General Update #47

Hey there everyone!

Today we have some news to share with you about the games.

Silent Echo

The artworks for Ava's succubus scenes are completed and we are in the process of implementing the new scenes.

The artworks for the new patreon exclusive outfit are also finished.

For the moment that is all I have to share in regards to Silent Echo, as we are taking some extra time this week to prepare Starwatch's next update.

Starwatch Academy

With 0.4.0 now released, we are looking at what we're doing next for the game and how we can setup development so both games receive updates in a timely manner.

While we already have tasks lined up for the next update such as the finished implementation of the third crew quest, we've also been looking at what aspects of the game slow down development.

One issue we've identified while talking among us is the time spent on the androgynous body type.

Traditionally, games with transformative paperdolls use a single, common base with a unique pose to be able to render the MC in almost every possible way. Our artist didn't want to go that way as he felt this was restrictive from a design perspective, and found more interesting to have independent bases for the body types.

The androgynous/femboy body type is something we've introduced early in the 0.3.0 patch cycle, as an answer to the "problem" of the transition between male and female bodies in TF contexts being quite significant.

While I'm sure it felt like it was a good idea at the time, when we looked at the time spent on the tasks related to the androgynous body type, we've found that they were quite consistently four times more expensive in dev time than the same tasks for male or female.

With this in mind, it feels like we've tried at the time to solve a problem that wasn't really one. The MTF trans start has, in my opinion, proved this right even more. Following a lengthy discussion, the team has decided to remove the androgynous body type from the game.

One factor that heavily weighted in favor of this removal is the little exposure this body type currently has in the game. Currently it's appearances are limited to using the temp mod, one stage in the lab experiment TF, and Edward's cocktail at the night club (if fem).

Following this decision, we've been busy this week cleaning up the game and altering the sequences where the andro body was featured, replacing it with either male TF or trans TF depending on the original body type.

We've also fully implemented the male TF mod that was still missing from the game. In the next update, a new temp mod named "Adonis" will be available for sale at the common's clinic, granting players with a fem body the ability to temporarily transform to a male body.

With this out of the way, we'll be able to properly plan development on the coming weeks for both Silent Echo and Starwatch.

That's it for this week!
Have fun!