Firebreak and Chasing Sunsets Roadmap
With Firebreak's launch in the rear view, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about what comes next and in what order.
Firebreak is a much more ambitious project than Chasing Sunsets, and the story itself has a lot more ground to cover. That said, Chasing Sunsets is not being abandoned. With our current-gen VN framework largely finalized, we can now begin the process of migrating the Chasing Sunsets story into it, updating some of the older art, and cleaning up some of the mistakes, branching issues, and sanding over the myriad small issues that arose from my spaghetti code.
Complete Firebreak Storyboard and build chapter map. (Complete)
Identify what went wrong with link distribution on launch day and fix. (Complete)
Finalize Chasing Sunsets Remaster (YOU ARE HERE)
Begin Firebreak Chapter 2 (Pending)
First, I want to address some misconceptions that have reached us. The first is that Firebreak does have an Image and Replay gallery, just not on the main menu. To reach this, go to Character Info > Select Character. From there, you can view the vital statistics of any unlocked character, and the photo and scene galleries are visible at the top.
Secondly, I will be updating the Guided Mode to disable only Achievements. As of 0.1b, Gallery and Photo unlocks will continue to function. The penalty was overly punitive in hindsight.
As of version 0.1a, we are offering a 1080P version and a 4K version to patrons so you can choose which meets your system capabilities and download patience better.
Also, as of 0.1a, the music files are unpackaged so patrons can listen to any of the tracks that ship with the game without decompiling the project. This will continue as our music inventory expands with each new chapter.
As for Firebreak's trajectory, I currently have 14 chapters and at least six full-game endings storyboarded.
Most chapters will also have one or more early, or bad endings. They will generally follow the same pattern as the bad ending in Chapter 1: They'll be more than a few lines of narration with an abrupt Game Over. We'll generally strive to show the player WHY their game ended early as a story beat, before giving them the option to return to the fatal branch choice.
The next four chapters will focus on two of the unconscious crew first. We get to that number using simple math: There are nine crew, and one of them is definitely not in the same state as the other eight. Throughout these chapters we'll also see interactions with love interests who are not in the Mesh.
After Chapter 5, the cast will be larger and the game will shift into the second act, which I will not spoil here.
The number of love interests isn't a flex to say "more is better." Each of the crew serves a role in the story that goes beyond being simple prey for a horny program manager.
There was a lot of world building and exposition in Chapter 1, and unfortunately that didn't leave a tremendous amount of time for players to get to know the crew outside of Angel. I look forward to changing that as the story moves forward.
We'll keep an eye on interest and reception. Obviously, if the story fails to resonate with fans, we won't throw good dev time after bad, but we also knew we made a number of tonal and scope shifts with Firebreak that might feel jarring to people who were expecting a smaller story more akin to Chasing Sunsets.
A larger story shouldn't mean a character traffic jam, however. For those who are worried that their girl will get lost in the clutter, I can only say that we love them each for different reasons, and we intend to give each of them not only their time time shine, but also to legitimately fall in love with.
Unlike Chasing Sunsets, where a number of girls were introduced as the game progressed, all of our cards are on the table with Firebreak on day one. The cast will not be expanding, at least from a love interest perspective.
Still, no matter how diligent we are about giving each girl her due, that comes with a trade-off and a legitimate concern: There may be chapters where the girl you like the most is less present just by virtue of us being two dudes part-timing this.
With that said, we will do our level best to make those waits worth it.
Best,
Kent and Stoya
Comments (25)
Firebreak is a perfect follow on to Chasing sunsets. Love to see the characters again - and new ones. And I do very much appreciate your one page remembering Wilson Wonka. His loved ones have lost a great guy as far as I could read in different comments about him and secondly the community lost a great creator. His last novel still has a special place in my memories. A pity we will never see it finished
ive come across" Visual Novel Vibes" that has released a ch 9 and ch 10 for Chaseing Sunsets and am wondering if they are a legit source for these downloads, or if you are aware of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2tAjJTfGJ8
Will the old version of CS still be available even after the release of the remaster?
Just finished my playthrough a few minutes ago. I'm already hooked and invested, this is a great start to something that, like you stated above, is quite different from Chasing Sunsets. Loving the look of the game, the way it 'feels' and the hints we have so far about what is and might be happening. Thanks guys, and I can't wait for the next chapter already! Edit: "Mindfuck City" is a banger...thanks for leaving the music easy to access!
