$10 Content: Novels and Betas and Updates, Oh My! (Patreon)

Hey, $10 patrons! Normally I space out rewards, but there was no reason to do so in this case. This post has a book for you to read, an update on Once Ever After, and an opportunity to participate in a DStP prototype if you want.

Necrosurgeon

I have another novel for you, if you want to read it:

https://mega.nz/#!m00EXA7Q!fmoJEh-7Kwd06H2DGjgBP8Lp0M4RP2j9iEKRLMZTq9U 

This one... not sure what to say about it. I'm quite happy with it, but it's a more unusual book than any of the others, particularly going hard in one direction with the protagonist. It's shorter than the others, a more focused experience around a single POV character. If you like necromancy or sociopaths, give it a shot!

DStP Prototype

Louck hasn't sent me the fixed version yet, but I'm looking for a few volunteers to test a prototype of a rule change for this game. I'd especially like to hear from people who are interested in the mechanics or hated the coin collecting part. This isn't a brand new version, we've just added a prototype of a new mechanic to endless mode, so there's no graphical polish.  Five minutes playing around with it is probably enough to give feedback. 

In essence, I think the game is too simple without coin collection, but I hear those who found the coin collection physically painful or too spammy. The new version uses a "coin vacuum" that I hope will help with both.  Ideally this (or some other solution) will take the core gameplay up a notch.

Once Ever After

First, check out the public update here (Thanks to Lamsey for making the comparison gif!)  :

https://steamcommunity.com/games/951860/announcements/detail/1715240546424290164

I'll give you guys some additional info. Regarding CGs, I just recently gave Crescentia the descriptions for the last set of three. Those will likely take about three months to draw, but they're not likely to be a choke point for the project. Most of the chibis that I think would have real impact are done, so the remaining chibi work depends on what other ideas I feel are worth it.

There are some minor visual assets yet to be finished. Estra might get a full character image, not sure. I also wanted to have custom faces (not full busts) for the NPCs, but we'll see how that goes. Overall, these things are minor issues compared to the major tasks like the map rework.

The one truly major problem is that I tried and failed to get a programmer to fix the combat issues. I asked in several locations and the only people who responded failed to make the changes or went AWOL. This is unfortunate, and worst case scenario I'd have to entirely redesign certain aspects of combat that are currently broken.

Anyway, you may be wondering when the next version for backers will be. The answer is that I'm not sure. At minimum, I want to finish some more details and properly test the remaining content. I'd also like to have enough changes (like improved combat) that it's a significantly upgraded experience from last time. You can definitely expect it in 2020, it's just a question of when I'll take time away from TLS to finish things.