Saturday Update!
Added 2024-09-07 15:00:08 +0000 UTCIt was a fairly productive week last week! I picked some easier jobs but I still think I got a reasonable amount done.
Current Image Finalization: 481/743 - 65%
Before I show some sprites, I wanted to let you guys know I made a decision about beta testing. Beta testing won't be for a very long time still [ there is still several months of art to do, then more months for other work like the music, building memelord mode, bonus content, etc ]
But, I made a decision about it and I think I should tell you guys sooner rather than later because it's different than what I've said in the past.
The original plan at the beginning of the project was to allow every patreon member to beta test, that's what I did with TPOF and it worked well.
Unfortunately, I don't think that will work this time. The issue is that I've gained a lot more Patreon members than I had back when I launched the beta for TPOF. This is wonderful for my business of course and I'm extremely grateful- but it poses a problem for running a beta test, since too many testers would mean a lot of duplicate bug reports and too many people to keep an eye on.
I think, when the time comes, it would be better for me to create a new tier for people who want to beta test and limit the members to 300 or so.
I will give lots of warning for when the beta test tier will open, I won't just spring it on people- don't worry.
Anyway, I do apologize for changing the plan to something more 'exclusive'. I know that a lot of people want to beta test and I wish I could make everyone happy, but my first priority has to be running a smooth beta test so I can efficiently work through bug reports and get the game polished for true launch.
I still plan to give every patreon member a free key for the final game of course, the beta test plans won't affect that.
Now let's get into the sprites!
^ This one is also a 'taller than the screen' sprite but I'm not gonna test my luck with Patreon LMAO [ It would technically be allowed but they keep changing the rules and I do not trust like that any more ]
Another easy job I did was replacing the placeholder icons in the Script screen [ these were lumped in with the sprites ]
For anyone new here: The 'Script' screen is a way to look back at past conversations and choices without having to rewind, just in case you missed something. It's based on Renpy's native 'History' screen but I've tweaked the code quite a bit to make it more appealing and record who is talking and choices made.
And lastly, a bit of Ren:
That's it for now! Things should hopefully be going smoother for the next while. I've gotten my timeline for my reno and basically nothing will happen for the next 6-8 weeks 😂 It'll be nice to have less to worry about for a while at least.
Thank you so much everyone for your support and kindness! Good luck to anyone starting courses this Fall! And of course, have a safe and fun weekend everyone!
Comments
I'm curious, but how long does the Beta test phase usually last for? :)
Strade's Kitten
2025-01-29 05:07:49 +0000 UTCIt might be loading times, Ren is on the bottom in a fairly hefty gif!
Gatobob
2025-01-25 15:06:51 +0000 UTCStrade looks amazing here as always 😊 I'm assuming I'm here too late though, since I didn't see Ren at all, unless I'm completely blind and I've missed something 😂
Strade's Kitten
2025-01-25 06:19:00 +0000 UTCREN!!! omg he looks so cute hehe. that gif is amazing, I’ve watched it five times now!
amalgam _foryou
2024-11-24 23:11:49 +0000 UTCI can't stop watching this Ren gif, omg. That's a brilliant way of using fore/backgrounds!
