Weekly status update: a wizard did it. (Patreon)

So, here we are like every monday (because apparently I just can't wrap things up by sunday) with an update on what is going on with development. The changelog reads as follow:

Finished intro to the mage guild, now you can join as a full member and get to see a few more members, as well as start to enjoy some of the services they offer;

First quest (errand?) you can run for one of the mages as a member;

removed the "hold" spell in favour of "dispel" (I had a few good ideas, but the uses seemed too many, and the code was proving to be troublesome). The good news here is that since you never saw the hold spell to begin with, you can't be disappointed that it's gone now;

Lightning bolt spell added (uses in and outside of battle, just like dispel);

Added alternative escape route during the merchant quest, if you already have the mouse transformation available;

New "faction" you might get to join (you will probably meet them when you do the mage guild quest :p);

New transformation fully working (but it still misses a temple to go with it);

Probably some minor touches I am forgetting about.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about the layered images system I mentioned in the previous post, and I think I'll end up adding it in the game, after I do some more testing (one of my worries was that the layers wouldn't show up all at the same time, creating some jarring moments where the protagonist appears in pieces for a while, but it seems to be able to do it just fine), and I gather enough material to cover some of the basic stuff (piercings, different bust sizes, maybe a test for different hair colors).

To be honest, the most annoying things I did this week were working (and eventually giving up) the hold spell and adding the new path for the merchant quest.
They might sound minor things (and they are, gameplay wise), but they forced me to scrap several plans (hold spell) or re-work around old and established scenarios (the merchant quest): I have a stupidly long list of condional branches for the quest now, if you use the mouse TF, partly because of how the spell itself works, and partly because to avoid conflicts I had to block the other exit when you escape by transforming and viceversa, as well as make sure nothing was repeatable, all to add an option that boils down to doing the same thing as another spell, and a short (under 20 seconds) long scene for the new path. -_-

But enough of me whining, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask people a few questions, as well as announce the first real poll which will be up in the following week.

I figure the best way to work on polls is to publish them one week before the next release, so that by the time the new release is out and I start working on the following one, I can focus my efforts toward whatever the result of the poll was, but what do you guys think?

Also, do people prefer to receive a private message with a link to the poll, or do they want me to keep using the system I used last time (make a patreon-only post with the link)?

Another reminder to those who donated 25$ or more: since you can suggest scenes for the game, feel free to contact me with your ideas (I will send messages next week if nobody comes forward, so that I know you are aware of this).

In general, are you interested in me talking about specific topics during these weekly posts? Do let me know, I'd like to improve on these update, if at all possible. This is all for this week, until next time! ^_^