Status update Episode 13
It's time for the first proper status update of Episode 13 (I actually wrote Episode 12 in the title out of old habit). It's also the first status update of Season 4. The final season. Wow, we've actually arrived.
Where to begin? That's how I've felt this last week. There's so much to do. Right now I'm working on animations daily to build a queue, and it's challenging when my PCs are rendering fast.
I've been working intermittently on episode 13 since beta testing started throughout both Patreon and Steam/GOG releases. I've written some dialogue - compared to Episode 12's main file, I've written about 25% already. But a lot of episode 12's content was in the New Year's Eve free roam event files. So what's written isn't comparable to episode 12's length, but it's a solid start.
I'm currently working on the 4th lewd scene of episode 13. A total of 83 animations have been rendered, and 20 more are in the queue waiting to render. So, yay, we've already reached the 100-animation milestone. It's nice to start the first update with a wee bit of a celebration.
I have lots I want to do with episode 13 on top of lewd scenes, but there will be quite a lot of those in the episode. I'm looking forward to writing the canon story which sets the mood of Season 4. With episode 12, I knew where I wanted to start, but with this episode I don't know quite yet. I think that's because I haven't fully laid out the plans. I've been focused on the animations, making sure I hammer out as many as possible so I don't waste any time having idle PCs. So after I animate for a few more weeks, I'll sit down and plan the episode in more detail. For now, I will just work on lewd scenes that I've already planned or written.
Ren'Py upgrade
I've upgraded Ren'Py to the latest version for Season 4, and I'm noticing a bunch of issues I will have to deal with to get it working. The biggest issue right now is that the fonts I've been using in seasons 1-3 don't mesh well with the latest Ren'Py version. The spacing between characters has been reduced for a currently unknown reason.
When upgrading versions like this, you should always expect old code to have obsolete functions or weird bugs to be introduced. That's why I didn't upgrade Ren'Py during Season 3 development, not to waste time dealing with those bugs. Also, when patching the game from one version to another, it helps if the game engine is the same. At the same time, it's always good to work with the latest version of the software to keep up with the times, and that's why I'm making this upgrade now.
During this development cycle, I will have to rebuild the game framework by checking pretty much every part of the game for new issues like this. You'll likely hear me yap about this from time to time during this development cycle.
What's next?
There are so many things I want to do, but I can't do it all at once. I want to create new polls for you guys, show you previews, host Art Days, write stories, make art, write code... It's a bit overwhelming, and for now, it's all about taking it one week at a time and letting the development kick off.
I plan on publishing the second part of the Q&A this weekend, where I will answer your game development questions. Next week, I will likely work on animations for most of the week. If I need a break from that, I'll continue working on the episode development plan.
I'm so happy to start Season 4 development, and I'm thrilled that you're here with me for the ride of the final season. Let's bring this home and enjoy every part of the way.
Have a nice weekend
Dr PinkCake