Progress Report 2024.07.15.: How Do You Want to Do This?
Added 2024-07-15 19:46:45 +0000 UTCHi friends,
I hope everyone is having a great July. I just wanted to give a warm welcome to all the new patrons who have joined this month—I’m so happy to see you here and I hope you are enjoying the alpha build!
This month has already been very busy as I am trying to finish up Episode 3’s remaining routes, plan and create bonus content, get another patch out for both the alpha build and the public build, and prep for a trip I am taking next week.
Where Are We With Episode 3?
I am finally approaching the end of the episode but there is still a lot of work to get done.
The original plan was to back up and continue working on the Melchior starting branch, which is pretty complex in and of itself. Though I’ve labelled each starting route based on the character the MC ended their evening with, the starting point has just as much to do with the MC’s physical location as it does with character relationships. This branch in particular has several different starting points that all need to be looped together; I made some progress on it last year before dropping it to the bulk of Episode 3’s adventuring and I am looking forward to returning to it.
However, I think for now I am going to focus on the episode finale. There was quite a push leading up to the finale from the last update, and this is where my headspace currently is. I’m not sure how working on this section is going to affect updates moving forwards; I really don’t want to release any information about the finale through sneak peeks or piece meal updates because it will lessen its impact overall. I had planned to release it when the rest of the routes were finished so everyone could play it together regardless of their starting point, and I would like to stick with this.
Unfortunately that means writing a lot of content in advance that I can’t show or talk about until several months down the line, which isn’t so great for updates. I am also weighing the benefit of cutting Path B and Path C from the game. I can’t adjust the starting points due to how complex Episode 2’s endings became, but I can cut Path B and Path C pretty easily and leave only one way to explore Diradan Tower. I will have to edit some of the conversations in Episode 2 and Episode 3 surrounding the choice of which path to take to cut out the relevant dialogue, but that is less work than writing two whole new paths.
Episode 3 has been in development for two years now and I really need it to be finished within the next 6 months. When I designed Episode 3 in 2022, the assumption was that I could stick to my regular output of 50,000 words a month. This is not sustainable, nor is it healthy for me to be required to write that much to keep the story moving forwards (I haven't been able to write 50k a month regularly since 2022). I can’t change Episode 2’s endings to make the start of Episode 3 easier, but I can cut additional paths—especially since Path A already has a significant amount of choice on it.
As much as I would like to merge Finale Version A and Finale Version B together, they are dependent on which characters are present, so neither of them can be cut.
Some Other Updates
In case you missed it, subscription billing and annual memberships are now available! Please see this post here for more info if you’re interested.
I am working on new Patreon-only short stories. The goal is to get the first one out by the end of this month, but as finishing Episode 3 remains the priority, I can’t say for sure when it will be ready. I’m going to stay tight-lipped about this one as I don’t want to spoil it in advance, but it will be featuring one of the Wayfarer’s future companions and give some insight into the commoner life of Velantis. If you haven’t read the current short stories, you can find them in this collection here!
I will be without regular internet from July 20 to August 3 as I am visiting my family and will not be online. If you have any questions or concerns and wish to DM me, I will take a while to get back to you.
I want to get the alpha build and public build patches out before I leave, so expect an update sometime around Thursday. This will not be a story content update; the patch will address various bugs and other issues.
Thank you all so much for your support, it means a lot! 💖
