Yet Another Change of Plans... (Patreon)

Unfortunately for us all, I’m not the sort of “developer” to surprise-drop a new game build. Whenever I go silent for an awkward amount of time, it’s never because things are secretly unfolding as planned.

That’s why I am here today, not with the expected mid October v0.10 ALPHA #3 build, but instead with the announcement that I am now targeting mid December for its release, and have expanded its scope to include the remaining gameplay related features that I had planned for either the Full Release itself or some kind of pre-release BETA build. I will also be pausing the Patreon page once again in November so that you current patrons won’t be charged (Same as I did this past month for the active September patrons).

Essentially, I’m doubling down on the idea that I want this ALPHA #3 build to be the final pre-release build of v0.10. In other words, the final build of TD where save files won’t carry over(at least for the foreseeable future, hopefully until the story has concluded).

There are several reasons for this decision, but the primary factor is the depressing reality that I simply no longer have the time to complete the v0.10 Full Release (as I currently envision it) before the end of 2022. Rather than publish two pre-release builds where saves won’t carry over, I figured it’d be best to just release the one, and ensure that all of the remaining “boring” stuff is finished, so that I can put all of my focus on the new scenes during the new year.

At the same time, I fully acknowledge that I am also out of time when it comes to how long I can afford to continuously develop v0.10 without moving the TD story forward & allowing player’s save games to carry over. I use the word “afford” to refer to not only my financial situation (caused by all the months I have worked with paused income), but my own sanity & most importantly: the patience of all of you incredibly generous & beyond patient supporters. It makes me sick to my stomach every day that I continue to test that patience well past its natural limit while I flounder about in a perfectionism prison of my own making. Time is up, whether I am satisfied or not, & it’s time to start making some tough decisions and get back to making the rest of the game.

During the first week of this month, there was some unexpected construction work on the property that resulted in workers being in & about the house, making it an inappropriate time to work on the sex scenes as I had originally planned. Instead, I took the time to continue my work on gameplay features (meaning the previous changelog posted is now obviously “WIP” rather than “Final”) & evaluate the hundreds of remaining items on my “to do list” for v0.10. It was during this evaluation that I came to the realization about how much planned there was still left to do, and began the process of culling the least necessary items from this list for some future version. What I’m left with is a mix of things I definitely need to add, & then things I really want to add.

Things I NEED to add include:

• Several plugins needed to facilitate planned future content.
• Overhaul of the way I track character relationship info.
• The missing Skill Rank bonuses & dialogue options tied to skills.
• Splitting “Slut for Zombies” into “Male Zombies”, “Female Zombies” & “Futa Zombies”.
• Several prominent bug fixes.

^Because adding these in a future version could cause issues with save games, & possibly break them.

Things I WANT to add include:

• Several Quality of Life improvements.
• Polish passes to many existing features/scenes to address text, audio & visual errors/inconsistencies.
• A couple more Perks(for now), just to help boost that variety a bit further. Especially for players who get beyond level 15 & start to feel the remaining options less desirable.
• Lockpicking alternative to some doors that require keys.
• Commissioned art pieces to the game via the “Collectible Card” items.
• Additional voice lines.

^Technically, these “wants” could be added later without breaking save files or causing major issues.  However, v0.10 is supposed to be a fairly polished vertical slice of what the game has to offer. As such, I feel strongly enough about their inclusion. When player’s start their v0.10 Full Release playthroughs, I want them to get the best experience I can offer & hopefully not be stuck facing familiar pain points they remember from v0.09 or earlier. That being said, I will prioritize the most important of these “wants” and won’t hesitate the push back the others to a future version if they are holding up the releases.

Of course, the above points don't go into all the specifics or include all the new scenes & the necessary items that surround their implementation. Nor does it include most of the things I’ve already added this month that I will share some more details about for the remainder of this post.

New Combat Moves:

I have added a Sawed-off Double Barrel Shotgun that Tiffany can purchase from George’s shop. It fires 2 shotgun shells at once & deals the most damage of any firearm planned for the for at least the 1st Act. However, it needs to be reloaded after every shot(though the "Sticky Loads" Trait can help with that).

It’s the sort of thing that I imagine will be an excellent opening move in a boss fight.

However, the main reason I have decided to add this now is more to do with the option it presents to the player & the in-game economy. This will give a Tiffany who sleeps with Robert, & gets his shotgun for free, something to put all that looted cash towards. And for Tiffany’s who don’t get the free shotgun, will instead now get a choice between which of the two shotguns they are going to buy first, given that it’s unlikely you will be able to afford both prior to the casino.

