Beginning v0.5

v0.4 was really fun. I managed to patch the game for Oculus users a day after it's intended release. And now I continue working diligently on the next update, v0.5! Hello to any new Patrons!

I usually don't like changing the feature schedule. Voice acting was a very rare exception, but the plan for v0.5 is as follows:

1.) bathing

2.) sleeping

3.) clothing and/or rain

Cooking has been pushed to v0.6 to make room for sleeping. I have started bathing. Bathing will work loosely as the following:

Go into the bathroom with Shinobu, she signals you to get out as she undresses (gets angry if you don't), you close the door (doors will be implemented), you come back, walk in, and notice the tub has been filled with bubbles. Only her head is exposed and you will be able to shampoo and wash her hair and maybe arms. I already contacted the music composer to create a new song during this activity.

Now I must address how this will be kept somewhat work safe. If Shinobu stands up, she will be censored and covered with bubbles. The model does not contain any genitalia and she will be very responsive of you trying to do anything funny. She just might get angry and run out. Maybe splash water at your face. The bullying will be delicious. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

This leads me to a new list of things I need to do: implementing new logic, doors, bubble shaders, and bathing animations. I will be refactoring my animation pipeline first to ensure this is a speedy process. I am converting my armature to a Mecanim so Unity can provide me with some extra useful and time saving features (like mirror anim). I also took this time as an opportunity to improve certain body parts.

Before and After:

They may be subtle changes but I reduced and improved the topology as well to reduce vertices and improve deformations when I weight paint them.

One of the biggest revamps to her mesh will be her pelvic region. This was the part where I had the most trouble when I was originally creating her mesh. Butts are hard and making a nice clean gluteal fold (the butt crack, no laughing!), is difficult with subdivision. Nevertheless I am trying my hardest. WIP of new butt before and after:

Before it was too big and didn't feel much like a muscle. Good looking butts have a hint of muscularity because they represent being fit and in shape (at least according to normal tastes). This was achieved by trying out a different topological approach. Before I used a circular round topology to preserve nice curves but it deformed TERRIBLY when she lifted her legs sideways:

The new approach is below:

It favors the gluteal curve a lot more. I'm still tweaking the shape as you can see. That's it for the past 4 days. It's been this and the hotfixes. Stay tuned for more!