Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #154

Hiya there, everyone! I hope you're doing well!

I just wanted to check in at the end of the month to update you all on the status of things and how I've been doing in terms of progress on Chapter Two and the pending alpha!

Writing is going well, and I've largely done most of the big cutesy and h-scenes I wanted to include in this build, with some of them ending up far longer than I intended, which is always a bonus. As of right now, I'm just doing the last story-related scene required for this build and then things should be good to go. But as I've bumped up against the end of the month while still being in the middle of writing this particular exchange, this means the alpha probably won't be sent out until early next month, in the first week or two. I'll keep you updated on that as I go along, but I don't foresee too many issues standing in the way after this, as it's just the usual scripting and sprite/expression stuff after. So I'm happy and optimistic with my progress right now!

There's an especially cute scene with Bella, which I'm hoping to get some specific event related art for, but it might not be ready in time so will be played out with her sprite instead until I get those assets. But I think it's going to be worth the extra effort to really add to this scene, and paint her in a light unlike anything you've seen previously!

Voice-related files have also been coming in at a good rate too, allowing me to fill in some of the voiceless gaps from the last build, while also adding at least one of the new scenes in the upcoming build, so I'm excited to add all of this in and seeing them come to life. I'm going to see if I can get a few extra voiced parts in for some of the next scenes, but I'm prioritising the writing right now before going and formatting it for VAs, as that can take some time to add in the directions and such--and then it depends on the VAs' own schedules, too. But I'm keeping in touch with everyone and seeing what's possible!

And to continue on from a sketch I posted in the last dev log, I wanted to present to you all one of the last story CGs in the game, showcasing the end of a very tiring and dramatic day for our brave, royal gals. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what may have transpired. I feel like in a way, it also represents how I feel towards getting closer to the finish line of Chapter Two, haha, so it's special in more ways than one.

It certainly has been a long, exhausting journey, hasn't it? And not without its pitfalls. But ultimately, I'm really happy with everything I've ended up with in Chapter Two, and hope you guys feel that way as well from what you've seen! I've learned lots of things, and will be mixing up my approach for Chapter Three most definitely--but I think this game will stand as something special due to its scope and approach to how you can explore and discover events!

So for now, I've just gotta keep pushing on a little more, and hopefully everything should work out~

And in addition, please remember that if you've already got a link for the most recent alpha build, just keep that at hand for when the new build comes out as I'll still be retroactively adding the new build into that, whether you're a current alpha tester or not.

Until next time, and here's to a hot and sunny July! I'll have some really nice summer art for next month, for sure!