Progress Report 25-04

This is overdue as I meant to get more info out a while ago.

Here's where I stand...

Last I mentioned I was trying to do finishing touches on the first half portion. Some feedback lead to making some adjustments, and that's where life started getting in the way. I practically vanished and missed about a month of dev work. I was able to get better internet installed yesterday, which will be nice.

Summer is over and I don't have to worry about my carpal tunnel flaring up, or ungodly room temperatures while rendering.

I injured my foot Wednesday. I'm stuck resting, elevating, and icing it so I can't stay at my PC for long periods. I'll work around that with non-art stuff that I can do from my bed. I was trying to write this post up yesterday, but I couldn't focus on what to say and gave up while I rested.

Yes, my life has been a mess. I've lacked focus and had a lot of distractions. And the blame is on me for not being able to manage around it. I don't need to sugarcoat it; I've been failing.

It's disappointing because the last six months I've put a lot of energy into my physical health, and that was largely diverted from what I put into TaH. I didn't give the game as much focus as it needed, so development suffered. Sure, there were periods where I was locked in, but my running obsession kept pulling me back.

Maybe this foot injury is a blessing in disguise. At least, I have no choice but to view it that way.

Okay, but what about actual TaH development?

To reiterate, I've been too slow. I know I'm capable of working faster because I've done it before. I've covered this above; it's just a focus thing. I spoke to my friend earlier and he said the same.

Just like all the fitness goals I set for myself the last few months, it's time I do the same for dev work. I've rarely challenged myself with strict production goals, but I need to place more structure on myself. So I'm setting up a few things like a schedule, time tracker, and render/scene targets.

But none of that means anything without some transparency and accountability. So I'll have to move back to more regular reports and image teasers, both here and on Discord.

As far as game-specific progress, the major work I need to do involves intimate scenes and some larger scenes with many characters. Then there's been some waffling about how much focus I need to give certain plot points that kept giving me analyst paralysis.

I've had plans for a few extra bonus scenes from some girls' perspectives that will make it in IF they can be tied well into how the story evolves.

I know there was more I wanted to say but everything has slipped my mind as I write this.

When's the next release, and how much content will it be?

One thing I've mulled over is if I should release the first chunk of Episode 4 that is ready. The great part is that is gives everyone at least some content in the meantime. The bad part is that I don't know if I can create a good cutoff point. I'll have to look things over again.

I know people have mixed opinions about playing unfinished episodes, but feel free to voice your thoughts about what you'd prefer here.

I will take this job more seriously. I won't fail. I will do better. And you can be skeptical until I do show it.

-ckr