Dev Update - 2026/01/05
Good morning and Happy New Year, everyone,
Unusual day, unusual time for a Dev Log (for me...).
I didn't want to wait until Friday for the first Dev Log of Chapter 8, especially since this one is going to be a bit longer than the usual ones.
A word of warning: if you haven't played Chapter 7, the latter part of this Dev log contains slight spoilers, so you might stop reading this Dev Log until you have played it.
The spoilers won't be anything major, though.
Up to you. :-)
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the release of Chapter 7 went. We missed a few minor bugs, like textlines showing up when they shouldn't, but no bugs in the game logic (as far as I'm aware).
The current version is v0.7.0.3, which is live on Steam and here in all posts containing links.
December on Steam also went pretty well, so thank you to everyone who bought the game there and/or helped with a review.
As I mentioned before, I started working on Chapter 8.
The progress wasn't swift due to the holidays and all the distractions throughout that time, though.
One thing I decided to change is how the code for CH8 is organized.
Until CH7, every Chapter has one script file with (almost) all necessary stuff for that Chapter in it.
Those files end up almost 8000 lines long (CH6), which wasn't a problem until now.
Technically, it doesn't really matter, but when translations come in, it gets annoying.
The tl-files tend to get significantly longer than the script files. Up to almost 20,000 lines per file. And when you start translating a Chapter, you have that huge wall of text in front of you.
So I decided to change the structure of the script files a little and have one file for each scene.
That should make translating the game a little easier for me... let's see if the amount of additional files will drive me crazy instead :-D
I hope that the new approach will also help to keep the branching of the story manageable.
Those of you who have already played CH7 know that it ends at different spots, depending on your choices.
This branching will also run through Chapter 8 and a bigger part of Chapter 9.
Having every branch in one file like before will be one hell of a search-and-find mission in the code.
Speaking of branching, one of the paths in Chapter 8 will be Álfheimr if you accepted Titania's offer.
It will be the biggest part in Chapter 8 and will take up the most dev time.
It won't be like Chapter 5, where you hardly see any of the other 3 LI's, but those 3 will have significantly less screen time compared to Álfheimr.
I'm not entirely happy with that, but it's either that or a development time of 1 year for Chapter 8.
It's the price I have to pay for a branching storyline.
I still want to make sure that the non-Álfheimr path still has a few memorable "moments" in it.
Okay, this is getting ass-long, and I'm sure it triggers quite a few questions on your side.
Feel free to post them in the comments, and I'll try to answer them in a later Dev Log or another Q&A session.
The numbers for CH8 as of now:
33 static renders
0 animations
479 lines in the script file
Have a nice start to the week, guys.
Cheers,
Ceo
P.S. Next Dev Log will be on Friday again, as usual.
Comments (11)
Love the branching - choices should matter. Myself, I *love* when I have to hover over a choice and think to myself 'this is tough'. And kudos for the Celtic references!
Thank you for the kind words. Glad you like it so far :-)
Looking forward to more in the new year! Ummm... Titania? Time for some re-playing... O:-)
Really, i loved the Alfheimr ending - as much as i loved the Kaija reconnect path, i also loved the Alfheimr path with Medb and Finnabair - i saw it coming but it was a shock nonetheless...but these events, as sad as they are, make always a great stories ! 😞 So i am really looking forward to go to Alfheimr, i think you created the best image of Elves in any fantasy tale i have seen thus far... And i am determined to find out why Finnabair had to die, and there will be NO mercy for them all...😉💯👊 After i had time to let the story of TNT - Book one sink in (Played over 50 hours so far), i have to say - and i am damn sure of that - this is the best AVN i have played, and its clearly Nr. 1 of my Top 5 AVN List... So again, Ceo my brother - deine epische Geschichte hat mich bewegt und mich den Mist, der im Moment in der Welt passiert vergessen lassen, zumindest für ein paar Stunden und für das sag ich...ganz grosses DANKE ! 🫡🥰💯
Thank you, especially for the last block (in german). That's probably the biggest compliment you can get as a writer/dev in these times :-)
Too many choices, and possibilities for cheating just to see some scenes. I was loving the overarching story until the elves entered into it. Now there's too many ways to go without rereading the thing a bunch of times to make it fun.
Yeah - good that there are different views and opinions, i like that you can play it multiple times and nearly every time you see something new - i like the Elves, especially Finnabair and i was really sad that she had to die, but i also love Medb.... For me The Neverwhere Tales are one of the Top5 AVNs, with greats such The Seven Realms, BaD, Fog of War and Origin Story. Ceo created a real Gem here, my only regret is that i nearly oversaw it, i love every bit of this stunning Tale ! 🥰💯👍
Cant wait to continue brother, the tension going to the Elves is killing me… And plz dont forget Linnae, she is gorgeous and i hope we will see much more of her ! 🥰 Take care, thanks for the stunning and beautiful tale…🫡💯🤘
thank you :-) will do my best not to disappoint, although as of now, Linnae is not planned to play a larger role in CH8
Just kill everyone and keep only Kaija and the elven path 😉
duly noted :-D