Hello everybody!

I hope you all enjoyed the last update!

Just to let you know, I'm currently working on several improvements to Defending Lydia Collier that will make it a much better game, while also providing tools to integrate these features into future projects right away.

I don't have many previews since 99% of my work has been on the code.

I've finally tackled the long-put-off task of fixing the computer head-on, replacing thousands (probably tens of thousands) of lines of code.

I now have two fully functioning news websites, filterable by journalist and date. This lets you easily view the day's new stories or, when meeting a journalist, check all her articles to investigate her activities without manual scrolling.

This was tougher than just building a news site, as I had to sift through a dozen updates' worth of layered code, recover old data, and edit pictures to preserve everything.

You might have noticed the new computer lacked older articles, limiting reading beyond a certain point—now it includes everything, plus articles I'd skipped from recent updates due to the mess.

For those unaware, I lack a coding background, so I'd learn a bit, then force-fit it to my needs—like hammering a square peg into a circular hole.

In the past, I'd code one news article with my limited knowledge, then copy-paste and tweak for the next. Images were pre-made in Photoshop with text, requiring 3+ per article, which took ages.

It wasn't bad at first with just 10 articles (handling 10 code groups and 30 images, adding variables in multiple places), but after many updates, it became a mess of technical debt—dozens of articles across thousands of lines. Simple changes, like shifting text 2 pixels left or fixing a headline typo, meant manually editing every article or image, repositioning based on length, and updating folders.

Now, the sites are properly built. I input a headline, date, journalist name, and article, add the ID to a single list, and it's done—no copying, no scattering variables (reducing bugs). All old articles are converted and working.

A template handles layout, so edits require changing just the template or article. Bugs are minimal; troubleshooting involves a handful of variables, not hundreds of articles.

Adding new articles now takes minutes (after prepping images/content) versus 20+ before.

Why bother? It's key to the story, with useful info that was painful to access—now it's easy. I enjoy exploring in-game lore like Fallout 3 terminals or Mass Effect's Shadow Broker emails, and wanted something similar. I've always aimed for more "game" elements beyond choice-based VN, and this fits my limits.

For future projects, this code provides a ready-to-use news website with minimal tweaks.

That's complete now.

Next, I'm fixing "Our Moments" (the game's Instagram), with its many images, to make it viewable from the PC. Once done, it'll be reusable for future projects.

I've also redone the car radio.

It was a single long audio track—randomized start points, but always the same order, and hard to edit beyond appending tracks.

Now, I've added new adverts and tracks; it functions like a real radio, randomly pulling songs, inserting ad breaks with custom spots, then more music.

I've long wanted a GTA-style radio, especially given the cost of the custom audio—now it's here.

This should enhance the game's long car scenes, and provides a Ren'Py radio system for future projects.

Previously, only some characters gave reports via mission screens; many didn't.

Now, everyone provides a report, adding immersion beyond just button-clicking to advance the story.

These arrive in your emails (which I've redone); no separate screen anymore.

I considered removing this but kept it, recoding it properly to eliminate past bugs when selecting characters.

It's 99% done; I'm just integrating it with mission selections for optimal results. It uses my fixed character selection screen instead of default Ren'Py menus (now working everywhere).

I'm considering an overlay or icon to highlight the best character if walkthrough is on, plus a separate icon for rescuing Tanya.

That's what I've been up to—thousands of lines changed, making me feel like a real developer.

I've always wanted a story-heavy game, and fixing the computer was essential to finish, especially with the finale near and endings tied to missions.

Sorry if anyone dislikes the time spent, but it's necessary for completion.

This will all be in v0.17.1, hopefully done this month.

Knowing a "coding and story" update might not excite everyone, I'll post a poll this weekend for supporters on cut scenes from v0.17—the winner gets added to v0.17.1 for new content.

I'll also beta-test the computer once ready (while working on the scene), so anyone can try and break it.

Thanks for all the new and continued support!

WP

Hello everybody,

Unfortunately I have been very sick the last few days which is why nothing has been posted so I am sorry about that, however I am feeling a lot better now and it looks as though it's past its worst now.

So I'll set a release date now and let you all know that v.0.15.7 will be released for Day 1 Early Access on the 29th of September!

This update will feature multiple new scenes for Tiffany, along with new scenes for Sophie and Vanessa and will be between 750-1000 renders long along with an animation!

After v.0.15.7 has been released I'll then be moving straight on to v.0.15.8 which will be the long awaited big update for Bimbo Steph! I am going to tie this in with Halloween and also release the new Social Media (which will have new some spooky and sexy snaps) along with all the renders made from the polls earlier this year, and set the release date for this to be Halloween, the 31st of October!

