aaryn
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DevLog Update
🕑 Added 2024-04-15 20:35:01 +0000 UTCHey all,
So I wanted to check in and give a pretty detailed description of where things are. Update 11 has been another one of those that I've publicly admitted was hard to quantify progress and while I've been quiet over here, that was mostly because I wasn't sure how to explain where I was-- despite still working tirelessly.
So let's prance through the current status on things because I'm at a point now where I think I can better describe where things are at:
Writing
So like usual, the writing for the Revamp is mostly done since it's uh... it's a Revamp :p That being said, for those of you that are watching the progress bar on the About page here, I've been copy/pasting sections of the writing at the same time I'm working on CGs. So even though that progress bar has been moving slow-- that's mostly because I'm working on writing and pics at the same time just so I don't get lost. I'm not going to spend a ton of time talking about the writing part here but based on my current outline for Chapter 5, I have 5 scenes left in total for this update to complete and have about 13 done.
CGs/Animations
First off, we have some newer people around here so as a refresh, "CGs" are the pics for the game. Right now I have 259 completed in my folder. At first, I thought this update was going to be mostly review, allowing for me to use a lot of previously completed CGs with new story text to save time. I quickly learned that, while there are a lot of repeated activities, those activities happened at different places in the room or during the day when the previous CGs were night time. Basically, it turned into some pretty heavy logistics work at the beginning that I'd overlooked when I was initially starting. That being said, while it's more work, it should add more variation to the story in a simple way so it's for the best imo.
We also have 4 new animations so far. This is a record for the Revamp and who knows if I'll do even more. I've stated it before, that I've tried to find simple times to practice skills in the Revamp before I really need them to count. Publicly, I've admitted that Chapter 6 is one that I'm excited about but also intimidated by visually. There's some major, memorable scenes that happen in Chapter 6 and this first part of the Revamp has mostly been finding opportunities to learn the skills i need to make Chapter 6 even better than it was originally. Animations this time are a fun mix. We have a couple NSFW type situations as well as one goofy scene and Braden will now wake up following the end of v10 as an animation versus static image dissolves. It's a slight change that just makes them feel more alive. One minor thing on animations that most of you won't notice but I know some of you got eagle-eyes. The animations in the last update and this one are using higher sample sizes, which means even though they're still shot in 4k, the quality will be less grainy than they were at the beginning of the Revamp. This also includes the NSFW shower animation that was added in the public v10 back in Chapter 1. Before I was using between 800-1000 and now i'm using the full 1500 that I use for all the regular images so there shouldn't be any quality difference between an animation and a static image anymore (that was originally a corner I was cutting to save time but it really does look better spending some extra samples on it).
Last thing on CG/Pics: let's talk about quality. The Revamp visually blows the original game out of the water and I'm super happy with the progress so far. Since the beginning of the Revamp, it's been fun to show off the environments we were already familiar with in a literal "new light." I've also improved in camera angles and just overall making things more cinematic. That being said, I've noticed something that started with v10. While I was proud of the beginning of the Revamp, I've already found myself looking back at some of those early pictures and noticing things I would further improve. Now, that doesn't mean I'm gonna do another Revamp, lol. Fuuuuuuuck that. I'm not gonna be George Lucas and just rewrite the same story over and over as technology improves. But my point here is that we can continue to expect the game to improve visually even in the Revamp. One of the things that's come up numerous times on the Discord is that fans actually enjoyed the original game because they got to watch my skills improve as the story progressed. This is very true. I started with nothing and grew as far as I could until the story ended. I think the Revamp was missing that initially and that was something some of you really cherished about the original. But looking back on the Revamp now, I've noticed a similar improvement. Not necessarily to the staggering effect of the beginning of the original Straight!? compared to Chapter 10, but there will be major improvements here. v11 is going to be another one of those. I've recently begin experimenting with some new styles and shots that i'll show very soon. It's something that I really wanted to practice before we got to the Park scene and v11 was a good time to try that out. So expect a major upgrade in image quality again from what you've seen -- all of which is moving towards Chapter 6 stuff.
Overall Progress
Right now, I have my public progress meter around 60% but it likely could be higher than that. It's possible i can reuse things I've already created but I've just been moving chronologically through the update and it's been kinda wonky progress. Things that I thought would be quick weren't and things that should have been hard went quickly. I will say that I feel confident about this update already. This part of the game was kinda filler before and i think fleshing out a couple scenes and completely changing some visual stuff will blow you away and make Chapter 5 way better than it was before. Thus, it's worth the time this one is taking (although I don't think it's actually been that long-- it's just been a lot of work). So stay tuned. I'm expecting a bit more slow progress over the next few days because of image demands then it should speed up again near the end so stay tuned. I guess I'll say I'm fairly confident for a May release. Y'all gonna shit when you see the next image previews though :p
Comments
Aaryn
yes. I would like to get one more out. I'm at the tail end of the update now. Probably about 6 pics left to do so I'd like to get the last Before/After out this week
William Kuhl
Will there be one more before and after post before release?
Aaryn
yep. i've considered that and i may ultimately do one or two updates after if there's a few things i can fix or polish. however, i likely would be actively working on something else by then and those final updates would no longer be the main priority. that being said, i do have a desire for this game to be imperfect. like many, i like how the original progressively gets better and that's sorta like a living journal. i could write and tell people about how i improved but watching it visually and watching me gain confidence throughout the chapters is something that i actually like. it's a souvenir for me based on a very personal journey. like i said above, the revamp will still have that and i'm actually grateful for that so there's part of me that's ok watching that again. plus, with all the fake AI stuff out there now, i kinda like my flawed stuff because it feels more real
Kezillo
An idea for you (maybe); once revamp beta is complete and has been rolled out, take a breather, incorporate all the adjustments you compiled over the span of making the revamp (you could make a list of tasks or even start producing the new images now on the side if that's more convenient and time efficient), and then have an official release for the alpha version. While we have the finished beta to hold us over, we'll still be on our toes with anticipation for the fully polished alpha. p.s. you're refining this story beautifully so far, keep up the good work :)
