Hey, everyone!
Lessons in Love has been around for about a year and a half now and, within that time, I believe I have improved greatly as a developer in many different ways. I am happier with the current state of the game now than ever before and think the last several updates have been some of the highest quality of work I've ever put out for...pretty much anything. That being said, there are still many things about the game that I KNOW can be improved- and almost all of them come from the first several updates, when I was still figuring out how to use all of the programs and how exactly I was going to execute the story I had in mind. I was working another full time job up until version 0.8.0 and was never able to put in as much time as I wanted.
But, now that this game is my full time job, I feel that it is my duty to make sure ALL of the game is up to the standards I have set over the last year. But, in order to do that, a great deal of the early game needs to be completely remade.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
- You will NOT have to start over. Current saves will stay functional and you're free to completely ignore any of the new early game content if you want.
- This will be a laborious undertaking. I expect to be working on recreating a great deal of early game content throughout the months of February and March.
- Progress reports for the rework will be posted to both the Discord and here so everyone knows the status of it and how much is left.
- Several events are being completely removed so that progression for characters like Ayane, Futaba, and Makoto feels less rushed.
- Any event that is removed from the game will still be accessible through a "Deleted Scenes" menu added to Sensei's computer.
- You will be able to access the new events through the event tracker if you do not want to play from the beginning again. However, if you have 100 hours or so to spare, I highly recommend that you do.
- You will NOT have to start over. Current saves will stay functional and you're free to completely ignore any of the new early game content if you want.
- This will be a laborious undertaking. I expect to be working on recreating a great deal of early game content throughout the months of February and March.
- Progress reports for the rework will be posted to both the Discord and here so everyone knows the status of it and how much is left.
- Several events are being completely removed so that progression for characters like Ayane, Futaba, and Makoto feels less rushed.
- Any event that is removed from the game will still be accessible through a "Deleted Scenes" menu added to Sensei's computer.
- You will be able to access the new events through the event tracker if you do not want to play from the beginning again. However, if you have 100 hours or so to spare, I highly recommend that you do.
But Selebus, why are you doing THIS instead of just making new content?
Well, as I mentioned before, it is very important to me to have ALL of Lessons in Love at the same level the game is at now. But, in addition to that, I want to bring in new players who weren't exactly able to make it past a lot of the awkward, weirdly-paced early game. Thousands of new players pick up LiL for the first time every month, and I want to make sure that their experience is consistent, enjoyable, and just...not bad.
Well, as I mentioned before, it is very important to me to have ALL of Lessons in Love at the same level the game is at now. But, in addition to that, I want to bring in new players who weren't exactly able to make it past a lot of the awkward, weirdly-paced early game. Thousands of new players pick up LiL for the first time every month, and I want to make sure that their experience is consistent, enjoyable, and just...not bad.
Is there anything I can do to help?
Yes, actually! But it's completely optional. Despite what many of you seem to believe, I am, in fact, a human. And as a human, there is only so much I am capable of. Lessons in Love has a lot of fucking characters, and since a great deal of the early game is being rewritten, some continuity errors might slip through my radar. It's not impossible that characters will reference deleted scenes in later events. In fact, I expect that thing to happen. So, if it does, please point it out to me so I can fix it properly. I'll be making a series of new, rework-dedicated channels on the Discord where players can point out both inconsistencies and things they believe could be improved.
Yes, actually! But it's completely optional. Despite what many of you seem to believe, I am, in fact, a human. And as a human, there is only so much I am capable of. Lessons in Love has a lot of fucking characters, and since a great deal of the early game is being rewritten, some continuity errors might slip through my radar. It's not impossible that characters will reference deleted scenes in later events. In fact, I expect that thing to happen. So, if it does, please point it out to me so I can fix it properly. I'll be making a series of new, rework-dedicated channels on the Discord where players can point out both inconsistencies and things they believe could be improved.
Are you going to delete the Ayane bathroom scene?
Yes. Fuck that scene.
Yes. Fuck that scene.
I understand that some people may be disappointed by the lack of new content in March and April, but I do wholeheartedly believe that this is in the best interest of the game. The early updates have been weighing on me for quite some time and, the sooner they're gone, the sooner I can get back to focusing on where we are today.
BESIDES, it's not like this rework won't bring any new content at all. Expect brand new events for pretty much everyone. Some characters, however, might receive a few more depending on how happy I am with their early game progression.
This isn't happening right away. There are still several normal updates and one special update coming before progress on the rework begins. But I wanted to give everyone notice ahead of time so, like always, you can know what I have planned for the future.
That said, here is a brief synopsis of the next several updates in chronological order.
0.21.0 Part 1 (11/15/21) - Noriko/Kirin/Niki/Maki
0.21.0 Part 2 (12/15/21) - Yumi/Chika/Sara/Yuki
0.22.0 (1/15/22) - Special Christmas Update
0.23.0 Part 1 (2/1/22) - Maya/Otoha/Nodoka/Kaori
0.23.0 Part 2 (2/16/22) - Main/Ami/Touka/Tsubasa/Tsukasa
0.24.0 (TBA) - Early Game Rework
0.21.0 Part 2 (12/15/21) - Yumi/Chika/Sara/Yuki
0.22.0 (1/15/22) - Special Christmas Update
0.23.0 Part 1 (2/1/22) - Maya/Otoha/Nodoka/Kaori
0.23.0 Part 2 (2/16/22) - Main/Ami/Touka/Tsubasa/Tsukasa
0.24.0 (TBA) - Early Game Rework
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
Thanks as always for playing my game.
I have to say I am a bit conflicted for once, especially the Ayane bathroom scene. That scene, when thought about with a the future knowledge of how she is now, kind of shows how awkward she was at first, when she didn't know what Sensei's reaction would be if she were to approach him normally. You can kind of see a bit of fear of rejection there, not quite to Anthropophobia levels, but she doesn't want him to think she's weird or to think less of her, so she goes for a tactic she doesn't think he'd refuse and, given the Sensei we play as, she was kind of right.
I do agree that the early content isn't up to standard, but I'm not sure this is the right time since, as you continue to write more events and rewrite existing ones, you will improve, putting you right back in this position again. I'm not against redoing it, but I would wait until a point where that constant improvement wasn't an issue. This way you aren't updating earlier content to one standard that is then put into the same 'lesser quality' position that the reworked content is being reworked to fix. Doing it now just makes it a cycle that won't end until development does and we're only in the first year and a half of a multi-year project.
On the other hand, this DOES give me a reason to restart without first having to fail an event, red and struck through on the tracker, as per my conditions in my last two runs. I could then replay some of the older content and refresh my memory for better and more accurate theory crafting.
I'm glad to hear you're reworking the early stuff, since it'll give me another excuse to play the game all the way through!