Hello, everyone! dilukha, Art Director, here. Let’s cut to the chase: just like last time, there will be no Patreon exclusivity period, and this update will be released publicly for everyone! 

Let’s start with what I consider the most significant change of this update…

UI

As I’ve mentioned before, the first two phases of the Visual Update are by far the heaviest, not only due to the amount of assets they require, but also because they demanded a significant re-estructuring of the code. In Phase 1, a lot of development time went into redesigning and reorganizing the UI, adjusting it for the new resolution, and trying to implement it without breaking the game. Thankfully, most of the heavy lifting has been done already, but there were still some big things that needed to be tackled. For Phase 2, we moved on to our second priority, the Daily Agenda and Task Assignment screens.

Needless to say these two screens are important, they’re where the management half of the game takes place. And much like the screens that were remade for Phase 1, as impressive as their initial implementation in Ren’py may have been, they had some design flaws that drastically affect the way players approach the game — which may not be too noticeable now, but which would become more apparent in upcoming chapters, when your management choices are going to become increasingly more crucial for the outcome of the narrative.

While some of these flaws go back to the very conceptualization of the mechanics (so you may expect some of these mechanics to be adjusted and become more robust with time, look forward to that!), a lot of these are simple matters of presentation: they show the player an overwhelming amount of information, and, at the same time, a lot of important, actionable information is never actually shown to the player. These are things that discourage players from fully engaging with the game’s mechanics — we saw that it wasn’t uncommon for players to keep their assignments mostly static throughout a playthrough, basing them around rotating characters in and out of Hangouts. These are the aspects that we’ve been tackling.

So let’s take a look! From now on, when a workday begins this is what you’ll be greeted with:

A lot simpler, isn’t it? A problem with the original Daily Agenda is that it makes management look more complicated than it actually is. Here it has been condensed into just two tasks: you can change Asterion’s clothes, or you can manage your team. Those are the two big things that this screen is about. You get a summary of your assignments for the day to double check that work is in order, and everything else you can worry about when you get to it. 

So let’s get to it! Welcome to the new Task Assignment screen!

Previously, this consisted of an area where you assigned characters to either R&D or Exploration by dropping them into columns. Now, what we have here is not two, but three “mini-rooms”: one for R&D, one for Exploration, and one for either Hangouts or Overtime (we’ll get to that in a bit). Clicking the “+” buttons on any of these will take you to their respective rooms, where the actual assignments will take place. Let’s look at Explore, for instance:

Each room has a list of the available employees and their relevant stats in the left, and the added stat total of assigned characters in the right. If a character has already been assigned to a different task or is unavailable for the day, you’ll be able to see that from here too. In Exploration here, it’s pretty simple (at least for now…), but other rooms, like R&D, have more stuff:

On the right side you’ll also be able to see other relevant numbers, like your currently owned Techs, Contracts and Materials. A big problem the original UI had was that the amount of resources one had accumulated was information that was impossible to access unless you were keeping track of it by hand, which for a game with resource management elements is a pretty important oversight. Now this information is right there, and you’ll be able to take it into account when you’re managing your team. 

(As a side note, the Math background used to have the bonus of displaying more information — not this exactly, but something similar —, but we decided that it wasn’t good design to hide information from most players, so Math’s getting reworked. That goes beyond the scope of this update, however, so Math players will sadly have to deal with their background being kind of useless while we finish balancing and implementing that rework. Please be patient, masters, because you’ll like the new bonuses the background will bring.)

And that’s not all: in a second tab, you’ll be able to choose the projects that you want to work on. That’s right! Before, the process by which a project was completed was kind of obscured. You could see a list of all the projects and their requirements, but since you couldn’t see your currently owned resources, knowing more or less which project was gonna be completed and when was pretty much vibes-based. From now on, the master has full control of this mechanic: you’ll be able to choose a specific project, and only that selected project will be considered for completion once the requirements are met. 

Now let’s talk about that third mini-room. Before, if you wanted to either hang out with a team member or work with them for gameplay benefits, you had to leave them idle in the Task Assignment screen and then select those tasks in the Daily Agenda. That process got streamlined: now each of these things is its own mini-room, and they belong to the same category as R&D and Exploration. In Hangouts you’ll be able to access the same hangouts as ever, where you spend time with a particular character and develop their story (here’s also where you can choose to talk to unrecruited guests, like Robert).

Overtime is the new name for those little benefits that employees like Themba and Khenbish can bring (raw materials and stat boosts in their case), that you need to sacrifice a day for. I made sure to make it clear that these two activities are mutually exclusive — you can only do one or the other.

