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New Year, New Plans - 12/31/21
🕑 Added 2021-12-31 18:33:10 +0000 UTC(This post will be free for all to read since I want to be as transparent as can be)
Reflection:
2021! What a year, what a year. Back at the start of this year, I made the change with my art stuff, Daxhush and I parting ways, and me taking over as a veritable one-man army. Kindof. I am pleased to say that, in all honesty, it went far better than I ever expected, let alone even hoped! Sihai's Legacy has had pretty consistent growth since the start of the year and, with any luck, it'll only continue to grow!
But let me take a moment to flex a little and cringe at my past artwork as well!
The first piece of art I showed for the game looked like, well...
Yikes!
I've since made a whole bunch of changes to basically everything here. At the time, I felt like it looked pretty good, but now... yikes. I wonder how I'll feel about my current art in a year's time?
Anyways, it wouldn't be fair to show that without comparing it to current Jehu!
Nice! I forgot to hide that bit of fur on his leg when I exported this just now, but you all get the picture. And the funny thing, actually, is that there's actually a few more changes to the way I do sprites still that have this Jehu sprite (very recent) out-of-date!
For an example of what I mean, let's use Shen!
Here is his "Original" look after I took over from Dax.
I already said "Yikes" in response to the Jehu thing, but this is also quite yikes compared to current art. A lot of design details were still pulled directly from Dax's renditions, which was OK sometimes and other times makes his vest look a little silly!
Then, the great Paragon event happened in which I expanded a lot more on my lore for dragons in this world (or, well, specific dragons), which meant that Shen needed a change. And he got one. Like, three times. Finally, however, we reached this version of Shen:
And god damn. That's a man.
But what I mean to point out is that lines aren't the same thickness throughout anymore! By the crazy power of an "eraser tool," i've begun making lines typically more pointed and smooth, giving them more noticeable curves and all sorts of fun stuff.
One more example of this lies in an upcoming update for Ohm!
Ah those lines look so much cleaner. Still refuse to draw the feet though.
Ohm's sprite was one that I considered to be pretty good already and not one in particular need of updating. However, after making a quick sketch, I realized I could drastically improve him. So! Improve him I shall.
Wait, this is going into plans, when I should be reflecting! Whoops.
Back on topic! This year has had its share of ups and downs, highs and lows, but between the support I get for Sihai and the time I've spent on other endeavors as well, I've thoroughly enjoyed myself (even when burning myself out on the waterpark day!) Here's to another year of hot dads and a silly amount of foreshadowing!
New Plans
Ok.
Already talked about the Ohm update coming, but there are a few things I want to go over regarding future plans.
First: A number of characters will be receiving updates, large or small, over time. Paul, for instance, will likely be getting one very soon! Other old sprites, like Zheng, Sarah, Zach, Cass, etc, will also be getting updated at some point. Probably Jorge too for some reason, who knows.
Second: There's a number of things I've said I want to do yet haven't implemented yet. Chief among these, at least in my mind, is a pronoun picker. Though body types are currently off the menu, I still want you to be able to pick your pronouns. I know when I'll add that, but I don't know... specifically when. See the point below for details!
Third: The early game of this game is kinda scuffed! I personally feel the pacing is at least a little strange and, while you spend some decent amount of time learning something about Jehu, Paul, and Shen, Jorge and Alan get kinda left in the dust. This is sad, since I actually am extremely excited for their routes! At some point in the future, I want to go back and rewrite the first few days to set up those hooks and just kinda clean up the writing in general. (and at this point, I'll add the pronoun setting)
Fourth: Talking!
I actually already have the code for this to work, I just need to set up how all the mouths will flap during their dialogue. I suppose it'd be even easier to add in a blinking mechanism, but let's keep things one step at a time. Dunno when I'll implement this, but I plan to!
Fifth: CGs. The early ones also suffer from being early art, so I really need to go back and fix them up. I figure this'll be the same time as points 2 and 3.
Six: Dong Toggle Expansion! A very niche option, to be sure, but I'm probably going to set up a toggle for other characters like Jehu and Paul to let you change their dongs to be more animalistic. I understand that this option will not be for everyone so, with the exception of the dragons, richard, alan, and possibly a couple other characters in the future, "human" will be the default setting. If you don't want to see the other versions, don't click on it.
Seven: Music. While some of the music I'm happy with, others I am... not as much. As a whole, it's not a very cohesive soundtrack, and that's what I really want to have. I also need to make up motifs for each character, you know? So, at some point, expect a musical overhaul.
Eight: The gallery is unwieldy and takes so long between transitions. It looks kinda ugly too. So! I'm gonna change it. The gallery's gonna be somewhat out of date as I get it fixed up, and I apologize for that.
That's probably not everything, but it's all that comes to mind right now.
And Now For Something Completely Different
Haha. Ok, short story here. I like collecting birds with hats, straight up have like, twenty of them already. They're awesome. But, since I am just Like That, I thought it'd be fun to challenge myself to take these birds-with-hats and turn them into a buncha people. So, behold!
I originally just wanted to do it as a fun little challenge, but then I had thoughts... and when I think, it's hardly ever a good thing.
"What if...?" I say to myself.
And this brings me to a ~potential~ secondary aspect to this Patreon. That's right, a second VN. Before I pitch it, however, I will say here and now that Sihai is my main project. This comes secondary to it, and is intended to be simpler and shorter. I also don't have a "schedule" for this one, since literally all I have is the basic premise and the characters. I wonder if it's a bold move to have a primarily furry fanbase then make a second VN with entirely human characters? Ah well.
In any case, here's the pitch:
After being given a strange pocket watch from an unknown source, you inadvertently find yourself at a secret party for gay men on board a train, many, many years ago. Before you can figure out what's happening, however, disaster strikes- one of these thirteen is murdered. It's up to you (and your ally) to uncover the truth of the crime and, most importantly, whodunnit. Though you have a limited amount of time, if you make use of that pocket watch, you might be able to glean more information than you ought and bring to light secrets that would have remained buried in the snow... but watch out, because even a miracle is not without its limits.
Neat premise, right? What it basically means (at least, my thoughts right now) is that you can go back to a specific point in time up to a certain number of times, but you retain the information you've gotten every time you jump back. You may have to woo some of these boys in order to get your hands on the right information. And yes, this will be sexy. And gay. (And here's a secret that's maybe kinda obvious to tell: number 12 is the most hung) :-)
I have no idea when this'll drop, nor do I know how I'll actually handle it. Can I make two Patreons on the same account? At the very least, I might wind up setting up a separate tier for access to this game specifically (if you only want this one or Sihai), and a shared tier to get access to both of them! Or something. I'll figure it out when I actually have, like, a product ready to show people.
(The "billyverse" stuff is also still in my mind, but that's a HUGE project that probably won't be seriously started for like a couple years at least. Probably.)
Conclusion
Wow, thanks for reading! I hope you're looking forward to what I have in store for Sihai and everything else- I know I am!
Jehu's next update will be coming out January 15th- so it looks like it's time to get my nose back to the grindstone. See you all then!
