SirensParadise

Jan 1st Billing Pause || + More Updates

Hey everyone!

== December Payments Paused ==

Just part of the usual update reminding folks that billing for the month of December (when Patreon normally charges on Jan 1st) has been paused!  If you are a recurring Patron you will NOT be charged.  

IMPORTANT: If you are a NEW Patron, you will be charged immediately for the first pledge so consider that before pledging!  Payments do still go towards the progress of House Chores but since progress is currently paused, I don't want to continue billing recurring Patrons until it resumes.

== Update ==

As expected, there's not really anything going on during the month of December.

However, if you've missed previous updates, I do believe I've found an artist who is both interested in helping finish House Chores and also potentially able to match the original look/style of the visual novel.

My plan is to do the first commission with this new artist in January.  If all goes well, House Chores should be starting up again shortly after.

If I don't feel it's a proper match, we'll see where to go from there.  I've had a few different ideas but I'm feeling pretty confident that things should go well here.

With how uncertain things are, I hate to give estimates but I do feel like it's important to keep you all in the know.  My HOPE is to get the next update of House Chores out by February/March.  So not terribly long assuming no major issues arise.

====

That's it for this update- super short but hopefully this helps keep everyone up to speed with what's going on.  

I want to wish all of you a happy holidays and happy new year!  Cheers to 2021 hopefully being a more optimistic year in general but also to House Chores ending on a much stronger note!

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you next month.  Possibly with an art teaser but maybe a general text update first!

Closure. But NOT Cancelled || Plans Moving Forward

Hey everyone.

This is the last 'negative' update I have planned for a while.  Hear me out entirely so you know what's coming up for the future of House Chores.  It's not all bad news!

== New Artist ==

Got official confirmation today.  The previous lead artist for the project is no longer interested in working on the game due to personal reasons.

PLEASE don't approach this person pestering/heckling them about the project.  I don't force any artist I work with to suffer through a project they don't wish to work on anymore.  No hard feelings, it is what it is.

Honestly, I'm very surprised I haven't posted this earlier in the year.  The past... year(?) has been a pretty rocky one trying to keep the project afloat.  I could tell things weren't going to work out but sometimes you just kinda hope for the best until that clearly isn't gonna work.

Fortunately, I mentioned it before but there is an artist who is interested in helping finish up House Chores and while we need to test it out, I'm confident they'll be able to meet a very similar look/feel for the game.  Finding an artist is easily the hardest step.  If that's truly done, the future of HC is looking good.

The only problem atm is they are already helping with another one of my games so we have to wait until that's finished or winding down enough to start splitting between the two projects.  I'd like to start juggling the two games asap though so I'll update you all when that's started moving along again.

== NOT Cancelled ==

I know people around the internet talk haha.  I have no plans to cancel the development of House Chores.

You guys know the story by now- HC was meant to be short & sweet but that took a hard ass left turn into a ditch.  Fortunately, this new artist I've been working with has been super consistent & reliable so this issue I expect to fix itself in 2021.

With two new games starting (ZR2 & unannounced JRPG), the timing couldn't be trickier but with the core game figured out, I think I can keep HC updating within the mix of games.  

This is a VERY early estimate but... next release in Feb/March 2021? If I could have another build out by then, I'd be very happy with that!  Once the next update releases, further updates should NOT take 6+ months X_X  

Currently, I just ask for your continued patience and understanding.  I know some people have already probably turned away on the game and that's understandable.  To those who still want to see a proper end of this project, I'll do my best to not let you down!

I will continue disabling monthly Patreon charges until a new update is ready to roll.

=====

2020, huh?  Can't have good news without getting punched in the gut right after.  Fuck.

However, I've been surprised by just how many people have been enjoying House Chores.  It's the main reason I decided to keep the project going.  I don't want to let you all down and of course, we need to see how things end with this Maid!

I'm sorry to have let you guys all down so much this year.  It's certainly not one I'm very proud of with House Chores.

Thank you all so much for your support.  It will be a little while until the next update on here but I'm gonna keep on working.  See you all soon(ish)!

-Siren

Billing Paused for November (Dec 1st)

Hey everyone.

