Progress Report 2021.06.28

Hi friends,

Happy end of the month! June didn’t quite go according to plan, but I still got a lot of work done. Even though I didn’t meet my planned deadlines, I am working through the end of the game as fast as I can, so I am trying to give myself permission to take a little more time to finish the chapter. 80k in a month is a lot. 😅

I am trying to squeeze out a bit more in the last couple of days, but my area is in the middle of a severe heatwave and I haven’t been able to work. Our temperatures (which are usually 28C tops) have been up to 41C. My apartment is not equipped to handle this level of heat. I’m doing all right (we thankfully were able to borrow a portable AC unit from my in-laws), but needless to say I am not getting any writing done until the heat breaks.

Game Updates

The playtester team is combing through the Alpha Build 1.0.7. for bugs and typos. They’ve been exploring the different paths and routes in different combinations and have found and reported so many errors. I updated the first 1.0.7. patch on June 20th. I’m not currently not planning on patching the build again until the last round of content is written and coded.

I am very grateful to the playtester team, and I am very confident that with their help, we’ll be able to have a stable, mostly bug-and-typo-free Chapter 1 launch in July.

Since the content update on June 18th, I’ve written about 20k of new content for the confrontation at the Count’s villa. The section has become a little more complicated than I expected. The energy is quite different than the confrontation on Route A, and I ended up needing to add a third branch to the conflict, where originally there was only two. This is pushing things back a little further. I’m about halfway through the first and third branches, with parts of the second branch written. I’d estimate this probably about 1/3 of the total Count confrontation material.

Some of it is eventually going to borrow from Route A, but right now I’m focusing on filling the gaps and making sure player choice is accounted for.

The New Tentative Plan

I was hoping to finish this remaining section by July 3, but with the heatwave impacting things, that will not be possible. We’ll have to see where things land (it’s supposed to break in a couple of days). This is a tentative plan, though I am hoping some sections won’t take as long as planned.

• June 28/28 - OFF 😞
• June 30 – Continue Count Confrontation Branch 3
• July 1 – Finish Count Confrontation Branch 3
• July 2 – OFF (friend things)
• July 3 – Continue Count Confrontation Branch 1
• July 4 – Finish Count Confrontation Branch 1
• July 5, 6 & 7 – Write Count Confrontation Branch 2
• July 8 – Finish Count Confrontation Branch 2
• July 9 – Zenaida scenes
• July 10 – Finish Zenaida scenes + chapter
• July 11, 12, 13 – Edit / Code
• July 14 – Update alpha build

Patreon Updates

As mentioned in my post on June 25, I will be launching the changes to tiers and benefits on June 30. If you’re curious about what changes are being made, a full outline is available in that post. If you have any questions or concerns about the changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

I am hoping that with Chapter 1 coming to an end next month, I will be able to get back to monthly bonus content posts in July. 

As always, thank you so much for your support! If you’re in the PNW, I hope you are able to stay cool and make it through the heatwave. ❤