April 2026 Newsletter: Hourglass Engine 2.0
The Hourglass Engine 2.0 arrives with the Ledger and the Chronicle Map, the Timelines page gets a facelift, every era opens to free players, and Myth Through Time draws closer.
The Timekeeper · 2026-04-01
Hello to all our current subscribers, and a huge welcome to everyone who has joined the timeline since our last update! We know your inbox is sacred, so we plan to stick to a monthly schedule and only bring you the most important news.
A lot has happened over the last few weeks. We've fully integrated Hourglass Engine 2.0 into the historical eras, given the main Timelines page a facelift, and kept pushing towards the launch of Myth Through Time, which we're incredibly excited about.
The Hourglass Engine 2.0
We launched the new engine just under a week ago (I also posted an update on Reddit with a bit more detail). For those interested: we moved to a structured record of the game, the Ledger, that strictly tracks your character's inventory, letters, goals and more. Because the Ledger is given to the AI on every single turn, it literally cannot forget what you have.
We've also built a new memory system that lets the AI's Librarian pick exactly the right lore cards for the scene in front of you, and the cards connected to them. You can see this in action on our new Chronicle Map, which we think is a fantastic way to explore the cast of characters.
Ultimately, both features aim at one thing: the AI never forgets. It's a bold claim, and certainly not one most AI games can make, but we've stress-tested the new engine relentlessly. It simply isn't forgetting, and hallucinations are incredibly rare. (The worst we've seen is the AI mentioning a car alarm in 1950s Chicago. They were actually invented in 1913, so it was only a few decades early on mass adoption. If that's the worst it gets, we can live with it!)
Unlike most AI text adventures, the engine doesn't forget who you are, what you've done or what you're carrying. That last one is really important, and it's why we've started calling the experience "RPG-lite". In any world you'll naturally pick things up and put them down. In a typical AI game you just have to hope it remembers your sword 20 turns later, because it only relies on recent chat. With the Ledger and the Librarian, not only does the AI remember you have a sword, it knows it's called Excalibur, that it has magical powers, and that you stole it from King Arthur!
A new Timelines page, and more stories
We've redesigned the main page to better show off our growing library. There are currently 81 unique stories, and that will soon rise to 108 with Tombstone: Silver & Lead, 1917: Mud & Revolution and a Berlin era. We're also thrilled to announce that every era is now open to free players!
We've also tweaked how the stories play. Our original concept was a pure sandbox life simulation. We added starting goals to help guide new players, and that has grown into a core feature. You never have to complete the goals, but they're there if you want a structured challenge, and we've reworked several storylines to make those paths as exciting as possible.
One of the most popular things about our stories is how they interconnect. Take Rome, 80 AD: you can play any of nine characters. Each has their own campaign, but they all share the same living world. Play as Marcus and you're fighting for your freedom. Carbo and Aelia are your allies in the arena. Tiberius wants you dead, while Livia wants you to survive so you can bring Tiberius down. Davus tries to help from outside the Colosseum, and Cassia is in love with you and trying to win your pardon. Whichever perspective you choose, the threads are all connected.
Myth Through Time
By the end of the month (hopefully sooner!) we'll release Myth Through Time. Moving into mythology lets us keep our commitment to accuracy while fully embracing fantasy. It features 7 myths and 28 stories, letting you play as Perseus, Odysseus, Beowulf, Sinbad, King Arthur and more. It launches with over 2,500 lore cards, and we're even working on backgrounds that change as your character's oaths progress.
Lots going on now, and lots more planned for the future… and the past.
In the manual: Memory & Context · The Directory
Thanks for reading. See you in the past…