As I mentioned in the last update, starting this month, any month where I don't suspect an update will be released, I am going to temporarily pause Patreon charges.  As expected, I don't see an update releasing this month unfortunately so all Patrons should NOT be charged on December 1st when Patreon usually does their billing.  If you are just pledging for the first time to this page, you will still be charged so keep that in mind and maybe hold off until a new update is on the way!

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Sadly, at this point I don't see a whole lot of positive outlook given the current situation so I'm currently scouting out to see if another artist may be able to help tackle the rest of the project.  Fingers crossed that is possible.  It's not easy as I want to find someone who is able to match the current style of the game so there isn't a noticeable change in the content.

Hate the situation that I'm in atm but this isn't anything new.  Keeping this game alive has been a roller coaster over the past year so I can't say I'm too shocked, just let down.  As usual, I hope to bring you all some positive news as soon as possible.  I'm trying my best to work on finding a way to keep this project running smoothly.  

My apologies.

Important Update || Moving Forward

Hey everyone.

First up- I want to apologize for the severe lack of content/updates over the past two months.  I've had trouble figuring out how to write this post properly.

To put it blunt, I'm having issues contacting someone who I rely on in order to actually create content for House Chores.  Over the past two months, I don't believe any progress has been made at all unfortunately and judging by what I'm seeing, I have no idea when/if that progress will resume.  That feeling of being left in the dark gets quite frustrating & stressful.

I was reflecting on House Chores this past month and remembered that when I had started the project last year, I intended on the game being completely finished at this time of the year.  Clearly things haven't gone according to plan which has caused me to re-evaluate how I want to approach HC.

Looking forward, I'm going to be making some changes for the time being

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STARTING IN NOVEMBER: If I don't see an update releasing for that month, my plan is to disable Patreon charges for that particular month.  

I can't, in good faith, accept money from supporters if I don't feel like the game is moving at a reasonable pace.  Right now the pace just doesn't seem to be moving at all.

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STARTING IN 2021: We'll see where the project is... I absolutely do not want to cancel any projects I set out to make.  That's been my main goal since I started Town of Passion.  But I may have to look into new options such as changing the overall vision of or re imagining what is "House Chores".  

We'll see when we get there but at least you can get an idea of where my head is at currently.

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I hope this update can at least give you all an idea of what's happening.  Again, the situation I'm in makes things challenging to say the least.  Some things are out of my control unfortunately.  But I do ask that no one seek anyone out to question about the project or anything like that.

Regardless, I hope to bring you much better news in November.  Thank you all for your support.

A Deep Stretch (teaser)

"Reach around me just like that. Yes... Place your hand right there..."

Here's a look at a sketch for the next upcoming scene in House Chores!  This sketch is actually NOT the one we are going to move ahead with but the actual result is still very similar.  The new pose is a little more comfortable for the main character ;)

Apologies for such a delay from the last update.  Sept & Oct are busy months as I finish up Zombie's Retreat and Sassquatch has been working on other things as well but I'm hoping to have this next update out sooner rather than later!  We're still figuring out just how much/what will be in the update but as you can see, the yoga story will be expanded some more!

Thank you all so much for your support!  I hope to see you very soon with the official announcement with a release timing window for the next update!

House Chores - Beta 0.4.1 || Public Release!

 Hey everyone!

The next major update to House Chores, Beta 0.4.1 is live now for public release on Windows devices!

Download Link 

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Beta 0.4 adds the start to Julie's story line!  Dealing with a divorce has made her feel like a free woman.  And when she see's something she wants, she goes for it ;)

In case you are wondering too, there are a few new on-screen NSFW scenes but the artist is working on her first 'major' scene where the background will be unique and more detailed.  This next update may come out as soon as next month!

In addition, there is a fun little side event/cameo that is in the early stages of planning now so I'm hoping that October will see a nice little activity to add to the things to do in HC!

That is all for this update.  Thank you all so much for your support and patience and I will see you soon for news & updates on the next build!

House Chores - Beta 0.4.0 | $5+ Beta Test Release!

Hey everyone!

Here's the next update to House Chores, Beta 0.4.0!

IMPORTANT: Out of respect for all the $5+ Patrons and the team that works so hard on House Chores, please refrain from sharing this build/link with others.  

