Anniversary Dev Update (Patreon)

One year! And that’s not a lie! Yup, the the very first version of the game was released on the 1st of May, 2019. So, happy May Day, comrades! On one hand, it sure doesn’t feel like a whole year has passed since the first version of the game was released. On the other, so much happened in my life, with the game, and with the world. The happenings in the world haven’t been so great, to put it lightly, but I’m certain we will get through it. I try not to talk about it here, but folks who are affected, stay strong, sending love your way.

And the game, it started with this:

And now it looks like this:

Alright, I was being cheeky with Cait here, but still, it looks much better now, I think. I still have a lot to learn, my lighting is all over the place, I suck at composition, but there is some progress! And I ain’t gonna stop learning anytime soon. And there’s now a fully functioning map, a proper scene gallery, and a ton of tweaks and fixes. And saves no longer break! At least not completely, as they often did before I found out I was screwing up RenPy’s script persistence logic. And more scenes are going to be updated, but I’ll talk about it a bit later.

Let’s talk big picture. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to be in the place I am today, but I sure did not expect it. A successful game, an awesome community and a thriving Patreon. And it’s all thanks to you, folks. Doesn’t matter if you pledge or not, a piece of media is nothing without an audience, and I am immensely grateful that my work has been able to find all of you. Or was it you all who found it? In any case, this all is a bit unreal, and awesome. Thank you!

Still, life is never without challenges. As you all well know, I’ve been falling behind on updates for the last couple of months. Tried to take a break to reset, didn’t work out that well, still not very productive, and have some life stuff to contend with. I’m sure I’ll be able to sort it out sooner or later, but I’d rather it be sooner.

Next update, the one that was supposed to be the “anniversary” update. Well, I’m still working on it. The park environment alone took me two full days to rebuild in such a way that it looks nice and doesn’t crash the editor when loaded. Unity 5 terrains are wonky, and that’s being very generous. But it looks nice! I think! Have a gander at the first draft of intro cinematic, it’s attached to the post. It’s going to change significantly still, but it’s something.

Bits of new scripts are done, so that’s good. Other bits aren’t done, working on that. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get the new intro and all the new animations done around Tuesday/Wednesday, but I might push Alpha back a bit so I won’t be making multiple even smaller updates throughout the week. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that having a incomplete build out kinda makes me more productive. I’d be glad to hear your thoughts on that matter, especially those of you folks who pledge at Alpha level. Minimal Alpha ASAP, then another update a couple days later, or wait until it’s completely done?

And that’s basically it. Can’t share any lewds as this is a public post, but I don’t have much yet, only a few target renders not much different from what those of you who participated in the last kink poll have already seen.

Again, thank you, folks, and see you all soon when the next Alpha hits!