[Episode Jabbah] Progress Update XXXIV (Patreon)

Greetings,

today will be a bit longer post so I split it in sections.

Last Week

Kast week I was mostly busy finishing up the episode with the scripting around it. I added a few more renders and animations and the review is basically done, thanks to osanaiko. There are just a few improvements I want to add to the game framework and do some more testing before I release it. The last few releases always had some problems where I quickly needed to create a few bugfix release. I'd like to be better prepared for that.

Release Schedule

Plan is to start release for Messier Tier on Wednesday, followed by Kepler Tier on Thursday and on Saturday will be the release for the Galilei Tier.

Steam-release

I postponed the Steam-release out of anxiety really. I feared it would change the scope of the project from a hobby to a side-job which I wasn't really happy with. I feared that I'd probably would have to deal with doing more support to keep everyone happy. I never could bring myself up to do the marketing everyone is telling about when releasing a game on Steam. I just don't like doing marketing.However, as I've paved most of the way for the Steam release I'm set to do it. I'll try to use the traction this new episode might give to finally set the steam release a few weeks from now. I just need to decide what I do with the new episode. If I make it available on Steam as well and in which form. I'll need to do some research on that, how other people do it.

Render Reward Poll

I'll try to set it up tomorrow. I need a good third idea first.

Render Challenge

For the supporters who have been following me for a while now (thank you very much for that) might remember that I tried to participate in 3D Render Challenge a few times in the past but never could really make it. Either it fell in my vacations, I was busy with finishing a release or I didn't like the topic. On the first of August, Pwnisher (the guy who holds this challenges), is starting a new challenge. They are usually once or twice every year and will be given 1 month time.

Here is the teaser for the new challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbeNmDYLP9wAmazing videos from previous challenges: https://www.youtube.com/@pwnisher/videos

I want to check the initial stream/announcement they do and if I like the concept they want for the challenge, I would try to participate in that challenge. The timing is quite fitting, just after releasing that episode and not having really started on the next one. Of course I would pause the billing cycle again and make another announcement for that. However, this is not set in stone yet, it's just too let you know.

Episode Kochab

The next episode will go by the name Kochab, following my version naming in alphabetical order of well known star names. The next episode will still be quite linear as there are some things to sort out before, without spoiling the new episode, but that episode should lay the ground-work for the more quest-based/sandbox events. However, a while ago I already started to implement a game-mode switch where you can choose between Kinetic-Novel, Visual-Novel and Sandbox style. However, it's been a few months since I worked on that and I know there were some complications with the current implementation but I want to give a bit more freedom on how the player can engage with the story as I know there are some people who don't like sandbox games.

Content

1025 HD renders

14 HD Animations

2 High-res vertical scroll image

99% Scripting done

Review done