Windows 

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This update introduces the beginning of Julie's story.  There's still quite a bit more I'd like to do for her overall story but the art needs more time to get finished.  The next scene we're planning for her should be a fun pose though ;P

A challenge I ran into with this update was figuring out how to progress her story for exercising.  Originally, I was going to add a currency system so you'd have to buy the exercise equipment but that felt like it'd be stretching the game out further than necessary.  However, if a shopping system feels warranted or if players want to see it, I may go back and tweak that into her beginning story.   Feedback greatly appreciated with this one!

IMPORTANT: Julie's new content does NOT have a way to get repeated at the moment.  Eventually they will but make sure you save frequently in different slots if you want to witness the NSFW content multiple times!

I also added a new interaction with Linda if you've maxed out your relationship for her so far.  It's nothing crazy but might be a nice change of scenery!

Overall, short & sweet build but laying down the groundwork of a character's story is half the battle.  From here, now we just await the juicy scenes to get finished and those should be added next!

Thank you all so much for your support!  I hope you enjoy this update and I will see you, probably sooner than usual, with the next update!

Update Releasing Tomorrow!

Hey everyone!

I've been refraining from announcing a release date for the new update but now I know for certain that the new update will be live tomorrow for $5+ Patrons! (~Aug 25th for public release).

As a reminder, this build starts Julie's story as she needs a place to stay for the summer.  This update starts the basic premise of her story and may be tweaked over time.  I was thinking about adding a currency system to buy stuff for her but for now I've decided against it.  I'll continue to gauge feedback to see if that's something players may want or not want to see.

There will also be another small surprise added in this new build but I'll let you all discover that when you play!  Linda fans are in for another small treat!

== The Next Update ==

Because of how busy October will be for me, the goal that I'm working on with the artist is to have Julie's first major scene done by next month so I can upload another update in September!  The scene still is in it's early stages but stay tuned b/c this might be a back to back update for Julie!

Thanks so much for your support and I will see you tomorrow with the $5+ launch of the new update!

Update This Month!(?)

Hey everyone!

Today is a pretty short & sweet update.  The required/planned artwork for this update is all finished as it's a bit simpler (two new overworld scenes).  All that's left now is for me to actually put it all together and get the storyline started for our 'neighbor'.

However, personally, I've been struggling a bit since I have so many things on my plate this fall with new games starting, old ones finishing, etc.  I will be trying my best to have the update out this month and as of right now, I expect to.  But if I can't seem to get things done in a timely manner, I will be sure to report back asap on if I need any delays.

Like I said though, this build should be an easier one as it's the start of a storyline so I think everything will finish on schedule.  When the build is very close to completion I will announce the official release date!

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you all soon!

Ara-Ara... (teaser)

"Just who exactly are you snooping on out here..?!  My, you are such a naughty boy, aren't you?"

Here's a look at another scene coming to the next update of House Chores!  When the MC starts getting a little too curious for his own good, someone in the house will put a stop to it!  Oooor, she'll just have her own helping of fun instead!

Artwork is going along great for this build and assuming everything is finished on time, the next update should be out next month!  Right now, the scenes are being animated so once those are done, I'll just have to put it all together.

I want to remind players- there are no 'full-screen' scenes in this build.  Im defining full-screen scenes as those custom BG scenes.  The upcoming content are going to be 'overworld' scenes where the NSFW action happens on top of pre-made BG's.  Hopefully that makes sense.

This is partially to help keep the game development on time since we're still knocking out the backgrounds so I hope you understand!  Emily's room is the only BG that needs finished and then all of the basic parts of the house will be explorable!

Thank you all so much for your support!  I will also start posting some of those warm up sketches soon as well so patrons can get a nice look at some possible future concepts & what-not.  

Next Update Progress Report!

Hey everyone!

Finally got some news on the next update!  

At the moment, we are stepping aside from Julie's story to start working on more interactions for other characters!  This time, the artist is beginning to work on some new stuff for the 'neighbor' shown above!

== New Directions ==

We're also going to be shifting focus a little bit with upcoming content.  To start, 'major' scenes (highly detailed with custom background, etc) will NOT be disappearing.  But I want to put a stronger focus on these new 'overworld' scenes where the characters perform various acts on with the explorable background.

These are much more time efficient and will be a more practical way to ensure every character has enough interaction while not being a 2+ year project.  I still would like to have HC wrapped up by 2020 or mid 2021 at the latest.

So this new update may not have any major scenes added but it will be adding a couple of new overworld scenes!  By the end of the game, I plan for every character to have at least one major scene still. 

