nottravisgames
patreon
It's the "Hello and news" update...
🕑 Added 2021-09-21 12:29:13 +0000 UTCHi everyone. :)
Firstly, a very warm welcome to new and returning patreons.
Before I get down to business I want to take a moment to thank you (and my original patreons of course!) not only for your support but also your faith in me. One thing I can absolutely guarantee is that this is a game which will be completed, the only unknown being the pace of completion. Not, I'd add, due to any lack of effort on my part (and I trust that Chapter Four proves that one in spades) but rather more due to the limitations of my existing hardware and software. Your support helps me acquire the equipment I need to make this game both faster and better, so thank you.
And now, after my few days break, to business as it looks like a busy time ahead as I want to complete the following this month.
Bugs and slugs
I've had a few bug reports come in, mostly the odd typo from late text amendments and tweaks at stupid o'clock in the morning which are easy enough to fix if rather red face making.
There are a couple of slightly more substantial bugs however. The biggest two being Annie not triggering her pool match with the female MC in some circumstances and Sarah having seemingly obtained the gift of time travel. If you try to go on the mission with her and there is insufficient time left in the day, she sends you back to Chapter Two (A missing "4" in the map call....). Situational bugs like this are the hardest to be aware of as, unless during testing you have the exact situation, the game can act perfectly. A downside to having H5 have the complexity it has I'm afraid. Not that makes it acceptable of course and my apologies for all of these. Rather derpily, I also forgot about patreons moving up tiers between chapters and I need to put in a switch at the start of Chapter Four that activates all the past bonus content as opposed to it triggering at each stage. Sorry...
So, the first thing on my list to do is go through the reports, correct the script and then upload a new script and new downloads. If you've already downloaded the game you don't have to download it again. Just the script (We're talking Kilobytes here. It'll be tiddly.) and I'll provide a guide on how to drop it in to your game file. Should be with you in a couple of days.
File size
Next up is to contact a download provider direct and see if I can gain a high speed download for you guys. Regardless of how successful I am in reducing the file size, a faster download at your end can only be beneficial.
As to the file size itself, this week is where I want to do the Chapter One experiment replacing the PNG screens with a different format. The image change itself will be fairly straightforward, it's then the coding aspect and ensuring I can get the game to still work. If that transition works smoothly enough then it's the larger job of rolling it our across the rest of the game. Success means a very significant reduction in the file size which again will just make things easier all round for you.
Bonus game
Script tweaks would appear to be all this needs which isn't too painful. I'll drop as a separate game and as part of the rebuilds for your convenience. I'm gunning for the weekend on this one.
Commissions
I'll do a separate post on this next week and I look forward to seeing what you've come up with :)
And after that...
Then we have a few things to discuss. As you can see I have a pretty heavy workload ahead of me as the month is already running short so I don't wish to get drawn into conversation on future plans just yet. They're far too important to be part of a balancing act and deserve our full attention. But the three things I want to discuss early next month are:
Animations. General feedback of course, but also the bigger question of how to take production forward. I don't want to say too much right now as I don't want to look as though I'm prejudging the discussion. But this is probably the most thing to tackle.
The GUI refresh project. The PDA isn't really that fit for purpose I don't think. It looks rather clumsy, I don't think it's really giving you the player as much information as it could and the whole thing just feels a little bit basic to me. I want to discuss what you want from this tool, how you want it to look and act and basically see if I can make your gameplay easier. The refresh project also covers such things as the menu selection etc, but it's the PDA I think that needs the most work. It could be better.
Project Becca. Potentially this is a contentious one. But again, it's not really my game, it's yours and this is something I want to thrash out a bit. Now all the main mechanics are in place she isn't going to have an awful lot to do and this does beg the question of should she be front and centre at the start of each chapter. On the one hand I know she is popular in some quarters and she does bring a certain friendly feel to the game. But on the other she is rather immersion breaking, especially if you're new to the game and have the luxury of playing several new chapters all in one go. Options facing us include shifting the tutorials off to a separate menu or condensing them all into something much briefer and less chatty right at the start as a complete set. Indeed, now we're talking about her, should she even be there at the end? The results screens are a bit basic and really were there at the start to underline that there was a lot of content laying around, but again like the PDA I'm not sure this is really fit for purpose anymore. Perhaps something like achievements scored on the PDA might be better?
Anyhoo, those three are for next month. In the meantime I'll crack on with the rest and I hope you've found something to enjoy in my work.
Notty
Comments
Buxom Wench
I enjoy the interludes. You can pack the tutorials into the beginning of the game, then just make a it a quick story commentary. Like the grandpa reading "The Princess Bride" to his grandson. Those were short, sweet, and entertaining.
Arigon
More Becca!!!!!!!! X 100000000
My suggestion is to make Becca a preference. New games give the player the choice to see the interludes or not, as well as the tutorials when needed or not. Either way, they can be shunted to the PDA for future reference. Personally, I would love to continue to see Becca as the director's commentary. Aside- if she's gone, have you considered how to handle the bad ends?
