Update on Alpha Build Status

Heya there, everyone! I hope you're doing well! I just wanted to make a quick post at the end of the month, because, as you can probably tell--the alpha build has yet to materialise just yet, for which I apologise for, profusely.

This isn't really a dev log as such--so I'll be titling it differently to make it stand out--but it will still be giving an insight into the development, where things are at, and why things are taking so long. It's going to be a potentially long post, but if you feel I still haven't adequately shed light on any aspect of Chapter Two's development, please don't hesitate to reach out and I'll answer to the best of my ability!

So, to begin with--I've already apologised once at the start of this, but I really can't stress how sorry I am. And I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, too, which frustrates me, more. Several people have expressed their frustrations/disappointment at how things have yet to be completed, and I completely understand. Truthfully, I'm amazed more people haven't gotten more upset--and deeply appreciate how patient everyone has been. It's never, ever been my intention to try and deceive people into thinking a build was coming in order to make people pledge for the alpha tier and then not deliver--and I always fear it might come across this way as the delays mount up. It's honestly crushing for me, as I've always prided myself in being as open and honest as I can with development--though sometimes I'm prone to getting just a little too excited and overestimating what I can do.

To reiterate: I'll still be honouring all the past month's pledges that I said I would, even if people have backed down from the alpha tier in the meantime. This is my honest attempt to try and make things right without seeming like I'm just looking for money--and I hope when it finally arrives, you'll feel it was all worth it!

Moving along, I imagine the most burning right now question is: 'what's taking so long and why did you promise it as far back as several months ago but still have yet to deliver it?' Which is fair, enough, really, as I'd be asking the same question if I was on the other side!

I suppose the simplest and most honest answer I can give is that August just hasn't been the best month for me. For various reasons, I've just struggled to hit the level of productivity I typically strive for in a given day. Couple this together with the general complexity and importance of the major story scenes I've been writing, and it's made for something of a brick wall I've been chipping away at a day at a time, where some days I'm really happy with what I've managed, and others I just want to tear my hair out. Creative writing is never an easy process--sometimes, at least--and isn't something you can just force if you want anything in the way of halfway decent results. But I'm letting this strive for perfection get in the way entirely, which only makes me feel worse as a result.

The most frustrating aspect of this all, though, is that there isn't even that much left to write for the current build. I'll summarise all that needs to be done further on down the post for the sake of transparency, but from a glance, it's really just a remainder of this main event, and then two smaller side ones I had planned to include with things. This is of course, not everything that needs to be done for the entirety of Chapter Two, and rather just the content planned for this build--but still.

This is part of the reason why I honestly believed I would have wrapped things up long before August was fully in swing. But I greatly overestimated my abilities, and the slump I would fall into. It can be somewhat demoralising to be grinding away on one part for so long, while knowing that people are slowly growing disappointed all around you--which definitely makes it all the more crushing.

The work on the alpha has also had a knock-on effect, greatly reducing the dev logs that had once been scheduled weekly and has left me even more frazzled as the stress builds up. Which, again, upsets me--as I prided myself on always keeping up to date on things. It's my hope that once I get this build out I can finally resume the regularly scheduled posts as per usual, and even work on some lighter extra content on the side like I used to as well! (Short stories, audio scenes, etc.)

Through no fault of anybody's but my own, the pending alpha build has just mutated into a monster that has been eating away at everything else due to my ambition to deliver a substantial chunk of content for alpha players to dig through. And everything has been suffering as a result elsewhere in regards to my own state of mind, the faith you guys have in me as fans/supporters of QF, and even the Patreon's own total of dollars pledged. And, I'm not one to obsess over money or try to let it worry me too much--because dips are bound to happen--but I see the rather sharp decline as of late more of a sign that I've upset a lot of people and perhaps gotten hopes up and dashed them. Which, again, upsets me more than anything involving money. I really do just want everyone to be happy, and create awesome content that people can enjoy--and I know I've been making a large mess of it lately.