Hopefully this doesn't come as bad news to anyone.  In reality, it means more NSFW content at a reasonable pace hopefully!  

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With that said, the next update is under way and as we get closer to that end point I will announce a release date!

Hope you all are staying cool during this summer break!  Our friends from House Chores certainly aren't ;P

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you all soon!

House Chores - Beta 0.3.2 || Public Release!!

Hey everyone!

The next major update to the House Chores visual novel is available now for public release on windows devices!

Download Link 

This update is the second half of a split update that started in May.  The second half adds the next major scene, a new location, and just some overall improvements to the core gameplay.  Now that everything seems to be squared away in that end, I think it will be easier to focus on the story & scenes now!

As a reminder, I need to make some serious changes to the Android version in order for scenes to play properly so at the moment, I am not releasing Android builds.  I do hope to have one by the time the VN is finalized, however.

I believe that's everything for this update!  Now we begin working on Beta 0.4!  Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you all soon!

Hotfix Released (Beta 0.3.1)

Some players were mentioning that they couldn't actually progress in the new update at all.  I looked through the code of the progression system and I believe I found what was causing it. 

The original download link was changed to Beta 0.3.1 so this build should fix it.  I will be keeping my eyes peeled to see if the issue persists.  

Thanks for reporting this to me!

House Chores - Beta 0.3.1 | $5+ Beta Test Release!

NOTE: DL link changed from Beta 0.3.0 to Beta 0.3.1

Hey everyone!

Here's the second half of the update that was started last month, Beta 0.3.0!

IMPORTANT: Out of respect for all the $5+ Patrons and the team that works so hard on House Chores, please refrain from sharing this build/link with others.  

Windows 

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With this update, I feel like I'm starting to see a bit more of a 'game' finally!  Every time I start a new game, the first builds are pretty tough to stomach because there's so little to do.  House Chores still has a way to go but ironing out the progression system has certainly helped.

The new progression system will show two types of hearts for Linda: blue hearts & pink hearts.  Blue hearts are basically happiness from doing chores.  Pink hearts are from flirting/sexual activity.  You need to do BOTH in order to progress.  When you are ready, the game will tell you a new activity is available or will alert you that you need to talk to her.

The game will teach you this one Day 1 but I want to make sure this system is as clear as possible so I may still tweak some things.

If you're importing a save from a previous update, you might have to do a few more flirting options than intended to get to the next section.  This shouldn't be an issue moving forward.

There's also still a little more I want to add in this update so I will likely do another release next month!  Town of Passion's main story is finishing up by the end of this month so I need to make sure I give myself enough time for that.  Afterwards, my availability to work on House Chores opens up which will be nice.

If you find any glitches or oddities, please report them to me on the discord channel and I will aim to fix them!

I hope you all enjoy this update!  Thank you all for your kindness and support!  

I will see you soon with more news/teasers on the next build!

Linda's Bedroom (first look)

Edit: LINDA, not Julie!  Haha, still getting name's mixed up X_X

Hey everyone!

If you didn't see my last update, I mentioned that I was pushing the release back by a week to give myself more time but also to potentially squeeze in another background!

Here's a look at Julie's bedroom!  It's got a clean and tidied up look with a bed that looks oh so comfy and well built.  Maybe one day we'll be able to test just how well built it is ;)

With this room out of the way, there is only ONE room left that must be completed in order for the house to be fully explorable.  Can you hear that?  That's the artist breathing a large sigh of relief...  (Backgrounds take the most work to complete by far)

Once again, I appreciate everyone understanding the delays for various updates as it takes a weight off of my back and gives us MUCH needed time to squeeze in the last things that I want to add.

With that said, the build should be on track for a release towards the end of next week so stay tuned!

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you soon =D

Release Date Updates!

Hey everyone!

The original plans for the release of Beta 0.3 were planned for this weekend.

Ultimately, it looks like I will be pushing that release back by ONE week (June 18/19th?) for a number of reasons.

1: The artist is confident that the Julie's bedroom can be finished by then. (not guaranteed to be completed in time, however)

2: I took too long trying to figure out the progression method that I opened yesterday's poll about.

