Hello everyone!

Another three weeks, another devlog!

But before we start, an important notice...

Boosty situation

To the few who follow me there, and the even fewer who will think of checking this devlog on my other pages...I apologize for the lack of updates. I've now been unable to log into my account for over a month.

I tried to reach support, but without success so far.

My guess is that it has something to do with EU shenanigans?Well, I'll just play the long game and wait for now.

What's Been Done?

~600 renders (?) and 4 animations

Lots of code (around ~3k lines?)

GIVE ME THE DEETS PWEEEEASE!!!

+810 layered assets (static images + animated ones), 18 full renders

Got 8 more events into a "playable" state (17 total)

Honestly, I hoped to do a bit more this time around.

The first two weeks went without a hitch, but I stumbled in the third one.

Today, I've barely finished rendering a scene I hoped to finish last Sunday, so that's around a week behind schedule.

Chapter 5 assessement

Time to assess where I'm currently at with Chapter 5 development!

Based on previous devlogs, we should have:

04/18: +180 layered assets (~140 renders and 1 animation)

05/09: +200 layered assets (~150 renders(?) and 13 animations)

05/30: +200 layered assets (~88 renders(?) and 8 animations)

06/20: +300 layered assets (~150 renders(?) and 12 animations)

07/11: +1300 layered assets (~650 renders (?) and 26 animations)

07/31: +160 layered assets (~115 renders (?) and 1 animation)

08/22: +170 layered assets (~108 renders (?) and 3 animations)

09/11: +810 layered assets (~600 renders (?) and 4 animations)

Total: ~3320 layered assets (~2001 renders, 68 animations)

Please note the "~": everything is approximate. I honestly have no idea of the exact numbers and don't want to spend time counting every variation.

Currently, 2000 renders for Chapter 5, compared to 1600 renders for the last chapter...A lot more animations too.And the worst part is that I still have a good chunk of work ahead.

I can't really complain about encountering major issues or being limited by my current skills.

Everything is mostly going smoothly, overall render quality has gone up (I think), and most importantly, I've been able to make the renders as I envisioned them.

It's just that everything takes so much time, and I've consistently been unable to catch up on that front.

Pics

I'm at a point in the chapter where most new renders fall into spoiler territory (both spoiler and spoiler), so please excuse the lack of variety from now on.

First pic is MC being pinned down against a tree by Katsumi.Also, he looks a bit breathless, I guess?

...Ah, but with consent, okay?Both of these fictional, over-22-year-old, less-than-a-year-apart-in-age characters gave consent before making this render.

Before the next pic, let me say that I am aware that MC is somewhat difficult to like...

I know that some players have criticized the protagonist's personality as being too problematic...

But fear not, since I am a dev who listens to players' feelings and improves upon your feedback!

Please enjoy the new, improved version of our MC, with a whopping 600% buff to likeability!

I'm going to end up in a mental institute for this event, aren't I?

What's next

Rendering, rendering, rendering!

ETA?!!!

I'm still aiming for October...-ish.

Honestly, I'll probably need most of October to finish the renders, so with the week-long delay between the preview, early release, and public release, you should probably expect something in November.

Also...

Well, I am aware that I have a leaker now, so I'll probably have to give up on the extra dev time between early and public release and make sure everything is present in the early release, just in case.

And That's All for Today!

I can finally see the light at the end of this development hell, if only barely...

But why does it feel like this final stretch gets longer with every step I take?

Thank you...

...for following and supporting RomCom:Divergence, and to everyone playing along!

For Tier 3 supporters: No more Takeshi's Cultured Preview :( Though I'll share some pics if development goes longer than expected.For everyone else: I'll see you again in three weeks, on October 3, for the next devlog.

Thank you for your time.

-Haptales

P.S. Join the discord here: https://discord.gg/PRFGVqjWXV