Serenity Dev Log (11 April 2021) (Patreon)

Hello my fellow Neko lovers!

This is a special devlog, as I have a few important things to discuss and let you know about. In this log, we'll talk about Serenity's future development, release schedules, and improvements.

I want to start off by patting myself on the back for making it to 1.0 and not giving up when things got tough - and they really did on several occasions. For some games, 1.0 should mean its final and complete. For Serenity, we're just getting started. Anyway, as you can see, I've attached a couple of images from early in the game. These were pulled directly out of the current build (0.9). I'm posting these so that we can all see how terrible they are and you can laugh (with me) while I tell you my plans lol.

Release Schedules & Improvements
Starting with version 1.0, possibly until 1.1 or 1.2, releases will be longer than one month. I know, that goes against my desire to keep you entertained every month. But, there are things I need to do and I don't want to wait any longer. I played my game this weekend from beginning through to the end of 0.9. Many mentioned that conflicts were resolved too quickly and I fully agree with that view. I will not be changing the story too much in the earlier parts of it, so the way it reads now will remain. It is what it is and I would much prefer to spend my time redoing the graphics from back then. Put simply, they're just terrible compared to where I'm at currently. First impressions mean a lot to me (whether someone is paying for my VN or not) and I can see where some may play this for the first time and not make it beyond day 2. I want to address this now and not wait until we are weeks into the story and I have too many things going on to fix it. When 1.0 is released, I want people to want to start over again, perhaps relive the world of Serenity while seeing the graphics that I wished I could have pulled off back then. I know all devs go through this at some point and this being my first project, I guess it is my turn to "fix it". To begin with, I will be recreating the first scenes on the island completely from scratch with proper lighting. I will also address a few things I didn't like in my dialogue, but won't be changing the story itself from where it is unless I see potential for something that won't take me long to achieve. The field-of-view in the scenes where we go with Kat to see Trina and read the book, plus the lighting and nothing but white outside the windows... Gahh... I hated seeing that. Its getting fixed. Also the shower scene with Kat will be updated with a better penis and some better camera angles, plus a bit of dialogue editing there. And finally, I want to remove all of the shitty "step animation" I put in. Playing it myself, I cringed... "Oh fuck that's horrible!" LOL. So that's the improvements and release schedule in a nutshell.

Serenity Future Development (very minor spoilers ahead)
I continue to learn new things. And I also read what people say about Serenity as long as it is constructive. I am forever amazed at how well Serenity has been accepted so far and that excites me and inspires me to keep going and keep making more after this one is completed. Anyway, I see version 1.0 as a sort of milestone for me so it makes sense to make this the update that actually adds some improvements. At least then, people who discover Serenity from there forward will have a better experience. Future releases will contain a bit more content than previous. More time will be taken when interacting with different girls... to get to know them better, to strengthen your bond with them, and to make you generally care what happens to them. You'll start to see some of that in 1.0 (in the continuation of the story). And for those who said conflicts were over with too quickly, the only thing I can say is just keep following. Version 1.0 is going to introduce just the tip of the chaos that is coming. And it will NOT be resolved in one update. Future releases are going to test your connection with the girls and stretch your emotions to their limits if I do this right. With the story, visuals, and music, I hope to turn emotions on and off at varying degrees... make you love a girl you didn't pay as much attention to before... make you hate someone to the point where you're getting pissed at me because you want that next update to see what happens next. I apologize in advance to you all right now. Because where I am taking this is going to get serious. We have just a few more 'in-game' days of nice stuff. That is all I will say for now. Just know, when it all starts to happen, don't lose faith in me. I'm telling a story and I assure you... it will end in a manner fitting your personal choices. Those choices will start to come into play much later but they're coming. That will be the "end game" content that will, in itself, be several months worth of releases.

If you are considering buying into a tier, or you're already paying... I just want you to know that I appreciate that support. I am saving up that money to upgrade my graphics card and CPU to help make my graphics work a bit smoother. I am also still paying Cryoxxx for his animation work but have also started to try doing my own with his guidance and support. I don't mind paying a dev to do animations for me because I like helping to support my fellow devs and besides, he does great work. But I do need to try doing more on my own. The scene with Fade in 0.9 where she is sitting in your lap as a fairy was my own animation. It isn't perfect but definitely better than that mess I did early in the game with Kat (sorry about that! Really! LOL). I'm going to ask Cryoxxx to help me improve that particular scene also and will let you guys know when an update contains that. If your gallery already has it unlocked, you'll be able to go check it out without starting the game over. I'll keep you posted on that.

That's all I have for now guys and gals. Thanks again for all the great compliments and comments you've sent me. I love seeing that. Oh, and one more thing... for those that don't know... When my releases go public, if you have trouble downloading from mega, I am also on itch.io as well as GameJolt. << Click those links and bookmark those pages. You can always download the latest public release directly from those pages - you don't have to pay anything and there aren't any download limits (that I know of) from those sites. And if you ever have or see issues with Serenity, please don't hesitate to contact me on those sites, here on patreon, or join my discord and PM me there.

Love and peace to you all,
...Fire