Returning player: prepare for the 1.0 changes

Direct answer

Use the official 1.0 FAQ, release announcement, and patch notes as the baseline for a returning save. Existing saves carry over to 1.0, and eligible achievements are awarded retroactively; you do not need to restart solely to access the new content. Older guides may describe a different game state and should not be used as a current requirement list.

The official 1.0 announcement lists the major scope change: 10-heart caps and proposal/wedding events, marriage and children, a completable Town Repair storyline, Renown up to 100, additional requests and museum rewards, more perks/cosmetics, achievements, and the first wave of beta localizations. These are release-level facts, not a claim that every save has unlocked each system.

The FAQ also records two relationship choices that returning players often need to check: characters you were dating who are not your spouse move to “best friend” status after marriage, and having a child is optional. The initial beta localization set covers Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish; the official estimate was about 75% complete at 1.0, with unavailable text temporarily shown in English.

Next step

Back up the save before changing anything, then review the current patch record and version labels for the systems you use. Confirm your installed version and language before treating a late-game guide as current. Mark old guide details as unknown until they are reconfirmed for your installed version; this page does not infer save-specific unlocks, relationship state, or localization completeness.