Progress Report

Hi everyone!

It's the final stretch of this update, and what a stretch it is. I'm finally adding the new actions to the night scenes, one by one. All the components are added simultaneously, including writing, code, and animations. Once I'm done adding these actions, there is very little left to do to get the update out the door.

On the other hand, it's getting tough for me personally. Those who have been following me for a while know that I was teetering on the edge of burnout almost exactly two years ago, and I feel that beast lurking in the nearby shadows once again. That time, I took the entirety of December off to recover my physical and mental health. It was a miracle cure, and I returned to work that January filled with enthusiasm and energy. It shouldn't be necessary to go so far this time, but I'm really, really looking forward to finishing this update. At that point, I intend to take the rest of the month off (whatever remains of it), allowing myself some relaxation through the Christmas holidays. I usually work on LLtP when I'm on vacation from my day job, which is clearly not healthy. But still, when you're doing this kind of game development, you take every opportunity you can get to squeeze in a little extra effort. I will hold back from doing so this time for the sake of both the game and myself.

So, what does this mean right now? While the genuine risk would be getting actual burnout and crashing completely, even getting close to the limit leaves its marks. I can feel it in that it's harder to get motivated and that work is slower than usual. I'm fully intent on finishing this update before taking any real time off. Still, I have to be genuinely careful here. The worst thing would be if I actually crash (there shouldn't be any danger of this, but just saying). If that happened, there's no knowing when I'd get back on my feet. So, I'm doing what I can while not pushing myself to the point of no return.

Why do I occasionally brush up against burnout, you may ask? It's complicated, but a few things come to mind. For one thing, I work two jobs, one of them my day job and the other being this one. I exercise 5-6 times a week, which can be a bit of a strain. I have other high-intensity hobbies (such as teaching myself Japanese) that occupy most of my remaining free time. Each of these things individually isn't a problem, but it can get a bit much when they happen intensely and over a long time without a break. To alleviate the worst, I'm making a few (temporary) changes to some of these activities.

Anyway, you can expect the update to version 0.38 within one of the coming weeks. I can't wait to be done with it. Working on these night scenes for months on end gets a little monotonous. 

I know this was kind of a bleak progress report, but don't worry! Things are almost entirely on track, and I am in tune with my body's limits, so I doubt there will be any actual issues caused by this. I merely want to make sure I keep you all in the loop. You deserve that and more for your generous support over the years.

For now, I intend to get some serious writing done this weekend. Within reason.

Until next time!