Crue
2024-10-04 21:22:28 +0000 UTCWent a month before realizing I changed my card therefore my patreon subscription didn't go through whoops! I was wondering where my Saturday updates went haha. So glad to be back!!! You're such an inspiration for me, I'm currently a sophomore for animation and game art and I'd love to one day make games as well :) Sending lots of love <3
Boop
2024-09-10 17:16:45 +0000 UTCoh i see! thank you so much for the reply
limeshroom
2024-09-10 09:43:43 +0000 UTCHii, i love it, ren so cute! And i like the silluettes of ren and strade! Readed it latercause i wasnt feeling goodlately so i needed some time. but this is great as always! Have a great bew week gato~♡
Moon
2024-09-09 22:11:33 +0000 UTCThat Ren part looks so cool! And Strade is hot as always lol 🩷
mmajee
2024-09-09 17:04:04 +0000 UTCWay back in 2006-2008, I took a two year course at a technical institute called 'Digital and Interactive Media Design', which covered lot of different digital mediums. I specialized in web development so I ended up learning HTML, CSS, Javascript [ front end web development ] PHP, SQL [ back end web development, like databases ] and I guess Actionscript 2, but that was part of Flash which doesn't exist any more and AS2 was deprecated pretty much as I was learning it since AS3 was coming out LMAO
Gatobob
2024-09-09 12:33:41 +0000 UTCGod I love the art so much! The colours are sooo good
Bebby
2024-09-09 09:46:17 +0000 UTCGlad that things are going well for you now!! I also had a question, which of course you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I know you took some coding classes, I believed you mentioned it a little while ago? But I was just wondering for what coding language! Sorry if this is a bother! (Also, just got my friend a bunch of ren/fox stuff for her birthday, safe to say she loves it all! Thanks for the maple candy :D)
silliest
2024-09-09 02:46:05 +0000 UTCLike a cat waking you up for food. Love what you did with the backlog! TY for the free key also.
chiral
2024-09-09 01:35:42 +0000 UTCAhhhh Amo cada que Ren aparece <3 Estoy de acuerdo con la decisión de limitar las pruebas beta del juego a 300 usuarios, ya que el objetivo principal es detectar posibles errores y garantizar que la versión final tenga una alta calidad <3 . Por lo tanto, lo evaluó como una etapa necesaria del proceso de producción, y no como una medida injusta.
SetHero368
2024-09-08 21:52:15 +0000 UTCI love seeing Ren stare at us with those eyes
Some Joker
2024-09-08 18:06:38 +0000 UTCI'm very sorry but I can't really update the original BTD games. I have files missing from the development copies and my newer version of renpy would wreck a lot of the deprecated code.
Gatobob
2024-09-08 17:29:27 +0000 UTCGlad that things are going more smoothly, Gato! And ooooooooooh those gifs!! 👀 Strade leaning over MC’s legs…Ren’s curious stare… and then PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT PIT 💜💜💜
kikibadger
2024-09-08 17:03:00 +0000 UTCalso i almost forgot to mention, the btd2 apk doesnt seem to work on newer android systems i believe. not sure if it was you who made it or someone else, but could it be updated?
limeshroom
2024-09-08 16:56:21 +0000 UTChe is lookimg... staring. strade boobs are back nice nice nice. ive been wondering how beta testing would work this time around considering the gigantic amount of people here but thought it was too soon too ask, so its nice to see youve already thought of something lol. 65% of cgs ready yaay *clapping* *clapping* *cheering*. good job as always and take of yourself!
limeshroom
2024-09-08 16:50:51 +0000 UTCDude everything looks so good 😭 It's so amazing to see things coming along this way! Beta testing makes sense. It'd be hard to deal with a ton of duplicate results. I honestly can't wait to see more, every teaser gets me right in the gut, I'm loving them ❤️❤️❤️ I hope you get a chance to relax this next week!
PennyFaust
2024-09-08 13:50:30 +0000 UTCThat idea for the beta is fair! Good luck with all the work you got ahead Gato </3 I'm absolutely foaming at the mouth with every saturday update
V0w0ga
2024-09-08 12:01:47 +0000 UTCAnyone else wanting to trying and play 'Staring contest' with Ren too?
NotPlainJane
2024-09-08 09:50:26 +0000 UTCthis kid got a staring problem
snapper
2024-09-08 09:36:54 +0000 UTCYee! I agree good soup! lol
Celty
2024-09-08 07:48:48 +0000 UTCREN IS SO CUTE
LYNX
2024-09-08 05:32:25 +0000 UTCThanks for sharing this awesome week of work! I actually really support the beta tier! Im relieved bc yea, my thoughts exactly, there's just too many people to have access to it. And since i have zero experience beta testing games, it just doesn't apply to me and i wouldn't be helpful besides just admiring everything lol ! Ren is sooo growing on me oh my gosh. He's our eerie fish eye lens cryptid and i love it. And I've always been a Strade girlie so 🙈 giggling kicking my feet w the Good Soup Content 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Oh edit: ummm the script page looks sick with those icons! How did I forget to talk about that. Literally my actual favorite detail about this update. So cool!!!
