Dev Diary #119

I wasn't sure if I should do this diary just for you, but it's been a long time since I did a DD just for patrons, so here we go. It's all in petit comité.

Despite being a bit of a crazy week, I finally finished applying all the changes to Patreon, post the packs... However, there's a trick: Not all the girls were going to be available for obvious reasons that you've seen in the polls. And I'm not going to lie: I prefer it that way, so I can invest time in working on the new version instead of the packs; everything's more chill in my head. But don't worry, I'll be gradually adding more girls. For example, during the beta of v1.D, I'll add Glenda, and Yuna/Anna with the new underwear in the girls packs.

What have I been doing over the last few days? I've been working on the intro. As always, I advise you to look at the general WIP to see all the changes. For the more curious, there's the patron-only WIP, which is exclusive to patrons and offers exclusive spoilers of everything I'm doing (images, before vs. after, etc.).

If you don't visit there often, don't worry—I will summarise everything here, using my work there. However, to avoid boring you with technical stuff, I will show you the most interesting things. If you want to see the rest, you can use the links above.

We'll skip the relevant changes from the polls, but we won't ignore the fact that soon, you'll see Yuna and Anna in new underwear and Glenda with more freckles all over her body. I think I mentioned it, but I don't think Mara needs any changes, so there's no poll for her underwear.

On the other hand, as I was saying, I think there are several interesting changes:

When you start a new game, Vanessa's scene/render is now like this.

From now on, I won't welcome you to the game. Instead, we go straight to the intro, and just when the dialogue between Lisapi and Aynia is about to end, the usual options are given. I appear briefly only if you decide to skip the intro.

Obviously, new dialogues have been added to make sense of this change.

During the intro, one of the most relevant changes so far is that I have added a book as a ‘profession’.

It's not a profession, but it is the easy mode (Historian) since I no longer explain anything about it at the start of a new game.

I made this change mainly because I have always thought that explaining everything about the easy mode at the start of a new game may be suitable for someone who has already played, but it may be unnecessary for a new player.

So, instead, when you can choose your profession, you will also be able to choose the easy mode. If you don't choose it at that moment, you will choose it later with the accreditations.

Additionally, although I'm not showing it because it's not translated, now, when you choose a profession, relevant information about that profession is briefly explained. You are also given the choice to reconsider whether you want that profession. You no longer need to rollback if you regret your choice.

There is also something silly but important from my point of view:

Here, for some reason, Danny's dialogue with the MC had a black background, which it shouldn't have. So, I've been working on the renders for those dialogues today.

I have also made minor changes to some dialogues in both languages. I've improved some sentences in English to sound more natural/better.

Oh, before going any deeper, I have also changed the hover of these icons:

As I said, I'm focused on the intro. There's not much left to work on, but the little left will take me a few days. So far, I've made small changes and improvements to dialogues, renders, features, and other aspects, but I still have to work on improving how you interact with the game, and I'm not just talking about the RPG aspect.

In the next few days, I'll be working on adding two new areas in the forest so you can collect more wood; but not only that, in one area, you'll be able to find Danny and in the other area, Patricia. Maybe you'll see them both together in one of the areas, depending on the time of day. But, Keisi, the intro has limited freedom since everything is ‘automatic’... that will also change. There comes a point in the intro where you must wait to receive Maria's letter, right? Well, now, unless you choose the easy mode, on those days, you'll be free to do whatever you want: raise stats, farm gold, interact with Patricia/Danny... If you play in easy mode, it will be like before: ‘black background -> days later text... -> you receive the letter’.

I've been thinking for several days now about what kind of interactions you'll have with them, and so far, I have something planned for Danny. For Patricia, too, but it's nothing naughty, so I'm still mulling it over. With Danny, I had several things in mind, but I didn't want to make his relationship with corruption too obvious, so I ruled out almost all the ideas. I think with Danny, I'll try to make it more ‘bros being bros’, and with Patricia, I'll follow the line of naughty stuff. Even so, I already have a scene in mind for Danny and another for Patricia. The one with Patricia will be in her room since my plan is for you to have access to her room. I'll think of something to do with her in the forest, although I think it will focus more on RPG content, like with Danny.

We'll discuss this and the rest of the introduction next week. Once I've finished this, I will revise the texts and maybe redo some renders. Luckily, I've been redoing many things in recent years, so the job is half done. Still, there is new work to be added, but that will be after the introduction.

After the intro, I will add things that I call ‘silly but cool stuff or stuff that gives that extra touch’; a bit of a long title, I know. For the time beginning, a new feature will appear and will add extra content (interactions) to do with all the girls. However, what I'm most looking forward to adding in general is Mabel handing you the letters personally. That goes hand in hand with wanting to add more letters from Patricia.

At the moment, that's what I'm most looking forward to working on, honestly. I also feel like working on the girls' stars (counters) and redesigning the background cards, which I'll do a poll for you to decide which design you like the most.

Step by step, let's focus on finishing the intro first.

I'm considering having an early build of all this as I'd like to do an initial screening of feedback on the new things added. Although that would mean having a really low content cap (only Yuna as the main girl), so I think I'm going to stick to the initial plan of a low-level cap so that you can at least meet Yuna/Anna/Mara, Mabel/Mona/Glenda, and the first rank quest, which I will redo if I didn't redo some of the scenes (renders).

In any case, we'll talk about it. I know all this is crazy, and I've seen the consequences of making this kind of decision over the last few months, but it's something I have to do because it's either this or serious health problems again and ending up deciding to stop being a dev to dedicate myself to something else... Although you may think this is unnecessary as it is only a first project, for me, it is, or I will not be able to find a way to work comfortably and with the ‘hype’ of adding new content. We have talked about it in recent months, and I mention it because it is the last time I will say it. I promise that I will make an effort to make you rediscover LA, but also that while you join me on my journey as a dev, we will all see how the LA universe expands.

Don't worry, in less time than it seems, we will continue where we left off: will we save Lady Nessa? Will Danny be our friend again? Will Lisapi stop thinking about sex? Huh, hard to answer. Also, when we are close to the anniversary, I will return to LA:M to make a second short version (for the anniversary).

I appreciate your patience during all this. Don't worry; Patricia will be living with us sooner rather than later. But no, I'm not going to change the whole story so that she moves in earlier than planned. In a few months, we'll discuss all this and more.

See you soon!