This will be a very fetish heavy update for Bimbo Stephanie and will be over 1000 renders long all of Bimbo and Lydia playing together and I'm sure it will have something for everybody.

After that there's only three things left to do to have v.0.16 complete, finish the Lydia/Ellie evening, add in the Jenna and Lydia scenes, and add in the new UI and achievements and I hope to have all that done the following month but I'll go into that more once I've finished Bimbo's update.

Thanks for all the new and continued support and see you all for v.0.15.7's release next Friday!

WP

This will be the final weekly progress for v.0.14 as the update will go into Alpha testing this Sunday!

I've made another scene for Regular Steph this week as it seemed slightly lacking on her path, and apart from that the update is pretty much done.

Once I've got the initial feedback from the Alpha release, I will put up a release date for supporters!

WP

I've now completed 2,231 renders for Defending Lydia Collier v.0.14, along with 3 animations, and that's pretty much everything done for the v.0.14 update.

I'm now working on finalising and finishing off the post work on the images and coding/writing the v.0.14 Alpha version of the update and sending it to Alpha testing, which will happen this coming week, and once I've got their initial feedback I'll be setting a release date!

I'll let you all know the moment an update release date is set!

WP

Hello everybody,

Here is this week's development log for Defending Lydia Collier and an update on how the progress on v.0.14 is going so far.

Firstly, the render count. I've now made 2,016 renders for v.0.14, and have completed another animation. That's an additional 146 renders in the past week.

Unfortunately the last week was plagued with technical difficulties which slowed things down slightly, my RTX 3090 card again started malfunctioning only months after the previous one was replaced under warranty, and despite reporting the fault last Friday evening I only received the warranty replacement this week.

I'm going to be upgrading the Ren'Py version of the game from Ren'Py 7.3.1 to Ren'Py 7.5 with this update as I need some of the newer features, especially for Steam integration. I will try and release the game still on Ren'Py 7.3 for people on Windows XP still, but some of the changes and features will be removed if they only work on the newer version. This shouldn't effect the overwhelming majority of players anyway, but a 7.3 version will still be released for those of you who need it.

With the help of Lady Aspen, a wonderful GFX Designer, I've now got some great promo artwork for the store page of the game on Steam, so I'll be finally submitting the game to approval there when v.0.14 is done.

In terms of when the next update is going to be out, I hope to have the UK part of v.0.14 off to Alpha by the end of next week now.

I'm going to do things slightly differently with v.0.14, as the UK and the non-UK parts are so completely separated, I'm going to release v.0.14 once it is done and tested, and then release Vanessa's part as a separate update in a few weeks.

I'm also planning a separate Lydia update as well, as I've decided to significant extend her content from what was a planned 50-100 render scene, to 3 100-200 render scenes instead.

So this will be the new update format for the planned updates leading up to the end of Defending Lydia Collier.

v.0.14 - All of Sunday's UK based content (Samantha, Emma, Regular Stephanie, Bimbo Stephanie, Lydia, Jenna & Ellie will all have at least one adult scene and several non-adult ones). This will be the game's second biggest ever update.

v.0.15 - The Island Wedding Update - Will be Sunday outside of the UK, focusing on Vanessa, Tiffany & co on the island. This will follow a few weeks after v.0.14 and be approximately 500-1000 renders.

v.0.16 - Lydia's Extended Content - This will take place during the early morning of Monday, but before the start of Monday proper. This will be approximately 300-750 renders long and follow a few weeks after v.0.15.

v.0.17 - Monday - This will be the final major content update for the game, give final scenes to most characters and will follow 1-2 months after v.0.16 and be either the 2nd or 3rd biggest update of the game.

v.0.18 - Tuesday - This will be the conclusion of Defending Lydia Collier, featuring the ending which will be decided by your choices leading up to this point, and then all of the game's endings, there's going to be tons and tons of endings.

v.1 - Polishing - This will be polishing up the game, fixing any and all remaining errors, typos etc, adding in missing scenes and adding achievements and all that kind of thing.

Therefore at this point I'm not planning a BETA Scene this month as I'm hoping v.0.14 will be out before it ends.

Two of this month's characters for the Fantasy Characters have now been made and released, and Fleur's will follow shortly.

In terms of the Menu Vote for v.0.14, with votes from all sites combined Samantha Wickes won, winning with 49 votes and just holding off Bimbo Stephanie who had 43 votes.

So v.0.14 will feature Samantha on its menu, thanks to everybody that took part.

Thanks for all the new and continued support, and as soon as v.0.14 is released to the Alpha Testers I'll let you all know!

WP