Sumi
2024-09-08 05:21:23 +0000 UTCEEE! I can't with this update... Strade has me obsessed~ *thumbs up Gato!* :))
Celty
2024-09-08 03:34:27 +0000 UTCThis is such a nice update!! Strade and Ren look so hot 👁️ I think the beta tester tier is a good idea since it would be controlled, thanks for the update Gato 💚 (so grateful that today is also my birthday yay, 💜)
Alex
2024-09-08 02:37:07 +0000 UTCHinestly that idea fot beta sounds awesome. Also good to know everything is going well with renovations ❤️ stay sane and healthy Gato, YOU GOT OUR SUPPORT 👌😗
happy cow
2024-09-08 01:37:58 +0000 UTCThis is looks amazing! Actually relieved to hear about the beta test situation, I always feel this weird guilt if there is an open beta test or something and I'm busy/health is dumb/ and I just can't do it, I think some people just are good at naturally/have a very good eye and can notice things? xD But It will probably be easier for it to have more limitations, besides, on another note, I'm so happy your community keeps growing! It's been so awesome to see your progress throughout this game and I'm so grateful to you this patreon, it's really so awesome to see it being built from the ground up. Thank you for sharing, and I hope you're new condo stuff is going well <3
Phoenix Astra
2024-09-08 01:23:56 +0000 UTCSending boons of strength and luck ‼️
Unifuckincorn
2024-09-07 22:38:37 +0000 UTCThe Ren one is giving “AWOOP!!! Jumpscare~~~” I’m loving it‼️
Alex
2024-09-07 22:05:41 +0000 UTCGato I'm SCREAMING the new Ren intro is so interesting and keeps some original elements that bring back memories WHILE still being very clearly different. Please, I ask of you, insert a sniffing noise there for the meme mode, it'll be genuinely funny. But I love how beautifully this is all coming together, I'm sooooooo hyped to see how everything is slowly coming together, I'm so excited to read the hidden stuff. Question though! Are you going to also have another song playing for credits that you didn't make? Like the Graveyard Guy song playing in the after credits for TPOF? I was so surprised btw bc I was listening to that exact song every day when I walked to get air and was STARTLED to hear it right there. And then once again, it's okay to do the beta tester role! I know some people have been leaking beta tester versions of games lately from Patreon (shout out to the folks at Scopophobia Studios for calling it out) so hiding it behind a pay wall would be ideal! Maybe even having that small group would invite the idea that you can even hunt down anyone who could even potentially leak it (which is a terrifying thing to even worry about as an indie creator). Anyways, I'm rambling but with lots of love, have a lovely saturday and hopefully there's no hiccups with the new house rn!
Ellie
2024-09-07 21:40:50 +0000 UTCOMFG REN OAOAOAOAO HOWWW CUUUUTE
Charunia ❤️🔥🔨
2024-09-07 21:33:17 +0000 UTCOMGGGG TY
aito
2024-09-07 21:16:15 +0000 UTCAUUUGH GATO the motion is so wonderfully dynamic in these (also I am Looking at Strade disrespectfully, goddamn).
halcyon
2024-09-07 20:55:40 +0000 UTCReally? I thought that it was noticeable xD But thank you!
Vyneah
2024-09-07 20:55:24 +0000 UTCI really hope I'll be able to beta test it, I can't wait to see what you have in store for all of us, this game is gonna be amazing I can tell. Also I want to squish rens cheeks as he's staring at us
Sunny The fox
2024-09-07 19:11:08 +0000 UTCI would never have known english isn’t your first language if you hadn’t said so. Your English is great! And you’re right, I feel very lucky to have found such a kind community
Gatobob
2024-09-07 19:03:34 +0000 UTCLimiting the number of beta testers is fine. In my case I couldn't even if I wanted to. I don't have experience enough in this and it would be great if the people who supported you the longest had the opportunity! And Ren looks so cute!!! I love the way you drew the fur on his ears. I also wanted to take the opportunity to say that this place is one of the few where I've felt safe to interact with others and comment without fear of a toxic place. I'm very grateful to be part of the community! I'm sorry if I sometimes sound dry with my comments, English is not my first language. I don't know how to be funny or "cool" in English 😔 But anyway, I hope you can enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Vyneah
2024-09-07 18:54:57 +0000 UTCIf I shut down the $20 tier before beta testing starts, everyone should have an equal opportunity to join the new beta testing tier when it opens
Gatobob
2024-09-07 18:38:18 +0000 UTCren is so cute im melting 😭 he’s looking amazing in this remake!! also strade’s eyes look so unnerving/intense in that first panel! so good! the body language is incredible.
