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Void Dreaming Blog XX - 0.03.54 Update Build and June Retrospective
🕑 Added 2025-07-05 00:00:07 +0000 UTCHey, everyone! Fae here with another monthly retrospective blog post, and another little update for both the subscriber and public builds! As usual we’ll start with the update notes, and then we’ll move into the retrospective and transparency update for June. Let’s get into it all!
V0.03.54 Update Notes
You’ve been waiting, and here it is! What can you expect from the 0.03.50 update for the Patreon build?
- New Backgrounds: When Void Dreaming was nearing launch, I had to be very careful with the resources I expended. This meant that I had to make certain sacrifices to ensure that essential art was in place. We’ve been filling in a few pieces here and there, but today’s update adds in two new BGs for Yakeshi Station in the prologue, and the last two backgrounds missing from playing Starfront with Mizz on Day 1. He also did another one but that’s not for right now. You’ll have to wait and see!
- Credits Update: The credits at the end of the build have been updated again to reflect the Patreon supporters active when I compiled the list the night before the update. While normally I wouldn’t do that for a minor update, I figured I would do so here since there’s art updates included here. Thanks so much once again for all of your support for Void Dreaming!
- Bugfixes and Typo Corrections: There’s been a lot of these discovered in the last couple of weeks, and today they’re getting patched! Instances where Bromm and Anwill get overly yappy have been corrected, and points where Zuberi and Caleia were practicing their ventriloquism routine have been referred to the proper authorities. Continuity corrections have been implemented to ensure that certain eventualities actually make logical sense, universal base code adjustments have prevented Rael from experiencing parallel universe situations in rapid succession, and the usual litany of typos have been launched into the sun.
- Short Story Update (Integrity): While it’s not a part of the build itself, it’s here nonetheless! Integrity is now up and available to read for all Patrons!
And don’t forget that if you missed the Livestream Q&A two weeks ago, you lucky Patreon supporters still have access to the vod! Check the last couple of posts, or the handy, dandy collection if you’ve lost track of where they are. Or you could scroll down until you see my fuzzy face in the thumbnail, of course. Whatever works for you!
State of Affairs
Void Dreaming continues to exceed my expectations, and make progress toward my hopes and goals for the project. How have things gone this past month? Let’s go over it all!
- Since the initial release, Void Dreaming’s various versions have been downloaded from Itch.io over 6600 times now! And since some people were curious, roughly two thirds of that is the PC/Linux version, about one third is the Android build, and the remainder is a smattering of Mac version users. And to think, I almost didn’t do an Android version!
- Void Dreaming’s rating on Itch is holding steady at an overall 5 star rating (yes, yes; it’s still technically 4.9) thanks to your generous ratings! Of the 186 total reviews, 179 of those are those incredible 5-star ratings. Thank you all, so very much, for showing Void Dreaming such love and appreciation!
- The Patreon continues to develop support for Void Dreaming, too! We’re up over the 200 paid subscriber mark now, sitting on 201 subs which include the generosity of 34 brilliant people who are subscribed at the higher Officer tier to better help Void Dreaming. Thank you, all, so so much for your support of the project!
- The Discord is popping off! We’ve got polls going at the moment about Origins and character feelings, not to mention the usual theorycrafting and Zuberi thirst posts. We have 338 members over there now, with more people joining in every day!
- And finally, the Void Dreaming Bluesky page is now up to over 765 followers, too! Being able to highlight other VNs and their work, not to mention sharing the fan art and updates for Void Dreaming there continues to be a delight!
I continue to be humbled by the support and enthusiasm in the Void Dreaming community, and I am so, so glad to be making something that so many people are enjoying. As that support grows (especially on the Patreon), I look forward to being able to do even more cool things for the project now and well into the future!
Transparency - July 2025
It’s time to give the monthly transparency update! It’s the start of a whole new month, so where are we at now that we’re getting into July?
Writing and Programming
- Day 8 writing and programming is off to a swimming start! The entirety of the Day 8 Part 1 writing is complete, the bones of the whole day’s programming-complicated exploration section is in place, and all the core programming variables are in place and ready to be used. Prepwork is complete on that second half of the Day 8 content and, while that sounds like I’m way ahead of schedule, I am in reality only on track. The goal is to have half of the Day 8 Part 2 writing/programming complete by end of month, but some of that could slip into August. Currently, I put Day 8 as roughly 30% complete.
- The Patreon-exclusive short story Integrity completed its editing passes and is now available to all Patreon supporters! Huzzah!
