September wasn’t a month of inactivity either. At the beginning of the month, I brought Distant Horizon back to life with a short but action-packed update. The game had been in a state of apparent dormancy for a good two years—even though I’d been under the impression the whole time that I’d released an update for it last year. But that’s how it goes. To err is human, but it feels divine.

Now that the Distant Horizon expansion is complete, I can devote my full attention to Chapter 11 of Rise of the Crime Lord, which is coming along quite well so far. Of the 13 sections, the first one is completely finished—except for the translation—which is good news, since it was the longest and most complicated section. The rest aren’t nearly as tedious. This one section contains 157 images and 11 animations, plus three trophy images.

Originally, I had planned for this to be shorter as well—it was going to be just a simple conversation between Rick and Cora. My original idea was that this chapter wouldn’t contain any serious erotic content at all—no sex scenes, for example. Then I realized that people have been lynched for less, and I’d rather not risk that—plus, while writing the scene, I felt that there was a spark between Rick and Cora (at least when their marriage is going well), which I had to explore. So I expanded the scene. But there won’t be any such expansions in the other sections—what’s there is what I planned from the start.

So, the most challenging section is behind me. I’m not sure yet how quickly I’ll be able to move through the next sections. For the most part, they’ll be simple conversations that can be set up and rendered quickly. Plus, they’ll mostly take place in familiar locations, like the SSG. This just makes the work easier, since I don’t have to build the scenes from scratch.

There’s only one location I built from square one: the Royal Restaurant. It appeared in Chapter 7, but I really didn’t like it—back then, I only used those assets as a stopgap because I had nothing else. Now I’m well-stocked in that regard, so the Royal will appear in a completely new look. However, for this reason, I’ll also be reworking the scene from the previous chapter to ensure consistency (plus, this will also serve as a test for something I won’t say more about just yet). Don’t worry—it won’t be much work; I’m just replacing the background; everything else will stay the same. Also, while I’m at it, I might re-translate the text there and streamline the code a bit. But I won’t do anything that would prolong the workflow or render the saves unusable.

And I think that's it for now. I'm already working on the next section, and you can already see some pictures from that as well. I made a bit of slow progress today because, as you can see, I had to place quite a few characters to keep the place from looking deserted. But this is only visible in a few pictures, and now that I’m done with the setup, I can delete them at any time and bring the people back with just two clicks. For most of the scene, the camera will be focused on Rick and Jess, just like you saw in Chapter 10 at the Castle café. And despite the slow progress, I'm still working, even though it's already half past one in the morning here in my little country. I want to get as far as I planned.

So October will be devoted to Chapter 11 of Rise of the Crime Lord. On Discord, I’ll try to share updates from time to time on the percentage completion of each section (those who’ve been following along have already seen this before the Distant Horizon update). You’re also welcome to ask me at any time how things are going—here, on Discord, or even on the F95Zone forum.

And that's really it for now. Until the next post thank you for your kind words, your honest criticism and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my patrons for their support. I'm 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!

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!

Well, June was mostly about taking it easy; after Chapter 10 came out, I had to take a little break to step away from it myself. Seriously, for quite a few months now, I’ve been waking up and going to bed with Rick and Cora seven days a week. Before I fell asleep, I’d be thinking about how I could speed up my work and how far I wanted to get by the next day; when I woke up, my first thoughts were about where to start and how far I needed to get.

I gradually got over it, although the first few days were strange because I no longer had to think about Chapter 10. And because I didn't have as much to do. By now, it's completely gone, although I haven't quite let go of Chapter 10 yet, since there are still a few animations missing.

Well, I’ve been working on putting these together in the background, and they’ll all be ready soon. Unfortunately, my work has been slowed down by the heat dome that’s settled over Europe, which has kept temperatures at 38–42 degrees for days. Since I don’t have air conditioning in my apartment, this has been quite a strain. And in this kind of heat, I haven’t done any rendering work at all, because, well, when the room temperature is 40+ degrees Celsius, it’s not a good idea to throw another heat-generating render on top of that.

