Hey guys,

This one's going to be a longer one. I could probably fill about three separate devlogs with all of this, but I feel like I should put everything out there at once so everyone's on board.

If you're not that much into reading, don't worry. I'll include a short summary at the end of the post!

To start things off, we gotta do a little time travel into the past.

Part 1: The Confession

Starting point: January 2025

After experimenting quite a lot with image generation and Ren'Py programming (and failing miserably with a first project in 2024), a certain developer decides to name himself after a delicious round pastry and give it another shot.

This time, his game revolves around a girl named Mina and her friends trying to make it as a pop group called Stellanova.

We all know where that went.

About 1.5 years later, that very same developer is still having a blast developing the game and bringing its characters and story to life. Along the way, 1,700 Patreon followers have joined him on this journey.

THANK YOU! <3

But there's one thing that's increasingly getting in the way of development. A foolish beginner's mistake is slowly coming back to haunt me. Back then, I didn't dig too deeply into AI image generation and quickly settled on using an external service. It conveniently gave me quick and pretty results. Perfect for starting a little side project that I never expected to grow the way it did.

Not so perfect when you're building a long-term game with a growing fanbase.

To keep it simple: The model I use to create MINA!'s images is an external one. It doesn't run locally on my computer and most importantly, it's not mine. 😒

I've relied on an external service and their model to create the game's CGs from the very beginning, and nowadays that's causing some pretty significant problems.

The two biggest ones are:

1. I'm completely dependent on an external service.

I already talked about this in Devlogs #12 and #13. Back then, I temporarily lost access because the provider discontinued the model. That could've easily meant the end of the game as we know it.

More recently, the server has been unavailable from time to time, which simply prevents me from creating new content whenever that happens.

2. I've reached the limits of what I can do with the model.

Even after spending so much time learning how to get the results I want, I've kinda hit a wall.

Getting the right result can sometimes take hours for a single CG. More complex scenes can require a ridiculous amount of attempts and sometimes simply don't work at all.

Right now, I'm spending way too much development time generating images, often with results I'm still not completely satisfied with. That's time that could otherwise go into creating more content.

And as you might've figured out by now, I can't really solve the underlying problem myself because I can't improve the model. On top of that, there's always the possibility that one day it simply disappears for good.

It's honestly very embarrassing to admit, but at the same time, I think it perfectly shows the development journey I've been trying to share with you guys from the very beginning.

I started this without really knowing what I was doing. And... I'm still learning.

Now you might think:

"Cool story, Donut, but I'm here to play the game."

Yup! I get that. But all of this was necessary to explain where things are going from here.

First and most importantly:

MINA! WILL CONTINUE.

We're FAR from the point where we're done following the adventures of Stellanova.

In fact, instead of only creating images for version 0.22, I've already started generating CGs much further ahead to make sure I have enough material for future updates as well. That said, I can't tell you exactly when 0.22 will be finished yet. I've already put together big chunks of the update, but with the current situation constantly sitting in the back of my mind, I'm simply not as happy with how everything has turned out as I want to be. And I won't release something I'm not convinced of.

Trust me, that's more annoying to me than it is to anyone else. But it also shows me that there's no way I can keep ignoring the underlying problem forever.

So... I had to find a way to bring back that peace of mind.

Something had to change.

And I think I found something.

Part 2: The future

So, what's next?

Over the last few months, alongside developing new content for MINA!, I've quietly been working on a side project. Funny enough, it actually started with me developing certain new features for MINA!. But the more ideas I had and the more I experimented with them, the more it slowly turned into a completely new phone-style game.

I've thought about this for a long time and honestly hesitated quite a bit. But ultimately, it just felt right. Working on it brought back a ton of inspiration and, more importantly, gave me this feeling of:

"This time, I'll do things right from the beginning."

The ultimate goal is pretty simple: I want to be able to keep telling awesome stories with fun characters for you guys, even if things ever go seriously wrong with image generation for MINA!. (Which, to be clear, I don't expect to happen anytime soon.)

But back to the topic!

I'd like to use this part to give you an early sneak peek at some of the things I've been working on. I'll be sharing a lot more during the next few devlogs.

What's new?:

Basically, I listened to all the feedback you guys gave me before and put it into practice:

User Interface

Let's be honest, this one was long overdue. The old icons looked a little unprofessional, so I reworked every single one of them. At the same time, the new game now uses images with a 1080x1920 resolution, which allows me to create a modern, transparent interface instead of being limited to the old 1080x1578 format. (In case you never noticed that limitation... good! ) The other apps also received a facelift, making the whole phone feel much more modern. There will also be new apps with new functionalities, which I hope will enrich the game experience even more.

New Chat System:

The new system allows players to jump between chats free whenever you want. You can now, at every given point hop out of a chat. A new Snapgram gets posted? Great, go check it out and then jump right back into the conversation! At the same time you can have a look in older chats in case you forgot what was actually written. This also opens up a lot of new possibilities for storytelling, as multiple messages can theoretically arrive at once, creating more dynamic situations and potentially a good amount of CHAOS! :D

And Most importantly: I've put together my own image generation model.

After a lot of experimenting with different models and art styles I've came up with a modern anime model. I've decided not to include the 90s style in this new one, as this is the signature for the Stellanova girls. I wanted something new, versatile, that was compatible with the newest technical developments. This time it runs locally and I can actually develop, improve and adapt to exactly what I need.

I can train it.

I can improve it.

I can build tools around it.

That's a pretty exciting feeling after spending the last 1.5 years knowing that a pretty important part of my project was ultimately outside of my control.

In case you wonder what kind of style you can expect, I'll give you a little sneek peak:

That's Mira, by the way.

She's one of the main characters.

She's kind...

Sweet...

And totally innocent. I SWEAR!!

For now, that's really just meant to give you an idea of the visual style. I'll share more information about Mira, the other characters and the actual story in the next devlog.

Part 3: Some Final Words From Me

It took me forever to find the right words for this devlog. There's just... a lot to talk about. And if I'm completely transparent, I'm also a little nervous about sharing all of this.

Part of me is afraid that some of you might see a second game and think that it means I'm losing interest in MINA! or that I'm planning to put less effort into it.

That's not what this is about.

I really do love the characters and stories I create and I'll keep putting just as much love and effort into them as before. What I'm trying to do here is give myself some breathing room.

Instead of constantly worrying about what happens if the service behind MINA!'s images suddenly disappears, I'll have another project where the entire foundation is actually under my control. And I genuinely believe that's going to benefit both games in the long run.

Also, if you joined Patreon expecting version 0.22 this month and you're disappointed by the delay or simply don't like the direction I'm taking here, please feel free to ask me for a refund of your current subscription! I'm announcing all of this pretty late in the month and there's quite a lot changing at once, so I'd completely understand.

As always: thank you for sticking around. <3

Stay happy, stay healthy, and have a fantastic weekend!

Your Donut

P.S.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and first impressions in the comments! I'm genuinely curious what you guys think about all of this.

TL;DR

• I made poor choices during developmen (The external image model I've relied on since the beginning has increasingly become a problem for development)

• MINA! is NOT ending.

• Version 0.22 needs a little more time because I don't want to release something I'm not happy with.

• I've been working on a second phone-style game alongside MINA!.

• I've created my own locally running image generation model for the new project, meaning I'm no longer dependent on an external service for it.

• You'll meet a new main character named Mira, who is obviously completely innocent.

• More details about the new game are coming in the next devlog!

P.P.S.