- The, uh… the major updates a month ago didn’t go well, did they? There’s been a lot of bugfixing and typo squashing after the Patreon build was a hot mess, and even the Itch build didn’t really get the love it needed. I’ve implemented new processes that are going to work me a little harder, but they should prevent issues on my part from making these major updates worse in the future. My fingers are crossed that they work; next month’s Patreon update will be a good test run!
- The Public Day 2 build has, including today, received three updates since release.
- The Patreon Day 3 build has needed four, accounting for the above disaster.
Art Assets
- Rico’s been hard at work, and has put out four new backgrounds for exsting Void Dreaming scenes. I’ve prepped with him another batch, but due to personal matters the ETA on those won’t be until the end of August.
- Day 4 CG work from Vallhound is coming along splendidly; I do hope you enjoy them when you see them! I’ll also be preparing this month the next batch of CGs, much larger than this one, with a variety of pairings!
Project Finances
- Patreon earnings are slowing their growth as they sit at AUD$1.5K per month at the moment, and I expect that I may well lose quite a few subscribers this month with the update being a short story and not the VN itself updating properly. My expectation has always been people will dip in and out as their finances and circumstances permit and, while that doesn’t help me nearly as much, I only want people to help if they want and are able to. I know what the world’s like right now, and how tight everyone’s pockets feel. If you can’t support Void Dreaming as much as you’d like (or at all!), know I’m glad you can still enjoy the Itch build. There’s so much there to enjoy, after all! But speaking of limited funds…
- My personal funds are pretty painfully tight at the moment, but I’m actually feeling sort of confident moving forward. I’m still using my own money to shore up Void Dreaming expenses; the project is still in the red as far as my money is concerned, but the gap is definitely closing! I expect by September I’ll be in a more personally comfortable position (read: no longer on the knife’s edge of dipping into my savings), and if the Patreon can continue to grow then I’ll be able to shift more of the fiscal burden of the project onto it.
July’s Goals
- Finish first half of Day 8 exploration content.
- Ensure Day 8 programming holds
- Full testing regiment for Day 4 content
- Begin final planning and initial writing for Skipracer, and finish Day 4 Part 1 prep
Upcoming Main Updates:
Aug 2nd: Day 4 - Initiative Part 1 (Patreon Release)
Sep 6th: Day 3 - Wraiths (Public Release), Day 4 Part 2 (Patreon Release)
Oct 4th: Short Story Skipracer (Patreon Release)
Release Plan Status: On Target
Whew. It’s a lot, right? We’re now well and truly out of the initial launch window and the truncated development and release cycle that’s been in place this whole time. Everything around the launch was all about getting the bulk of the early story into everyone’s grubby paws as fast as I could, and now we get to settle into the more normal quarterly cycle that I’ve had planned for a while now. Months like this where there’s not so much to put into a release are going to be an ongoing challenge, but this one in particular has been a lot for me.
This has been an incredibly tough month. I’ve got nowhere near as much done as I’d like to have, and a vast majority of the time I’ve had to work on Void Dreaming has been eaten up with correcting the absolute shitshow I made of the last major update. I still feel bad about it, and if not for the kindness and understanding out of every corner of the Void Dreaming community, I don’t know that I’d have been able to pull myself together. You’re all absolutely wonderful, and I am immensely privileged to have you on this journey with me. Thank you, all.
That said, a lot got done. The start of Day 8, the skeleton of the hardest exploration section I’ve written for the project to day being in place, the finalization of the Integrity short story for Patrons (again, available right now!), and all of the hard work I put into making sure I turned that disaster launch into something more like what readers like your fine self deserve? It’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s a monumental amount of work, and it’s still just the tip of the Void Dreaming iceberg. There’s so, so much more left to do, and it’s only going to become harder still as we move forward. Rest assured, my commitment and dedication haven’t flagged in the least.
But that’s it for now! If there are more typo and bugfix updates to implement over the next month, they’ll be addressed at the earliest convenience. Right now my focus will be on Day 8 content and moving toward the Day 4 Part 1 Patreon release, but if there’s anything glaring that needs immediate correction I’ll always jump on it as soon as possible. Don’t forget that the Discord is the best place to bug report; there’s a whole section for it and everything. And you can make your voice heard in polls, chat with other fans, and share in this really delightful community that’s come together around Void Dreaming. There’s only going to be more to discuss with what’s still to come!
Until then, stars guide you.
- Faora
Comments
Faora
I hope you enjoy it!
John Wolfen
❤️❤️❤️