So for me, this is one of those "2 birds with one stone" situation, where it added enough to the current game to justify adding it now.

Similarly, I’m adding a new single-use Taser item that will stun enemies for longer than the Stun Baton upgrade. This is one that companion girls will have access to as well (like the explosives). Tiffany will even start the game with one in her inventory.  Though I am more interested in adding it for the sake of expanding the loot pool & as a higher rank craftable. 

That & the “lore significance” of this item, being one of the most popular self-defense items carried by Westerican women who wish to deter (or simply test) any sexual assailants. As with Outfit Repair Kits, they too are widely available from vending machines in the TD reality's super nation of Westerica(the game's setting) where sexual assault & harassment laws have been severely relaxed for their sexually indoctrinated populace.

You can see Lara use one in this image from her original Terminal Quickies story that I still need to finish writing & publish...

That’s not all though, I’ve also added the first Sex Moves for Tiffany to use against opponents that she is a slut for. First is the “Self-Strip” Sex Move, where Tiffany can voluntarily destroy her next outfit piece in order to trick her opponent into believing that she is complying. This will buy Tiffany some free turns, and also temporarily boost her Agility Stat so that her escape chance is maximized. Meaning it has both offensive and defensive applications.

This can also be used outside of combat if you simply want to have Tiffany strip by destroying her own outfit, instead of safely undressing & preserving her outfit pieces. :)

The other Sex Move I’ve added is called “Strike Pose” which acts like a taunt. Using it will inflict a “Riled Up” status on all of her opponents which will double their moves per turn, but greatly decrease their Defense, Aim & Reflexes. So you’ll deal more damage against them, while they will attack twice per turn, but with a greater chance to miss.

It creates an interesting dynamic that mixes up the usual combat experience, but of course, the main appeal is having Tiffany pose for her opponents while giving them lewd/playful words of encouragement/teasing.

This is just the beginning of course. While this is the only pose for now, I will add more in future versions, as well as add these two Sex Moves and more to Tiffany’s companion girls as well. One final thing to note, is that using Sex Moves will also award Tiffany with Whoring Skill exp.

Before I go, some other things of note I’ve worked on this month so far also include:

• Added “Text Speed” configuration to the Options Menu. (includes instant text display)
• Added a “Censor Sydney Slurs” toggle to the Options Menu. (enabled by default)
• Adjusted moan sfx selection during sex scenes to avoid tonally inappropriate moans when:
   - Tiffany is not a slut for her opponent
   - Tiffany is not being directly pleasured (handjob)
• Adjusted Masturbation so that it only awards the daily free END replenishment if Tiffany is not at MAX END.
• Adjusted explosive mines so that they now deal damage instead of an instant game over.
   - This gives Tiffany the ability to surviving the explosion & access shortcuts if Tiffany’s HP/DEF Stats are high enough.
• Adjusted damage dealt by turrets to consider Tiffany’s DEF Stat.
• Adjusted “Addiction Chance” calculations to consider Tiffany’s DEF Stat.
• Adjusted Tiffany's Agility Stat so that it now increases the chance of a successful recovery when stumbling(Day3+).
• Adjusted various item descriptions/boxes to display relevant information.
   - How much HP/END Tiffany has before using a replenishing item.
   - How many empty bottles Tiffany has before filling one up.
   - What quantity of a craftable item does Tiffany currently poses before crafting more.
• Fixed a bug where several images would fail to load during the "Prologue End" scene on Day 3 if Tiffany had the Base Stage 1; Pregnant Stage 0 Body.
• Fixed a bug where enemies could attempt to strip an already naked opponent when Tiffany fought alongside a companion.
• Fixed a bug where Romeo could still strip Lara if he was Dazed or Stunned.
• Fixed a bug where the "Kinks" list was displaying the incorrect status for the "Slut for Futa Girls" kink.

Alright, that’s all for now. Sorry this is not the news you wanted to hear, or for my woeful and unpredictable communication & posting schedule. I’m increasingly afraid that everything I say ends up coming off as lies or misinformation when I fail to deliver like this. But that’s no excuse for a breakdown in communication.

Hopefully you can see how at least some of this stuff I’ve been working on, or plan to work on before the end of the year, will make your eventual v0.10 ALPHA #3 or Full Release experience better for it.

Thank you all once more for your continued support & patience. I know full well that I deserve it less & less with each month that passes without the Full Release of v0.10. I hope to make it right in 2023.

~Jim