Void Mammoth
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Weekly Update | August 17th, 2025
🕑 Added 2025-08-17 12:00:10 +0000 UTCBrothers and Sisters and Siblings of the Lucent Priory,
It's been a busy week of development here. I was on vacation from work for the week, so I was able to dedicate more time to the game.
After the Scribe release last weekend, I got some more feedback and bug reports, although those seem to be dwindling now, so I think next weekend's Acolyte release of 0.2.8.3 should be relatively smooth. There was one issue regarding the old "star dream" animation from the very beginning of the game which prompted me to rethink the design, and I updated it with one that I think looks really neat (apologies for the low quality GIF, it was getting too big):
Most of the week was spent working on a particular animated CG which was pretty ambitious and turned out really pretty, I think. Overall, I think this final stretch of Chapter 2 is the prettiest the game has been. When I started making the game, I knew next to nothing, and now that I'm getting more comfortable with the tools and the procedures of developing this, I feel freer to experiment and vary things and be more of a "director" when it comes to scenes. Once most of the game is done, I do hope to revisit these first two chapters and bring the closer to what I envision the rest of the game to look like. Looking forward to what Cantors will have to say when Chapter 2 is released in full on August 31st.
We've been very popular on Itch this week after finally being indexed, and I'm really thrilled by how many people are vibing with the game. With popularity also comes a bunch of spam in the comments section I've been trying to get ahead of. If you see any links pointing you to the "full version of the game", please don't click those. A few of them pop up every day and I've been cleaning them up. And also, there have been some who have been trying to review bomb the game a bit, so if you like the game and haven't left a rating yet, please do so when you find a moment. It's a great help.
Finally, it seems that roughly half the new downloads on Itch are Android version downloads, which makes me feel a little bit guilty because the game is definitely not optimized for mobile screens yet. If you've played the game on a mobile screen and have any feedback for me, I'm very interested to hear it either on Discord or here. I will be looking at ways to optimize the game for smaller screens as development progresses.
What I've done this week:
I made an animated CG (X-Rated only) with several "parts", which are now all integrated into the script.
Wrote two upcoming scenes which have already been animated.
Revised some of Ciaran's date for the next release.
Redid some old scenes: the "star dream" scene posted above, as well as the prologue scenes from the very beginning of the game to make them more consistent with the "stained glass" design of the game.
Fiddled with the UI a bit and changed the main menu slightly.
Made changes and fixes based on bug reports from Scribes and Cantors.
What I'm planning to do next week:
Finish Chapter 2. The first draft should be done by next weekend, and then I can revise and test it the week after, before its release on August 31st.
Get 0.2.8.3 ready for Acolytes.
Start thinking about Android optimizations based on feedback I receive from players.
That's it from me. Remember to refill your ink pots before scribing class, and have a great week ahead!
Comments
Metaleptix
Thanks for your concern JP. I'm in no danger of burning out quite yet. This is still very much a passion project. In fact, sometimes I'll try watching a show or playing a game or relaxing in some other way but my mind will naturally wander to Canticle so I'll stop what I'm doing and go back to working on it. It's very much a central preoccupation of mine right now and I want to ride that feeling as long as possible.
JP
Many thanks VM for all your dedication to the game. It does worry me a little that you used your work vacation to work hard on the game. Please don't burn yourself out. I would rather get your best game over a more extended time period than your health and the game become compromised. Have a good week, and thanks for everything.
