DevLog: Behind-The-Scenes-Edition (Patreon)

Just checking in to keep people in the loop over the restructuring of the game outline. I have officially gone back through the game and fixed some stuff. So I originally had mixed feelings about doing another update this month, mostly because I wanted to focus on moving forward but I did a little bit of restructuring and ended up fixing quite a bit of things to the current build so I will probably be releasing the revised version before too awful long. That being said, please note there is no new content in the next update. This will only be v0.8.1 and will focus primarily on bug fixes, spelling, and some reorganization. I will post the ChangLog progress so far at the bottom here but want to mention a few things people may care about.

Chapters

While the next planned update was going to start Chapter 4, that has now changed. In going back through my playthrough, Chapter 3 in the current build was ridiculously long...like distractingly so; and unbalanced with the other chapters. I could somewhat feel this during the writing and this was partially why I elected to take this restructuring break. I wanted to catch myself earlier rather than wait. I have now split Chapter 3 into two separate chapters. Thus, the new update that I will begin working on before too long will begin with Chapter 5 instead. I didn't add or remove any content. Just split things. Details in the ChangeLog below

Image Reorganization

This was a pain in the ass but all the images that were previously in one folder were getting pretty unmanageable to sort through based on shear number. Thus, all images in the folder are now sorted and categorized based on their location. For example, all the dorm pics are together in one folder; shower pics are in a different folder; etc. While most of you won't care about this, I'm hoping this saves a few minutes when I'm looking for old pictures rather than having to scroll through like 500 images to find the one I'm looking for. A lot of this month is trying to get more efficient, I anticipate the coming months to be more difficult due to work/school demands so I'm trying to prep for that.

Touch or Not to Touch

In the current build, the event where Zack chooses to pull Braden's shorts down while sleeping is a major event. This is now emphasized more in the upcoming build by actual titles, separating the game into a "pervy" or "respect" route. While these won't have huge impacts right now, that will alter events later. The reason I'm making it more obvious is to prep you that future game updates may have you choose between these routes when you select "update" from the new game choice. I anticipate they will change the endings significantly but more on that later.

Current Update Progress

I've made it through the game review and have all the changes outlined in the ChangeLog. If you have more concerns, let me know. I'm sure I'll find more things as we go but I'm always welcome to you guys submitting your concerns or bug reports. I've begun the outline and have the next 3 updates outlined pretty well with more plans beyond that but haven't actually got them mapped out in detail yet. It's crazy the amount of detail that came from my first outline that was simply a list of events that needed to take place. We'll see how the more detailed outline works out. I did post the pile of notes I was working from on the Lens feature but ended up changing my mind on posting a ton of those pics out of fear someone would see spoilers and ruin it for everyone. #FuckSpoilers

I have not started the actual writing or anything. There's about 8 CGs done so far so not really enough to matter. I'm trying to get everything else caught up first.

Change Log Upcoming v0.8.1

-Ton of bug fixes and spelling corrections

-Few minor CG additions to better track who was talking at the time during the early parts of the story

-Zack sleeping CG with the weird lighting and white skin tone is fixed. Thus, Zack will not awkwardly change colors while he sleeps like a fucking chameleon

-Choice menu transitions now have an animation that I've been trying to get right since v02. Still not perfect but much better IMO

-Fixed a bug in Chapter 1 that let you find the pool for the first time twice. It is now automatic when you return to Ernie to get the tools.

-You now have an option to go directly to school after finding the singlet. This will allow you to talk to Ernie one day sooner and reduce repetition.

-Changed Dr Hodges' and Coach's font color so that it's not the same as Zack's

-Fixed flashing window bug when Zack comes back into the room depressed by himself

-Chapter 3 start screen now has its appropriate black background like all the others

-Chapter 3 is now split into 2 parts due to the length during my playthrough. It felt uncharacteristically long in comparison to other chapters thus far. Chapter 4 now starts with the awkward interactions following Zack catching Braden at night in bed. Subsequently, the next update will start Chapter 5 instead of the previously planned Chapter 4.

-Added a label to the game changing choice on whether to touch Braden while he's sleeping or not during Chapter 4 (Previously Chapter 3 in past updates). While this was always planned for a game split, I wanted to make it more obvious that this choice really mattered. Now it will tell you that you are effectively choosing between a "pervy route" and a "respect route."

-Images folder is now reorganized by location category rather than one large folder with every image

-Renamed early choices for "Bathroom" to "Shower." This will make a better distinction between the two locations once the actual bathroom location opens up in Chapter 2.