A lot of work!
There's a lot of work going in right now, and this is just a taste of what's going on.
As you can see, there are some new features on the screen. New quick menu, new Calendar and new text box (several variations to indicate narration, who's talking and even internal dialog)! As well, you can see that I can comfortably fit 4 (maybe more!) characters on screen at once. How is that?! Well, I'm working with 1280 x 720 screen resolution now (Poor Gavel is having to make some BG adjustments for me too). I figured since the art is being redone, I might as well use a more normal screen size.
So, there are a variety of things that I'll be fixing through each day. As I'm adding in art and recoding it (it's not as simple as just replacing an image with how I did my early coding), I'm updating other things as well. For example, the code for dialogue... Every line of dialogue has to be altered (I add a whole 2-3 characters to each one), meaning about 50,000 lines or so to go through. I'm also updating how character transitions work (mostly that fade), so it won't be so inconsistent. (please keep in mind, I'm still just testing things in the image above! Everything is not 100% accurate - Such as the sizing/positioning of the sketches. I only guessed at those things for testing's sake)
And here are some art tweaks too!
I had a bit of a realization about some things that I never really considered, and after talking it through with CaptainGerBear, he went in and added highlights to all of the characters. It really brings a new level of detail to everyone. His patience and understanding with me are highly valued and appreciated. Thanks for much for the hard work, GerBear!
And at the end, I'd like to express that this isn't something you're going to see just appear in a single update. Kinda like how I was updating the music and backgrounds through routes, I'll be doing these changes over time as I mix it in with my normal updates. I think I have all of the groundwork sorted out completely now, so the next steps will just be going through the days, one at a time, replacing and updating things.
Thanks for the feedback guys, and thanks so much for the continued support. I know it's a huge transition, and I'm so thankful to see you guys sticking around!
Comments (96)
Wait, the main character is taller than Darius? Aw... I'd love to see him as tall as him, or slightly taller at most.
The updates to art etc are great for me though Spencer's head seems small? I dunno. Anyway my only pet peeve is the old skip button is missing so I can't go through old days as easy to see new lines. It was much simpler to see what I've missed with it when it would pause the text and grey out skip lol. All in all, a minor complaint, but a great update. I like how Spencer's route is heading, and seeing all his insecurities.
That's so nice
is the character next to Harold the MC? if so why is he human I thought everyone in the game was some sort of animal or is that just a stand-in? Either way, I love the updated looks and can't wait to see how the game progresses, keep up the great work!
Hal is also human. They just coexist in this universe.
I love that Richard is really getting the "southern daddy" style treatment. I love how the highlights look on them, I definitely think that is the way to go. One thing I am not sure that people mentioned but Dozer, in particular, looks a bit top heavy to me. Is that just me? Anyways, great work!
"Disgusting" is pretty harsh.... I like the way he looks! It's nice to be able to put a face on our player finally. I personally would have liked for him to be a bit shorter, though. However, I suppose that's probably just me thinking that. Size difference is super hot to me :P
Haha, size difference is definitely a plus. Thank you too!
The mc is disgusting. Many will agree that the translucent dummy was much better.
Sorry you feel that way, but myself (and many others) really like his design. For those that don't like his design or want to self-insert, there will be means to do so in the future.
So impatient to got the update :D (and so impatient to got money to give some >< ) It's just my opinion, but I prefer flat design of the characters, something disturb me a little bit with the lights (only with Hal and the other one I forgot the name, maybe due to the size of the pictures). Sure, add light give more details, but here, especially for the second characters, it's more like...stains... I don't know >< (or maybe I'm just jealous because I'm so bad to add lights and shadows on my draws :/ )
I think you'll really like how it looks when you see everything put together :) things are looking great!
oh man i cant wait to see the now update on the game ... im so excited
This is so cool x3 I can't wait to play this I love the artwork also the novel I love it I can't wait I'm really happy for you x3
Thanks so much!
Hey question how many days are the in total right know. New to this novel love it but I downloaded 1.50 and want to know if 1.52 add more because tried to download over 1.52 over 1.50 on my Android and it won't let. Could someone help me out plz?
