The Crime Lord is coming

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!