FreshmenVN
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Status Update #75
🕑 Added 2025-03-10 15:07:39 +0000 UTCHey there, everyone. It's long past time for my first game status update for March, so here it is!
I unfortunately got very sick at the start of the month and was knocked out of commission for a while, so I didn't get anywhere near as much done as I wanted, including keeping on top of Patreon. I'll have the list of what I did get done below.
First, I want to talk about the cover image. If you follow me on Bluesky, you may have seen that Isaiah is the latest main character to get an HD upgrade. I'd been looking for new skin materials for him for a long while, and nothing I found really worked all that well. I wasn't super happy with some of the images from last month's Guy Gallery, for instance.
Based on a suggestion from the creator of Bound By Night, I tried out the materials from a figure I'd previously overlooked, and it turned out great. The new textures don't just have more detail but are also so much easier to light than other textures I tried.
Here's a side-by-side of his sprites as a comparison, with the new one on the right:
Like the updates for Leo and Riley, he's still obviously Isaiah, just upgraded to match the quality of the more recently added characters. I immediately tested him out by remaking some of his CGs, like the cover image for this post (before I knew I'd be losing time on the upcoming update).
Something I've talked about before is how much a character's textures affect how lighting looks in a scene. For darker skinned characters, I want to use highlights to define their features, so Isaiah's old skin textures not reflecting light well made the model difficult to work with, especially when he was in scenes with paler characters.
I think a good example of this is the old and new versions of his revised intro CG:
If you look at the background of each, the original was more washed out because I had to crank the lights way up to get some definition on Isaiah—and Isaiah still seemed shrouded in shadow. In the new image, I could use similar lighting but tone it down to better fit with the other orientation CGs while still making Isaiah pop as the main subject of the image.
This shower CG also had lighting cranked super high originally. The setup is the same in both images, but I was able to lower the lighting strength because of how well Isaiah looked under more normal lighting conditions.
And a few more side-by-sides just to demonstrate how much better I think he looks:
I also stumbled across a newer character model that I liked quite a bit and wanted to use. I'd been thinking about how Isaiah's nemesis, David, might develop over the course of story, and I decided to take him in a slightly different direction. Since his original model had the same problem as some others—a poor body sculpt and skin textures that didn't work well under certain lighting—I decided to use the new model I found for him.
One big change to David's design is I wanted him to be "skeezier," for story reasons. In part because he's so into being "masc" that he's trying—and failing—to grow a beard. Here's what he looks like now next to the original on the left:
Anyway, that was all a side quest I undertook for a few days before I knew how much time I'd lose on the Grind'm scenario. But I did manage to get some more pertinent stuff done the past week and a half. Here's the to-do list:
Completed Components
🟢 GENERAL 🟢
Revised Models
Alex, full revision
* David, full revision
* Isaiah, revision
NC17, tweaks
Trevor, tweaks
New Model
Henri (Matt's former roommate)
Patrick (music teacher)
Revised CGs
* Dominic/Isaiah day 2 showers
* Isaiah intro
* Isaiah day 1 tease
* Isaiah day 2 tease
* Isaiah shower teases (4 of 4 completed)
Revised Sprites
Connor's Grind'm clothes for Jordi's scenario (8 of 8 completed)
* David day 2 (8 of 8 completed)
* Isaiah day 1, day 2 afternoon, day 2 evening, underwear, & towel (41 of 41 completed)
Jordi's Grind'm clothes (5 of 5 completed)
Jordi naked erect (5 of 5 completed)
Coding
Jordi's Grind'm scenario CG unlocks
Bug fixes (ongoing)
🟢 TREVOR GRIND'M UPDATE 🟢
Art - Menu
Revised Grind'm menu screen
Trevor profile pics (4 of 4 completed)
Trevor profile text (2 of 2 completed)
Grind'm gallery screens (4 of 4 completed)
Jordi's Grind'm gallery thumbnails (39 of 39 completed)
* Trevor's Grind'm gallery thumbnails (64 of 74 completed)
Art - Sprites
Cell phone (10 of 10 completed)
Connor Grind'm clothes (24 of 24 completed)
Trevor Grind'm clothes (5 of 5 completed)
* Trevor naked erect (5 of 5 completed)
* Additional character(s) (5 of ? completed)
Unlock pop-up notification sprite
Art - CGs
Scenario intro CGs (2 of 2 completed)
Scenario foreplay CGs (28 of 28 completed)
Scenario side CGs (28 of 28 completed)
Scenario bottom CGs (29 of 29 completed)
Scenario top CGs (27 of 27 completed)
Scenario versatile CGs (3 of 3 completed)
Scenario cumming CGs (20 of 69 completed)
* Scenario afterglow CGs (4 of 4 completed)
* Scenario ending CGs (2 of 2 completed)
Art - Backgrounds
City (1 of 1 completed)
Hotel (7 of 7 completed)
Art - Character Models
Hotel Clerk
Valet
Writing
Trevor profile text (2 of 2 variations completed)
Scenario introduction
Scenario foreplay
Scenario side/oral, part 1
Scenario side/oral, part 2 (3 of 3 variations completed)
Scenario bottom, part 1
Scenario bottom, part 2 (3 of 3 variations completed)
Scenario top, part 1
Scenario top, part 2 (3 of 3 variations completed)
Scenario versatile
Scenario cumming (10 of 10 variations completed)
Scenario afterglow (2 of 2 variations completed)
Scenario ending (2 of 2 variations completed)
Scenario end screen (3 of 3 variations completed)
Coding
Trevor scenario unlocks
Revised Grind'm menu screen
Grind'm gallery screens (2 of 2 completed)
Scenario introduction
Scenario foreplay (5 of 5 segments completed)
Scenario side/oral, part 1 (4 of 4 segments completed)
Scenario bottom, part 1 (4 of 4 segments completed)
Scenario top, part 1 (4 of 4 segments completed)
Needed Components
🟡 TREVOR GRIND'M UPDATE 🟡
Art - Menu
* Trevor's Grind'm gallery thumbnails (10 of 74 needed)
Art - Sprites
Additional character(s) (total unknown)
Art - CGs
Scenario cumming CGs (49 of 69 needed)
Scenario end screen CGs (3 of 3 needed)
Writing
All completed
Coding
Scenario versatile
Scenario afterglow
Scenario ending
Scenario end screens
I'm feeling much better as of today, so I'm back to work! I'll have another status update in a few weeks that should have much more crossed off.
