DevLog #54: October 2020 (Patreon)

Hey guys!

This past month I worked exclusively on episode 2 of Light Fairytale, completing most of the work for the 5 boss battles.

I've also started the finalization process which consist of going back to each level and optimize the assets, create the colliders, make sure that all the events in all variations possible triggers without any issues, and eventually improve everything along the way!

This is easy work but it is also very time consuming, and unfortunately I have to do it myself.

Here's an editor view of the first playable level in episode 2. You can see preliminary work on the wall colliders - the green grids. Good news: I've actually improved my implementation resulting in smoother wall sliding compared to episode 1!

And here's a shot from a stress scene where I'm checking the performance. This is running on my PC - in native 4K resolution and ultra quality preset - close to 60 FPS as you can see.

In term of performance, the only thing that matters for my games in general is the GPU (graphics card). I currently have an Nvidia RTX 2080.

Though, please note that my games scales pretty well to a wide range of GPUs. You can totally play on a very low end GPU such as an integrated Intel HD Graphics, up to a crazy high end GPU like mine. There are 6 quality presets and you can customize every setting manually if needed.

Also note that the ultra quality setting is an overkill. Crazy level of details, tons of dynamic shadow sources etc. So I'd recommend using the very high quality preset at most, unless you have a very high end GPU like mine or if you're playing in lower that 4K.

I still wanted to give my players ton of range in term of performance because PCs are an open platform after all. I think you'll be happy when upgrading your entry level laptop in the year 2026 featuring an Intel integrated GPU as powerful as a Nvidia RTX 3090! This is basically a remaster edition hidden in the day one version, with the upgrade free of charge - and no patch needed!

You can download an untouched native 4K .PNG screenshot of this stress scene in the attachments bellow to see how it looks like on your screen!

Now let's talk about my release plan for episode 2.

I had a target release date in mid-November but unfortunately I don't think the game will be ready in time.

A release in December might be technically possible, but I rely on Steam's early launch visibility as my games don't make it in big press, and that visibility will be pretty bad due to all the AAA releases and discount campaigns starting in late November up to early January.

My new target is mid-January 2021. This will not only give me enough time to complete the development, but also polish the game a bit more - as I will be able to release day one a few things I was planning to cut in the November release, such as Linux support and the Japanese translation!

It will still be an early access as I need testers and feedback, but it should be very close to final. Also, this EA campaign will be probably very short - maybe just one month.

A few side notes, my tees are now also available to purchase on Amazon Japan:

neko.works/goods 

And my games, DLCs and bundles are currently up to 80% off in the Steam Halloween sale:

store.steampowered.com/developer/nekodotworks 

Bonus, here's a 4K wallpaper featuring the mysterious girl form the Light Fairytale series. This is a 3DCG reboot of the key artworks I was using during the early days of the project!

And that's it!

Thank you so much for your support. See you next time!