As mentioned earlier, for the sake of transparency, I want to list out exactly what needs to be done before this build can be uploaded, and it goes as followed:

- Remainder of major story scene
This is the big one--BUT I estimate that the scene is essentially already 70% - 80% done, and that once I finish this one particular part of the scene, the remaining part will flow a lot easier. A lot happens in this one particular story moment, and I mean a lot. It's been something of a wild journey to get to this part, and there's been a couple of revisions here and there for particular parts that just didn't hit quite right--but I'm really happy with how all the writing has turned out now. There's lots of descriptive moments, fun dialogue, and lots of revelations, too! Once I complete this, I'm going to feel a great deal of relief I think, and it'll be like a huge weight has lifted off of my shoulders, with everything coming after feeling like much more simple.

- Two small events/h-scenes
While other events/h-scenes have been written for the build, these are the two ones left to do, which, again, should come much easier once the behemoth of a scene above has been completed. They're both fairly simple in scope, too, so I have confidence I can blitz through them shortly after the main story stuff is written.

- Sprite, CG and music cues
This essentially just means going through everything that has been written so far and adding in the sprites and CG scripting so the images will display alongside the text. Not complex work by any means, and more just a time consuming job of labour, but doesn't require as much thought as creative writing for example. Some scenes are already done, too, which makes the job just a little easier. This sort of thing adds like a single day or two at most once all the above stuff is complete, as all the image editing to add these images into the game is already complete and split into layers.

- Cutting up delivered voicework into voice clips and implementing them into the game
Not all of the new CG scenes have voicework ready to go just yet, but some of them do--so this lessens the burden for now. Though my plan is that once I get the alpha out, I'll be fasttracking the remaining voiceless scenes and updating that build with the new voiced parts as soon as I can--so that the initial release of the build doesn't suffer any more than it has, and that people can revisit the scenes shortly after to hear them in all their glory!

So--as you can see from the summary above, it's really only just a small chunk of one story moment and 2 smaller events that have left to be written for this current build, and then the usual technical work that comes after. It almost doesn't sound bad when it's listed like that, and I do feel like I've achieved a lot before this, and I just can't showcase it just yet until these parts are complete. Which is honestly tearing me up inside--as SO much has been done that I want to share, but am hindered by the final little roadblocks.

I think the next biggest question after all of this is: 'so when is it ready'? And I feel like I don't want to end up over-promising and under-delivering...so will avoid anything solid, BUT I'll be giving more rapid updates on things as I move along, for the sake of transparency. I won't shy away from it all. I want to put a soft estimate of one more week's worth of time to be safe--but this is not an absolute answer. I'll get a better understanding as I move forward with finishing these moments, and will know if it's more/less. (You never know!)

I apologise once more and hope this post hasn't been seen as something of a downer, or puts into question my ability to develop a visual novel--but I do feel like it's best I be honest, as I certainly owe it to you all. Things ARE happening. Just not as fast as I--or I'm sure any of you--would like. Which is certainly frustrating, but I'm powering along. I'm not giving up! I've come this far. Surely I can take just a few more steps to carry the journey on to its conclusion, right~?

I want to end the post on some of a more positive note--and say that while it's certainly been a turbulent time, I'm honestly incredibly happy I've been given this opportunity, and want to do my best to deliver on creating the best darn monster girl experience I can. I'm essentially creating the story/scenes I've wanted to see personally and felt that not enough games catered to, and can't tell you all how grateful I am that it appeals to all of you guys, too!

And while it was tough to write--this post also helps relief the mounting stress that had been building in me, too, as I always feel so awful when I go days without updating you all on things. It's like a weight being lifted from my shoulders--and I know the news may disappoint some, but I truly do hope the end result will rekindle your faith in me.

I've wrote so much now, I don't really know how to end things... But I'm going to keep working away at things in the meantime.

Until next time, and let's welcome September with style~