It’s been a while since my last public dev update, sorry about that. I’ve been getting more and more questions about progress and the date for the next release, so I figured it’s time to give an update, not just for my patrons. This post will be long and split into two parts. The first part focuses on the game, development, and progress. The second is more personal, so if you’re only here for dev news, feel free to skip it.

So, where are we at, and what’s done? Dialogues and code for 17 scenes are fully completed. Some spots need minor polishing and tweaks, but they’re essentially ready. I’ve put in a ton of work on the storyline and planning future scenes up to the game’s finale, revisiting five-year-old notes to align plot points, rewriting things multiple times, but it’s all set now. I’ve posed and rendered 870 renders and 86 animations. Octavia’s lewd scene took up most of my time. I worked on it nearly all winter. It has 3, maybe even 4 variations for different paths and choices, which is why it took so long. But I’m happy with how it turned out, and I hope you’ll like it too. I’m also slowly but steadily reworking scripts from past scenes, adapting them for future translations. I need to swap out dialogues in old game files to English for easier translation work. I haven’t decided the best approach yet, maybe I’ll use AI for translations and ask volunteers to edit them. I’ve mentioned this before and am leaning toward that option, since professional translation for this volume of text (and there’s a lot) would cost a fortune. For the Steam release, I want the game in all major languages: Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German (though less crucial for Steam, I might still do it), and Ukrainian. Maybe others too, if I find a fast, quality, affordable translation method.

About the Steam release: for those who don’t know or forgot what I wrote a year ago, I’m planning it after two more updates. This upcoming one and one more after that. These two updates will wrap up the first part of How to Fix the Future (Book 1) with a logical conclusion to a long-running story arc. That’s when I’ll renumber the chapters, drop the parts, and end up with 7 chapters for the first book. I’m also planning a small remake of older scenes. Nothing major, don’t worry. No full overhaul of old parts, just updating animations from the intro and maybe Chapter 1, plus tweaking some renders with too much noise or blur to match my current art level. Dialogues in older scenes might shift slightly too, but not much. Also, some sound effects may have to be swapped out due to licensing issues. As for the Steam page, I’m not sure yet. I’d hoped to launch it this winter, but some circumstances delayed things. It’s not a priority right now anyway. I’ll let everyone know (repeatedly) once it’s up. Wishlists are very important for small games like mine.

I’ve got 2 scenes left to write (dialogues + code) and art for 4 scenes to finish. Some parts will be lewd, some won’t. One scene is pretty big and varied, with multiple locations, characters (including new ones), so it’ll take more time. Still, there’s not much left overall. I’m hoping to wrap it all up in a month or two, so very tentatively, I’d aim for a May release. I still need to handle post-processing for the art, edit animations, polish code, pick and add music, and sound effects, plenty to do tbh. But we’re way closer to the finish line now. It won’t be long, and I’m grateful for your patience and understanding. This update will stand out from the rest. Probably one of the biggest yet. It’s got long-awaited main story progress, lewd scenes people have been asking and waiting for, and some plot twists. I’ve poured a lot into it and hope you’ll enjoy it.

The last six months or even more have been rough. While the energy situation and blackouts were a bit better this year (at least in my region), I didn’t have to start the generator as often (which is why I got so many animations done; otherwise, rendering that many frames would’ve been impossible), it’s still been mentally draining. Daily massive attacks, deaths, destruction, it’s impossible to just sit and work like nothing’s happening. No matter how much I want to, sometimes my brain shuts down, and creativity? Forget it. I’ve had creative blocks where I couldn’t squeeze out a single word, days where my hands just dropped, and I couldn’t even move the mouse. On those days, I’d stick to monotonous tasks, working off prepped scenes and drafts that didn’t need much effort. Sometimes I’d take a couple days off to recharge, play something, read, watch a movie or show. Working on the game is a distraction that keeps me sane too, but even that needs a break sometimes. My sleep schedule’s trashed again, thanks to the constant attacks. You finish work, plan to sleep, then end up hiding till 5 a.m. because drones are buzzing overhead all night and the sky is bursting with explosions from all sides. So I wake up around noon, need to start work, but there’s other stuff demanding attention too. There’s never enough time... By the time I finish everything and sit down to work, I’m either wiped out or it’s night again, and the cycle repeats. It’s chaos and a nightmare, and it’s wearing me down. It’s not exactly ideal for productive creative work, but I’m pushing through, and there’s progress. Just not as fast as some might hope, including myself.

On top of that, my PC’s acting up. Nothing critical yet, but it needs maintenance. Something’s off with my system drive, and the GPU’s been weird sometimes. I’m scared to mess with it until the update’s done, I don’t want to break or mess up with my workflow and my setup. But the warning signs are there, and once I finish, I’ll need time to service it, reinstall stuff, etc. All game stuff has backups in the cloud, so I'm not worried about losing anything. But still. Speaking of the GPU, I’m thinking of swapping my 4090 for a 5090. More VRAM is key for me. I’ll probably wait a bit longer, though. Let prices drop more and get this update out first.

That’s it for now. I could ramble on about work details or life stuff, but that’s overkill. Just wanted to update you on development and the situation. We’re close to the release, just a little longer. I’ll let you know when I’ve got solid dates, as always. 

Quick reminder since you are all here: You can be listed in the game credits for $15 (add your name here), suggest ideas and formats for special renders (for the in-game or patrons) for $30 here, or request a custom render of anything you want for $100 (my highest tier, only one spot left on SS. Just write a dm here or on discord so we can discuss it first). 

Next week, I’ll post polls for monthly wallpapers and special renders. Soon, there’ll also be a poll for all voting patrons about in-game special renders. As always, I'll use some of the patron specials, and some I’ll make new based on your votes.

Thanks again for your support, understanding, and patience. Love you all, guys. You are the best!

Have a great week and take care!

mr.moonmi