Hey friends,

Welcome to the first ever DEVLOG XXL!
This one’s going to be a bit longer - I've been working on a lot of things, and I finally get to share them with you.

According to the planned 3-4 week release cycle, the next update should drop next weekend.
BUT… it won’t. And here’s why:

My goal is to make Version 0.15 the biggest and best update so far. This will be the version many of you play during the Christmas holidays, so I want to make sure it’s absolutely worth your time.

Unfortunately, I got a little too overconfident and started way too many tasks at once.
I can finish everything - I just need a bit more time. So the update will release a few days before Christmas. 🎄✨

And since I can’t keep the original timeframe, I at least want to give you a little preview of what I’ve been working on:

A lot of interesting (and yes, spicy 😏) things happen after Mina’s date with Jacob - including more Bar Queen group chat chaos. This part is going to be fun, chaotic, spicy aaaand... experimental. Let’s just say I made a questionable life decision. 🙄

I experimented with a "fun" new mechanic. Based on your current background picture, you'll receive one of 14 different reactions from the girls. It’s something I always missed in other phone games, so I really wanted to include it. I hope it adds replay value - though, in all honesty, it might also turn out a bit less exciting than I imagined, since not all 14 variations can realistically be AAA-quality. But at this point I'm in too deep… so let’s just see where this goes! 😅

More importantly: V0.15 includes over 14 brand-new CGs - more than any update before. Depending on your choices, up to 12 can be obtained in one playthrough.

While working on the biggest story package so far, I also had the brilliant idea to start building the game’s new social media app: Snapsgram. (It was called Snapgram before - which sounded better - but since that already exists in real life, I changed it 🙄)

You'll be able to check the girls' social media accounts and see what they're up to outside your chats. It’s not a new concept in phone games, but I think it fits really well with the story-focused nature of this one. I probably won’t be able to fully implement all posts and triggers by the next update, but I’m considering releasing it as a beta so you can share your feedback.

My hope is that it makes the small world of Stellanova feel a little more alive. :) Here's a sneak peak:

I probably should’ve stopped after coding Snapsgram and focused on the tasks already on my plate - But I didnt, and here's why:

I’ve gotten better at creating CGs and you can definitely see the difference between older and newer ones. Knowing that new players have to go through the "less good" early CGs before reaching the new ones… yeah, it’s been haunting me for weeks. I constantly feared someone might drop the game early because a character doesn’t look "aesthetic enough."

So far, I’ve overhauled 5 older CGs, and I hope you’ll like them at least as much as the originals.

Here are two examples:

For the last three months, I’ve basically spent all my free time developing this game.
Surprisingly this lead to complaints from my wife - aka Mrs. Donut. 😅

So to keep things balanced (and to remind her what I look like outside my computer chair), I'll need to spend a little time with her too.
Hope you guys understand. ❤️

As always: THANK YOU for playing, supporting, and being part of this adventure.
Love you guys, and see you next week.