Update

Version 0.2 of Research and Development is out! This post will contain minor spoilers for it, so check it out first if you haven't!

https://lachevite.itch.io/research-and-development-02-patreon?password=milk

I feel like this update took a bit too long to come out. I mostly attribute this to 2 things:

-The first version's sorry state

-Working on both games simultaneously for the first month or so

The first version of r&d was super rough both on the outside and on the inside. The first thing I had to do when I started working on it again was refactor a lot of the code, and then later I had to spend time doing things that should've been there to begin with (certain ui elements, menus). So a big chunk of the work that was done was on foundational stuff rather than new content, and that left this version a bit shorter on content than what I would've hoped. For example, I would've loved to have added one more size for sundown so that there was more to do after getting upgrades. That's why the sizes are so cheap before unlocking upgrades and why the last size is so expensive; I wanted to shift as much of the time you spend playing the cake game towards after you've gotten the upgrades. With an extra size I think this would've felt more natural, but I couldn't justify trying to add even more stuff when it had already taken so long. Based on your feedback, I'm happy to hear that you guys didn't feel a lack of content as strongly as I did. I guess there's not much else to say except that when working on future updates, I won't have to do nearly as much upkeep, and I can spend way more time focusing on adding content!

I think trying to work on both games at the same time was a mistake. At best, you'd get two releases somewhat close to each other very infrequently, all while I constantly split my attention trying to keep track of two very different games. Instead I'm just going to alternate between the two, which means snack story is up next. The upside to having worked on it a bit already is that just about all of the writing is done, but there's still quite a lot left to do. This update is more ambitious than the last one, with certain encounters being far more elaborate than any of those from the first version...

The last thing I wanted to touch on is something I've caught myself (unintentionally) doing. I learned my lesson regarding giving specific dates or timeframes for when I think things will be done (I'm always wrong), but I noticed that I sometimes use language such as "almost done", which can also create false expectations. Going forward, I'll try to be objective when giving updates about what I'm working on.

Thank you for your support!