Our Red String Chapter 9 ALPHA release!
Added 2021-10-24 18:43:36 +0000 UTCThe Alpha for Chapter 9, Lust and Power, is finally here! This one took longer than I wanted and expected for several reasons. Working on each chapter of ORS is becoming really complex and difficult, but I knew that much going in. This game is becoming a big, ambitious project and it would be impossible for me to pull this off on my own: I have to thank my team and community, as always, for selflessly helping me deliver this game time and time again. Special thanks to Lara and BloodyMares, who really helped me check the chapter to make it consistent and playable.
As is always the case, it's hard for me to judge the quality of the update, especially after having been working on it for so long. I've tried my best to move the plot forward and include some long-awaited scenes, and I can't help but push the quality of the art even further. I think the upgrade is very noticeable when you compare illustrations from the first few chapters with the current one.
To give you some stats about this chapter, the code ended up being 20.785 lines long and there are 101 full screen new illustrations (!), with plenty of variations. Sadly, I haven't been able to include the new OST tracks I commissioned, since the musician is still working on them...
Some new features have been implemented, like a scene gallery many of you were asking about, and some UI and game optimization. Now the images are in .webp format, which has reduced the download size of the game considerably. An Android port is coming soon too, finally.
Anyway, I hope you find this chapter enjoyable and worth the wait. It has been really frustrating and draining for me not being able to publish sooner, and I know it's really inconvenient and frustrating for you guys too. All I can say is I'll keep trying to make a game I'm satisfied with, as fast as I can, but taking as much time as I need while cutting as few corners as possible. It's up to you to judge if what I create it's worth your while!
As always, I'm eager to read your opinions and comments both here in the comments and in our Discord server! I'll be hanging out in the "live chapter 9 discussion" thread, so drop by is you want to say hi :)
Comments
I had a bug to report, but I unfortunately lost the save. It was chapter 9 Lena, right before she's asked to dress nice where you can get a tattoo/clothes. If you buy any clothes, it switches you back to Ian from an earlier chapter.
Des
2021-10-26 02:58:44 +0000 UTCOkay, so I have had the chance to play through the chapter again and reflect on it more, to give a more extensive critique. As I wrote yesterday, I thought Ian’s part was excellent. I especially enjoyed the scene with Alison and the dialogue about Ian knocking her up. It was extremely hot, and I definitely would not mind if Alison’s day-after pill turned out to be insufficient. You can never get enough of Cindy, so naturally I enjoyed this scene as well. I really liked the dialogue here as well, with Ian telling her to cheat on Wade. These types of conversations add a lot of extra spice, so great work on them! I must also commend the art work for these scenes. In my opinion, it was some of the more aesthetic and beautiful in the entire game so far. The colouring and lighting were great, and I love the imagery that was chosen, with the characters getting very close to each other with great intimacy. Lena’s part did not contain as much for me this update, seeing as I did not want to indulge Axel and am not really an advocate for the Ian/Lena pairing (feels too much like romancing yourself, if you ask me). The scenes with Mike and Robert also felt a little rushed. I don’t know exactly what to feel about Lena becoming Seymour’s model, but it could be interesting and I will certainly follow to see where it leads. The main bug that I noticed was Lena not going back to Jessica’s studio, even if she chose to get (another) tattoo. The other was overlapping images in the scene with Mike, although not if I chose him to help Lena with her bags and got the scene during then. Finally, regarding the update time – as much as I respect the monumental task it is to develop a game of this nature, I do hope it was a one-time occurrence and that the update times can be cut back to within three months again. I would hate for this to reach a two-updates-per-year level, and if you feel this will not be possible, then perhaps it could be worth thinking about reducing the scope or finding more efficient workflows. Anyways, if there is something I want to reiterate it is the fantastic job in Ian’s part this update. Like I said, it was truly excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Cannot wait to see the continuation for Ian’s escapades with Alison and Cindy!
Koskesh
2021-10-25 18:09:25 +0000 UTC