That’s also why I haven’t been able to show you any renders from the upcoming update for Distant Horizon yet. I’d already set up a few images in Daz3D, but I didn’t want to render them until the heat wave was over. That’s over now, though, so I’ve rendered not only the first images for Distant Horizon v0.7, but also for Chapter 11 of Rise of the Crime Lord. You can see them here, in this post.

On top of all that, I kept working on the coding—that’s where I focused most of my attention. And I wasn’t just programming Distant Horizon—I was also working on Chapter 11 of Rise of the Crime Lord, since, as I mentioned earlier, I’d already written it. Although the onset of hell on earth slowed this work down a bit, I’m certain I’ll be finished programming the entire Chapter 11 by the end of July. And I hope that a new update for Distant Horizon will be released in early August. As I mentioned, this will be a short update, though it will be a bit longer than I had originally planned.

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 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!

The time has finally come—Chapter 10 of Rise of the Crime Lord is finally done!!! Hoorayyyy!! I’d like to say that, but instead I just let out a weary sigh. When… Oh my god! When I started this chapter three and a half years ago, I knew it would be big, but I never even dreamed it would be this big. If I had, I would have rewritten it immediately. Even so, I took a lot of stuff out of it and moved it to later chapters, but it’s still not small. It’s essentially several chapters in one, since a single story arc makes up an average chapter, and there are essentially 7-9 story arcs (Rick’s individual arcs sometimes overlap quite a bit, so it’s a matter of perspective as to how much they can be considered separate arcs).

That’s why I’d like to apologize once again to everyone who’s been waiting for this chapter. And thank you to everyone who’s stuck with me on this long, long journey. I also apologize for today’s delay—unfortunately, my internet connection is slow, and I’ve found a few more minor errors…

I finally gave up on fixing those, because I’d end up working until dawn again without having anything to show for it. Because of my perfectionism, I’m running late again. So there are still a few gaps left (animations and images are missing here and there, some replays aren’t available yet—there aren’t many of them —and the codex is still in demo mode). These were caused by oversights resulting from the somewhat chaotic development over the past three years, and I essentially discovered them while translating. In the coming days, I’ll patch up these gaps, and an updated version will replace today’s version.

Regardless, the game is fully playable and, in theory, bug-free; the story is available from start to finish across all storylines.

As for release dates:

Due to the extremely long wait, I’ve exceptionally combined the releases of 15$ and 10$ subscribers. I don’t want to keep anyone waiting, especially not after a 3.5-year wait. However, I also don’t want to let down those who have remained my supporters (many thanks again) or joined along the way (thank you!). So, this is an exceptional case; the next update for Distant Horizon and Chapter 11 of Rise of the Crime Lord will come as usual. According to my plans, both will be released this year.

And I just realized that I released the Alpha 2 version of Chapter 10 almost two years ago, on July 6, 2024. Yikes!!! Back then, I really thought I’d finish it within six months…

I’d also like to point out here that those who have previously played any of the Alpha versions should replay the entire chapter. And it’s best to start with a save file created before Chapter 10 (for example, at the end of Chapter 9), because testing has confirmed that not all Alpha save files work. This is no surprise, since the previously completed storylines have also been expanded with new scenes. This is especially true for the “Cora Traveled Alone” storyline, which now includes Rick’s full story (the “Rick Stays Home” storyline was previously only partially available).

So, let me emphasize: some of the saves created with the alpha version of Chapter 10 will not work with the full version of Chapter 10, and as for Chapter 11, it is absolutely certain that all alpha saves will be unusable. It’s definitely worth replaying the “Rick and Cora Travel Together” and “Cora Traveled Alone” storylines, because there are new scenes and, more importantly, new choices.

Is there anything else? Oh right, my plans for the future. In addition to trying to prove that I can work faster, I’ll be patching the holes I mentioned earlier over the course of next week. Also, if you find any bugs and report them to me here, on Discord, or in the “Rise…” thread on the F95Zone forum, I’ll fix those as well.

