Dev Update #9 (26/01/24)

Hey everybody :)

First off, a quick update: the release for white-belts and the public is still on track for this Monday. Look out for the upload here in the morning (North-American time zones).

Now, let's chat about a few things I've been meaning to share. Over the past week and a half, I've taken a break from production (still juggling school and everything, just a breather from game development). It's been a much-needed pause after the hectic last weeks of development where I found myself glued to my chair all day and night. I've enjoyed the downtime, but I'm ready to dive right back into the swing of things. I'm going to enjoy this last weekend here, hangout with some friends, and then right back to work starting Monday.

The first order of business upon my return, is the monthly wallpapers for January. They've been delayed a bit more than I'd prefer, so I apologize for that. I also wasn't entirely satisfied with last month's wallpapers, so this time, I'll make an effort to create more sexy/cute/artsy wallpapers for you guys.

After that, it's on to to rewriting the scene intended as the closing scene of v0.2. I mentioned this in the release posts for both blue and purple belts; I wasn't satisfied with the final scene of v0.2, so I've decided to redo it, making v0.3 start from there instead. My plan is to spend a full week writing as much script as possible (probably 3 scenes worth), and then move on to rendering. I prefer having a lot of the script done before moving on to rendering, so that then I can just render for a while without having to worry about the script running out (I write small descriptions/draw a quick picture of every render I will need alongside the dialogue whilst writing the script).

But yeah, after my first week back focused on scriptwriting (for 3ish scenes), I'll get back into the routine of rendering. During the production of v0.2, I noticed an improvement in rendering speed towards the end compared to when I started. I won't make any promises on numbers yet, but I am committed to becoming more efficient in development and delivering more content for v0.3 compared to the last two releases. With the experience gained and the adapted structure/routine I've developed from that experience, I believe I can meet this goal without compromising on quality. But we can compare the progress rate once rendering starts back up again in about a week. 300 renders a month/10 renders a day is the number to beat.

But I think that about wraps it up for this one. I just wanted to come on here quick and get this message out to you guys, let you guys know what was going on, and what my plan is over the next week or so as I get started back up with production. Before I sign off though, I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who supports me on this journey. Your generosity and belief in my work both means the world to me, and I'm genuinely impressed by the community we've already managed to build so far. Together we're creating something special, and I'm grateful to have you alongside me through it all. 

But thanks once again for all y'all continued support, and I'll see you guys in the next one!