Development 0.3 - #11

Hi, it's me, your bamboo eating anim- eh... dev!

I've got quite a few things to share with you all, so let's dive right in. First off, I want to talk about the amount of content planned for this update. Here’s a quick callback to something I mentioned in Dev Log #9:

"... Out of the 12 scenes I originally planned for this first part, I'll be including 11. It's already relatively big for just being one half of Chapter 0.3..."

Right now, I'm considering moving one more scene to the next update, leaving this update with 10 scenes and approximately 19,000 words - which is still quite substantial, in my opinion. On the bright side, I already have two scenes written for the next update!

This brings me to another topic. You guys provide feedback and overall ideas which I appreciate a lot and thank you all for everything! Regarding this, I initially wanted to make "0.3 Part 1" and "0.3 Part 2" but I'm more and more leaning towards 0.3 and 0.4, which would push the initial 0.4 content to 0.5.

Why the change, you ask? Well, if I release a huge "0.3" update split into four parts, it will still appear as just "0.3" - a lower number compared to "0.3/0.4/0.5/0.6," which feels more substantial. For perspective, I could have easily split the "0.2" update into two or even three parts. For now, this is the direction I’m leaning toward, but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Now, for a quick status update on the game. Out of the 10 scenes planned:

• Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 are done.

• Scenes 5, 9, and 10, plus the recap, are still in progress.

I'm still unsure on removing the 11th scene entirely, but I’ll keep you updated in future dev logs. I also need to revisit two of the "finished" scenes to add background characters and other details to bring them to life. The render count for this update is currently sitting at around ~630.

I’m excited to share a small achievement: I created my first in-game item! After failing to find anything that fit my needs, I spent the entire yesterday learning how to make my own mods. It was a fun (and slightly crazy) endeavor, but I’m very pleased with the result, and you’ll see it in the update. (Probably not, since it's just an asset which could be there anyway :D)

Well, if you’ve stuck with me through to the end, here’s probably the most important info: I’m not sure how stable my current job situation will remain, and I have a feeling 2025 might bring some big changes. This means I’ll either have to cut down on development time in the future or figure out how to keep everything going. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to manage this, but it’s not an immediate concern right now. I just wanted to keep you all in the loop. :)

That said, I’m committed to making smaller, quicker updates to keep people engaged, especially since many players tend to skip earlier versions like 0.1 or 0.2. I’m also exploring new ways to show more gratitude to my supporters, though those ideas aren’t final yet.

Thank you all for sticking with me until the end of this update, for reading it, supporting me, providing feedback and overall encouragement! Feel free to drop any feedback you have in the comments, I'll read everything!

I hope you have a wonderful day/evening and an amazing week ahead! ❤️