Big New Year Dev Update - Beta 0.2b Out to Testers


Wew, what a marathon!

Chapter 1 is now playable beginning to end with all choices, consequences, point tabulations, and dialogue fully scripted.

Kentyrr's been going nuts on the art, and upped his quality game by an order of magnitude.  Seeing the art in screenshots is one thing, but seeing it play out in context with dialogue is a whole other experience.

So, for those of you patiently waiting, this is where we stand as of today:  As stated, the game plays completely through Chapter 1 from beginning to end, with several scenes waiting on art.  Several scenes are also pending music assignment.  This is what I dread most, because music is the most difficult thing to get right.  Even with as much care as I put into it, I still feel like I hit the mark maybe 50% of the time.  

I will have the art to date fully integrated tonight, and all sound effects completed.  

That said, some of the most impactful art is still pending.  We went a little nuts on a lewd scene that ended up hugely exceeding our projected render count and time budget, but we think it was worth it.

What can you expect in Chapter 1?  This is the launching pad for the main plot, and Chapter 1 ends with all of the pieces in place for story to come.  Entitled "Arrivals and Departures," Alex and Jaye will either begin moving toward reconciliation in the wake of the events of the Prologue, or double-down on conflict.  Of course, it wouldn't be Jaye and Alex if dumb shit didn't sabotage their relationship in spite of their best efforts from time to time.

In general, you can expect less Walter and bar chatter, less Jaye (this time), more humor, and (of course) more beautiful ladies crossing paths with our protagonist.  

Chapter 1 introduces several new characters, some of whom will have a presence to the story's conclusion.

As promised, we do not end on a sad note this time, though I won't lie:  Kentyrr got a bit choked up at one point during our full playthrough last night.  If I select the music right, maybe it'll even strike a nerve with some of you jaded bastards that aren't as in touch with your feminine side as he is.  (KIDDING, bruh!)

As of right now, our art inventory already exceeds the prologue, and we expect that by release, it will do so significantly.  

Beta 0.2b Out to Testers:

The story is somewhat denser than the average Adult Visual Novel, and we've seen from previous feedback that this is somewhat polarizing, particularly for people who feel let down that there's as much story as sex.  As such, we do try to walk the line and we view the feedback phase as our last chance to modify the narrative if we've sailed off the map.

Kent is averaging 25 scenes a night in the run-up to release, with a significantly higher delivery rate on weekends.   

One thing we are particularly proud of is that we have put 100% of every sheckel donated by our patrons to date back into our project.  Every last penny has been absorbed by render hardware or software and music licensing, and that will be the case for the foreseeable future.  In short, our work is only possible because of you.

We have used three custom assets in the game to date.   What that means is that we've commissioned models, buildings, and locations that you will not see in any other game.

Here are a few examples:

This cabin was made especially for Chasing Sunsets by our 3D Modeling friend Puggy.

In addition, we commissioned a pair of iRay Arch Nazares for Chapter 2.

As always, we're grateful for your continued support, and based on the feedback we've received from our beta team, we're well on our way to delivering on the promise made by our Prologue with Chapter 1.

As a writer and developer, I always feel the pressure to meet or exceed our previous effort with our encore.  I expect any dev who says otherwise is lying.  In this case, I think we've met our own bar, and I couldn't be more excited.   Thanks to all of our patrons who have stuck with us through the PC build and holiday delays.  We hope (and believe) it will have been worth the wait!

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