The lyrics if you're interested: --------------------------------- I left your names in the rain on a window I can’t reach Your files on the table Your photos on every sheet The doc won’t meet my eyes she signs off with a sigh Running on coffee against the clock Selling souls to reach the sky I know where you've been I know what you've sold Every room in this machine opens into the cold Mindfuck city take me under slow Mindfuck city where'd the real world go Mindfuck city I still call your name Mindfuck city burn it down again My apartment smells like sin and forgotten vows an altar to ambition my prison til morning dawns The screen said RUN NOW in a flicker on the wall I heard screams in the black then I heard nothing at all I know where you've been I know what you hide Every clean white lie has a blade inside Mindfuck city take me under slow Mindfuck city where'd the real world go Mindfuck city I still call your name Mindfuck city burn it down again [Bridge] If you upload tonight You won’t come back whole Half your soul is distrust And the other half is just code So keep your mind cracked open keep your traumas low If my world wants your bones It will never let go Mindfuck city take me under slow Mindfuck city where'd the real world go Mindfuck city Do you still call my name Mindfuck city burn it down again
After playing Chasing sunsets, i am really curious what you guys have been cooking with the new game🔥
Didn't know more CS updates were coming. That will be a great excuse to go back and finish up some Steam achievements I'm still missing. 😉
Great work
Loved chasing sunsets and it looks like firebreak has the potential to be just as good if not maybe better.
Agreed. So glad that I didn't make Lisa the LI in Chasing Sunsets. She's available here! #goteamlisa
I have played CS so I expected Firebreak to be a good story. Holy cow 🤩. The art quality is amazing, and the game mechanics are fluid & nerdy! This might be the most artistically satisfying VN I’ve ever played ( & I play a lot of renpy) Kudos folks.
Hmm. Six endings for 9 (+) LIs? Someone is going to end up unhappy.
I wouldn't read to much into that. The six endings aren't necessarily tied to a specifc LI. They're story endings. Who the story is ended with can vary without the story ending being completely different.
honestly, i don't know why you would have any questions about how you wrote chapter 1 and introduced the crew for the ship. obviously, we knew something about Tara, from CS, so she didn't need a ton of introduction. the rest were handled in a manner that makes perfect sense, to lay the groundwork, without trying to tell too much of the story right off. let us know who is going to be there, first. then bring in the process of introducing them, more completely, each in their own time. even if some of the interactions fell between recruiting them and the mesh failure, and are revisited as the process unfolds to wake them all up and return them to themselves. that, to me, feels like a great way to meet them fully and get to know them. and it feels a whole lot less rushed, that way, at least to me. so far, i have no negatives about how you've started or where the story seems to be headed. it's not CS 2. it's firebreak. may be the same world, with some returning characters, but it's still a new story, and you don't really have to have played CS to be able to enjoy this one. rock on. looking forward to where this goes and how we get there from here. and as Tyr said, write YOUR story. pretty sure most of us will enjoy it for what it is. the ones who don't can either figure it out or find another story that suits them better. you won't lack for a good audience, either way.
I can’t wait to play Firebreak when I get the chance. I know it will be a banger since Stone Fox Studio definitely knows how to make a game. Thank you for giving us a future plan layout, Stoya and Kentyrr! 👍
I am loving the first part of this story and can't wait to see what you guys have come up with. CS is an incredible story and a top-tier game. The way it was incorporated into Firebreak was done exceptionally well. Firebreak has its own personality and voice, but the original DNA is still there. From how you explained the "roadmap", you absolutely raised the bar for yourselves with how fresh and ambitious it is. But the first chapter cleared it by a mile. Looking forward to seeing everything you have planned for both the CS Remaster and the rest of Firebreak.
dont waste good dev time listening to assholes trying to tear you down. Make yer story as you want to. look at Belle, LLtP was fantasy medieval, her next project was/is modern superheroes and a CCG system. You dont get much more wildly different
Out of pure curiosity who is Belle and what game is LLTP
Thank you for the explanation and roadmap. I look forward to the next chapter and the Chasing Sunsets Remaster. I like the LI idea as well.
Hey, tried asking on other websites, maybe you are busy, so will try here. Is Bianca officially one of the LIs ans main girls too? I really hope so, I want her fully. You said maybe to me like end of last year so checking up. Is she? Please say yes ans she isn't a side girl AGAIN... Anyway nice job, hope for a very long game, even longer than last game.
If a girl's card is in the character info section, she is a love interest. Bianca included. There IS one caveat: If you imported a save from Chasing Sunsets where the MC in that game was living with Bianca or Lisa at some point in Chapter 10, they will be flagged "Unavailable" in Firebreak because they're with somebody else during this timespan.
I loved the first chapter, the introductions, and don't really have any complaints. I just want more!
i really liked the first chapter, tho i must also agree the introduction of LI and subsequent moving on to the next person, was kinda jarring. i remain intrested in this new game :)
small suggestion, maybe put any and all lewd scenes thats unlocked under the bio/info of the mc, similar to when other games have different categories dependent on whos involved. the MC will be all, and then each girls profile simply has theirs or the one involving them at least
Why would CS be abandoned? It's finished 😅. I know, I know 😅. Good to know about the gallery 😋. Awesome to know. 14 CHs and 6 endings 😛. "More is better 🥰." Can't wait to play when I eventually can. I still haven't played yet (no device 😅). BUT I can see all the love and passion that went into making the game 🥰🤗. Thank you, Stoya & Kent ❤️🫶🏻🫰🏻!