Serenity (C2-E2) Devlog 2 (Patrons) (Patreon)

Hey everyone,

I waited a bit longer than I intended to post this next Serenity devlog (I want to start posting them about once per week, every other week being patron posts). Anyway, this one will be a bit shorter than the usual books I post up ;)

Quick and dirty status: I have one final scene to code. After that, I'll do the first quick proofread to check for continuity in the story, grammar/spelling and so forth. That is something I always do just after I finish coding an update. I always find something I want to change or fix at that stage. Anyway, after that it's on to rendering the scenes. Of course, this part is the biggest chunk of the development period. Most scenes in episode 2 will take place in 'maps' and scenes I already have built and ready to roll (just add characters and lighting). However, I've picked up several new maps and mods that I'll be using for this update. That means I'll be creating at least a few scenes from scratch.

Release: Even though I honestly don't know when it will be ready for beta, I will always tell you what I'm shooting for with regard to release. At this point, I feel like I am on track for a release by the end of October. At least that is what I want, but we'll see how it goes. 

Design and GUI: All Serenity characters are being upgraded with better skin mods (on par with what I am doing for Last Human). This also means more focus on lighting, scene aesthetics and atmosphere (no more 'empty' scenes and backgrounds). I'm spending more time making sure there is more random 'things' around the actors in the scene. I'm trying to add a bit more realism to the images.  Last Human, Serenity Chapter 1, and Serenity Chapter 2 will all have a transparency slider for dialog (with a shorter slider finally haha). Text is more readable with outlines and wider at the bottom of the screen. Hopefully this will all add up to an improved experience when you're enjoying the story. 

That's all I have for now. I know time drags between updates. I wish I could work faster but that would kill quality. So, hang in there! Before you know it, the beta will be out and you'll sink into another episode of Serenity! :)

...Fire