Update 7/28/22: Some Interruptions, but...

Hey, guess who's recurring anxiety got in the way of posting updates?

It was me! Er, mine.

Sorry, a combination of applying for jobs + COVID scare (that ended up not being covid, but a regular summer flu(?)) took me out for a week or thereabouts, and I felt my posting momentum evaporate. But, as ever, I kept plucking at the game, and...

I feel *very* confident that the next build, ver 0.6, will be available by mid-August! My current timetable has me finishing it in the next few days, then doing a bugfix run between myself and a few others, then fixing the bugs found there, etc.

So, what's going to be 0.6?

Build 0.6 WILL HAVE:

*14 out of the 15 originally conceptualized characters, as functioning party members! That is to say that Ming, a character I've referred to a few times, joins the roster! She'll come with three sprite sets/2 size changes

*2 new areas! Downtown Beach and Mohr Marketing Offices are accessible midway into Phase 2, as an environ and a dungeon of sorts, respectively.

*One support conversation/Party chat between every possible party member!

*New art for the Montalbans, and bust art for recruitable characters and a few others!

*Revised progression system for Phase 2! Your faction of choice has stuff for you to do, and it's parceled out a little bit better. Also, Expa now gives you objectives as well!

*A quest log system! To better keep track of my poor quest design!

*Rebalanced enemies and exp gain!

*Replacing the previous limited movepool system is a skill equip system, which also means new skills.

*Replaced the old underground maps with a new, hopefully less-janky map.

*Added a semi-fast travel feature via the bus stops.

*god I dunno I forget what all I've done now. Fixes of other things.

Build 0.6 WILL NOT:

*Advance the narrative! You can get to phase 3, but there'll be just a teaser of sorts.

*Have new sizes for the existing cast. Saving that for when Phase 3 dev kicks in full gear.

*Let you feed the fairy. Still figuring out what I want to do there.

*Probably more stuff but thinking of negatives is depressing.

I can't even tell if this honestly constitutes a substantial update, given where my head is at. What I do know is, Phase 3 has a very defined structure compared to the first two's "sandbox as planned by an idiot" vibe. That is to say there are three primary plot beats to universally occur regardless of faction in phase 3, which means I can linearly design content, which is easier than, well, nonlinear design.

Anyways, look forward to it! I want this to go well!

(Not like I wanted the others to not go well, but you know what I mean)

Lastly, here's the full original roster, plus the fairy! Shame you can't get them all... :P