If you pay attention, the actual mechanics of the game have remained the same, but all of these presentation changes are meant to empower the hotel’s Master to make more informed and engaged decisions with clear incentives. Are you gonna spend your time doing your last hangout with Kota, whose storyline you’ve been excited to see completed, or is it more beneficial to take this time to work with Themba to obtain those raw materials that you really need to finish the pool? Or maybe you could complete both Kota’s hangouts and the pool project in a single day, but that’d involve sending Khenbish out to Exploration, whose high danger stat could make you risk an injury. Before, it was very unlikely for players to even make these considerations at all or to engage in high-risk playstyles, but now all the information necessary to make these calls is right there! 

Reworking these two screens was a process that took a lot of time and a lot of testing, and I hope that it makes the management side of the game feel a lot more relevant and a lot more fun — really make it feel like you’re leading a magical hotel of your own. Also, I have to extend my thanks to Wattson and Creeples from the programming team who made this huge UI change possible! Now, let’s move on to…

Sprites

Sprites are hard work. The amount of sprites planned for this update was also larger than the one for the first stage of the VU, so a lot of hard work. But we have some more experience under our belts after all our efforts in VU1, and I’m confident to say that Rayan, Lappan and I have gotten the style of the game figured out, and I hope that coordination is evident. Without further ado, let’s look at the stuff we’ve finished since the last progress update!

You may have already seen images of this sprite going around in Minotaur Hotel’s socials, but I haven’t taken the time to talk about him in depth in a Devlog yet, so let’s do that! By this stage, Asterion is starting to feel more like himself, and this is the point in the story where his husbando factor starts showing. I did my best to inject him with all the charm possible: warm, homely expressions with soft eyes, a handsome square jaw, a top-heavy silhouette that’s becoming noticeable, even if he’s still getting there… 

It was very important to get this sprite done before his full one, story progression aside, because this is when I had to figure out a way to handle his multiple fur tones. In the original mostly flat-colored art style, changing his fur color was trivial, but with hand-painted sprites it’s not as simple as just shifting the hue. In the end, it was possible with careful layering and hand-tuned gradient mapping: It requires a little more manual fine-tuning, but also allows for theoretically any fur color, which will be relevant later…

In my last Devlog, I showed off some in-progress sprites of P and Storm, and they’ve been finalized since!

I’m not gonna retread too much ground here, so if you wanna read more about Storm’s direction and P’s redesign, I recommend you go back to read the first progress update. There’s something evidently new here, which is that P has a new outfit! 

Unlike other staff members, P’s main “arc” is mostly finished in the events of the Hinterlands chapters, so we had the idea to give him a change of wardrobe that reflected his character development and his new situation. It’s very similar to what he has always worn — functional, comfortable on his bird chest and his useless winglets — but it’s a shift from the strictly utilitarian to something a little fancier, more fitting for his natural colors, and more outwardly confident. The shirt has a familiar pattern on it, a bit of a sentimental touch. And of course, it also comes with a coat to play up his detective vibes! This will be his new default outfit in the later chapters going forward, so we hope you enjoy it! (As an addendum to that, we’ve been having discussions about making this a general thing, and giving staff members new clothes as a reward for finishing their hangouts. We already have some plans…) 

Another thing: you can’t see it here, but P’s sprite had a significant increase in complexity. Why? I can’t tell yet, it’s a mystery! You’ll find out soon enough.

Now, let’s go to some of the sprites that were handled by Rayan, who worked on Luke during the first phase. Luke’s new sprite was a fan favorite, and I’m happy to say that Rayan kept the momentum going, because he had two big assignments for the second phase.

First, Themba! As a fun fact, “Rayan would probably draw a great Themba” was the very reason I chose to bring him onto the spriting team, so seeing him finished is the culmination of a year-long dream. Just look at him! He's so expressive, so handsome, so big!!! I won’t stick too long with him, since you’ve probably seen him extensively already in the Minotaur Hotel socials (Mino is also quite fond of him, if you haven’t noticed) but I wanna highlight his new Cthonic pattern. With bright reds and oranges against stark grays and thin, organic lines running down his ears, he has a very volcanic quality that ties into the grootslang’s cavernous associations. Such a cool design is well worth the pain of figuring out the mechanisms that let this version of Themba reveal itself…

Rayan’s second task for this update: the handsomest boar, Khenbish!

Khenbish has always been the most popular of the second wave of staff members, so a lot was hanging on his charm being preserved, and I think the final result is excellent. It’s impossible not to fall for a smile like that!! A fun detail I enjoy is that in the same vein as Themba, who was given kinky-textured body hair to make his ethnicity apparent, Khenbish’s eyes here are visibly the eyes of a man who hails from the steppes of Mongolia. It’s subtle, but it adds a lot of richness to his character, and the cast as a whole — Minotaur Hotel is a story about many people from all over the world coming together, so small details like that go a long way in making the characters feel more real.

