Saturday Update! (Patreon)
Content
Hello again! I'd like to start this update off with a couple apologies. First up is that I'm sorry if this post has weird errors, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night LMAO
But secondly and more importantly, I'm sorry the Patreon website and app have changed so drastically. Patreon just rolled out a massive design overhaul and it's.... frankly terrible. Minimalism taken to a stark painful extreme and the feed is all jumbled. Creators in the Patreon server are reporting that they're getting angry comments and even losing patrons over it. I wouldn't hold it against you if you can't stand the site any more- I know I certainly do not appreciate the changes to the back end :(
Anyway, enough with the bad- let's get to the good.
So, you may have noticed that the progress is pretty weak on the colored bar there but the placeholder number jumped wildly.
This is because I made the decision to cut apart a bunch of the existing placeholder sprites into heads and bodies. It was a lot of extra work and increased filesize for the game- but I am hoping that ultimately it will actually save us on both.
I've already been able to fabricate a bunch of new sprites without drawing anything by combined heads and bodies I already have. It gives me a lot more freedom to use all my already drawn expressions even if Strade's body has changed, like if he's holding a knife or a drill.
I also cut apart the images for the intro and coded in what's needed to actually show what sort of drinks are on the table depending on the player's choices. [ You can refuse a drink, have soda, have a beer or two or three, etc ] Now all of those images are separate and ready to be finalized eventually.
Aside from that whole thing, I did also do some regular work filling in placeholders for Day 2, what I can only call 'the granola bar part'
Although I did manage to get a tiny bit into the actual spicier stuff LMAO
It was still a fairly productive week, all things considered.
But I have to admit, my productivity has been declining bit by bit, and I've been becoming more and more frustrated. At first I was blaming myself, feeling that I was somehow being lazy despite working more and more.
But it's finally dawned on me that my computer is dying. Every task is taking longer and longer with lags in between. Even simple things like changing which window I'm focused on takes several seconds- sometimes longer. Worst of all, drawing is becoming extremely hard because of significant lag between every brushstroke. I'm losing seconds, waiting, between each micro task, and I believe that time is starting to add up.
I'm a little frustrated at myself for not realizing this or being able to see how bad the situation had really gotten. But now, the decline is happening more rapidly. I think my computer is at risk of hard drive death at... possibly any moment. [ don't worry, all my data is fully backed up on an external drive every 30mins ]
But I have good news on that front too. I have ordered a new computer and monitor. It was pricy, but it's supposed to be a very good computer- much more powerful than this one ever was.
But I have to wait for both the computer and monitor to be shipped to me. For now, I just have to hold out and hope I can make it to October 18th.
Oh! One last thing!
It's Canadian Thanksgiving and my burnout is pretty bad- having to go see my extended family is stressful as well- so I'll be taking Monday off to try and rest up better. I'll try and work hard for the rest of the week to make up for it!
Anyway, this is long enough! Thank you all so much for staying with me, and thank you especially for your insane care and support. It's because of all of you that I can afford a fancy new computer and I am so deeply grateful. Thank you so much!!!
To my fellow Canadians, happy thanksgiving [ although maybe more importantly, happy month of truth and reconciliation, I hope we can build a better canada together ]
And to everyone else- stay safe and have fun and beautiful fall weekend! <3