Game Update #31

A new month means a new game status update. The most significant news from the past two weeks is that I was finally able to release a new dev build for the game!

I realize I throw the term "dev build" around without necessarily explaining what it is, but to be brief, it's an early in-development build for the next big game release. Whenever I have enough content done, I share these unfinished in-progress builds with Seniors & Graduates so that anyone who isn't concerned about playing an unfinished product can play through what story is there.

This most recent dev build added the Isaiah and solo paths to the evening at the club, joining the Alex and Griffin story paths that were in the first dev build. If you're a Senior or Graduate who hasn't played yet, or if you would like to become one, you can find the release post with all the details here: 

Dev Build 0.1.5.2 - Club Update - Isaiah & Solo Paths 

This is a pretty significant milestone in that it represents around 2/3 of the next release being completed. The rest of this status update will go into what is left to create - so let's get into it!

Script

If you've been around on Patreon for awhile, you may remember the flowcharts I shared in past updates. As I move into this last stretch, they are making their triumphant return!

Specifically, I have flowcharted out the hookup sequences that can be unlocked in the Club Update. There are three hookup scenes total, plus one I refer to as hookup-adjacent. (If you played this most recent dev build, "hookup-adjacent" would be something like the ending that can take place in the common area.)

So far the hookups have been very straightforward and linear. Marco's is the most complex in the current version of the game in that you can enter into it from many different angles and there are choices to change how far you go. But so far, these scenes have only included oral and mutual masturbation.

A the game progresses, the hookups will open up to let you choose what sort of position you want to take - bottom, top, or side - with some unique CGs for each choice. One Club Update hookup in particular will be the first time you can make those choices - though how far you're actually able to get as a nervous virgin remains to be seen.

Navigating the various choices is where the flowcharts come in. Here's a screenshot of the flow of this particular scene; the image is purposefully small to avoid too many spoilers:

I won't say who this scene involves, though if you're eagle-eyed, have figured out my color-coding system, or played one of the dev builds, you can probably figure it out. (And if you do know my color-coding system, you might have spotted something very interesting included here...)

Structure-wise we have an intro/foreplay area at the top, the climax at the bottom, and then a variety of sequences in the middle showing each of the choice-determined paths. Disregarding the mysterious red section, the middle sections are divided into Side, Bottom, and Top, and then into two separate parts within each of those sections. The two parts represent spots where you can enter, exit, or continue a chosen path.

This looks very complex, and it will be when I'm doing the coding. But when it comes to the writing aspect, I'll be able to write fairly linearly and just add extra transitional dialogue where needed. 

This scene is going to be very interesting to write for a variety of reasons - but I think delving more into Connor exploring his preferences for the first time could be the most interesting part. Or maybe that red section there could end up taking the title of "most interesting"... hmm...

Coding

I banged out a lot of code in order to get the dev build done, which involved some complicated linking of scenes since there are so many ways to jump between story blocks. But I didn't actually find it too taxing to get done this go round, which means I must be getting a tiny bit better at this. As usual, the most annoying part was the testing.

For this next stretch I'll be coding in the Asher story alongside the hookup scenarios. And then I have a notepad full of all sorts of things I have to go back and check or add or fix - notes for a big polishing pass that needs to be done before the release is ready. I would love to say I'm very organized for that, but it's literally a bunch of notes to myself in a notepad file. I'm very particular when it comes to planning out the story via outlines/flowcharts, but sometimes I go quick and dirty instead of making fancy pictures 😉

Art

Art is the biggest deal this month. The hookup scenes will have a lot of CGs. The flowcharted one above has 36, in fact. While I may cull that down a bit, it'll still be a significant amount of work that needs to be done, especially since there will be an additional 40+ across the other hookup sequences.

Yesterday when finishing April's bonus gallery, I proved to myself that it's possible for me to do up to 10 CGs in a day if I need to - although it's really not ideal. There are also still sprites I need to make as well as a few backgrounds. I'll be making a strict art creation schedule for myself that I will do my best to follow - we'll see how I do...

New Connor

If you haven't heard, Connor is getting a new character model. I shared a Sneak Peek a few days ago showing many samples of what the current version looks like in the context of game sprites and CGs - and I was happy to receive many positive responses to the revisions I made.

If you're at a patron level to see Sneak Peek posts - Junior, Senior, or Graduate - and haven't seen that post yet, you can find it here:

Sneak Peek #22: New Connor, Round 2 

If you're a Freshman or Sophomore, here are a few of the images I shared:

The model isn't officially finalized yet, and I'm very open to feedback, so I'd love to hear comments if you have any to share. I do think I'm nearing the end of this revision process, but I also plan to make a few tweaks before I consider him completely done. I can certainly make a few more tweaks if I see any common concerns - or even uncommon concerns that I find myself agreeing with.

Looking Ahead

While I won't venture a guess at a release date for the full Club Update, I do very much want it to be done ASAP - not least because it's coming up on half a year since the Frat Party Update. I want all of you to get to play, and I would also like to finally write the consequences for Connor's choices at the end of Day 2. So know that I'm doing everything I can to get this done as soon as possible. I'll have a better idea by the mid-month update on timeframe, so stay tuned!

I think that's all I've got this time! Thanks for reading 🙂