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Game Update #53
🕑 Added 2024-04-06 17:35:26 +0000 UTCI hope everyone is having a good weekend! I have a new game status update for you today.
First, the cover image - I thought I'd share another look at what's coming in the Morning After Update. Turns out, just because you can't hook up with Asher in reality, that won't stop him from getting intimate with you in your dreams...
Let's look at where I'm at as of today.
Art
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback about a potential new Dominic. The comments were excellent and very helpful! The poll shook out to be around 1/4 prefer the original, 1/2 like the new direction, and the final 1/4 didn't feel strongly either way. I've decided to continue down the path of updating his model while taking extra care to incorporate changes suggested in the comments. I had to scout out new assets and utilities to make the changes, but I felt much more confident in making that investment after reading everyone's reactions.
I'll have a separate post about this soon to share a look at the first revision and open the floor for more feedback.
As for the rest of the upcoming Morning After Update, most of the new CGs are done, including some more of Dream Asher. Dominic has a special sequence in this part of the story, which is why I'm trying to finish up the model revision soon. His CGs are some of the few remaining.
Writing
Writing this update has been a challenge, but I've made a lot of good progress. I've replayed through different variants of everyone's storylines so I can make sure you get as much reactivity to your choices as I can muster. I basically have the "ideal" paths down and am currently going through to add in alternate scenes, dialogue, and choices that can pop up depending on how you've navigated through the game so far.
Something else that got started writing-wise was planning out Trevor's Grind'm hookup. This isn't coming until the update after the Morning After Update, but I shared a few promo images of him & NC17 on social media a few weeks ago, and it gave me a surge of inspiration.
Here's how the flowchart shook out; as always, it's purposefully too small to read to avoid spoilers:
Yeah, it got lengthy. One reason is I create a new "node" every time we swap to a new CG setup, and since a Grind'm hookup is nothing but CGs, that means the chart can look bigger than a story update where I can sum up a big section in one little box.
But it's also longer than Jordi's hookup - nearly 200 CGs versus Jordi's 70 or so. It's basically like Leo's hookup in the game where you have different parallel paths you can take.
Like I said, I got inspired! I won't be looking back at this until after the Morning After Update is completed, but I'm glad I took the time to make the flowchart so I can jump right into writing the scenario once I get to that point.
Coding
Some tedious but necessary work I've been doing is completing setting relationship status flags as you enter into the Week 1 section of the game. This is a bit complicated since I have to distill all the various choice flags and relationship points I threw out during the game so far, then decide how that affects each character's reaction to you. It's proven to be a little tricky to wrap my head around. Thankfully I've got many of the guys finished the past few weeks, so there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
Looking Ahead
I think I'm finally rounding the corner on the next dev build for the Morning After Update. I can't say for sure if it'll be finished in the next few weeks, but I'll be working hard to get it done. It's the next development milestone, and once it's reached we'll be in the final stretch before the full version can be played by everyone.
That's what I've got today! I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one ๐
Comments
Tom Swift Sr.
I likely the growing complexity of the story. I know it means a LOT of more work for you, but it makes the gameplay all the more interesting -- where choices *matter* -- at least for me, and also offer more in replay value. And as a MAJOR Dominic fan, I am really waiting, waiting, waiting to see what the new draft version looks like and crossing my fingers.... **
Norman Gugliotta
The Asher story line is a favorite, and I have replayed it at least five times- and might now do another! I think it's important for Connor to explore the feelings and emotions of a relationship - especially for his first time. Looking forward to the Morning After Update!