I’ve mentioned that I wanted the VU to feel “almost complete” by the second phase, and hopefully, it’s starting to show: the only major characters whose new sprites are still pending are Wolf and, of course, fully healed Asterion. With most of the main cast complete, the time to put all the experience we’ve gained into everyone’s favorite bull is approaching rapidly…

But that’s enough of that! Let’s move on to:

Backgrounds

Ever since the first phase, backgrounds have been the unsung hero of the Visual Update. They weren’t my first priority, they didn’t perform high in our interest surveys, but after we implemented the first batch of backgrounds it was obvious that they drastically elevated the ambience of the game. They make the world of Minotaur Hotel feel alive. You might remember that we recruited some new artists specifically to help out with the backgrounds, and that we showed off some of the new additions, so let’s pick up where we left off:

First, Faun was in charge of creating more backgrounds for the Valley!

Even in its austerity, the Valley is a space that has a very diverse geography. We already spend a lot of time here with Argos’ quest, and we’re gonna spend a lot of time here in future chapters, so it was crucial to make every Valley background feel not only like a different location, but also one with a different tone. Depending on where you explore, you might find yourself staring at an imposing mountain, or trapped at the bottom of a dried riverbank. Much like last time, Faun did a stellar job giving the Valley an organic, chaotic vibe with a handmade quality, and we’re delighted by the strong identity they give the game (I also had some fun painting over them to make alternative sunset and night versions for them!).

Moving back inside the hotel, Nolan (whose art we had already showcased in the last progress update, with his new café from the prologue) had the task of handling the old reception. This was a bit of a high priority background to change, partially because the old royalty-free image the game used just so happened to also be used by another popular VN, and we took the chance to make it more tailored to the story. Nolan’s style makes visible both the Art Deco style that the previous masters would have favored and the decadence of a once glorious space that has since succumbed to decades of disrepair. The melancholy of better times really shines through. It also provides a great counterpart to…

The New Reception, handiwork of Gyrium! I had talked about this redesign before (again, check the previous progress report if you haven’t), and I’m ecstatic to show you the finished version! This time it also includes multiple versions depending on the time of day, which not only makes it more versatile but also gives the writing team more excuses to use this space for different hang out or writing scenarios. 

And as our last background to show for today, Nolan also designed the train station where the MC finds himself at the very beginning of the story.

This background only shows up once (so far) but it’s also the first background you ever see in the game, and first impressions are everything. Much like the café right after, its lack of definition and the way it's completely bathed in light makes it feel more like an imagined space — a mirage, even — and immediately sets the tone that defines Minotaur Hotel as a story firmly set within magical realism. It’s just delightful, isn’t it? These new backgrounds are 

hard-carrying the identity of the game, so don’t forget to give our background artists their flowers.

And, lastly…

CGs

In our interest surveys, CGs have consistently performed as what readers would love to see the most, and we’ve listened! We had already showed a new CG for Argos’ introduction (by Ruby) and one for Luke’s sex scene (by Tora) in the progress report, and we have even more!

First, a new CG for the beloved, by Kinutao!

This scene, where Asterion reaches his second stage of healing, was just begging for a CG. Not only is it a key moment for his development, where he starts finally opening up to the MC, but it’s also — as I said before — when his husbando factor becomes clear; he’s just so handsome, is what I mean. This is a very warm, intimate scene that doesn’t rush, and so this is a big CG with multiple poses meant to give the impression that you’re really sitting there, talking to him. 

And following our new commitment to give major characters new CGs for their introductions, have a look at P’s renewed first appearance, by Ruby!

P’s introduction is one of the most intriguing moments in the game, and I’d been dying to see this illustration finished for that reason. Just like Argos’ CG, also done by Ruby, we’re taking a shot at more cinematic CGs with camera movements... You’ll see it when you try it out. We hope you like these experiments that we’ve been coming up with!

And that’s it for this Hotel Basics 2! Just like the first, this has been a long, dedicated job with lots of people involved, and seeing it come to fruition is intensely satisfying. Thank you to everyone in the art, programming and writing team for their contributions, and thank you to our patrons for making this possible!

We hope you enjoy the update, and we’ll be seeing each other again soon!

Download it from Itch, click here!

And after you play, fill our survey here!

-dil

Changelog

Sprites and Scripting

Overhauled character sprites: Half-Healed Asterion, Themba, Khenbish, Cobalts, Pedro and Oscar.

Half-healed Asterion gained seven new expressions (Angrier, Dissociating, Flicker, Open, Smirk, Tense, and Wistful).