damnhippies
2024-09-07 18:28:46 +0000 UTCEverything looks good. And AWWWWWWWWWWWW! Ren looks so cute in that one scene.🥺💕🥰
ShinanaEvangelian
2024-09-07 18:24:13 +0000 UTCCan i ask about people who’ve purchased the 20$ one? Are they allowed to be in beta testing or you’ll just pick people in beta testing tier?
Villain_Simp
2024-09-07 18:19:58 +0000 UTCi really love the idea of the Conversation sprites! i can't wait to get my hands on this game. i say it wayyy too many times in my comments LOL! These new sprites are amazing as always either way! Ren looks absolutely adorable, love the little update with his sprites. Thank you for giving us more Sprite sneak-peaks! 💓 Have an amazing weekend Gato, Stay safe! 💓 I'm so glad things are finally smoothing out for ya!
lawrence
2024-09-07 18:01:05 +0000 UTCAMAZING OMG STRADEEEE RAHHHH MY BELOVEDDDDD amazing work as always and adding the script option is so good and will make stuff way easier to keep track of! Have a lovely weekend gato and I’m glad your finally in a mello state :3 🩷🩷🩷
Gory.goodboy
2024-09-07 17:43:17 +0000 UTCI figured with a name like 'You Kill Me Every Time' that representing MC with 'x_x' would be fitting LMAO
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:42:22 +0000 UTCRen has me giggling, he’s just like “👁️👁️” LOL. I love him so so much. I hope you’re doing well, Gato!
VIN
2024-09-07 17:38:20 +0000 UTCAw, that's reasonable so I totally understand. ^^" ty for answering!
STR4DE
2024-09-07 17:37:22 +0000 UTCman people shouldn't do that :( I'll be saving up that money!! thank u for the answer! and btw, these updates are the highlight of my week!! thank you for everything you do 💖
K1SMET115
2024-09-07 17:36:00 +0000 UTCMy photo gallery system actually does allow people to save screenshots of the menus and script page haha! [ I just hijacked the built-in screenshot key command and wrote a bunch of new code to save the screenshots in a better location and display them for the player together on a screen ] It'll be challenging to get through testing and bug fixing and watching 300 people but luckily it should only take a month or so. As long as it isn't forever I think it'll be fine LMAO
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:34:00 +0000 UTCOWWWW, REN IS SO CUTEEE q(≧▽≦q)
Rotten God
2024-09-07 17:33:39 +0000 UTComg i really love the new 'convo record' sprites! I can't stop laughing at how the MC's has been changed to X's for eyes. Bad omen! xD Strade's got such an evil smirk in that last image lmao. It's also so incredible how good the 'worm's view' of looking up at his face is. That's such a difficult angle because of how much the face deforms. I don't know how you pull those off! Also I like how you can see 2 scratch-like scars on his chest. Wonder if that was Ren? lmao Way to go!
Echooo
2024-09-07 17:32:22 +0000 UTCI might drop at least a simple on of the game logo, something like that, but I admit that teeshirts are my lowest priority 😅 [ the pay cut on them is terrible so they don't offer much income, and everything I upload to teepublic gets scraped by bots and reposted/sold elsewhere ]
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:29:06 +0000 UTCYup! People with the key would be able to redeem it on Steam or Itchio to get a free copy of the game :D
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:27:17 +0000 UTCI'm thinking beta testing tier will only be $10 and that I may shut down the credits $20 tier before that. It would be too much of a pain to have them both and force people to choose- and by that late in production I think it's pretty reasonable to stop adding people to the credits
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:26:18 +0000 UTCI use GIF Brewery 3- I think it's fantastic and very versatile! I definitely recommend it!