3: Finishing the main story for ZR last month and ToP this month has made it REALLY challenging staying mentally fit to work efficiently on HC.  I need to be more kind on myself with deadlines X_X

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My apologies for those who may have been expecting the release within the next day or two.  I will make sure this update does release in June still so that way $5+ Patrons do not miss out on the perks.  Sometimes, a little extra time goes a long way so I hope you all understand.

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you soon!

Progression - What Do You Think?

Hey Patrons!

I've been struggling with this way more than I probably should this entire week.

What do you think about the current method of progression versus the proposed change?

== Current ==

Affection is a flat stat.  

Cleaning, fondling, HJ, etc will all improve your relationship with Julie.  It doesn't matter which activities you do.

== Proposed ==

Two separate stats for each character.

1. Default affection (flirting, NSFW acts, etc)

2. Activity points (Julie = cleaning/chores  ||  Working out & playing games will be the activity points for the other two housemates)

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With the proposed idea, this encourages balancing non-NSFW activities with NSFW activities to follow the theme of the game in a more organic and varied manner.  

However, implementing this and making sure not to make it over-complicated is a delicate balance.  Trying to figure out a seamless way to implement two unique point values per character without making progression confusing will definitely be more challenging.

I sort of have my own lean on the future of progression which actually kinda merges these ideas ever so slightly but I still am curious how players feel so far.  I know there's not much to go off of but I think the latest build still gives a decent enough idea at how the progression is going to play out through HC.

House Chores - Beta 0.2.9.1 Public Release!

Hey everyone!

Download Link 

The new 'partial' update to House Chores is available now for public release!

PLEASE READ: In case you haven't been keeping up, this update doesn't add a whole lot of juicy NSFW content.  I split this update in half because the technical details took me longer than anticipated.  The second half of this update (Beta 0.3) will add a bit more NSFW content and should be out within about 2 weeks!

One thing I still need to figure out is the general game progression.  Currently, it works on a static single 'happiness' variable.  This allows for more freedom but may cause things to feel out of place if you skip dialogue or don't clean, etc.  I might split progression into three paths: dialogue, cleaning, flirting and when you do enough of EACH of these, then the next major event occurs.  Would love to hear opinions on this but I may try it out in 0.3.

Also if you're curious about Android, I have to figure out a MAJOR work around for now.  The scenes are too large in size so on Android the scene's don't show up.  Gonna take a while to figure out an appropriate solution.

Thank you all so much for supporting House Chores!  I will see you all soon with the next update =D

Hotfix - Beta 0.2.9.1

That was quick...

Realized I changed a value mid-testing that prevented most of the new content from being accessed.  The original download link has been changed from b0.2.9 to b0.2.9.1 and should fix this issue automatically.

Thank you!  I hope you enjoy this update =D

House Chores - Beta 0.2.9.1 | $5+ Beta Test Release!

NOTE: Download link updated from Beta 0.2.9 to Beta 0.2.9.1

Hey everyone!

Here's part of the next major update for House Chores - Beta 0.2.9!

IMPORTANT: Out of respect for all the $5+ Patrons and the team that works so hard on House Chores, please refrain from sharing this build/link with others.   

Windows 

Windows (Unpacked*) [Sleep crash has been fixed]

*If your antivirus software is freaking out, playing the unpacked version should fix that!  Same game but the extra files aren't boxed away.

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This update doesn't add terribly much to the NSFW side of things but it does lay down more important groundwork for the day to day gameplay.

I've added a new relationship system that is still in the works.  In short, cleaning & spending time with Julie will eventually unlock new events somewhere around the house.

I'll be having some important discussion on the gameplay in the Discord so feel free to stop by!

In addition, if you missed the post last night, I'm going to start trying to do more frequent but smaller updates in House Chores.  I don't reasonably have an entire month to sit down and focus on HC so I need to work on it more consistently in smaller pieces.

With that said, Beta 0.3 should release in one or two weeks!  That update will add a brand new major scene as well as a nice overworld scene that is teased at the end of this update!

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you soon with Beta 0.3!

Part 1 & 2 Schedule | IMPORTANT! | Pt.1 TOMORROW!

Hey everyone!

Been a bit of a tough one figuring this all out so I'll try to explain what's going on as simply as possible!

