Biweekly Update - 8-7-2023 (Building momentum; streams and medication) (Patreon)

Hey everyone, time for another biweekly update! Sorry this post is a day late, buuuut it's better than a week at least, right?

So, things obviously haven't been going well with development the past few months, due to all the reasons I talked about in the last update. I can't say these last two weeks were a dramatic improvement, but they ARE getting better! We held our first dev stream in a while on Saturday, and it went pretty well. I continued working on the bitmask auto-tiling I talked about recently (it's now being properly implemented into the level editor itself, rather than just a test project), and I also worked on the ability to undo/redo in the editor, which.. works properly *sometimes*! It just has a lot more issues to work out before it's usable. Still, it was good progress for a rusty dev stream, and I'm feeling good about it.

Since I finally got the ball rolling again on streams, I plan on keeping that momentum and doing a lot more over the next two weeks. We'll probably aim for 4 streams a week right now, though the timing will be inconsistent - I'm trying to move my sleeping schedule around, which is always a difficult process for me because of my insomnia. In the meantime, we'll be streaming at whatever time works for both me and Orex, but eventually I'd like to start holding our streams MUCH earlier in the day, something like 9AM Alaska time. If you're intested in watching us stream dev work, but that timing doesn't work for you, then please let me know in the comments! The streams are really helpful for me when it comes to working consistently, but they don't work as well if nobody is around to hang out, so I want to make sure the timing will work for everybody.

Aside from work-related stuff, I'm also working on trying to get my health under control again, both mental and physical. I haven't mentioned it in a while, but I'm still dieting right now, and I've lost a good 35 pounds so far! It's slow but steady progress, and I think it's the largest amount I've ever lost while actively trying to diet, which feels great. I still have another ~100 pounds to go to reach my target weight, but the dietitian we're working with has us make smaller goals to help stay motivated during the process, and it definitely helps a lot. Food has always had a lot of control over me, and to be honest it absolutely still does, but it's nice to feel like I'm regaining some of that control. I also finally stopped beating around the bush with exercise, and I pulled out our old rowing machine. I've been having some knee problems the past few months that are thankfully mild enough to not really impede my mobility, but it's painful enough that I have to be careful with it, so hopefully some low-impact exercise like this will help fix me up, while also improving my mental health bit by bit.

There's also my medications, which I'm going to have a wait a while longer for, but the ball is rolling on that front too. I have a medication doctor picked out, and appointments scheduled with them. They're on vacation right now, so I won't have anything to share about it for the next biweekly update, but once they return I'll be able to get back on ADHD medication and start trying other antidepressants. With any luck, it won't be long before I can get my mental health back under control, at least a little bit. Incremental progress is a lot better than no progress at all.

And that's all I have to talk about this week. Before I wrap up, I'm going to make the statement right now: this will be the last disappointing biweekly update. We ARE going to stream regularly these next two weeks, and I WILL have more to talk about in the next update because of it. I'm tired of feeling guilty and hating myself for not being able to get my work done, and this is the end of it, I refuse to keep spiraling down this cycle of depression and self-hatred.

Thanks for reading, everyone. You've been so patient and understanding with me, it's time to get shit done so I can at least *start* trying to make it up to all of you. If you're interested in checking out the streams, you can follow me on https://picarto.tv/Anon42 - hope to see you there, and if not, we'll see you again at the next biweekly update!