Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #131

Hiya there, everyone! I hope you're doing well!

I know we're long overdue a dev log these days, since for the last few weeks it's been nothing but a barrage of art posts (which are fun in their own way, too!) but let's get straight into it with the nitty-gritty of the mythical Chapter Two's development!

I'm unsure if I mentioned it in the last dev log--because, gosh, it was a while ago wasn't it--but I'm happy to say that I'm making good progress with the writing and have completed several more CG scenes, and added all the appropriate directions into the VA script, and send them off to be voiced! Alongside those CG scene moments I've also been steadily building up a few cute events that aren't necessarily lewd, but still help to develop Matt's budding relationship with several girls in a cute way.

I always try my best for these casual moments to feel natural, and not awkward/forced. And in a lot of cases they'll pop up when you least expect it--just like how you might bump into a friend in real life and want to catch up with them for a little bit. And I even throw in some dialogue choices just to give a bunch of different fun results as I come up with them. Since I'm sure I've mentioned this before, too, but when I write I always have a clear outline of how I want the scene to go down, and how to get from point A to point B--but then in between, I always end up coming up with all sorts of extra little moments which really help flesh the events out and not make them feel too formulaic. This, of course, also adds to the insane word count that continues to grow for Chapter Two--but I do try not to get TOO carried away, or I know I'll never finish, haha.

Since it's been a little while since I've last teased some new art, too--I decided to include some adorable chibi illustrations in this post, featuring Matt looking a touch out of his element as he follows after a rather stunning noblewoman. Since the event with this noblewoman is something of a one-off--I opted against giving her a dedicated sprite alongside her CG, and instead just got a couple of cute chibi illustrations to fill in the gaps between arriving at her manor and when the fun really starts. Because it was either that, or just having a black screen of scrolling text until the actual CG happens. But in general, I want to avoid that as much as possible if I can. There's at least a few more moments in the game where little chibis will illustrate a moment or two where I saw fit, but they're not too prominent or used as much of a crutch. I hope you won't mind the inclusion of the chibis, and will agree that they provide a fun little bit of visual variety here and there! (They're also used in the job animations I teased before!)

Also, I don't want to jinx myself, but my plan is to HOPEFULLY have a new alpha out near the end of this month. Since I've got the most complex h-scenes out of the way for this build, and intend to tackle at least two more that have been pending for a while. I fear since there hasn't been as large a focus on the main-line story in this build, that it might feel a bit smaller than past new builds--however, my aim is to avoid slipping into 4/5 month gaps between releases again. I want to drastically up the rate at which I get new content out--and in turn hopefully start seeing an end to this behemoth of a project, haha. One of the h-scenes in this upcoming build is quite long and detailed with a large number of variations, so I think it'll be worth it for this one scene alone--it's been one of my favourites so far!

Which...also brings me to something else. I know it's too late to change the terminology now, because it's rooted in so much more of the Patreon--but I feel like calling these builds 'alpha' builds has sort of been a disservice to the game, and makes it feel less complete than it really is. Because I'm sure when one thinks 'alpha' they think...something bare. Something unpolished. Something that's going to be potentially quite rough. But with how big Chapter Two is right now, even in its current incarnation, I don't think it merits the alpha label. Sure--some elements are half-complete and a couple of scenes are lacking voice still due to the current situation in the world preventing some VAs from fully working at home--but I'm still incredibly proud of what I have done so far. And feel like when people see it's still in 'alpha' almost 4 years down the line, it gives off the wrong impression.

I think a more accurate term for these would have been 'early access' or 'in dev' builds. As they're essentially the full game, just being added onto in little chunks. But I digress...I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's not THAT important, haha. I just fear calling it an 'alpha' now gives people the wrong impression when it's so much more than that.

Buuuut--yeah... I suppose this is largely what I've been up to in the last few weeks, and am pushing as best I can for a new alpha release this month! Thank you for putting up with my rambling as always and I'll try to balance future patreon posts with more dev logs over art posts in the future!

Until next time~