Spending time working on Beta 0.3 has shown me that I need to reserve/dedicate more time to House Chores per update if I'm going to add most of the things I want.  There's a lot of spot checking that eats away at my time.  However, I promised I'd release the build this month so I don't want to go back on my word and do a full delay.  So here's what's happening:

== Beta 0.2.9 ==

Tomorrow, I am releasing the first HALF of the new update to $5+ House Chores Patrons.  It will be named Beta 0.2.9

This build will release publicly around June 1st.

Beta 0.2.9 will add a tiny bit of new NSFW content but really focuses on establishing a core gameplay progression 'system'.  It also tweaks a little bit of the intro as well as adds new locations, character interactions, etc.

== Beta 0.3 ==

Beta 0.3, the second half of all of the new content I want to add should release no later than early June for $5+ HC Patrons and will release publicly 3/4 days after!

This build will have all of the remaining new NSFW scenes properly added as intended.

==============

I want to make sure the $5+ tier Patrons gets something out of their support for this month.  I hate to delay this build any farther but mentally and physically, I can't finish everything in just 2 more days.  I'm gassed.

Looking forward- I think I need to change my own mentality of how much is in a build and when a build releases for HC.  Rather than do one large update like I do with ToP & ZR, every 2 months or so, I'm thinking of aiming for roughly monthly builds that add a little more each time.  Slow & steady if that makes sense?  This may be a more reasonable & sustainable approach.  (This wouldn't be EVERY month tho)

I do hope you all understand.  I hate to feel so unreliable with HC releases but that's the struggle of trying to find a rhythm while my first two projects are both nearing their endgame content.  It's.... a hectic time to say the least.

Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you tomorrow with the first half of the new update!

Slight Release Adjustment

Hey everyone!

There's nothing to be concerned about but I have decided to move House Chore's planned release to next week instead of this week.

There are a few pieces of art/animation that I want to work around with and in order to fit them into the build, I needed just a little more time.  I do hope that these additions will be worth the added wait.  I really am happy with how they've turned out so far!

The update will still be released in May so to everyone who has pledged expecting rewards this month, you will get them!  In addition, thank you all so much to those who have pledged so far!  I hope you'll enjoy the new NSFW content coming in this update ;)

The planned release for $5+ Patrons will be May 29th but as usual, I will try and shoot for May 28th if possible!

If you enjoy playing either of my other titles, Zombie's Retreat will be getting it's release pushed up early so that should be out very soon. 

That is all for this quick update.  Thank you all so much for your support and patience and I will see you next week with the release!

New $5 Tier is Live! + Planned Release Date

Hey everyone!

The new $5+ Patron tier is live now!  

IMPORTANT: I've noticed a few people changing their pledge to $5 before the tier was live.  I believe you need to EDIT your pledge in order to have Patreon consider you under the actual $5 tier!  If you do not edit this, it's possible that you may not receive the $5+ rewards despite pledging $5!

In case you missed the last update, the new $5+ 'Chic' tier grants you early access to all new updates by about 3/4 days each time.  This helps reward patrons with exclusivity but also helps to have a more limited bug testing session where players can find any potentially game breaking bugs that I might have missed before the update goes public.

In addition, I will try to provide some NSFW scene sneak-peeks as well as Sassquatch's 'warm-up' sketches that he likes to provide on occasion.  I can not guarantee there will always be a supply of these sketches so keep in mind, this reward is a little less predictable.

== RELEASE ==

The planned release date for this update should be next week, around May 21st for $5+ Patrons!  The public release will be on the following Monday (25th) if everything is on schedule!

This build itself may be a slightly shorter one.  With some of these scenes, the appropriate time to include variations or bonus content isn't quite there yet so I have some stuff that's complete that won't make it in.  

In addition, I'm still playing around with the basic story a bit.  The original plan was to introduce the other 2 girls on Day 1 and I may re-configure the story a bit so that happens.  Bear with me while I still get a lot of the basics ironed out! 

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I believe that's everything for this update!  If all of the art & development goes according to plan, I should see you all very soon with the release of Beta 0.3!  Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you soon =D

New Tier Incoming (+Small Update)

Hey everyone!

Starting next month, I'm going to finally be opening a new tier with a few new perks!

== $5+ Tier ==

If you follow Town of Passion, or Zombie's Retreat, you may know that I have a $3 tier that grants access to early/upcoming sketches/NSFW content.  In addition, I have a $5 tier that grants early access to brand new builds for about 3/4 days before a public release.