Also, I’m really looking forward to the next update for Distant Horizon. As I mentioned before, it won’t be very long, but it promises to be exciting. Not only will Hannah have a bigger role than before, but you’ll also get to meet two new regular characters. That’s right, the small crew of Distant Horizon is about to grow. Although… :(

And of course, I’ll be working on Chapter 11. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve already written it, and in fact, a portion of it is already included in the current Hungarian version because I’ve started the programming. I’d like to finish the programming work this month, if possible. Since Chapter 11 will be the usual length again, it won’t take long to finish. Certainly not 3.5 years. 3.5 months… Roughly… Maybe… Hopefully.

How much shorter is it? Well, Chapter 10 consists of a total of 96 Word documents, the longest of which is 33 pages. Chapter 11 consists of 12 Word documents, the longest of which is 12 pages. Chapter 10 is my biggest work to date, even though I’ve already written a novel of nearly 500 pages.

As for Chapter 11, I can already tell you that we’re returning to the familiar setting of Perfection. Rick and Cora are going back to work, so you can expect to see the SSG and H&W offices, along with the familiar characters who work there—Sam, Rachel, Ruth, Freeman, and Wolff are guaranteed to appear, and Sam will even have a bigger role. But after a long time, Judit won’t just be popping in for a cameo either (I’ll set this up in Chapter 10—it’s one of those scenes that weaves new elements into storylines already introduced in previous Alphas).

And then there’s the end of the chapter, which… Well… Yeah… I wasn’t exactly in a cheerful mood by the time I finished it.

Well, those are the plans. The work doesn’t stop. Years ago, I promised myself I wouldn’t give up on Rise of the Crime Lord, and I’m sticking to that. Although there have been ups and downs over the past 3.5 years—and I’ve changed a lot as a result—one thing has always remained constant: I’ve never felt like I should give this up. I love Rick and Cora’s story, and I want to see them through to the end. Even if it takes years… Oh, but it’s been going on for years already. :D I hope you’ll stick with me. I’m really fired up right now. If I managed to get through Chapter 10, the rest will be a piece of cake (I really don’t plan on doing anything as crazy as Chapter 10 again—I’ve learned my lesson).

And in the meantime, Chapter 10 of Rise of the Crime Lord Extended has been uploaded. So I'll post a link to it right away!

Well, I'd like to start with an apology and a bad news again. The two are related. Unfortunately, it's certain that I won't be able to get Chapter 10 out by May. For that, I have to apologize again. BUT! You don't have to wait another months or weeks. The update will be coming in the next few days.

There are no major problems or unexpected events, it's just that the bug fixing and translation took a little longer. We discovered more bugs than I expected, and I also found some inconsistencies (for example, once Beth suddenly appeared in a scene where she had no business being there). For these, the story had to be rewritten a bit and some new pictures had to be make. We also found a short scene where the images were missing. Only 8 pictures, but that's eight more than there should have been.

So I'm running a little behind, but really, there are only a few days left, at most. We've already weeded out the bugs, hopefully we won't find any more. In addition, there's still some text waiting to be translated in 5 and three-quarters of files. These also have ready-made English sections, so the entire text does not need to be translated.

According to my calculations, the translation will be completely finished by Monday, or Tuesday afternoon at the latest, after which I will run a few more tests, and then depending on the results, I will release the program. If nothing happens, Chapter 10 will be available by Friday at the latest. But I'll try to get it out sooner than that.

One thing is for sure, the next post will contain the release schedule, and the one that comes a few minutes after will contain the link to the Extended Version. These posts are already written, they are in the draft waiting for me to enter the exact dates and the link, and then I can activate them.

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 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!

Okay, maybe I’m the only one calling it a beta, but the point is that the first fully playable version of Chapter 10—from start to finish—is now complete. I’m sending it to the tester as I write this. I’ve checked it over several times myself; in theory, everything works, but it doesn’t hurt to get an outside opinion.

All that's left is the translation and some animation. These will likely take about 1 to 1.5 weeks to complete. Plus a few minor, mostly cosmetic fixes, but those will only take a few hours.

In addition, I removed the Alpha versions from the site today, so they are no longer available for download.