Dev update 6th March
Hi folks,
I just wanted to start by saying thanks a lot to all patrons (past and present) for your support. It is much appreciated.
And just another reminder (in case you missed the last posts) that we have currently paused working on episode 24 and are instead focusing on a re-do of some of our earlier episodes.
Thanks for all the positive messages regarding this decision. And for those that were less positive, I understand but please let me stress that if you are annoyed/frustrated about this decision, please ensure you pause/cancel your patronage during the re-do months. There is no point supporting us for the two months while we work on the re-do if you aren't happy about it. I'd rather have an ex-patron than a pissed off patron that is paying for something they don't want.
Work on episode 24 will re-commence in the latter half of next month (April) but obviously Patreon is done on a monthly basis so to keep things simple...if you are in the re-do unhappy camp,then please assume that a good chunk of next month will be spent on the re-do, so bear that in mind when considering whether to cancel or renew pledges and please also bear it in mind before sending me a ranty message about a lack of progress on EP24. I have no problems receiving these messages but I just want to ensure everyone is well-informed as to the plans for March/April.
And just to extend the outlook a little further, I am also considering (not confirmed yet) taking some time off (approx 9 days) in May for a family vacation. I know most of you don't care about my holiday plans :), but I just want to be forthright about time that will/won't be spent working on the game.
For this month, I'm going to be a little more active on Patreon than I usually am and plan on giving people a little bit more insight into the creation process and also keep you in the loop regarding re-do plans and progress.
I will start by addressing a few questions about compatibility between the existing version and the re-do:
Once episode 24 is released, it will be fully compatible with the existing game and your existing saves will still work. i.e. episode 24 will follow the original game pattern and you will not need to restart from the beginning. The same goes for EP25. So for anyone that doesn't want to try the re-do and just wants to finish EP24 and EP25 (once they are released), that will be 100% possible and you can ignore any re-do releases if that's your preference.
The re-do (once it comes out) will behave like a brand new game, i.e. you won't be able to mix and match with the original game saves. So once the re-do comes out, you WILL have to start a new game if you want to play the re-do. So before anyone panics, let me repeat: A new game start is only required if you want to play the re-do version. This should make sense because the re-do will cover the earlier episodes.
So you can continue to play the full original game (including Ep24 and Ep25 when released) as normal and without ever having to restart (or touch any re-do releases).
OR you can play both: i.e. continue your original game/saves with your exisitng game version AND with EP24 and EP25 (once released). And you can ALSO enjoy the re-do version (starting from scratch).
Hope this makes sense. Please ask any question in the comments below if it doesn't?
Episode 24 and 25 will be released on Patreon (as per all other episodes.) And the re-do version will be released on Steam AND on Patreon.
My next post will be this weekend and I plan on going into some details about how we make the game (coding/art/script, etc.) including what applications we use and how we go from an idea to a finished/playable scene and I'll share some behind-the-scenes snapshots/excerpts to help you visualize the process. This might not be of interest to everyone but I have received a lot of messages/questions about it (some from people who have ambitions to create their own games an d some requests came from people who are just curious).
And then next week, I'll delve a little further into re-do progress and share some sample images.
Before the small percentage of angry people start blasting me with messages saying "Why are you taking time out to post about this bullshit when you should be working on the game". Please note that these posts won't take much of my time and will be done AFTER I have hit my daily targets for the game. And some people ARE interested (and have asked).
Thanks,
CG
Comments (15)
Enjoy your vacation, it is well earned. I await the redo with great anticipation. The difference in the old chapters to the redo should be like going from B&W TV to color.
Just to be clear, the old saves will work with new (future) content, but not older content, so we'll need to start a new game if we want to replay the chapters being refreshed. But we'll still have the "jump to any chapter" if we don't feel like replaying from scratch.
ooh, a vacation! Nice! Enjoy it, spend time with you family, and don't stress too much, we'll be here when you get back!
<p style="color: #008600;">Well, it all sounds good. Looking ahead a bit with regards to your May vacation, I think you should take a vacation when you see fit, everyone needs a break from time to time.</p>
So the redo will cover episodes 1-23 then?
Since it's going on Steam, I agree with the redo of the first few chapters. Jenna looked like a shadowy ghoul, back then. The redo will give her appearance a bit more life 🙂
I'll go with the Vaca in may, Geeky. You're kinda due. Won't help if you are exausted.
Question on down load. will the redo be a separate download from ep 24 or will we get one download that allows both to play from re do and from our current saves
It would be a separate download.
Not angry, not considering not being a patron any longer, I'm just very pessimistic about the whole re-do thing, as I wrote in the comments of the last dev update. IDK, I might get angry and rant against a dev, but then it would have to be for huge broken promises and clear indications that they are trying to milk their patrons. I don't know how people can see it that way with you. You've always been honest and upfront about your plans, and one of the few devs who has not just once or twice, but several times paused payment due to NOT wanting to take money if you don't work on the project. I guess I could see how for some this re-do and putting the new chapter on hold, might be a broken promise, but I wouldn't agree with that assessment. You are doing what you think is best for you and the game, I might be disagreeing with you about that choice, but it's not mine to make, nor do I think that your decision reflects badly on you.
I have been on the finish game side of the fence but I am curious to see the difference between the OG and the rework. I am curious how much some scenes will change or how personalities are tweaked. I have few women in mind because I do feel like their story/personality shifted as the game went on that felt a little off based on how the game introduced them. I will be having fun in the rework version figuring out all the branching dialogue and scenes.
No redo for me, I hate when devs do that, but at least once new ones are out the old saves will still work. FAR too many that doesn't happen. That's when I delete.
I can hardly imagine what terrible messages you must receive. Whatever happened to politeness, understanding and good manners?
First time on the internet?
Sounds good Cheeky, I for one will be starting afresh!