Progress update, an apology, and some good news.
Added 2018-09-20 20:19:34 +0000 UTCYou probably assumed I would already have done this, but today I drew a chart of all the screens that are needed to implement the Lifepath, and accurately assessed what percentage of the work is still remaining.
It turns out that my estimate of 86% was optimistic. In fact, only 38% of the screens are done. There's still a lot of work to do before release. :-(
I’m really sorry to have overestimated the progress. I did this analysis today, and I wanted to share the actual figure with you right away.
The good news
Hyneman and I tested a new method of workflow today, and I think it will significantly increase our development speed from now on.
I’ve been unable to work on the game for the past two days (due to work commitments – the rest of my week is free), and I think the little break did me some good. This morning I looked at the project with a fresh set of eyes and, instead of just rolling up my sleeves and writing code as usual, I had a serious think about ways to speed up overall delivery.
Today’s work, using the new method, was the most productive 8 pomodoros I can remember. We:
- Planned out the three backstories your agent can have before the game starts (Operator, Analyst, Failed Operator).
- Invented and tested the new method of workflow.
- Designed and coded the University Selection screen, which lets you decide whether your agent should apply for an elite or a regular university.
- Designed the University Acceptance screen, which makes a complex skill roll (based on intelligence, conscientiousness, persuasiveness, writing skill and social class) to determine whether or not agents who apply for an elite university are accepted.
- Designed the University Year 1 screen, which introduces a system of tracking your agent’s serious relationships, casual relationships, and one night stands through her university and pre-mission agency career.
This is significantly more than I’ve ever got done in 8 pomodoros before, so I’m really hopeful that the new workflow will lead to faster game development from now on.
Sincere apologies for getting the progress estimate so wrong. In the future I’ll always chart out the screens needed for a certain milestone, so progress estimates are more accurate.
Comments
Wow, reading feedback like this makes me wanna crush my dev goals for the day. Thanks Toad. :-)
Crushstation
2018-09-23 08:31:50 +0000 UTCWhile I'm super excited to see the game get to Bangkok, I'm really appreciative with how much this game has improved in such a short time and how you guys aren't just trundling ahead to advance the story as fast as possible. All of this early groundwork, all of this character development, it means the game can stay interesting for longer. This is one of the few adult games I've replayed dozens of times just to enjoy all the subtle improvements. I love that it can be played both as a good girl being forced into a difficult spot, or as a girl embracing her inner slut (my favorite). Please keep up the good work and godspeed!
Toadsith
2018-09-23 07:14:15 +0000 UTCI would say that some of the existing scenes make very extensive use of the NPC generator, the clothes and the sex engine. They are just simplified versions of what you have planned, and are somewhat disconnected from the main story. The agent ends up at the same place, story wise, no matter which NPC she hooks up with and how she has sex with them - so those parts of the game are easily exchangable.
Breadloaf
2018-09-22 11:07:18 +0000 UTCNo worries Crush. I'd always prefer to hear bad news than to hear nothing. You can recover from 'I ducked up' much easier than from going radio silent for six months.
AnkhOmega
2018-09-22 09:42:20 +0000 UTCYOU'RE AWESOME TOO BUDDY THANKS! <3
Crushstation
2018-09-22 09:15:18 +0000 UTCThanks man, I'm just gonna keep on plugging away as long as you guys want me to :-)
Crushstation
2018-09-22 09:14:59 +0000 UTCInteresting idea @Breadloaf! It would definitely be really nice to work on some story after all this coding. :-) Maybe I'll include that as an option in the next dev poll? The only problem is that some of the planned early scenes in Bangkok make pretty extensive use of the NPC generator, new clothes and the sex engine. If we write those without coding the underlying systems we'll end up duplicating work once we go back and upgrade them. Hmmm...this needs some discussion.
Crushstation
2018-09-22 09:13:44 +0000 UTCHOPEFULLY the new workflow system will speed development up in general, @Enrico. I'll put up a blog post after we've run it for a little while, explaining how it works.
Crushstation
2018-09-22 09:10:10 +0000 UTCThanks, AO. I promise to always tell you guys the truth about the game's state, even when it's bad news.
Crushstation
2018-09-22 09:08:48 +0000 UTCYes, it was a very big mistake. :-( My optimistic nature was essential at the start of the project – if I were able to have accurately assessed how much work this game would require, I would never have started it – but it has become a weakness now. I hope the new workflow will improve my forecasting accuracy and speed up development.
Crushstation
2018-09-22 09:06:39 +0000 UTCPersonally I would like to see a bit of story progression after the RPG system is implemented. The rest of the planned features are a must for when the agent is actually working in Bangkok, but I think that the introduction to the city and the Hard Cock Café would be pretty streamlined. Similar to how the game has been so far. I also get the feeling that Crushstation sometimes wants to be just done with creating the game engine features and continue with the main story. By writing the city and cafe introductions he would get back to what (I assume) he enjoys the most about developing the game, while we get just a little bit of story progression.
Breadloaf
2018-09-21 19:00:38 +0000 UTCYOU'RE STILL AWESOME JUST CHILL, he yelled comfortingly. As always, your transparency is appreciated ^^
vladeemer
2018-09-21 00:39:20 +0000 UTCI wouldn't be too discouraged. Coding just the University life was always going to be a monumentally huge task and those who are looking for new content in the release with the new character generation system will almost certainly find that the next steps such as random NPCs and the upgraded sex engine will be finished before they can try out every single option and variation in character creation. I'm still experimenting with the lifepath tech demo and I'm not even close to hitting all the variables yet
Iain
2018-09-20 21:52:25 +0000 UTCI'm afraid to ask, but considering that the ncp generator and the sex engine upgrade are equally as important (if not more) as the character creation and rpg system..do you think they will require the same amount of effort/time, or less? Anyway, keep up the good work.. me and probably many others are hungry for new content, but I'm pretty sure what you're building right now is going to bring the game to the next level.
Enrico
2018-09-20 21:06:48 +0000 UTCSaddening, but being told is better than not knowing. Good luck with keeping speed and productivity up!
AnkhOmega
2018-09-20 20:54:14 +0000 UTCHmm, I'm having a Janus face right now. 86 or 38 is a huge difference, considering how extensive the game has been to Dubai. Is that throwing you back by 3 weeks now? Or, in other words, do we have to wait 3 weeks longer now? At least already thank you for your information about it and continue to enjoy programming and fun.
Falloutbabe
2018-09-20 20:40:24 +0000 UTC
