Variety Is The Spice of Life

 

Quick recap: Last week I worked on a new short quest for chapter 5. It's related to the quest where you rescue a mermaid from the theater, although it's not a direct "sequel" to it (it features a friend of the mermaid, rather than the mermaid herself). The quest is almost finished, but I need to check/re-organize a few things, and it needs a scene I have yet to write.

Speaking of which, I also wrote a new scene for the pregnant section (although it's only available if you hit a certain "slut reputation" score). It has its own small map to explore, like some of the other areas you can visit while pregnant.

Other changes/additions to the pregnancy period:

•  thinking about names for the baby/babies (increases your "good mom" score);

•  Expanded and improved the masturbation scene at home;

•  Made the "stay at home" option available during night as well;

•  removed some of the unused choices;

Anyway, that's about it for the moment. See you next week for more updates! ^_^

The Way Forward

 

With last month's release, I think I have covered all the big items still left on my to-do list. This means that from now on it's all small quests, events and scenes. Hopefully, the game should be completed soon-ish. I'll try to give you guys an heads up of at least 2-3 months when I feel confident I have narrowed down the 1.0 release, but be aware that it should be coming this year.

I feel like I should apologize for how long things have dragged, but at least I can say I tried my best for the game, and I think the results are good.

I need to check my notes and cut anything that I don't feel strongly about at this stage. This does mean some of the stuff I wanted and that the game hinted at might not happen after all, but I am sure everyone understands how the game has been in development for way too long at this point, and that games can't be perfect.

If you have anything in mind that is obviously incomplete or that seems to not be in the game despite it being mentioned, feel free to tell me, so I can tell you what my plans are on this or that specifc thing (I might also need a reminder, you never know XD).

Anyway, setting aside the long-term, this month will probably have a bit of a shorter cycle. I'd like to release around the 21st, as I try to drag the releases back to the middle of the month (I think it makes the most sense to have flexibility without having to worry about getting too close to the end of the month).

As for the content, I already did some work to improve the quest from last month: I added a new music track, and I started writing some dialogues for the people in town, so that they comment on the aftermath of the quest (it seems appropriate that they'd have something to say, plus it's a way to celebrate and recognize the players' effort in getting things done). I also did some other minor tweaks and changes, to improve the experience. Once I get my hands on the new art, I'll also add the visuals for the scenes I mentioned last time.

Other than that, I plan to review/expand some of the pregnant content: a new scene for when you are pregnant at home will be added, plus I'll see if I can add more NPCs to the "father roster". I might also cut some of the planned content in there (I am still debating if a brothel visit while pregnant makes sense, for example).

Finally, I'll see if I can add another short quest and a few more scenes, and maybe some work on the walkthrough/h-scenes list (long overdue for both). There is always something to take care of, so I'll try to juggle the game's various needs. Again, if you have something on your mind, make sure to leave a comment. See you next week! ^_^

February Update

 ​Small month, big release*! Get the public version here or at itch.io. Read the changelog here, see how my insanity is laid bare with each entry of that monstrosity!

*If the release appears small, it might have shrunk due to the cold weather. We decline any responsability for disappointing the audience.

Third Part Is The Charm

 

I posted the patrons-only art preview and the polls, only to forget the weekly recap. >_< Anyway, I made some good progress overall: I wrote a new scene (a solo scene to "celebrate" your progress with Dominque, assuming you have seen her entire path) and I kept hacking at the quest. I am close to finishing the third and last gameplay section, although I had some IRL problems slowing me down.

Since I am so close to finished, I'll probably push to wrap things up for the quest and then send it to the testers, even if I have to delay things a couple of days. Worst case scenario, I guess I can release the quest in "early access" (making it available from the travel sphere), and delay the improvements after I hear the feedback from the testers (and the players as well, in that case), but I'd like to avoid that, if possible.

Anyway, we'll see when the update lands (probably the first half of next week), so there might or might not be another dev blog. See you guys (hopefully soon) for the release! ^_^

Aaaand... Cut(scenes)!

 

Progress is going well with the quest. The second part is basically finished, so I should be able to start work on the third section soon, and then handle the finale.

Now that I am tying the various parts together, I am getting swamped in small details during cutscenes, but it's all for a good reason: after all, if you get extra guards as a result of your previous actions, you want at least something to be shown, right? If you get this or that captain, you might want something different to happen in the cutscenes, or at least in the dialogues. It's all content that requires some extra testing to get right (you can't really preview cutscenes in VX Ace), but I hope to make it all feel dynamic without delving too deep into the weeds. It's also stuff that might get "upgraded" once I get feedback from testers, and I have high hopes for this feeling satisfying.

The combat part seems interesting enough to me. I tested it the other day, and I feel it's a reasonable challenge at the highest difficulty. It's going to be quite easier if you have been doing your best for Golden Leaf, though, so I hope everyone has been taking care of their county. XD

I finished planning out my ideas for the third section, so hopefully it's going to be smooth sailings for that once I move onto the next step.

That's it for now. I'll keep you guys updated as we move forward, as usual. Until my next post! ^_^

Questionable Quest

As anticipated, I am working on the Golden Leaf final quest. I am adding more detailed content (like comments from your cow maids or Eliza near the start, depending on which path you are on). I think you'll get a special reward (read: scene) from either group, if you finish the quest successfully (I have to give you guys some extra motivation, right?) and I wonder if I should have a "neutral reward" as well if you aren't affiliated with the troublemakers.

I have been sifting through the list of choices and consequences, and I think I did include all that I want to track, even the smaller effects (how good your relationship with the nearby nobles is depending on how you handled the party, can give a little bonus, for example).

The work itself has been a bit boring in parts (coming up with adequate ideas for the effects of this or that event/quest/scene, explaining some of the choices you get and so on), but it's all necessary, and now the quest is closer to a working state. Once I double check the intro again, I am going to move on part 2 and 3 of the quest (part 2 being already partly done).

I think I'll scale down the finale from what I had in mind originally. I am trying to think if something other than a fight would be better for the climax, given that combat is also in the 2nd part of the quest, but we'll see. For now, the overall idea is unique gameplay for part 1 (think of a simplified Plants vs. Zombies kind of deal), more combat focus in part 2, something puzzle-like for part 3 ("traditional" Caliross, with spells to solve a situation) and then part 4 where we handle the antagonist.

Anyway, that's enough gibberish for now. I'll be back next week with more news, so I'll see you guys then! ^_^

Condensed

Not much happened since the update: I did some work on TOTDC 2, did some treasure hunting for reference material (for the art commission) and wrote a new scene for Caliross (something for your solo adventures in bed if your slut reputation reaches or exceeds 10 points). For the rest of the month I should focus mostly on finishing the Golden Leaf quest, although I am sure I'll mix in some scenes and other miscellaneous content.

I don't think there is anything else of note to report, but I am sure things will change by next week, hopefully I'll be able to share more about the quest as things get finalized. Until next monday! ^_^