Astra - Monthly Update (May 2022) + Ep2/Ep3 Playable ART Version! (Patreon)

Hello Patrons,

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!! Hope everyone's week has been going excellent so far! Firstly, thank you for your patience with the delayed monthly update. We wanted to release it with the new UI however it kept coming with some setbacks. That being said, it's in a decent and enough spot and ready for release!

So without further delay, let's get started with the monthly May update.

Episode 1+2+3 - Playable ART Version

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Mh-a9O15XwIQDbuJOm2-vFNbDHNvIJs/view?usp=sharing

The link above is the playable ART Version of Episode 1+2+3! Things missing are ambience, SFX, voice over, lip sync, and some other stuff involving polish. Obviously one of the phat components that got added is the base UI. Happy reading (and viewing :P)!

WRITING

Katie (lead writer) took three weeks off for traveling so the progression this month wasn't as much as expected. On top of that, a lot of my time this month was spent getting the art Ep3 version created, all the UI stuff, getting the Steam page up and approved...etc. It has been a long minute from Ep3 read-only to now and it is certainly being felt.

On that note, we did actually pick up a new writer this month, Mr. Ruel! He has already written three scenes and has been an excellent addition. With Katie back now, writing being a focus point for me, and Ruel joining, I am hoping to have a catch-up blitz for the upcoming  weeks for Ep4 read-only.

CHARACTER ART

We have one completed CG to report! Sunimu has been busy this month working through a bunch of the Steam / Twitch and other marketing asset requirements. With those wrapped up, he'll be back to full time CG again soon enough!

BACKGROUND ART

BGs had a steady progression this month! We got another planet dock since the other one was getting too much repeated use. And of course as we are getting into future episodes, the beach one was a staple. ;^)

The other BG focus this month was for the ship BGs but with planet backgrounds in the windows. One of the feedbacks we got was that it felt really strange reading how it is day time on a planet yet the background was space! Hopefully this will make things feel at the right time and location.

ANIMATION

Just some general bug fixes on Live2D models based on feedback. The biggest was that Vaela's blush was 'floating' on her face rather than being on her cheeks which was causing a very strange looking blush layer!

PROGRAMMING

Our programmer has been insanely busy with the art version implementation of Ep2+Ep3 and of course the entire UI implementation! For the upcoming week, they will be focused on cleaning up the UI based on feedback and then read-only Ep4 when it is ready to roll.

AUDIO

As per our last update, we were a bit light on romance and flirty tracks. Eric has composed 'Warmth' which gives a nice, peaceful romance vibe! You can take a listen to it on the Patreon post. The next track he'll be working on is the flirty track.

And very last on the agenda is we'll be hosting a Dev stream of Astral Ascension to share more about the project & do a playthrough of Episode 1!  Sunday, May 29th @ 1:00PM EST: https://twitch.tv/pixelfade

With you guys being Patrons, you already have access to much more information however it will be great to see how the overall community receives Astral Ascension for the first time!

That's all the news for this month! As always, feel free to post your thoughts and feedback below. Thank you for your continued support! <3

Cheers,