Well, the day is drawing near. The new update (v0.7) for Distant Horizon is technically complete. Tomorrow I’ll correct a few rendering errors and thoroughly check the program for bugs. And then the fun can begin. The release schedule will be as follows:

Although I hadn’t originally planned it this way, I’m once again combining the release for the $10–$15 category, as well as the $1–$5 category. Until now, I’d been under the impression that I’d released version 0.6 of Distant Horizon early last year, but now that I’ve looked into it, I’ve realized just how wrong I was. This November will mark exactly three years since I last updated this game. Well, I’ve really let things slide—that’s for sure.

So, just like with Chapter 10 of Rise of the Crime Lord, I don’t want to keep anyone waiting any longer. I also don’t want to let down those who have remained my supporters (many thanks again) or joined along the way (thank you!).

But this really is the last exception—Chapter 11 of Rise of the Crime Lord and Distant Horizon v0.8 will be released as specified. Because you won’t have to wait 3–3.5 years for those. According to my plans, Chapter 11 will be released before the end of this year.

We’ve had an exciting month. At least as far as Distant Horizon and Rise of the Crime Lord are concerned, it certainly was. The v0.7 update for the former game is just around the corner and will be crossing the finish line soon. Although work slowed down a bit last week because I had to put together a pretty intense section packed with action and some gore. I learned a few new things in the process—and my collection of Daz3D add-ons has also grown.

But the remaining two sections aren't very long, so if everything goes well, the new update will arrive by the end of this week or early next week, and then Distant Horizon can rise from the ashes.

But I also mentioned Rise of the Crime Lord. Well, although I haven’t created any new artwork for it, I’m happy to report that I completed 90 percent of the programming in August. The rest will be finished in the coming days, so as soon as I release Distant Horizont, I can start working full steam ahead on the entire Chapter 11 of Rise. Since there will be a complete framework that works from start to finish, I’ll just need to fill it with images and animations.

I wouldn't dare give an exact or approximate release date for Rise just yet, but I'll venture a very optimistic estimate: the end of October. But this is really just an optimistic estimate—not a promise.

Aside from the first section, there isn’t any part of the chapter that needs to be created in more than one version, and I only need to create two versions of the opening, depending on whether Rick and Cora’s marriage is heading in a positive or negative direction. But even here, the most noticeable differences will likely be limited to just a few images. In other cases, the differences will be evident in the dialogue.

It also makes things easier that some scenes from Chapter 10 also take part in Chapter 11. I’m thinking, for example, of helping Jess. If Rick had left with Cora, then he only spoke to Jess on the phone in Chapter 10 and was unable to help her. Well, anyone continuing along this story thread can also complete the “Helping Jess” section in Chapter 11, with a few changes, of course. For example, at this point, you can no longer decide whether Rick will help Jess directly or from a distance.

These sections make my job easier because I can copy some of the dialogues directly, copy the source code in many cases (these two are already done), and reuse the image settings with a few modifications (different time of day and/or location and/or the characters’ outfits).

And it's also not a bad thing that the characters are much more stationary in Chapter 11 than they were in Chapter 10, which allows for faster image setup.

So, the completion of Chapter 11 definitely won't take four years, but if everything goes well, it will take less than four months. I'll definitely do my best to release this chapter before the end of the year—and maybe even Chapter 12 as well. Or the v0.8 update for Distant Horizon. I haven't decided yet; right now, I'm equally excited about both. However, I've already written Chapter 12 of Rise, while the eighth update for Horizon is still just in my head—and even there, it's only in the form of notes for now.

So Chapter 11 might be followed by Chapter 12 without a break. But that’s still a ways off—let’s take it one step at a time. First, Distant Horizon v0.7, then Rise of the Crime Lord Chapter 11—I definitely want to finish those two this year.

But that's all I have to report for now. Next time, I hope to be back with the release date for the new Distant Horizon update. In the meantime thank you for your kind words, your honest criticism and thank you very much to my patrons for their support. And I'm still available on Discord (where I also post pictures and little news of my progress) or here, if you contact me about anything, I'll answer. Maybe not right away, but I'll do my best. Or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Be good and take care of yourselves!