News about Hypnosis Episode 14 Part Two

Hey, everyone!

I finally have news on the latest update, namely that it's in the testing phase! This update will wrap up Episode Fourteen, which I'm pretty happy to be nearing completion as it was a long time coming.

I'll be away from my computer over the weekend, giving the beta testers time to find any issues by the time I return so the new content can get polished up. There are still a few more things I'll squeeze in if I have time, like adding the walkthrough for the new episode and other such projects. 

Either way, I plan to release the update here on the Mesmerized Tier and above on Friday March 8th, with the Fascinated Tier gaining access two weeks later.

What is there to say about the update without giving too many spoilers?

Originally I thought the remainder of the update would only be about a quarter of the total content, but it ended up just about doubling the size of the episode.

This makes this episode the biggest one yet, which is funny because when I first talked about it I mentioned I was attempting to bring episodes back down to a more manageable size. Episode Thirteen was also split into two parts, and originally I was going to aim for two parts on this one too, but the halfway mark originally ended on the conversation with Laura which wasn't where I wanted to leave it off.

The only reason I didn't finish the update in full was to release it before the end of the year, but I think it ended up working out where this second half is enough content to warrant its own update.

In total, this update finished up at over 12,000 lines of code and dialogue, surpassing Episode 13's 8,000 by about 50%. That episode had around 200 renders, this one is almost 1,000 and had over double the animations. 

So much for smaller updates, but I guess I can always try again next time! This update had a lot of moving pieces, and it feels great to finally complete it and put it in my rearview. 

I got the Android version working at last, many thanks to VeritronX for helping reduce the file size of the animations significantly while still looking good enough I can't tell the difference, meaning I'll be able to do several more updates before worrying about fitting into the 2gb limit for APKs.

Some of you mentioned having experience working with the image files as well, so I'll probably reach out at some point for that.

I also found a way to give the option to play the Broken Watch Branch from the main storyline where the MC still has his watch in a way that makes sense, and I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I didn't like making players go back three updates worth just to reach the branch, so now it's possible to play it (or not) regardless of whether the MC recovers the watch in Episode Ten. That branch ended up having more significance than I originally planned, so I feel good about giving it a more prominence and making it easier to find.

I believe I mentioned it before, but I want to do what I can to make sure we don't see any more long delays like this one was. Going forward, I plan to release a mix of small and full updates to make sure the new content comes out more often and more consistently. 

A good amount of the time delay was due to scope creep, namely me attempting to take the story in too many directions at once. The next few updates will be more straightforward, keeping things moving quicker and giving the chance to catch up with each of the girls. 

I'll go into more detail about plans for future updates in the future, but I wanted to keep this post as spoiler free as I could make it.

Mainly, thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported the game, I can honestly say I wouldn't be able to do it without you. This update was a struggle, mainly with my disappointment in feeling like I was letting you down by taking so long to finish it. 

So to everyone who stuck around, I want to tell you it means a lot to me and I really appreciate you. 

Thanks again!