neonghostsstudio
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Dev Update 6/19/23
🕑 Added 2023-06-20 00:30:03 +0000 UTCHey, folks! Hope everyone's week is off to a good start.
It's been a productive couple of days on my end, with the writing and rendering both churning along. Renders are currently right around 675, and I finally started unifying bits and pieces of the script.
I won't lie, the script on this one has been the big stumbling block. Normally, my chapters tend to follow kind of a clear, linear progression, ending in roughly the same spot. Well, as I was doing this one, it kept spiraling out into different possible endings, with all the routes having different ways to get there.
Just as a for-instance: If you're currently just friendly with Ashe, there's already a few things at play.
- Has she seen your condo yet, or is this her first time there? Based on the answer, there are things you've talked about, and things you haven't.
- Did you tell her you just want to be friends?
- Does she like you, based on your meetings with her at the bar, and in the park? Not to mention the choices you make during the actual date.
- Based on these factors, you could persuade her to take a romantic interest in you, agree to just be friends following a dip in the hot tub, or end the night early. If you end the night early, that leaves you with the possibility to stay in, or go see another love interest.
So on and so forth. So, this update's kind of turned into a big spaghetti knot. Add to that the rendering tends to have multiple versions of events with different visual variables, and it's kind of a beast. Like you can see up top -- friend Ashe needs to borrow a nice cheetah print suit, while love path Ashe brings her own, promised bikini. And on top of that there's various mood variables, so sometimes she's more irritated than other times.
Basically, for the past few days I've felt like that pic of Ashe sinking into the water.
But, I decided to change tactics with the writing a bit, and shore up the endings first, and then work backwards from there. Sounds weird, but it's kind of helped me to get my head around the script and visuals.
Because if, for instance, one of the endings features Ashe waking up in your t-shirt, how do we get there? Then I can kind of go back into the various paths and guide the sleepover ending there.
If one of the endings is you sending Ashe home early, how do we get there, for the various paths? Yadda yadda yadda.
This is all just to say that it's all been a bit of a slog, but things are coming into focus now. I also solved a logic problem in the story that will help me avoid re-rendering a big section of stuff.
I'll leave you with that for now! I'm really hopeful that I can land this thing soon. I'm slowly getting there. Once I'm fully past the hot tub stuff, and working on the ending ero scenes, the finish line will be in sight.
Until then, I'll keep chugging along. As always, take care of yourselves, and thank you for your support!
