Translations + Dev's thoughts + More!

Improved Translations

With the latest release, existing translations have been completely reworked and should now be significantly better than previous versions. If you tried any of the available translations before and found them lacking, please install the latest update and share your feedback!

Jonin+: Download here

Chunin: Download here

(Language idioms and expressions may still present minor challenges. To those who've offered help with translations, thank you for your willingness and interest! I'm currently developing a collaborative tool that will allow community assistance with these aspects. More details coming soon!)

v0.19 and beyond

As with previous updates, I always try to provide realistic expectations about upcoming content.

With that in mind, here's what you can expect:

v0.19 - May 14th

• Completion of the Bathroom event (Hinata/Himawari)

• Completion of kitchen actions (Hinata)

• Tenten's pendant quest conclusion

• Sarada's Relationship + Interactions

• Sakura's Final Lesson

• Tsunade's Discovery

• To be Determined (Maybe more depending on dev cycle)

v0.20 - June 30th

Too early for in-depth details, but you can expect lots of Hinata goodness in this one, including an Ending/Gooner choice involving Hinata.

The paradoxical nature of non-linear development

I will be the first to admit that v0.18 may not have been as gratifying as some previous releases, but there's good reason for that.

You can learn more in my new series of occasional write-ups:

Dev's thoughts #1

The Madame's class is now in session! Gather around...

Hey everyone, I haven't really written down my thoughts before in this manner, but I felt like now would be a good opportunity to let those interested venture into what goes into producing a game like HoS. Part of why I'm writing this is because I expect some of you to be underwhelmed by what v0.18 offers, and I'd like to explain why.

Given the events of previous releases, one would expect each sequential update to present new, bolder opportunities for the player to engage with. After all, this is that kind of... game, right? Well, yes, but also no.

You see, a game that wants to build an engaging sandbox, one whose interactivity remains grounded in its writing, presents new options, adds sequential events, and introduces new systems without jarring problems, is a game that needs to be well thought out in advance. Such a game CANNOT be developed sequentially.

It's practically impossible to maintain a feel of 'linear' progression when every update's scope may range anywhere from advancing the overarching story to adding/fleshing out content or introducing characters meant to be experienced at earlier or later parts of the game.

This may explain why the events that transpire when you first meet Sakura (which happened during v0.18) may not necessarily be as 'spicy' as the events of, let's say, Yoruichi's photoshoot (v0.17), even though the former released after the latter. The reason is quite simple, but perhaps hard to grasp from an outsider's perspective.

The Paradoxical Nature of Non-Linear Development

You will be quiet in my class!

When v0.1 was initially introduced 8 months ago, the sandbox only included limited events, allowing for some navigation within your home and some events within the market. You derped around for 7 days until a major plot point was introduced, and then were left to your own devices forever more in an empty sandbox. Not very fun, right?

Part of the reason why, 8 months later, we are still in Chapter 1, is precisely because the surrounding systems had to be built and set up to enrich that sandbox, allowing future events, characters, stories, and everything else to be seamlessly tied to the existing world.

More importantly, everything added since then is intended to allow a player who starts a new game today to experience Chapter 1 as it was originally envisioned when I first started working on HoS. Instead of endlessly roaming around, a player starting a new game today will have options like:

• Working at the Ramen shop

• Visiting the Infirmary

• Exploring the Uchiha household

• Pursuing relationships at home

• Strength Training

The game now offers 14 days of various choices, culminating in what is meant to be the introduction to Chapter 2 (Day 14) once v0.20 releases. Every part of every day until Day 14 is meant to include some new experience or choice the player will have to make, some of which may or may not be particularly useful once the events of Day 14 transpire.

Even within those 14 days, the order in which you experience each event is contingent on how I configure any relevant stat checks or requirements.

For example, given the low requirements for triggering the Uchiha household events, you will very likely stumble upon that section faster than you would for Yoruichi's Photoshoot. Hence why the MC may appear to be 'weaker' or 'less bold' in the events of v0.18, as opposed to previous updates.

This is just one of many examples of how the paradoxical nature of non-linear development may affect how each new update is perceived.


TLDR: HoS is typically developed in a fragmented, iterative way (features built separately, sections designed out of order, systems programmed independently), but players are expected to experience the final product as a cohesive whole. Hence why some updates may feel less or more gratifying!

Thank you for reading!
-CutePercentage

You weren't paying any attention, were you?