Won't to add doing the Coach story at the part with u helping putting things in box's then that's it.
Possible suggestion: When they are having dinner or sitting at a table, since you can now fit more than one character on the screen, perhaps instead simply reading it, you can show it with awesome new artwork! :)
It's possible!
I'll be happy if the new update has nothing new except a lot of the rework and new art. I'm liking the new art! I can't wait to see how it all turns out.
SAME, replaying all the routes under the new backgrounds and new character design sprites will feel like a different game in some ways. we're bound to restart all the routes anyways with all these drastic changes in the game's code anyways ^ ^"
I'm curious since canon MC is optional. does that mean there'll be slight text differences for areas that hint at MC being human? or is that a simple of case small immersion breaks that can easily be ignored by the reader?
There's already been a few hints dropped in some of the routes that he's human anyway since he has made comments in the realm of "If I had a tail." etc etc
Love the changes and how far you've come <3 <3
UI changes looks good and having more characters on screen is nice. However: #savechesterschest
Please wait to see the final product.
I'm loving the styling of the new UI, Dyne. Being able to comfortably fit more characters will allow for more complex scenes, too, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with from here. <3
Ger did a great job with the UI changes :) Thank you!
Holy Shit this is such an improvement. Can't lie I was very skeptical about the change in artist and the characters not facing you but this looks really damn good. All the characters look great too. If anything I think Darius is, not that it looks bad in fact I'm sure we'll see scenes that match expression perfectly, but should have a more neutral expression. Mad props to GerBear and I'm glad you decided to do those highlights. This is gonna fucking big I'm staying till I go bankrupt.
HAha, well thank you for sticking around!
Wow, these look awesome! Though it will be hard to slowly put these in, it will be worth! I can't wait to see these in-game. Great work from you and GerBear!
Definitely a slow process, but it's gonna look so great once it's all there.
Overall amazing work!!!!! Can't wait for the swap of everything <3 Ahh I do hope you don't keep this Darius... Many of us dislike the new design :3 He looks evil and bitter X_X
so the new design fits his personality to some extent then huh >:P
Everything is looking great, However I want to ask. Will there be the options to turn off the MC Sprite? He is nice looking and all just not how I envision myself personally when I play. Keep up the great work as always :D
That would be awesome
Keep up the great work. Might wait till all the art is in place till I start reading again. Give me a refreshed and new feeling with the story and art when I start back.
It's really gonna bring a whole new feel to the visual novel!
It seems the games is progressing well with the changes, the hope being that the art transfer isn't too difficult in the end. I think we all have our fears, but it will take the first demo with CGB art involved to truly know anything to improve upon. My real fear is whether we can hold onto CGB for the length of the project. He has had a consistent source of employment outside of this project, if difficulties occur the last thing I would want to see is another leaving the project artist.
He's really digging in, and I have a lot of faith in him to follow through to the end. He's really doing an amazing job so far, and I expect it to keep going :D
Every thing looks amazing now! My only concern is coach design, he needs that big belly and not just a muscle gut. Thats just my opinion though.
Sounds like you have so much work ahead of you. But it'll all be worth it to see it all come together. Can't wait to see what you've accomplished.
A lot of work, for sure, but we'll keep working hard!
wow! this actually look pretty well! It notice all the hard work, good job Dyne, keep on the good work!
Thank you! We'll definitely keep doing so :)
Looking good! I'm still a little weary about Maria but I'll wait and see like you've said before. I have to ask, though, since it sounds like you're planning to slowly pick away at the rework while adding new content on are we going to get only 1 character updates for awhile? This isn't a complaint, if that's the case, I just want to know what to expect.
This upcoming update (March 1st) should only be a single route, but after that, I aim to be back on track with double routes, and I'll just be working in the content bit by bit.
