long time – very few other parts of the game remove access to certain activities once you've progressed past their moment in the spotlight. But once you'd solved the mystery at the heart of the University storyline, that was it – its associated activities were also gone. Coupled with the University activities possessing some genuinely useful benefits, this all resulted in a structure that, for some players, incentivised not playing or finishing the relevant storylines so that they could retain access to desirable resources.

Our changes today aim to bring the University more in line with our current design sensibilities, and make it feel a little less like a container for a late-game player's laboratory. We have:

Accelerated progress through the 'Term Passing…' activities, so that completing a term no longer takes so many actions;
Removed the Sudden Insight effects from the 'Talk to the Porters' branch in 'Investigations in the University';
Released a new version of the 'Term Passing…' activity that is available once you've finished the University storyline (and restored your academic reputation).

The new 'Term Passing…' activity combines the highlights of the existing activities (wine-tasting at Summerset! 'Fun' with the Stoats! An eternal and ill-understood game of something called 'cricket'!) with a chunk of new writing, exclusive to this later stage in the game. Dispute noise complaints against your laboratory, test your students in the Correspondence, and impress other departments with the notes from your scientific voyages. And, yes, perhaps even chat to the Porters. They may have an insight or two to share.

If your 'Featuring in the Tales of the University…' is 30 or more, you can go back to University today and see what's transpired in your absence. If you find yourself banned from the University, you'll need to pursue a Voyage of Scientific Discovery at zee, and earn your way back into academia's good graces.