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Help & Support

How to Play

About The Game

An Austen Armoire is a time-based cozy game that illuminates Volume 1 of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Combining cosplay with collecting, sharing, and daily character messages, the game progresses over real-time in the 1811 world of the novel. The full text of Volume 1 is available from the outset, and you receive timely, episodic teasers about story events as the game's calendar progresses. 

How to Read the Novel

Pride and Prejudice was first published in three volumes. In adapting the original Volume 1 for An Austen Armoire, we've formatted Austen’s text into “blog style” reading lengths that we call “novelogues.” These are summarized in a Table of Contents on the left side of the novel interface. Click a link in a summary to jump to that section of the novel. Or, if you prefer, click in the right side of the novel interface to open the book in its own window. Here, you can scroll and read as you would in a traditional e-reader.

Features in the Sitting Room

These are the main interactives in Elizabeth's and Jane's sitting room at Longbourn:

The Writing Desk

Modeled after Austen’s own portable escritoire, the Writing Desk guides you through the events of Volume 1 via a series of in-character letters, episodic teasers for events in the novel, other messages about the Regency, and alerts for new cosplay items. New mail arrives most days over Michaelmas quarter, 1811.

The Armoire and the Dressing Table

Click the Armoire or the mirrored Dressing Table to go to scenes where you can style clothing and jewelry on the Elizabeth and Jane dolls. You start the game with about 30 pieces of fashion, and additional items become unlocked over time. By the end of An Austen Armoire, you’ll collect around 140 pieces of Regency fashion in all--from dresses and spencers, bonnets and gloves, to recreations of Jane Austen's own jewelry.

The Picture Gallery

The Gallery, accessible from the portraits above the fireplace, is where you can preview your dolls' ensembles in tableaux inspired by the story. Save your favorites to your computer as e-postcards with captions and quotations from Pride and Prejudice. New tableaux become available as the story advances. 

The Commonplace Book

Located in a stack of three books on the window seat, the Commonplace Book shows the most recent nine tableaux you've saved. It also includes an Advent calendar that will unlock when the game calendar reaches December 1st, 1811. 

The Novel

The open book on the window seat is Pride and Prejudice Volume 1. The whole text is available from the start of the game, and you can browse to it directly at any time.


Game Settings

In the Sitting Room, click the Owl icon, then click Settings. In the dialog box that appears, you can customize your play experience in several ways.

Sounds

There are three types of sound you can control:

  • Music that plays in the background of each scene;

  • Ambient Sounds such as the cat’s meow and purr, and the crackling of the fire; and

  • Game Sounds such as mouse click feedback. Each of these is on by default.


Uncheck the box next to a sound type to turn it off. The volume in the game may be adjusted using your system volume controls.

Resolution

This setting allows you to change your screen resolution. The game is best experienced at a 16:9 aspect ratio. When you start An Austen Armoire, the game detects a resolution that will work best for your system and starts with that. You can change the resolution manually by selecting a different value from the dropdown box.

Reset Game

This setting resets An Austen Armoire to the start date, Sept 29, 1811. The following game data will be reset to start conditions:

  • Any received letters and messages in the Writing Desk.

  • Any unlocked items including clothing, jewelry, and tableaux.

  • Any tableaux that are in your Album in the Commonplace Book.

  • Any unlocked days in the Advent calendar.

In addition, any Game Settings you have customized manually will reset to their default values.

 

Note: Any previously saved tableaux in your Documents/AustenArmoire folder will not be affected when you reset your game. These files remain available on your computer until you delete them.  

how
faq

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What are the minimum system requirements?

To play An Austen Armoire, you will need:

  • Computer:  64-bit processor and operating system

  • OS: Windows 10.0 or later

  • Processor: 64 bit

  • Memory: 8 GB RAM (12 G recommended)

  • Storage: 3 GB available space

 

Additional Notes: Game accesses local directories such as Documents to store game data.

Is there a version available for mobile (iOS and Android?)

At this time, a mobile version of the game is not available.

Is there a version available for Mac OS?

At this time, a Mac version of the game is not available.

Where are my saved tableau postcards stored?

The game shows your 9 most recent tableaux in your Album in the Commonplace Book. All tableaux that you create and save in the Gallery are saved as PNG files in  the Documents>AustenArmoire folder until you delete them.

Can I dress up any additional characters?

We wish, but not yet! We look forward to adding more characters and couture in future illuminated novels. For this first title, we chose to begin with the novel's protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, and her most beloved sister, Jane. 

 

Where are the muffs? I see them on some long coats.

These are an artifact from an earlier version of the game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make them play well with the other accessories in the Armoire in time for launch. 

 

How do I share a saved tableau?

In Windows:

  1. Go to Documents > AustenArmoire.

  2. Locate the tableau you wish to share. 

  3. Attach it to an email or social media post as an e-postcard and send.

When does the Sitting Room change from day to night (and vice versa?)

An Austen Armoire uses your computer system’s clock to render day and night versions of the Sitting Room. The scene changes at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Ambient sounds and animations change based on daytime or nighttime in the Sitting Room.

Troubleshooting

I can’t find my saved tableau postcards.

Your saved tableaux are saved as PNG files in the Documents / AustenArmoire folder on your Windows 10 computer. The images are saved with filenames such as Austen1.png, Austen2.png,, Austen3.png, etc. Your most recently saved postcard will have the highest number in the file name.

If you are unable to find the AustenArmoire folder on your computer, search for “AustenArmoire'' using Windows Explorer. Depending on your system’s configuration, your computer might be saving the AustenArmoire folder in a directory other than Documents. 

The game freezes up when I save a tableau postcard.

Please allow a moment or two for tableaux to be saved. Depending on your computer, this may take several seconds. If the game appears to be stuck or frozen, please exit and restart it.

 

When I place a hair accessory on a doll, the bonnet she was wearing gets removed, and vice versa.

In Austen Armoire, we’ve tried to follow the fashion sensibilities of the Regency. Bonnets and hair ornaments cannot be worn together because they likely wouldn’t have been in the time period. 

When I place an outer garment on a doll, the overdress she was wearing gets removed, and vice versa.

For the same reason noted above, overdresses and outerwear (coats, shawls, cloaks, and spencers) cannot be worn together.

Help, I reset the game and I didn’t mean to. Can I get my saved progress back?

Unfortunately, no. However, any saved tableau postcards from your previous session are still available in your Documents / AustenArmoire folder.

My screen resolution is not listed in Settings. Why?

For optimized game performance, we’ve limited resolutions to several common resolutions at 16 x 9 aspect ratio. By default, the game detects the best resolution based on your system. You can override this in Settings. 

 

How can I turn off game music and sound effects?

In the Sitting Room, click the Owl icon, then click Settings. Uncheck the boxes for sound effects and music.

How can I adjust the volume of game music and sound effects?

You can use your system controls to adjust volume up or down, or to mute and unmute.

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Additional Support

 

If the answer to your question isn’t included here, please check out the following resources:

  • Visit our Steam Community to see if your question has been answered by another player.

  • Check our FAQ above, which we’ll continue to update as needed.

  • If neither of these sources resolve your question, please contact us via the form below. We’ll do our best to respond in a timely manner.

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