Patreon Devlog 09/19

Hey guys! Sorry for posting the devlog a little late. To be honest, I haven't been feeling great the past couple of days. ;A;

That, and I wanted to wait until the character wallpaper poll was complete as well!  Caleb managed to pull ahead at the very end and won. So next I'll do a poll regarding the wallpaper content! 

But for now, on to this week's update!

Summary:

• Changed the choice buttons to show which personality trait (if any) a given choice is related to.
• Found and repaired a glitch in how personality stats worked
• One completed BG (two?? I DONT REMEMBER ANYMORE)
• Three new sketches
• Completed Jack Chapter Three
• Started Jack Chapter Four
• Worked on a random CG
• Made some tweaks to a couple of sprites

The Ramble:

The ramble!

OKAY. So let's talk choices! 

Last weekend (so just after my update) I ended up spending some time tinkering with the choices in Gilded Shadows. Namely, I wanted to change up the buttons so I can tag them with what personality trait they align to.

The traits really don't do much beyond unlock variations - they don't really impact your relationship that much in and of themselves (the content of the choice is more important than the specific trait it aligns to). 

But I like having the choices tagged more than I like having a notice pop up post-choice - which is what the code was before I changed it.

Setting up the choice situation was far more annoying that I expected it to be. I had some help but the fact that I'm still a very-much novice coder did not help the situation. Then, while working on that, I noticed a glitch in how trait scores were being handled and I had to fix that. Fortunately, that turned out to be an easier fix than I expected. But still...bug squashing is always frustrating.

And I basically spent a lot of time being annoyed at code last weekend! LoL

That should all be working now. One hopes....

I haven't gotten any more errors for now!

In writing news, I finished up Ch. 3, "What Lies Beneath" and started Ch. 4, "Sanctuary". Jack's chapters are all annoyingly long right now. >=V I need to find a way to start cutting back because chapters are supposed to be 6-7k each. And his are all over 8k so far and getting progressively longer. LoL

Anyway, Ch. 3 set up a critical plot significant component of the route and while I was working on it all, I had several inspirations for other plot elements, one of which involves Jack's sister and is something I'm quite happy about in terms of writing it into the route. The other I'm still undecided on. I think it would be interesting as a plot element but it will definitely require me to do some editing on the other three routes for continuity. I don't mind it since it's not that big a deal. I just have to decide if it's worth it. I'm leaning toward yes, but haven't made up my mind just yet.

Anyway, getting into Ch. 4, I hope I can keep this chapter down to about 6k. I'm not sure because, unfortunately, this is where Rory can potentially return. So I know I'll have to have a few big branches based on whether or not Rory arrives to the Court at this time. Even so! Here is hoping. LoL

Jack's route, as a whole, is at around 25% complete and my total for the first six love interests is back up to 60% (if you remember, it dropped below sixty when I adjusted my word count goals to account for the fact the routes are all currently looking to be around 110,000. Overall, taking into account the difference between the coded and non-coded word counts, I do expect that coded word count is likely to be similar to Changeling, which was 686,000 words for six LIs. 

The entirety of GS will be longer than Changeling only because it has more love interests. I expect the routes will probably play similarly. 

In other news, we did receive at least one BG this week...maybe two? Honestly, it all starts to blur together. I think we received one and then multiple new sketches. Including the sketch for one of my most anticipated BGs - The Endgame garden.

I'm really looking forward to the next two weeks when these new completed BGs start rolling in. I think BGs are currently around 80%(ish) complete now! 

Finally, I started working on a random CG for Jack's route. No real reason. I just wanted to draw. It's for a scene I don't have written so I don't know if I'll even be able to use it. LoL. But sometimes you just have to draw! So I did.

Sneak Peeks and Previews:

So this week in previews:

A bathroom! LoL (There are a lot of bathroom BGs. This amuses me. But, hey. There are some important shower scenes!)

And the sketch of the indoor garden at the Endgame HQ:

I'm really looking forward to seeing this one completed! 

Upcoming Week:

W R I T I N G.

Like last week, I hope to get Ch. 4 done and Ch. 5 started. It would be great, of course, to finish two chapters.

Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Of course, this upcoming week I won't have a friend releasing the demo for her game and, not going to lie, that was kind of a distraction. LoL

Hopefully, though, no coding this week. Hopefully! 

Anyway, see you all next time. Keep an eye out for the next wallpaper poll!