Why the delay though? (Patreon)

Credit to Disaronno for the morphs of Jenn!

I'll split this post into two parts:

My recent struggle with how long this update is taking and the upcoming release plan at the bottom.

Technically, if you don't specify what weekend you're talking about, you're always right. :D

- Aske Visholm, in the top comment on the previous post

Yep. My last estimate for the update to be completed was now over a week ago. And it's still not done.

So what gives?

Am I sitting around watching Marvel shows on repeat and whacking off to Justice League?

Nope!

I mean, Gal is great and all but... no.

In fact, yesterday I took my first day off since I started the update. I took my fiance to the beach and wine tasting because she deserves it and I haven't taken her anywhere for the past couple of months.

The struggle:

I've been working on this update for 8-12 hours every day for the past two months. So how the hell is it not done?

That's a question I've asked myself quite a few times.

And I appreciate the advice I've received from several of you, especially those familiar with programming and whatnot who have had those "wait, my SSD errored out and I lost the last eight hours of work? Seriously?" moments.

Metermate sent me an email offering kind words that helped to put things in perspective, namely that writing multiple paths is very similar to coding in its process because there is a balance between having to finish one thing before you can finish the next and how that can make the entire process take far longer than if you were doing straightforward writing.

Here was his point on the subject and I'll share it with you because I thought it was helpful:

Speaking of coding, I think multi-track narratives share as much with programming as they do linear writing. When coding you often have to write a framework or address some “dependencies” before you can get to what you actually set out to do. You have to get file saving supporting flags before you can start branching dialog responses on them. 

Something similar is true of non-linear narratives. You might have to do a lot of writing in order to have a bunch of paths merge back together or to eliminate possibilities to have an ending make sense from all perspectives. Like coding, this means the work comes in fits and starts. 

Right after you’ve addressed one of these “dependencies” you’re suddenly able to cover a lot more narrative ground very quickly. On the flip side, like with coding, people who don’t have experience can find it hard to understand why you’re wasting time doing Y when all they want is X. They can’t see that X implies Y be done.

This update represents one of the first full endings. The cruise ending was much more confined in terms of both girls and time covered in comparison. From what you’ve shared, it sounds like this ending required snipping a ton of loose ends and laying down a metric shit-ton of groundwork. That’s gonna take time. The good news is, you should benefit from having done that streamlining and build up when it comes to other endings.

I appreciated the advice because it's hard for me to understand why working on two paths can sometimes take four times as long instead of two.

My frustration lately is that despite getting better at each part of the process over the past year and a half working on Hypnosis, including the graphics (learning the program better, upgrading to a more powerful PC), writing and coding elements of the production how it can still sometimes take twice as long to come out with an update.

I really need to face the fact that I can't keep expecting myself to start producing more work faster and that the only thing I can control is that I need to plan better.

Perhaps a "here is all the work I accomplished in the past month" method with updates is better going forward, so that I can have some something consistent to put out for you guys instead of giving delays when an update I plan out to be simple becomes far more complex.

Also, I'm going to try posting daily updates on Discord in the Progress Reports channel to give you better updates on what I'm accomplishing and how much I have left for the next updates.

Upcoming release plans:

First update: This ending!

When?

As soon as I possibly can. I really wanted to get it done by this past weekend because I have some family visiting for a few days. I'll keep working on the game, but I won't be able to put in as many hours.

Once it's uploaded for testing I'll have the main release done a day or two later. ETA? As soon as I can.

Second update: Endowed Chapter 5

This one is going to be fun. Not only do we get resolution to the previous cliffhanger, I also have the first ending written out where you have the option to abandon the club and go home, possibly sparking a relationship with Allison (the girl in the first scene of the game).

When?

Right after I finish this ending with Hypnosis.

Next update:

I've been talking about going back to fix up previous sections of Hypnosis. This includes:

Adding visuals to the dark scene with Leah (now that I've better figured out how to work with renders in the dark).

Redoing most (all?) of the sex scenes in the first five episodes. This is so that I can put in a gallery where you can go back to see all the scenes for each character they play out a lot better.

I'm also unhappy with how I used the image as the background for the Main Character's bedroom in Leah's house and combined it with a map. Sure, the hardwood floors and furniture are similar (which is why I used them) but on any kind of close inspection its obvious that two different scenes are used.

Theoretically, I'd love to change out the majority of the image backgrounds with maps. The reason I used them was because I simply didn't have the maps. It wasn't until Episode 7 that I figured out how to add new ones (and where to download them). But this would take a whole lot longer, so it isn't something I'll do for a while.

I'd also love to redo the opening scene in the bowling alley. I've redone it three times already, but I just played it recently and realized how shitty of a first impression it gives for the game when there is no sense of perspective when each girl fades in and out over the bowling alley background.

I also want to complete the Laura path I've mentioned several times now, one in which you can get deal with her directly in Episode 10 after her pool party and go to her house to confront her while still avoiding being under her hypnosis.

I still see comments about people feeling disturbed by the concept, and although you can technically avoid it now, that means you lose the watch to Laura. I believe I have a path in mind that offers a way to avoid the harshness of the episode without missing out on the scenes with Grace and Daphne (and still dealing with Laura, but in a way in which you have more of an upperhand).

The reason I haven't done this for the past six months is that I always want to be producing new content for you guys, and going back to polish things is a lot less to get excited about until you go back to replay it.

The happy medium I hope to aim for is that I'll start writing each girl's individual endings (and actually keep them short and contained) so that there is still new content each month, and it will all be linked to from the main game so that you don't have to go hunting for the new content each time.

I plan to also start with more consistent updates for Endowed. Being as how it's in the early stages, coming out with an update should be a lot faster (and easier) without having all the different paths to be keeping track of for each scene. The last update came out almost six months ago, but I'm hoping to come out with a new one every two or three months. The chapters are meant to be a little shorter than Hypnosis to keep the updates coming out quicker.

There are also a few stories planned.

First, there will be Haley's Story Part 2 by Fantasy1290. It's already written and ready to go, just waiting for this update.

Second, there is a short story based in the Hypnosis universe that gives more of a dark ending where the MC becomes a bit too prideful and gets knocked down several pegs. Whether or not it will become canon is debatable, it was simply a commissioned piece that I'll post when it's finished.

Third, there's a story I've been working on for a while now that I tend to write a few pages at night to put myself to sleep. I've found that it gives my brain a break from whatever project I'm working on and lets me fall asleep faster. It's currently at about 50 pages and is probably the most semi autobiographical of the stories I've written so far in that the majority of the events actually happened. It shares a lot of similar elements to the Lockdown story but has a bigger cast and will probably end up being two or three times the size.

So, once again, I apologize for taking so long getting this update finished. I'm doing my best to make it worth the wait, but at the same time I'm just trying to finish it up.

Thanks for all the continued support and encouragement!