DevLog Update: Update Revamp v0.02 Release Date Info

Hey all,

So much of this month has been spent by focusing on some housekeeping prep as well as the work on the first official Revamp release of v0.02. The housekeeping has mostly been something that I've put off for awhile. About a year ago, I had a pretty devasting computer glitch that wiped out the current build of Straight!? in the final few updates and sent me spiraling for a few days to try to get things restored. At that time, I used backups but mostly just manually copied things over to an external drive when I thought about it (usually at the end of an update, which means a crash could cause me to lose 4-6 months worth of data). My Daz Studio library is pretty big and the total folder is sitting around 180gig so it's a pretty large folder to backup manually. 

Long story short, I slapped a Band-aid on that for this long but it's always been a source of anxiety. Basically, that meant that any type of random crisis could literally wipe out months of work. The problem there was that sorting through that took away from active game development time. I always try to spend as much time as possible doing things that revolve around the story and its development, which usually results in business-related activities getting put on the back burner. Unfortunately, I finally decided to take the time and create a backup with the help of Jordyn and a whole lot of cussing and screensharing; shifting my entire operation into cloud-based syncing for the future. I've hit a few hiccups since then, but it's been going smooth for a few days and I feel better about things now.

Alright, so onto the update discussion.

v0.02 Release 

So I've been relatively unsure on when v0.02 of the revamp was going to launch. This is mostly because I'm still sorting through the initial code and trying to reorganize it from the repeatable grinding at the beginning of the game and more streamlined into a linear story like what we see at the end. The focus has been on the organization and I didn't necessarily have an idea where I was going to stop for an update release. Originally, I had flirted with the idea of including the revamp update as all of Chapter 1 in one lump. This would have mirrored the length of the endgame updates that most of you have grown accustomed to. However, that's probably going to take too long and I've sorta changed my mind. Thus far, I have reshot every CG in the game and have not used one previously constructed file. That took some time but everything looks way better and there's a completely different vibe to this.

My other initial thought, was to attempt to release the revamp updates with the same cliffhangers that we saw in the original release. But... confession time: I legit don't remember when the original v0.02 stopped because it was like December, 2017, and I've slept like three whole times since then.

So the new plan is to cut v0.02 right after Zack fixes the heat. Logically, it seems like a good place to take a break for now and it does move the story to a point of change from the demo that many of you have already seen. That being said, this will push the release of v0.02 up significantly. I'm guessing v0.03 will finish out Chapter 1.

My goal for the near future is to try and make shorter updates than before but increase the frequency if possible. I'm still crossing my fingers that that will be the case after these first few updates that will lay the foundation for lighting and character positions within the environment.

So the plan right now is to try and drop v0.02 to Patreon supporters early next week then start with the typical 3 week free release schedule after that. 

What to Expect

So as stated before, this version of the game is more streamlined and will eliminate the repeatable days that we saw in the original game. We'll be leaving the dorm room for the first time, getting some fresh air, going to class, meeting Ernie, and getting some TV and study time in. The game will continue to expand the sound effects that you heard in the demo as well as include more music tracks to help hopefully make the environment come alive. We'll be seeing more students pop up to make the environment hopefully come alive in contrast to the original game with only one or two people in the whole damn school. 

One thing that may bug people is there will be no chapter select or ability to jump to the update in this particular update so you'll have to start over. One of the major reasons that I've included that the inclusion of a short new intro. In v0.02, after the prologue plays, the screen will fade to black and start the song from the main menu while a short credits scene plays. The idea is to try and make it feel more cinematic the way you would see in a movie that would include whoever is in the movie. In this case, it'll just include the three other guys that helped me on the project in alphabetical order and the Straight!? logo. This was something I wanted to include in the demo but nothing felt right yet so I skipped it but it's something that was really important to me to include so it's in there and I wanted to be sure people got a chance to see it.

However, starting with v0.03, you can expect the option to jump direction to the update and not have to start over (just like the old game had).

So stick with me, hopefully, I can get this first version out next week.