I will be opening up a $5 tier for House Chores that combines both of these perks in May.  Sassquatch enjoys making warm up sketches, sometimes of House Chores characters so in this tier I will be sharing those, some early looks at upcoming NSFW content AND when a new build releases, you will get early beta test access to it for ~4 days (to help with a smaller testing window to ensure any game breaking bugs are found/fixed)

So why am I combining these tier perks in one with House Chores?  I'm not able to equally dedicate time to updating House Chores.  While I hope to update the game ever 2 months, it's not always possible so I want to make sure that this tier receives it's own perks on a monthly basis.  I will try to always provide at least 2 sketches/sneak peeks a month.  During months of a new update, you will receive the early test perks as well.

NOTE: Warm up sketches do not mean they will be making it into the game!  

I only plan to add one more tier I think for HC to keep things as simplified as possible.  Will add that probably in 2/3 months.

IMPORTANT: If you are currently pledging $5 or plan to pledge $5, you will have to re-do your pledge when the new tier is available to make sure it receives the $5 perks.  At the time of this update, the new $5 tier is NOT available.  Will be up around May 1st or 2nd.

== Update News ==

Should be having an update next month!  The next location has been completed and the scene has actually been ready for a little while.  I'm still experimenting on ideas and changing things up slightly compared to ToP/ZR so expect some new types of 'scenes' hopefully.

Also, I may still re-construct the early story in this next update.  While I like the suspense of the door bell, I don't like the new characters being introduced so late.  Please bear with me while I tinker around early on as this may require starting from scratch.  Luckily the game is a short play through at the moment.

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That's about everything for this update.  Thanks so much for your support!  I hope to see you soon with the new House Chores update! =D

New Location | First Look!

Hey everyone!

Here's a new look at another background coming to the next update of House Chores!  

Still kind of undecided on how I want to do sneak peaks w/ Patron exclusivity.  Because I don't post as frequently I feel like giving Patrons as much of an early look as possible... idk.

Anyways- the scene that takes place in this location is already completed so this will be the 'major' update in the next update!  In addition, I plan to revisit some of the more prominent bugs/issues that have been pointed out over the past month.  Apologies for a slower bug fix  than usual- I'm still ironing out some of the finer details in HC so I may still tweak and re-arrange certain events so it all flows together to my liking.

Speaking of flow, sort of an unofficial poll but what do you prefer for progression:

1- Dialogue & quest progression (similar to the current build, ToP & ZR's progression works)

2- Relationship 'point' building (spending time with characters enough to unlock new events)

Been toying around with gently adding some of #2 in the mix but I most certainly want to avoid the most common issue and that's an over repetitive set of objectives just to progress.  Let me know your thoughts!

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That's all for this update!  Still working on the next update so I'll have more details to share soon!  Thank you all for your support!

House Chores - Beta 0.2.2 Public Release!

Hey everyone!

The newest update to House Chores is finally available for public release for both Windows & Android* devices!

Link to Download 

*The Android build has lower quality scenes as a means of allowing the scenes to play properly.  Sound sync issues are something I plan to fix in the future.

======

I'm finally getting some new progress happening with House Chores!  If you weren't following past updates, we ran into some snags in development halting things for a while but progress is moving along smoothly now!  In addition, I swapped engines which took quite a bit of time but will work out much better for me in the long run!  This means your old saves with the original Beta 0.1 build won't copy over, however, it's still a very short game so luckily it doesn't take long to re-do progress.  Plus, the first couple of days have been re-written so many events have changed a bit.

From here on out, new updates should add a bit more content and keep the story rolling so I want to thank everyone again for their patience and support during this time.

I hope you are all staying safe & healthy as well out there!  I will see you all soon with some announcements about new tiers & the next build of House Chores! =D

Small update - Beta 0.2.1

Hey!

Just a short & sweet update, the PC build of HC was updated to Beta 0.2.1.  Should fix that issue some were having about a notification not disappearing after most of the events had occurred.  To fix it, go to MC's room where an auto update will happen instantly.  You should notice the game working as intended afterwards.

Link to Download 

Thank you all for your bug fixing and I will see you soon! 

Android Build Updated - Beta 0.2.1 (+More News)

Hey everyone!

The Android build wasn't playing scenes properly so I've updated the Android link in the previous post from Beta 0.2 to Beta 0.2.1.  

