February 28 Update (Patreon)

The big OEA release wasn't this weekend, but it will be the next. For now, have a screenshot of the gallery, teasing all the finished scenes in the game.

The wait isn't an issue of content not being done, most of it is finished. It isn't a lack of testing, though given all the changes it could likely use some more. No, it's just a matter of many tweaks that, while relatively small, will have an impact over the course of the entire game. If I'm giving you guys 20+ hours of content, I think improving these little things matters.

For example, the game gives Job Points, which are very relevant to overall balance due to how skills work. Right now, the game doesn't report JP at the end of battle, because the JP system and the victory screen are separate plugins not designed to work together. In doing my own testing (I've played beginning to end) it felt a bit frustrating to never know how much I was earning and have to keep going into the menu.

This sort of thing doesn't ruin the game, but there are multiple issues like this. I think this is a point where small amounts of my time could really improve everyone's experience with the game. But only one more week. If I can't get everything figured out this week, I'll put out a build anyway.

In other news, I accidentally didn't restrict the last $10 art post. So everybody got a preview, I suppose. =P I'll repost my request from there:

Villager Sprites Needed

I know there are some backers who like doing sprite art, so I'm wondering if any of you would be interested in helping out? I need some NPC sprites, which could even be created in the MV auto-creator. They don't need to be fancy, they just need to match my custom faces.

You see how they don't quite match? The RTP uses unnatural hair colors, the faces don't. The RTP sprite for "old man" villagers is bald, whereas the faces have hair. Etc. There will also be slight variants, like the Bangville woman's hair being purple.

I could (and will if necessary) find someone to hire, but freelancers for small jobs like this are horribly unreliable. It's often faster and higher quality to ask a trusted patron than to try to throw money at a problem.

Anybody who volunteered wouldn't need to rush to finish before next week's release; it's just something I hope to improve eventually. Anyway, $10 backers can look forward to playing all of OEA soon, and it should be coming to others as well.