I think everyone is hitting it already, so all I have to say is I LOVE it, and that unfinished MC sprite is totally hot too! ;-)
I can't wait to show him off fully dont too ;3
Wow! I don't know if I can add anything to what's already been said by the previous posters. When I first read of the upcoming changes, I admit, I was skeptical. When you've read through the story and replayed it for the different routes, you become familiar with the personas of the characters involved and love them or hate them, they are what you know. One's own imagination helps a lot with that. For example, Hal looks exactly the way I imagined he would but I imagined him with a closer cut beard and a little bit of hair. xD I was one of those that when I first saw the new Maria, I didn't like her. I too, thought she put on some weight and her face, to me, just didn't quite look like herself. I have a Seal Point Siamese (We are Siamese, if you please. We are Siamese, if you don't please. Am I showing my age yet? xP ) and I kept saying to myself that the new Maria looked nothing like one. As well as I thought Darius' muzzle was too long. Again, this goes back to one's own imagination filling in the gaps. This is a good thing. Whereas a story needs to be detailed for the reader, there needs to be enough gaps to let the reader's imagination fill them in and let it become the reader's own story without it losing any of your story. Allowing the reader to put themselves in the story and think, "This so relates to me!" You and your crew, my friend, have gone above and beyond this! AWESOME! Thank you! The more I look at the new artwork, the more I am LOVING them, especially with the highlights! Maria! Mrrowr! I can now distinguish her Seal Point features on her face, from the rest of her face! Darius! He looks more handsome and majestic by the minute, after all, he is a lion! Hal! Oh, Hal! He still is the Hal I originally pictured but dare I say, more adorable, no, not adorable, that word is too used. Date-able?! Likeable? Even Love-able! With the highlights, he doesn't look at me accusatory any more, kind of how a shop owner would look at a patron who thinks they are up to no good. He now looks at me kinder, softer and more affectionately than he did before the highlights. The more I look at the pictures, the more I realize that you aren't trying to change my opinion/imagination, You are only bending it! My personal perceptions of the characters I've come to know and love are still there, only altered a teeny bit! Thank you, DyneWulf, GerBear and Gavel! And the MC, while I originally imagined him to be wimpy (I know Spencer is damn good at tennis, but if you are second on the team I would think you would do just a little better against him. xD Oh, and here, let me take off this extra 2 tons of weights because you can't lift as much as me (Which I totally understand, the guys are supposed to much more built and bulky and ripped than the MC)). That is just what I imagined. I am very happy that you have envisioned him bigger and bulkier than I originally did. Otherwise, the other guys would snap him in two! :o Oh, and I feel your pain having to go through thousands of lines of code. All for a simple " that Word puts in as a left or right quote instead of an ambidextrous quote that all coding software will recognize. XD Keep up the great work you guys, and I'm looking forward to the next update!
OMG! And in that book that I wrote, I forgot to mention! 1280x720 (Personally, I'd love 1920x1080 or higher.. personally xP)? Wooot! Hot damn! Holy smokes! Holy mackerel! Yeeeeeehaww! Well, I'll be... Great horny toads! and every other exclamatory phrase you can think of (both printable and non-printable!) AWESOME! Finally, something to fill up the 4K's! xoxo
Holy DyneWulf, you are really going places :D This looks wonderful! Can't wait to see more of it! I frigging love the Idea with the mc, it will just... make it so much more lively! And Spencer looks so much better, atleast the Sketch looks wonderful. I was scared that he would look to different, but GerBear did an amazing job. Christ, you are putting so much work into this now. It seems like you just took the Novel to a whole new Level. It's just THAT Good! :D I knew Supporting you was a good Idea <3
Hehe, I certainly appreciate that. It's a lot of hard work, but it's really paying off!
Wonderful wonderful! Everything really is coming together beautifully <3
Thank you!
I am very curious as to who is drawing the upcoming sex scene between MC and Coach? Do you already have it prepared or will we get a taste of Gerbear's work on the next Coach update? I love both artists so it doesn't matter to me, but I'm just nervous that with all the work you guys are doing it might take a while for Gerbear to draw all those yummy bear parts so intimately. After all Coach is my absolute favorite character I can't wait for the next update. ; )
I didn't know if they had preparded it in advance or not. Im actually really excited to see what Gerbear is going to do with it.