I hope everyone has a good start to the week!
Comments
Ty
Damn it didn’t work this time
Ty
When can we expect the next update post?
Danny Nym
I decided not to guess at time frame for releases after I did that all last year and kept guessing wrong. Instead I'm putting to-do lists in these status updates so everyone can see what all I've completed and what remains, which I think is a better way to keep track of how things are proceeding.
Joshu
Glad you're feeling better also zomg not me supporting both BBN and Freshmen: PE I'm big fans of both and am so excites to see updates whenever you're up for putting them out, also as a brown guy myself big fan of this updated look
Kwatee
I absolutely love the new rough-trade David. Please tell me he cruises truck stops when he's not in class...
Ryostorm
Looks good! Love it!
Geozerken
When can we expect the next update?! So excited! We need more of Matt
Seaton
Y'all step back. Isaiah has been mine from the beginning. 😜 Can't wait to play with the newer Isaiah....😉
Mikayu
I'm sorry to hear that you weren't feeling well but I'm happy that you're feeling better now!!!
BJ
So glad you’re feeling better, and the new art looks amazing! You are doing a kick ass job with everything.
DC Burns
Isaiah is looking hotter, if thats even possible. David definitely had a glow up too. He looks less like Draco Malfoy and more “toxic macho guy”
Charlie
Thanks a lot for the reply! And wishing you a full recovery as well!
SteamedBear
Isaiah is a thicc boy in more ways than one!
Danny Nym
Thank you! Attention to detail is something I pride myself on, so I'm glad it's appreciated 🙂 As for characters, there's Evan's dad who's around 50 *and* on the stocky side, but I don't know when he'll show up in the game. I did a behind the scenes post where I walked through creating a version of him, but I think I'll end up remaking him, and I think more gray in his hair would actually look great. I added a stockier college-aged guy in the last update named Duke, but his model didn't look as good as I hoped, so he's not featured much. At some point I'll remake him, and he'll definitely keep the same body type. There's also Rodney, who briefly pops up in Asher's storyline. I'm trying to reign in how many new guys I make, but if I get a hankering for more and find a good model, I can vary up the body type a bit more for sure.
Danny Nym
Haha, there are gonna be a whole lot of guys in the game lamenting that they can't top Isaiah, but we can all still appreciate the view!
Danny Nym
I think the poll is still open, but I'll probably do new ones soon with the updated models to see if that changes any results!
Danny Nym
Haha, I really love writing Isaiah, and knowing all the fun he and Connor can end up having while exploring certain body parts is a part of that 😉
Danny Nym
Isaiah's skin tone is about the same—I think he's darker complexioned, actually—it's really all about how the skin materials react to light. The new textures for him—and all the updated guys—are what's called PBR, which stands for physically based rendering. There are a lot of advanced settings that allow for realistic absorption and reflection of light. The older materials basically just bounced light off the base texture. For darker-skinned characters, that could make them look flat and lose their features. For pale guys like Riley, it could completely wash them out. You want to light for nice shadows for lighter skin and great highlights for darker skin to really define features, which is why I'm slowly updating some of the earliest created characters to have PBR materials and other HD details. They need to hold up next to the new guys since they're the main characters. And when I have a scenes that would include both Isaiah and Riley, for example, I can more reliably light them in a way that flatters both guys. As for David, I didn't plan to do much to redeem him before, but I came up with some new ideas that steered course more in that direction. Not in a way where Isaiah will date him or anything, but giving him a little grace for being a young gay guy poorly handling how he relates to masculinity, which is kind of the theme for Isaiah's storyline.
Charlie
Great work as always :) The new Isaiah looks gorgeous, cannot wait to see more! I was wondering if there are plans for a ‘stockier’ type of guy, and/or older one, more grey-haired (or if there are any already)? All in all, I follow a few VN patreons and I must say, your attention to detail and quality is amazing! Keep it up! Looking forward to the next update :)
Sprinklers
Absolutely loving the new Isaiah and OMG DAT FAT ASS! :)
Briannon-Faie
Yeah, Isaiah looks quite renewed, although his hue looks decidedly less dark to my eyes, which are probably not so sharp-sighted anymore. Davids new version marks a rather drastic change. He looks more like somebody struggling with addiction than the smug self-centered beau from before. There probably really won't be a redemption arc? Hope you fare better now! Despite me not always being on the same train regarding a few select choices, the mere fact that so much thought and commitment is shown invariably, rises the general excitement for new updates tremendously.
Mike E
As someone dating a guy with a BBC, I'm a BIG fan of this update. Lmfao. Hope you're feeling better
Brandon Hay
Oh wow, is there still time to go back and vote for David in the side guys poll? His glow up is so sexy.
Jeffrey C
I feel like David stands out a lot more with the new model. I am definitely into the skeezier direction. Love Isaiah's new body though I do think his face in the underwear side-by-side looks a little more cartoony then the original but in all of the other pics I do like how the new face looks. Amazing to see how far the Grind'm update has come. Also, excited when we finally get to meet the music professor....
