April 7 Update (Patreon)

Almost all my time is being spent on TLS, but there are a few things that can't/shouldn't be rescheduled. The notable one is the audiobook of Bondsfungi, freshly narrated by Travis Baldree!

https://www.audible.com/pd/B0CZY9L58G?qid=1712365494

While I could technically put this off, he doesn't get paid until the title launches, and it's bad manners to delay for no reason. Plus, if I don't do this now, that will just cause other delays several months down the road. Being an active dev means always looking at both the medium and long term, otherwise there will be a ton of snarls.

Anyway, please look at this if you're interested. Can't do a lot of promo this time, so I guess we'll see what numbers a straight release does.

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Anyway, after a herculean amount of work, I can say that the rough draft of the final battle has taken shape. I don't know if that sounds like a lot or a little - it's kind of both. On one hand, someone who opened up the game files would see an enormous amount of finished dialogue, all kinds of variable logic, and even some maps. But on the other hand, basically nothing is actually playable. All that stuff is just sitting in WIP events, not stitched together, and so many necessary pieces are missing.

Still, this is a major turning point for me in terms of my creative process. I can't guarantee that people will be satisfied with everything, but it feels right. The plot threads, variables, and switches I have been managing for so long are coming together. I've written some critical conversations and it felt right. I predict I'll be able to put the battle together without serious revisions to my plans.

My only regret is that I wish I could have gotten here faster. Everyone on my Sarah Lin Patreon knows that the recent book just ended... and since I'm right in the thick of TLS work, that means there will be real delays over there, without chapters and before the release of the next book.

This is regrettable, but I think it's for the best. Monthly hiccups hurt in the short term, but in the long term, what people will care about is producing the best work I can overall. And right now, the most effective path is to minimize anything distracting me from focusing on the final battle of TLS.

My brain is so loaded up with variables and alternate paths and plans right now. @_@ It's a fun state to exist in, but only for so long. Onward!