Progress Report APRIL 2024 (Patreon)

Hey there, Patreon people! Newman here with a one day delayed Progress Report. I know, I suck.

The reason: Absolutely insane month on all accounts. Here's an account of most of the shit that has happened/has been worked on:

I've been pretty down. One of the issues with taking this bloody long to release a build is that you want it to be so worth the wait (even when you know it won't happen because it's been THAT long) that you are almost afraid to work on it.

I have nevertheless set up a "fuck the big picture, just focus on the next step" system and worked on it. More on that later.

I finally gave up and installed Win 11, and my TOTALLY LEGAL roster of drawing and painting software stopped letting me save. Lost a couple of days fixing it. It was ok yesterday. The issue is back today. Imagine there's a NEW cool Progress Report image above (the one that's there is the old one for reference, I couldn't save the new one) with bits of improvement here and there and that's about it. I'll replace it tomorrow once I either figure out what the hell, or finally give up and buy the damn thing. AGAIN, I mean. Ahem.

My GFs dog got poisoned by some heartless asshole, and whenever we scheduled or rescheduled to see one another (she lives in a nearby city to mine) I had to organize around that (work meetings posponed, work on hold, that kinda stuff). So far that hasn't happened, and we don't know if her dog is going to be ok. Some people are fucking dicks.

There has been a totally avoidable series of misunderstandings in my other job (the less fun, full of meetings one) on which one of the best team members from my side of the team was blamed for stuff that was never his responsibility to begin with but the bosses were convinced it was (while the real culprit did not only not admit he was "the guy" but actually blamed my mate as well... just beautiful stuff) That whole thing has culminated in a serious talk in which we have step by step and with proof proven we were in the right, they were mistaken. That has taken its toll, but at least now we know we have to be thorough and keep a record of all communication. Sucks, but it is what it is. Thankfully, I had previous experience with things like this and I KNEW I could help mediate. Let's move forward.

I have had to test the game again from scratch. Which helped in some ways, but it's taken time. Dialog was improved, a question that I never quite liked the answer to (Why did Gwen REALLY asked Ben/Albedo to diddle her?) was finally answered is a satisfactory way. I also added expressions to new dialog (0.06 stuff, yeah!)

Aka and I discussed improvements to the combat system, including a Paper Mario-like bonus gimmick thing for Ultimate Aliens (yes, those will appear in the game :) ) that doesn't mean you can fail or feel unfair, but adds a small bonus if timed right. This (together with the AUTO combat button for lower-level enemies) makes combat less repetitive later on in the game. I researched high and low for cool RPG combat systems until I was satisfied with this. It isn't intrusive, has a neat bonus that can be a godsend in tense situations, but the way I see the system now, it shouldn't take too much time or feel like a damn QTE.

I've also worked on some scene sketches, some scenes that needed re-ordering later on in the game, and lost my mind one day with the last scene in the game. Had to scratch most of it, but at least now I know EXACTLY what's going to happen and in which order. It's an important scene, had to be done. Oh, and I made a couple of SFX thingies.

And that's it. At least that's all I can say without going into task organization software and ADHD medication, hyperfocus and burnout. For that kinda stuff I'll be an open book on Discord, ask away, just don't want to bore you to death here.

The main thing that has meant we still don't have a 0.06 this month was... me. No other way around it. Aka is waiting for me to add dialog and scenes right now. BUT. And it is a big butt! I've made progress! I am really happy about the changes I'm making to my life, my habits, and what it all means for my NSFW projects you are helping make a reality. I have cut my gaming hours, lift weighs almost every morning, eat less compulsively, stress less (most days), use Notion and my notebooks every day so I'm sure I will remember stuff, and function much better.

Things that used to make me want to hide under a rock (paperwork, setting appointments, going to appointments, forgetting stuff (including some of the aforementioned appointments), dealing with frustration and imposter syndrome, patiently explaining the truth to people who don't want to hear it even when it's staring them in the face...), now are bad moments I am proud to be able to put up with. This whole crap is easier to understand if you are neurodivergent and have spent most of your life undiagnosed, but man. Listen. It's good to know why I couldn't understand why my brain worked like it did for all those years. And so awesome to know that I now can, and will get better and better at.

So, here's hoping you don't decide now's the perfect time to bail, right? XD It would really suck after all the work, but you know what? it wouldn't change the fact that this game's getting done. Mental roadblocks can go fuck themselves.

To both believers and cynics, thanks again. You both are the reason Ben X lives on.

Newman.