Road to V0.3: a big redesign
V0.3 is going to be a way bigger jump than originally planned, so... strap in!
First off...
Why the change?
The old Sims-style menu had a core problem: summoning interactions makes characters feel like blank slates waiting for you to interact with them. Tease Eugene at the kitchen? Regardless of time, he's cooking dinner. Writing variations for every action x location x time x relationship level would blow up scope, and the menu made it nearly impossible to have characters do anything to you, or to each other.
What's changing?
A more traditional dating sim feel: Big character image, text at the bottom, click to advance. Most scenes will be shorter and snappier, less prose-heavy.
Reactive scenes instead of menu-summoned ones: Clicking a character now drops you straight into a scene. Sometimes, it's one line of what they're up to. Sometimes, it's a full scene with choices. Whether you return to the interaction menu after depends on the context (if Freddie's mid-basketball game, it's not time for a conversation).
More focused interaction system: Talk and Flirt replace Friendly/Flirty. I'm open to expanding them back in the future if the new system feels too one-note. Hookup is the new gateway to the sex minigames (more on those later). Ask and Gift stay as-is.
Tease, Touch and Strip move into the world: You'll encounter those scenes naturally instead of picking them off a menu. Once seen, you'll be able to replay them from the Memories section in their Profile.
Two-way interactions: Freddie might burst into the bathroom because he needs to pee. Todd can catch you snooping in his room. You might overhear Eugene and Freddie talking. Someone can call you from across town. All possible now!
Location page redesign: Bigger location image, characters separated from interactions, so the jump into scenes feels less jarring.
More expressions: Current version has 5 expressions. I've drawn new eyes, mouths and eyebrows for everyone, so everyone now gets 14 expressions in total.
Timeline
Version 0.3 was scheduled for Patreon on June 1st (alongside V0.2 going free on itch.io). It needs a bit more time. I'm aiming for June 10th instead.
Also aiming to add to 0.3
The final iteration of sex minigames, exclusive outfits, a reworked calendar/time system, and new character metrics to support the minigames.