Link to Post 

This also features some other glitches that were mentioned.  I plan to update the PC version tomorrow as well.

=== Additional Update ===

I spent all of today trying to figure out how to circumvent this issue and unfortunately the only reasonable solution was to decrease the quality of the NSFW scenes going from 16 frames down to 9 frames.  This causes some issues with the scene looping smooth & sound sync issues.  In the future, I can re-sync audio but right now it's just a little too much to juggle.  

I'll gauge feedback and see if this solution is alright.  I considered dropping the Android build altogether until I could find a better solution but that didn't seem like the way to go.

In case this black screen issue happens to PC users on lower end hardware, I'm looking at a way to easily switch to 'mobile mode' so that they can also have these lower frame-rate scenes to compensate.  Again, this is why I wanted to do extended testing of the build as I figured issues like these would happen.

Thank you all for reporting this and other bugs to me!  I hope you are enjoying the updated House Chores!

House Chores - Beta 0.2.1 ($1+ Beta Test) Release!

UPDATE: Download links were updated from Beta 0.2 to Beta 0.2.1

Hey everyone!

House Chores - Beta 0.2 is now available to play! 

IMPORTANT: Out of respect for all the Patrons and the team that works so hard on HC, please refrain from sharing this build/link with others. 

To download this build, click on whichever link responds to the platform you are playing on:

Windows 

Android 

NOTE: Reports of some pretty severe glitches/issues with the Android build.  Will be working tonight on attempting to remedy these issues and should have an updated build tomorrow! (March 20th)

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It's finally here!  The process of swapping engines was quite a challenging one as it was less of a copy & paste and more of a rebuild from the ground up.  However, now that that's over with, I think future updates to House Chores are looking very promising!

If you've played the first build, there is a little bit more 'meat' here in this update.  The day/night cycle should work as intended now and you can re-visit scenes and get a little more out of them the second time around (the doorbell can't ALWAYS end the fun ;P)

I want to thank you all again for being so patient.  I mentioned early on that House Chores wouldn't be getting the same amount of attention & priorities as ToP & ZR, however, I definitely did not want to go 7+ months without an update.  Things are looking up in 2020 now.  Thank you again for your understanding and support!

Don't forget to save FREQUENTLY!  This is a brand new game on a new engine so I'm expecting to see a number of glitch reports.  If you run into any issues, reporting them on Discord's House Chores channel is the best option.

Thank you all for your support and I will see you soon!

The Post Before the Update!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed on the upcoming release of House Chores!

== Release Date ==

My aim is to have this update build out within a week or two.  The actual date will likely be kinda spontaneous but I will probably post smaller updates on Twitter.

With the virus keeping so many folks at home, I'd like to try and have this build complete asap so you all can have something to enjoy!  

== $1+ Patron Test Period ==

Something that I do with my other projects, Town of Passion & Zombie's Retreat, is $5+ Patrons get limited access to new builds for ~3/4 days in order to help do a more limited test and reward for supporting.

I may do that with House Chores eventually if I can hit a consistent release schedule.  Not sure how likely that is, however.

In the mean time, with this upcoming build, all HC Patrons $1+ will get limited access to the build for ~3/4 days.  I want to do this to 1- show my thanks to the patrons who have been so patient with me.  And 2- do a limited test of the build's engine swap on PC & Android.  Many things could go wrong so I'd like to iron out any issues in a more limited setting.

== Build Contents ==

REMINDER: This build's main focus is to swap the engine from it's original engine over to RPGMaker.  The game is actually almost a 1:1 clone so don't worry about losing the visual novel feel that the game has.  But, most of my time is spent basically remaking the game. 

There IS some new NSFW content coming up in this update.  It's not much but it's nice & humorous if you understand the origin.  The next upcoming 'major' scene is in the animation process so there's already new stuff in the works!

There will also be a little bit of an expansion off of where the original demo ended off.  The progression will be a little different and I intend for the day cycle to be completed.  There won't be much to do initially but each update will expand upon that!

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That's about everything for now!  I'm glad to finally almost be done with the transfer process and this will help streamline a lot of things.  As long as art stays steady, House Chores updates should start popping up MUCH sooner than the 7+ months that it's been.

I will see you all soon!  Thank you for supporting and stay healthy!