Weekly report Number 62 (try to read everything, it's important)

Hope you’re all having an awesome time, ‘cause I’m having a wonderful day myself...

I’m happy, but I need to warn you about something important, which is why I’m making this post public.

This Tuesday was launch day for version 0.5, but of course, my Patrons got it first. For everyone else, the exact same version will be available on Friday, June 13.

As you can imagine, after everything that comes with launch day, I was totally wiped out and took the rest of the day off (even I, who's practically a damn robot, need a short break sometimes).
Yesterday, Wednesday, I picked things back up and started working on the first steps of version 0.6. No renders yet—I’m still in the scriptwriting stage, and that part wraps up today...
Version 0.6 is where both story paths finally merge back into one.
I mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again: I’ve had almost everything written for months now, except—ironically—most of what’s going to happen in this version...

What I had written for version 0.6 was just the original path and nothing else, because it was originally written like a regular novel.
It wasn’t until later that I decided to turn that novel (which I was never gonna publish anyway) into an AVN.
That’s when the need for two different paths came up.
I never wanted to write how the alternate path would end, ‘cause I’ve always felt that some things are better done in the moment.
Sometimes, a bit of pressure actually helps creativity flow more easily, more naturally.
And I needed that creativity to bring both stories back together.

That’s why I said earlier I was having a really good day. I got back to writing something totally new... and I love writing.
Yesterday, I kept working on the events that happen right after the end of version 0.5 (on the alternate path), and that’s almost done—let’s say 90% there.
Today, I just need to tweak a few parts of what I already had for the original path so it matches what I wrote for the other one... and that’s it.
So I should be able to start rendering this Friday.

In case it wasn’t clear, this means version 0.5 is the last time one of the two paths gets updated on its own.
Starting with version 0.6, everything goes back to normal and I can finally work like it’s a single game again—not two, like it’s been pretty much since the beginning...
At least for a while, ‘cause down the line there’ll be more branches splitting off from the main storyline every now and then.

(THIS IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT THING)

That being said, there’s something related I need to talk about—and honestly, it’s a bit concerning ‘cause I might be partly to blame...
I found out there are people who don’t even know there are two pretty different paths.

All those times I mention total words, total images, or the total time, I’m talking about the whole game, meaning both routes together.
Right now it adds up to about 7 hours of gameplay, and sure, if you only go through one path, it’ll be shorter, and maybe you’ll feel a bit cheated...
That’s why I’ve said before: if you wanna get the full picture, you really need to play through everything.

And honestly, I don’t blame anyone but myself. I’ve always known no one’s gonna scroll through the full post history on Patreon...
That’s why I added the warning about the two separate paths inside the game itself... but now I realize I made a mistake.

Stupidly, I put the warning after you make one of the choices, not before... a mistake I hadn’t noticed as a mistake until now.
The key moment (just in case someone doesn’t know) is the very first choice you have to make.
It’s when the MC meets Casandra and Sally.
That choice sends you either down the original route or the alternate one.

In a normal game like this, not playing every path is understandable—and pretty common, really.
Some people just don’t want to make a certain choice and ignore what doesn’t suit them.
But I’m trying to do something totally different here, and with the very first decision I basically turned one game into two...
If you follow the alternate route, you won’t see the same things as in the original.
In the alternate path, Sally dies. In the original one, she’s totally fine.
In the original path, you never get the chance to meet and talk with Megan and Linda, but in the alternate route, they’re a really important part of the story.
In the original path, you know what things like MARA mean. In the alternate one, you’ve got no clue 'cause MARA gets mentioned but never explained.
And that’s just a few examples...

Seriously, if the story means anything to you, give both paths a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

I had planned from the start to remove the warning inside the game exactly now in version 0.6, but now I realize that would be a big mistake.
So I’m gonna tweak the warning a bit and put it where it belongs—right before any choice is made.

Alright, I won’t bore you anymore with my long posts. Take care, and see you around.

💖💖💖