Half-healed Asterion's scripting (by which I mean his facial expressions and posing in each scene) have been redone from the ground-up to utilize all the new expressions dilukha designed.

Kota's laughing and surprise sprites have been redone, and he gained a new "Smiling" expression. His introduction and the scenes all the way to Chapter 13  have been rescripted to make his emotions more subtle, in-line with Nemo's vision for Kota.

Kota's expression when returning from a successful Exploration assignment has been changed to "Smiling".

Likewise, Luke gained a subtle "Smiling" expression, and his scripting has been redone so it'd be on the same level of quality and details as Asterion's and Kota's.

Argos' encounters all the way to Chapter 18 have been rescripted to include his new "Dramatic" pose, in line with the changes done in VU Phase 1. Further rescripting past this point will, at a later date, include his new "Shy" pose.

Overhauled UI

The Staff Management UI has been entirely overhauled. All daily management activities have been brought together into a single screen from which you can access a variety of "mini-rooms" for exploration, R&D, hanging out, and other activities. These changes go well beyond the cosmetic and affect the flow of gameplay.

R&D Resources: Now players of all backgrounds will be informed of their accumulated resources (Tech, Contracts, Raw Resources), whereas this skill was reserved for players with the Math background. For now the Math background offers no benefit but we're already discussing options to resolve this.

R&D Projects List: Now players are able to pick which project they're aiming for at the start of the day and can see what resources they need to complete it, making it easier to trace a plan and work towards it.

"Overtime": Some characters (like Khenbish and Themba) bring in unique management activities, which have now been grouped in an "Overtime" mini-room.

Hangouts Integration: Hangouts are now picked in the same screen as all other management activities. Since Hangouts and Overtime activities are mutually exclusive, the UI is engineered to make that aspect clear.

The changes to the Task Management are very big and likely to cause unforeseen issues. Please report any bugs or visual glitches.

Overhauled BGs

The train station and the bar where you meet the Old Man at the start of the game, as well as the hotel's old reception, have been illustrated by Nolan.

The hotel's renovated reception has been illustrated by gyrium, and now comes in four flavors for different times of the day.

The valley has gained two new BGs by Faun, likewise coming in multiple flavors for times of the day.

CGs

Added a set of 3 new CGs by ActivateIguana to Argos' introduction, in-line with an ongoing goal to give introductory CGs to all recruitable characters.

Likewise, added new CGs to Luke's introductions. His entire introduction went through an editing/rewriting round with whale (the writing there really deserved some attention and love, mainly to improve on the quality of the sentences).

Kota's introdution went through an editing pass with Nemo. At a later date we'll add a set of new CGs to it, bringing it to parity with Luke's introduction.

Added 2 CGs by Phwog to the scene where Asterion talks with either Luke or Kota in front of the hotel.

Half-healed Asterion gained 4 new CGs by Kinutao, which come up after Asterion drinks the healing wine.

Pedro has gained a CG by ActivateIguana for his introduction after Chapter 13.

Bug Fixes

Fixed inconsistency in Chapter 9 where, if Luke is the manager of the lounge, he would appear shirtless in the background before appearing as a sprite with his shirt on.

Fixed a bug that made it impossible for Themba to have a penis.

Fixed the subsequent bug where Themba's penis would not stop showing even when it should not appear.

Adjusted Kota's height, making him a bit taller and compliant with Official Canon. Please report any instances where he's supposed to go off-screen but his tail awkwardly remains on-screen.

Fixed bug where Kota's "Further Puzzled" expression would be replaced with his "Angry" expression if his hair was set to "Loose".

Fixed two long-standing bugs where Khenbish's "Embarrassed" and Robert's "Dejected" expressions were miscategorized and being displayed on the wrong pose. (For the both of them, these expressions should have displayed on their arms "Crossed" pose instead of his "Front"-facing one.

Fixed over a hundred minor cases of characters hanging out halfway out of the screen due to the changes in their sprite sizes.

Other minor bug fixes.

Known Issues

Task Assignment screen still needs some adjustment for Android. It should be functional but expect buttons to be bigger/better sized in an update.

Khenbish's positioning on-screen in his hangouts is being manually readjusted. So far 3 out of 6 hangouts have been done, so please be informed that things will look slightly off for now over there.

Asterion's speedrunner charm has not been redone yet.

While Themba is now capable of having a penis, and said penis is capable of being contained, we still do not enough scenes in the game where said penis can be seen — which I'm sure a considerable slice of our playerbase will find problematic. Please refer to the Speedrunner pool scene if you must consult with Themba's phallus.

There'll be times when characters that are meant to leave the screen stop halfway out of it. This is due to changes in sprite sizing. Please report these occurrences here.