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:24:27 +0000 UTCNo NDA for beta testing! It's too difficult to do one for that many people. It'll be quite close to full launch anyway so I don't think the inevitable leaks will be that big of deal
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:22:13 +0000 UTCI'm not sure yet but my initial instinct is something like $10- I just want it to be high enough to discourage malicious types from entering [ I have learned that people will absolutely spend $1 to send me hate 😂 ]
Gatobob
2024-09-07 17:20:17 +0000 UTCHappy to hear that things have been smoothening out for you, Gato! 😁 These sprite previews give me ✨ L I F E ✨!!! 🤩🤩🤩 My favorite has to be the first one, if only because MC's knife looks a tad too close to Strade's family jewels. 😂 Given what MC goes thru in-game, one could hardly blame them! 😜 And having Ren check up on you with that one particular animation just warms my creaky ol' heart. 🥹💕 Glad you're including a Script feature cause sometimes it's actually game dialogue/descriptions that I like taking screenshots of cause some writing just hit D I F F E R E N T, ya know what I mean~? 😌 (I still remember Strade's earlier words in an older Patreo posts of how the tools people design can reveal their true & uglier intentions. 🤭) Don't worry if the game's gallery-save feature doesn't allow for such things, esp. since I imagine it'll be playable on PCs anyway. 🤷 Regardless, I hope it's starting to feel more like autumn wherever you're coming from! It'll be interesting to see how your Beta Phase rolls out: supervising close to 300 people?! I could never! 😂 May you take much well-deserved play/rest breaks inbetween all the other things you wanna do, Gato! 😁
Leo ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
2024-09-07 17:16:13 +0000 UTCDAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN we got some delicious sprites this time holy- Also I've been meaning to ask! Do you plan on making any new shirt designs on teepublic with the release of the game? I would love to have some YKMET merch in my wardrobe. :P
STR4DE
2024-09-07 17:07:06 +0000 UTCAlso the 'MC high as fuck' glowing eye sprites are very sexy to me.
plapx3
2024-09-07 16:47:23 +0000 UTCI KNOW he was about to try curl up on top of us
plapx3
2024-09-07 16:45:25 +0000 UTCSilly question but does a free key for the game mean free access question mark
aito
2024-09-07 16:43:04 +0000 UTCOMG YES THIS IS SO EXCITING
spongeunction
2024-09-07 16:30:24 +0000 UTCive said this before but youre very good at combining rens animal and human body language
dogfood69
2024-09-07 16:26:36 +0000 UTCah yes another lovely gatorday update after another lovely nap🕺🕺🕺
lili
2024-09-07 16:19:37 +0000 UTCRen looks adorable
charlie
2024-09-07 16:09:31 +0000 UTCOmg that armpit hair,,, Also love how curious Ren looks. He's so wonderful <3
celestialVocalist
2024-09-07 16:00:08 +0000 UTCRen is so cute here
Damonis Midnight
2024-09-07 15:53:51 +0000 UTCI thought i wouldn’t see ren this week!! 😭💞💞💞 thank you for your artworks!! Also would you include tier 20 dollars to be beta tester too? Hope you have a good week!! 🤲💞
Villain_Simp
2024-09-07 15:45:12 +0000 UTCThat is one furry underarm
KNT609
2024-09-07 15:38:59 +0000 UTCMC: X_X Me: real
Setra
2024-09-07 15:31:56 +0000 UTCLimiting the number of beta testers sounds very reasonable, it's very easy for duplicate tickets to appear with that many people on the project, especially when most of them are new to this kind of thing and don't have a habit of searching through the database. Speaking from experience because I worked as QA tester xP Also, if I can ask - what do you use to make gifs? I tried some MP4 to gif converters but they spew out big files and most gifs appear grainy and ugly on some devices. And thank you for showing awesome Strade art!!! I had a bad day and it calmed me down a lot Also the Ren scene transitions are SO SMOOTH WOW
Demon Mage
2024-09-07 15:31:49 +0000 UTCAlso Ren looks so frickin cute I love heim
tr4v3rs3-t0wn
2024-09-07 15:27:18 +0000 UTCOhhh I love the idea of a script screen, that'll be really useful cuz I tend to space out and forget what I just read XD The beta testing sounds super interesting, I might look into doing that if I can!
