[Progress Report]: 14th of February

Hey everyone,

The early build of Version 0.70 comes out next week! It feels like an age since I've released something, and I am so happy we're finally getting back on track. This last week of work has been entirely on the main story, and I am proud to say that we've repeated a miracle of yesteryear and there will be two patrol events in it! That's all I can say about that without spoilers.

For this last week, I'm going to be switching content back to Harper's revision work. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at this, over half of Version 0.70's content  will be revision work between Valentina and Harper. Why is there such a focus on old content? Because we are almost done with their training revisions! Meaning, by Version 0.70, all of the old training systems in the game will finally be removed. That's right! No more repeating training cycles: it's all original content and eliminates the one of the largest criticisms of Superheroes Suck: the grind. So, will Version 0.70 finally be the version of the game that requires a new save file?

No!

Your save file should be perfectly fine and you will be able to enjoy all of the revision content with your current save! No one should need to start a new game unless they want to. I'm also planning on doing a lot more with the beginning the game. Now that the story content has been better paced for Harper and Valentina, I can go back and fix the old H-scenes (you know the ones. The slideshow animations are next on the chopping block), and turn the majority of my attention back on current iteration's content. 

Since this was another major story week, I'm going to default to answering a few questions in my inbox as per usual.

Will you go back and replace Harper's / Missus Powell's / Etc's old scenes with their new models?

Come the Apocalypse. Which means, yes, eventually. I try to be very careful when I'm "replacing content," because it's not technically "adding content." Some things, like the early H-scenes, will need to be completely redone in order to make sense. Valentina had her shower scene redone, for example, but that also added a repeatable H-event in the game that wasn't there before. As for the basic, old events... I can only see myself going back and updating those when Superheroes Suck nears completion, and we're nowhere near that stage.

If I want to start a new game, when would be the best time?

The "best" time to start a new game will probably be in Version 0.75. I will be working on the game full time for that entire development cycle since my current job ends next week. I plan on redoing some of the introduction, and adding a few things here and there to improve the early experience. That said, there isn't really a best time - You could always start a new save just to experience the introduction and then load your old save file. With how Superheroes Suck is designed, very few things lock you out of content. You're best off just playing when you have the time.

Are you planning on adding more game mechanics / mini-games to Superheroes Suck?

Ah, so here's an important question I've never addressed here before. Yes, I am planning on adding a few light game mechanics, but no real mini-games. Why? To be honest, I really don't like mini-games in visual novels. Just personally. I enjoy a visual novel the way most important enjoy a book before bed, and I don't want to solve a sliding block puzzle or spam click on colored jpegs. It's why Superheroes Suck has no "money" system in it. That said, I do want to add a few game mechanics, simple things that will make the game more engaging, and especially during the combat scenes. I have an idea of what I want, but I'm waiting to fix a few more things before I code it in.

That's it for me this week. Like I said, this is my last week of work at my day job, then  Version 0.70 comes out and we attempt the great experiment. 

Thank you for all of your support,

~Solace