Everyone looks great! But where is the rest of the main cast (coach, Chester and Spencer)? And Hal looks super hot! The only one that i didn't like is Richard, now he looks older and not so hot... but it's just my opinion! I'm pretty sure i'll learn to love him as much as i love CM's version!
They are still in the works, and I'll be showing them off when I can! I threw some snags in the work flow with the talk about adding extra highlight details. Richard is actually the oldest member of the dateable cast (late 30s). I think you'll come to love that Southern man more, when you see more of him ;)
This is truly amazing work. It's taking on an entirely new form (for the better). It's just so much more involved and doesn't feel as limited as before. You're doing amazing work, and a lot of it too. Don't push yourself too hard. :3
Thanks, Grimm! There really are so many new possibilities I have now.
woooooooooah even better hot damn, such extra sheen to the sprites +___+ i also love how you can see darius' nipple piercings through his clothes now, always wondered about that >:3
Some little details really make a huge difference, right?
Happy to stick around, Dyne. : )
Thank you!
I'm going to miss the old designs but the new ones looks great
The new designs really doo look great <3
This looks awesome, it seems like replaying the routes now will feel like playing a new game entirely, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure it's a lot of grindy work to do on your end as well so hang in there Dyne!
IT will feel that way, replaying them! There are some things that will actually require a restart (it comes along with the new coding I'm doing!). And yeah, it's super grindy, but I'll get through it, thanks :)
That looks so good. I would caution Gerber about the heavy angle on his pose. (specifically MC) in the sample. The Dialogue change is 10/10.
Things really do look amazing!
Wow! This is really looking great, man. I was unsure at first, but now I'm completely sold on the new style. Like Taryx said, the background fits really well with the new character art. The extra character detail is just icing on the cake! Keep it up, I'm exited to see what comes next!
Great to hear! I figured as more and more art came out, people would warm up to it, and I'm happy for that. THank you!
I don't know how I feel about the MC being on the screen, i feel like it kind of takes away from the immersion, if that makes sense, at least until we can kind of customize him.
There's still a lot of work to be done, so don't fret ;3
You are doing a good (and a lot) of work. Be sure to rest and not burn yourself.😊
Definitely! Thank you :)
*squees with delight* Its all taking shape so nicely <3 Any lingering doubts that I did have, have now been thoroughly quashed. Really loving the colour variations with clothes, makes the characters feel a bit more alive / like the world is a bit more lived in if that makes sense. Such a simple thing really but it adds that much more to the game as a whole. Its gonna be awesome seeing the MC's in scenes now as well and seeing his reactions to the various events that have unfolded around him so far and events that are to come :D Keep up the great work Dyne, Gavel and Gerbear :D <3
Thank you! Ger really came up with a really great way to handle the color variations, so the clothing can have more variety than before (instead of just having a mostly solid color).
I'm loving the new look! It feels to me like the new character art fits really well with the backgrounds that Gavel's done. Also, resolution upgrade? That's awesome news in and of itself! And the cherry on top is everything getting a "polish" pass despite the already great quality! All this news has got me super excited to see how things look in the next updates!
Thank you so much! I think everything is looking really fantastic together too. I'm excited to bring more content to you all as well :)
Yay, thank you, so i can still play it <3
god I cant wait to see the new "sexy smirk" for Darius, made me all kinds of weak in the knees...
I can't wait to see more either. GerBear is doing amazing work!
But this new version still gonna run on Windows 8? Because i want to continue playing it, when the new update comes :c
Should run just fine on Windows 8!
Maaaan this visual novel is going places far beyond my expectations! It's awesome! And MC look so cute too! x3
Thanks! GerBear is really working hard on the characters, and the MC really does look great!
lol. It’s funny how Darius was a cocky looking MFer before. Just with his redesign he looks 10000x more
Keep in mind, this is just one face from him too, and it's one of his more devious ones ;3
Its so cool! My Dozer still look so sexy <3!
Yes, yes he does <3
Keep the good work up bud! Y’all are doing something right!!
Thank you! Will do~
Omg love all the work that is being done!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ keep it up guys
Thanks so much! We'll keep working hard :)