tr4v3rs3-t0wn
2024-09-07 15:26:03 +0000 UTCren is looking very.. foxy, so to say ☺️ i think keeping the beta testers to a limited about would be really beneficial. i personally don’t think i’d be up for it.. but maybe keeping the kind folks you had before (for that first little beta test) and a few others would help! of course, it’s all just recommendations n such! (btw! i hope you have a great weekend, you’re going great!)
Vivie
2024-09-07 15:25:23 +0000 UTCRENNNNNNN 😭😍 every time I see him I kick my feet and giggle like an idiot, I love him so much!! And those Strade sprites, GOOD LORDDDD 🥵 I also like the pics in the script screen, they're kinda spooky and striking (and PC's X eyes are great lmao). You're kicking ass!
Loretti
2024-09-07 15:23:53 +0000 UTC:ren_daydream: I love his smile so much! Also, Kiki is going to be extremely happy with that second image LMAO Understandable about the beta testing! A smooth experience is extremely important! (Also, my Strade cosplay went well! Got recognized a couple times!)
Taheca
2024-09-07 15:22:16 +0000 UTC👁️👄👁️
᭙ꪮꪑρ
2024-09-07 15:22:04 +0000 UTCMy gooood golly gosh 🥵everything looks so good!! The smirk, the script icons, fantastic
Rebeccah
2024-09-07 15:20:44 +0000 UTCRen 'bout to ask if we have games on our phone. It's understandable about the tier for the Beta testers, which I assume will need to also sign an NDA? Loving all the juicy sneak peaks you've shown us
Sly
2024-09-07 15:19:01 +0000 UTCRen is so cute, awww. And Strade… oh this man is kinda… 🤌🏻 Love it
Bitgod
2024-09-07 15:11:30 +0000 UTCOMGGGGG I LUV STRADEEEE such a good job!!! take care, gato <3
mimi
2024-09-07 15:09:58 +0000 UTCREN IS SO CUTE OH MY GOODNESS
neriumbloom
2024-09-07 15:06:20 +0000 UTCrens so cute i just wanna crush him
Kyriey
2024-09-07 15:06:16 +0000 UTCRAAHHH REN IS SO CUTE!!!! it's looking so good gato!! I'm glad things are going smoother for you, I'm really hoping the stress dies down now And just a question, do you know yet how much the beta test tier might cost?
K1SMET115
2024-09-07 15:05:46 +0000 UTCI wanna give Ren head pats 💜
Nimfi
2024-09-07 15:05:16 +0000 UTCIM SO EXCITEDDDD ren is such a lil goober hes adorable
Jordan Teesdale
2024-09-07 15:04:33 +0000 UTCGOD I WANT HIM SO BADLY (Strade not the twink who's name i forgot)
MelonBa11s
2024-09-07 15:04:08 +0000 UTCall I can think about is the “why him so eyes?!?!??” meme 😭😭
AL3X
2024-09-07 15:04:06 +0000 UTCRens expression in that last one is so good!! I wanna bite him and shake him like a dog with a chew toy
fenn
2024-09-07 15:03:56 +0000 UTCAWWW REN IS LOOKING SO CUTE HERE😇😇 BIG CURIOUS EYES(^-^) (Love you Gato please don't die)
KEFY
2024-09-07 15:03:18 +0000 UTCI love him so fuckin much. 💓
SproutMole
2024-09-07 15:03:10 +0000 UTCLooking good gato!! Hope everything goes well~ 🙏
chicopodrido
2024-09-07 15:02:54 +0000 UTCWaking up Ren staring at you like those weird cat pictures.
princess capybara
2024-09-07 15:02:38 +0000 UTC
