October 2024 Monthly Update

Hello lovely patrons!

Welcome to our newest monthly update where we update you on all things Two and a Half Studios. As always, these will come out every month on the 6th (AEST).

Happy spooky month! It's once again October, and this month is a busy one with some business travel mixed in, which is exciting! More on that later.

We also have some big updates on the DLC, so make sure to read on in our monthly update!

A Date with Death - Beyond the Bet

Art

We've begun working on the backer Casper outfits! These are designed/chosen by Kickstarter backers.

As we said last month, backers with custom MC clothes/accessories or custom artworks will have work began on them after the DLC is complete, and for any in-game art it will be patched in early next year.

At the moment, all of our time and attention is on finishing the art needed for the release. We'll THEN be moving on to the less time sensitive tasks.

Clowncore Casper!

In game, you'll have ~6 outfits to pick from for your MC to dress him up in. This isn't a permanent outfit, so you can pick one freely for a bit of fun! 

We've also started working on our A Date with Death Art and Guide Book. We're working with the wonderful orri on the cover, and Khoaisama on the layout. You'll see lots of art, sketches, developer commentary and more!

Here's a little preview of the cover:

Writing & Editing

WRITING IS COMPLETE!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Last month, we wrapped writing on the entire DLC. All four endings are now complete!

They've also all been edited. It feels surreal to once again be "done" with A Date with Death. I say "done", but even now there's still a lot of work to go. It'll be a very tight two months.

On the writing front, we've also completed the full outline for another special little A Date with Death project we'll be announcing in December for the anniversary. We're not ready to share many details on it yet, but I think you're all going to love it!

Programming

Two out of four endings are now fully programmed, with one tested. We're hoping to have all 4 complete by the 10th of October, and finish the testing by the 20th of October. Then we'll have all of November to finish up on any remaining tasks before release.

Japanese Translation

Our lovely friends over at Kakehashi Games have given us the first pass translation of the original game and expansion DLC!

We're now rushing to get it implemented and sent to them before the team is away from the office for a chunk of the month.

Here's a couple of previews:

Featuring my cat, Bingus. Here he is if you wanna take a look.

Music

We're working with the wonderful Flehmann on four original music tracks! We were so happy to include many of his tracks in the base game, and even more happy to now be working together directly on new music.

We'll be sharing one or two previews next month!

Grimmy Figure Giveaway!

Makeship are releasing an ADORABLE Grimmy vinyl figure, and we're so happy to be giving two away on Twitter!

Enter here!

The Willowmist Emporium of Antiques and Curiosities

The Willowmist Emporium of Antiques and Curiosities is our unannounced, upcoming shop/narrative sim about running your aunt's antique store for three months and meeting the strange inhabitants of the small and isolated Willowmist.

We're only in very early development, but we plan to begin working on it in earnest once Beyond the Bet is complete.

Art

We're working on the last of our love interest sprites! That's five in total, though we've only shown one off so far. We'll be posting the second one this month!

For now, how about a preview:

After this, we'll begin working on the main character!

UI

UI previews??? UI previews.

A WIP of the day progression screen!

And the scheduling screen!

These are all mockups, so things will likely end up slightly different when we move them into the engine, but aren't they just lovely?

Astralis Publishing Title - The Inn Between

Extended Demo & Steam Next Fest

The Inn Between is going to be a part of Steam Next Fest this October!

You'll be able to play through a brand new extended demo, and meet all three of the handsome, scantily dressed love interests* (*2/3 love interests are scantily dressed. Leon wears a lovely suit.)

Make sure to wishlist TIB on Steam to get notified when the demo goes live!

Art Teasers

Support the Game

For now, you can support the game by wishlisting on Steam, following the team on Patreon, or following them on Twitter!

Astralis Publishing Title - Cage of Roses

Demo & Steam Next Fest

Cage of Roses is ALSO participating in Steam Next Fest in October, and the demo is coming out... on the 8th!

If you like yuri, gothic romance, vampires, and beautiful women, then I think you'll really enjoy this wonderful, dark, moody story by ebi-hime.

Support the Game

You can support Cage of Roses by wishlisting the game on Steam and following the developer on Twitter!

Other Updates

Pax Australia

From the 10th-14th of October, we'll be in Melbourne for PAX Australia! A Date with Death will be playable in the PAX Together Lounge, and we'll be hanging around on all three days of the event (maybe wearing a new piece of A Date with Death apparel?).

If you check out the game in the Together Lounge, don't forget to take a picture and share it with us on Twitter!

Focus for the next month

• A Date with Death - All endings programmed and tested!

Thanks once again for reading, and I'll see you next month! The team will be away/out of office on the 10-14th, and the 20th-31st. Responses will come in November to any inquiries in that time.

(Don't worry, we have some great content scheduled for the month!)