Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #158 (Patreon)

Hiya, everyone! How are you all doing? Hope the summer's been treating you well and you've been able to avoid mostly melting! It's been so wet and rainy over here that I've forgotten it was summer altogether sometimes, which I guess is both a blessing and a curse. Just pure grey skies over here. Maybe the influence of a certain hooded character that I relate to so much~?

So, I realise I've fallen behind a little bit with these dev logs, for which I deeply apologise for, but wanted to assure you all that I am still alive and am indeed still working on things. Maybe moving forward I can try to post more--but I suppose I'm still bumping up against the issue I've done an overview on before, where the closer I get to the end of Chapter Two, the less stuff I have to showcase without outright spoiling some of the more fun moments I think will be better left a surprise. Which truly is the struggle, isn't it? Keeping the attention of everyone and assuring you all that I am still working on everything, while also keeping so much of it secret, haha. I won't ramble on too much about this dilemma as I've done so much of that in the past, but I just wanted to reiterate it, and if anyone has ideas for what might be good ways to showcase and gauge progress beyond the flashier ways that I'm used to, I'm all for it, too!

To try to make up for the lack of dev logs, however, I've made this one a fancy video dev log, showcasing a scene that has been in recent alpha builds already admittedly so won't be new to all, but is still a favourite of mine.

My intention was to embed it in the post as I've done in the past, but Youtube was quick to flag it as an over 18 video, so the embed would direct to the site anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNwSrlFjoZ4

Unfortunately you need to log in to view the video, which I know isn't ideal--but so the top of this post isn't too barren, I've included a nice screenshot from it, too. You can tell I like any given character with how flowery the writing gets, haha.

I'll let the video largely speak for itself, as it's quite a lengthy one at that, but to sum it up for those that may not be able to watch the video in full (especially now Youtube has insisted on limiting its exposure!), it's a more light-hearted interaction with Matt and Lucille--showcasing how they get along the more he visits her and attempts to fix her hut up after the events of Chapter One.

Given Lucille didn't have much of a presence in Chapter One, I gave a lot of care to the events that transpire with her. And between both the h-scenes, and these cuter event CG scenes, Lucille has plentyyyy of which to experience with her. Perhaps too much. It may even be a challenge just to see everything she has to offer in a single playthrough, unless you really dedicate your time to visiting the swamps! But I promise it'll be worth it. So hiss mistress fans rejoice~

One thing that's new to this scene that wasn't in previous builds is a little 'boing' sound effect when Matt comes into contact with her immense, bouncy bosom. It's a sound effect I had custom made for these sorts of moments, inspired by Dragon Maid, and I'm hoping to implement it across a range of scenes both old and new where Matt's face just seems to be magnetised to all of the magnificent busts that seem so abundant across Anzara. Seriously, the women here are just made different! Is it something in the food? The water? Are they bustier than the women in other regions?! Only time will tell.

I hope you enjoy this cute little moment with Lucille and Matt all the same. I personally love how the CG art turned out for this, with all the small little variations and attention to detail between the characters. Maybe one of the few moments where Matt is actually seen grabbing at one of the enormous chests presented before him--even if not intentionally so!

In addition, since I understand this moment may not be new to some people, I also wanted to include a fun tease of what to expect in upcoming scenes:

Chu~ Yes, because I can't help myself, we have yet more kissing to look forward to very soon! This one is just a small part of a much larger scene between Cynthia and Matt. One that was difficult to write and feels as though it ended up quite long, so I hope you'll enjoy it, too! With how domineering Cynthia can be in one of her earliest scenes, this one portrays her in a far more vulnerable light. Revealing that there is indeed a soft side to the otherwise incredible stern captain. Y'know, once you get past those abs of steel and her giant sword.

There's several levels to this kiss, too of increasing intensity, but of course for the fun of it I've shown you the ultimate smooch right away. I'm sure the question on everyone's minds right now is how does the royal captain's kissing stack up to both Ren's and the Queen's? It's hard to say right now. Maybe there needs to be some kind of contest held in the city? A kiss-off, if you will. Everyone's invited. Only then will we be able to come to a concrete answer!

At first, this particular scene didn't initially have a dedicated kissing cut-in, but the more I wrote the scene and felt the art I had to work with was looking just a tiny bit sparse (as I'd gotten it made in advance for a tonally different scene than the one I ended up writing) the more I felt the scene would really benefit from it. There's also another cut-in that shows Cynthia's glorious royal assets from a nice angle, considering the main art has her back to the screen largely, which I hope you'll enjoy, too! As it felt like a crime to hide them away within the main CG art after how much Matt describes them in his incredibly detailed and rambly narrations, haha.

I'll be very much looking forward to getting this scene voiced, and I think I'll be able to have all the new h-scenes included in the upcoming build voiced right out of the gate, along with all the story moments and such that still needed voicing from before.

Finally, on the subject of the upcoming alpha build--I realise it's been a long, long time since the last one, and I want to apologise for that. As my plan was--and still is--to get to the end of the main scenario, credits and all, before putting the next build out. And it was just at that time that some of the scenes I had to do ended up being difficult for me to write and served as some stumbling points.

The next alpha build will be out some point next month, though. I'm declaring it, so it will be so! I can't say when exactly, but the closer I get to bringing it all together, I'll let you all know in another dev log next month. Thanks again for your immense support everyone! I can't tell you just how much it means to me that so many of you have stood by for me this long, and I really do want to do right by you all. It still blows my mind when I have people tell me they've been a fan for year and are super hyped for things--because in my mind, I still see QF as this scrappy little thing that's maybe been played by like a few people and that's it, haha. Knowing that hundreds, if not thousands of people have enjoyed it, and are still so hyped for what to come motivates me to keep pushing on, even when some days are rough. It's never been a question of IF Chapter Two will be failed--just a matter of when, that I promise. Even if it's taken a bit longer than I would have liked, I'm still ambling on and doing the best I can!

So while some side events will still be left to do after this upcoming build, I think just the fact that I'll have reached the credits will be an accomplishment in itself, especially with everything involved in the lead up to the end of Chapter Two's story. I think some of it will be super fun and I'll be really excited to see some reactions to some moments!

And even just the credits themselves have been something fun to consider and plan. Because Chapter One's credits were just a scrolling .png. But given the complexities of Chapter Two and the fact that you can go through an entire playthrough without ever seeing some characters, there's a bit more for me to consider in how I handle showcasing some characters. It won't be too much more complex, of course, and put an extra strain on me or anything--but it'll be far more flexible and dynamic, and allow me to add/remove elements as I please opposed to having to edit one big .png tons of times.

So yeah--to iterate on the above, I fully intend to have the next build out next month. Maybe towards the middle of the month if not pushing against the end. By my estimations, for the main scenario, I have a couple of large scenes to write still and a few smaller ones around it. I'm pre-emptively announcing my intentions here because sometimes that added pressure is just what I need to get a fire under me, haha.

Thanks again as always for reading, and if you have any questions, concerns, or any of that fun stuff, please don't hesitate to reach out via comment, PM or even email. I'll almost always reply in a prompt manner (unless Patreon doesn't tell me I HAVE a PM like it's done for some strange reason sometimes. So if I don't answer for a few days that'll be why.)

Until next time, and hopefully next time will be a little sooner! I'll use the dev log in the next week or two to let you all know how my writing is going and how close I believe I am to the next build. Whooooooooooosh~