Alpha Preview Update (March) (Patreon)

Play the alpha here

Password: aprilshowers4 ⬅ ❗️

Report bugs here

View bug reports here

Incomplete routes guide ⬅ ❗️please check if you suspect your game ended early :)

What's New:

• 15,000 words of new content to Chapter 9!

• More Sun Court politicking! Throw your weight around as a would-be player of the Serpents' Feast! Duel somebody or farm your recruits out as free labor! Rescue Riel from an awkward situation or let him flounder! So many choices to be found!

Developer's Notes:

(The same warnings regarding the new added variable from last month still apply.)

Well everyone, here it is, the newest update! I really thought that I'd be able to finish this portion of the mission (there's still another phase to follow for certain routes), but at least next time we'll definitely be able to finish: the wordcount for these interactions just happened to swell a lot! I had a lot of fun putting Riel in distress, so there's a little bit more content with him for you Rielmancers, though it's subtle. :) And I'm actually really taken with the Reaver siblings, so for you 10$ Captain tier members and higher, their backstory in this chapter will actually lead directly into this month's short story, featuring MC's recruit squad (Justyn, Daren, Ysa, and Cybele)! This will be my very first time ever writing anything from their perspectives, so I'm extremely excited to try it out! Therefore, it's highly recommended (though not technically required) to read this alpha build update before this month's short story goes live, as it will give more context for what's going on in that! Whatever story with Blade, Trouble, and ___ needs more time to simmer in my head, so that's going to go on the backburner for now; I don't know if any of the other Shepherds (or those three) will show up in the recruits' story yet or not!

In other news, Ivan Duch has officially finished the Shepherds OST and has released Volume 2 on his website! I'll put the links and info in a different post, but it's extremely gratifying to know that the official soundtrack is finally complete. I've also made some progress on the Twine port and we're about halfway through Chapter 6 on that! I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm guessing that once I reach Chapter 8.5, that'll be when I can release this version to you all, and it won't take me that much longer to convert the rest of the content (Chapters 8.5 and 9).

In personal news, Jeremy and I toured some venues this month and have selected our wedding venue and locked in a date! It's a little ways off (March 2026), but it'll give us plenty of lead time to plan and save, which suits both of us just swell: my focus is still on writing, as ever! 🤣 And spring continues with our healthy lifestyle changes, including packing nice bento lunches, going to work in a focused office environment, and exercising more with pilates (me) and kickboxing (him)! Exciting times as the desert blooms all around us!

Anyway, that's all I've got for now! I hope you enjoy this update, and again, thank you for your support of Shepherds of Haven! Leave any thoughts you have in the comments or on Discord, and see you on the other side of April!

Total wordcount: 1,101,164 words without code

What's Next

More Chapter 9! We'll definitely finish this part of the mission next time, and then there will be some quality time with one of your chosen teammates next... When this part of the mission is done, I kind of want to run a poll to see who's everyone's favorite noble LOL