Update - What a week (Patreon)

A big week

The week started with the release of PAL 1.11.0, (hope you're enjoying it!) which I thought was going to be the big news, but then of course the page got shut down for 18 hours while I had to address concerns about the content on here. I've already addressed the suspension in my previous public post, so I don't need to tell you about that, but this has been a fast moving week, so I'll give you some more details about where I am with things right now.

For PAL, I'm planning to implement the following remaining features:

• All patron commissions, including the Masami/Fumi ending, a couple of Fumi scenes and a couple of Kim/Rio scenes. Apart from the Masami/Fumi stuff, these will be in the victory suite.
• One more stage to Hiroshi's original night service requests, those requests will no longer cut off endings but will have a higher love penalty and the maids' endings will acknowledge the Hiroshi paths.
• A last wave of new monsters and combat effects.
• Three new in-game puzzles to unlock the remaining three collector cards.

While there could be a bit more I'd put in, these are the main bits I'm planning. Mostly the stuff I'm cutting shouldn't be mourned too much - it would have taken me a lot of work and mostly it wasn't actually the best stuff I've made anyway. Maybe you'll get to see what I'd already done in some form in the future, too. I still really enjoy writing for these characters, but many signs have been pointing to the fact that it's time to get PAL finished up and for PAT to become my main focus, so I'm looking at this as the start of a new chapter that could be really exciting. :)

The Discord server

The Discord server has seen some extra activity lately because I announced on the front page that that's where I'd like to talk about the suspension. It's actually really good, if you haven't already, to come join the server because it's a place that I can keep in contact with you even if there's ever issues with this page. You automatically get special privileges as a patron if your Discord and Patreon accounts are linked, too!

It's also just a nice place to chat with you guys, and I can do stuff like put up art tests to run them by other people's eyes - making sure that stuff looks okay. That gives you a bit more influence over the development, if that matters to you. (There's even a suggestions channel.)

PAT voice acting and character designs

For the next (first proper) release of PAT I would like to have voice acting for the characters, so that requires some casting and script preparation. Honestly, casting, scripting and getting the lines back to me takes a while, so I may not be able to get VA into the next PAT release, but I'll try because I'd like that to be an early feature. Certainly, I'd like it to be in the first public release so I can demonstrate what the game will include.

If you've been looking over on the Discord channel, you may have noticed that I've been working some more character design changes for the PAT cast; I've improved the main character's design a bit (his head was looking too big and weird), plus I've been developing outfits for some of the ladies.

Beyond all that, I've also been writing up ideas for the game, developing concepts for the plot and the characters. It's not all set in stone yet, but I'm working on it.

This week's image

Here's a picture I already put on the Discord channel. As you might be able to see, I improved how Masami's dressing gown outfit works so it hangs nicer than before and I can show it from any angle now, which means I can use it in other scenes. That's good timing, because I'm working on some scenes to build up to a Masami/Fumi ending that was commissioned for the game. I also improved her standard outfit; its textures and how it hangs on her legs. So I plan to have a couple more nice shots of that too.

After making the Rio/Iku ending the patron and I both thought that Masami/Fumi was an interesting contrast - they might seem like two pairings that could clash with each other. A little challenge for you: if you were choosing one of these two sides, which would you go with? Who's side are you on?

Let me know what you think in the comments! (Or the Discord.) I think there's still probably a fair bit to talk about.