Devlog #33 - General Post
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22 hours ago
Dear Supporters,
we realized that it’s been quite a while since we made a general post for all subscribers - also our update frequency was a bit lacking due to us concentrating on development and content creation.
The first part is a summary of what has been going on since the last release and the second one is an update on the current status.
Part One - The Summary
Updates and Improvements since 0.5.5
There have been many improvements and updates to the game and code that will find their way into version 0.6, some examples:
- updates to our main characters Claire and Sofia (overhauled expressions, added expressions, main body sprites and clothing)
- updates to secondary characters like Laura and Richard
- preparations for new secondary characters that will see greater interaction with Claire (e.g. some of the people she met at Josh’s party)
Updated expressions and polish on Claire’s character, also updates on Sofia (aka our writer’s most favorite redhead):
Also some other character were polished and upgraded - Laura’s picture here is just too nice not to share:
More importantly the new base models for our characters allow us to pave the way for added customization options like:
- additional clothing options for Claire
- new hairstyles for Claire
- additional facial expressions
We are still checking whether new outfits will follow a certain path or be options that Claire can purchase (or a mix of both). As options might have a certain impact on individual scenes later on we have to see how we can keep the possible permutations in check.
Some hairstyles we are experimenting with:
Another more in depth Character example would be Agnes:
Agnes only had one template and one set of clothes until now, once we start using her more in the story she requires a “full template” that enables us to use her in various scenes, apply different clothes in her conversation template and/or create specific art (in e.g. naughty scenes). As we extend the storyline and paths more an more characters require this treatment to enable us to use them more and be more flexible in what we show with them.
Old Agnes model:
Updated New model:
Test variations after model upgrade
But not only Characters models are updated we are also updating and polishing old scenes in preparation to add animations to some of them in the future.
Besides overall polish we have been extending the content of course - things that we already mentioned in the +Star tier posts so far:
- Claire’s first real movie job (if you got the job, that is)
- additional session with Richard (in case you asked him for help)
- extension of the work at Sam’s café
- Claire’s third porn job
- Chloe/Martin’s side quest is continuing
- Our writer has another “side quest” scripted, he’s just not sure yet when to start injecting it into the storyline (note - not in 0.6)
That’s just a brief outline what we reported the last weeks, now coming to the “new stuff”…
Part Two - Current Status of Release 0.6
Release 0.6 is shaping up towards its release nicely at the moment - the release will cover the game time until the end of Sunday for Claire’s second week in the city. We decided to lock the release content to Sunday in Claire’s week as it felt like a good point in time in the flow of the story as well.
Currently added content since 0.5.5
- about 50.000+ words of script
- 8 new background images
- 34 updates to Claire’s template (remaster + new)
- 16 updates to Sofa’s template (remaster + new)
- 9 Updates to Clive’s template (remaster + new)
- 7 variations to Florence’s template (new character)
- 7 variations to Owen’s template (new character)
- 9 updates to Josh’s template (remaster + new)
- 75 new scenes so far (number will increase again by the time of release)
- 2 new animations added so far(Laura-Aaron, Claire-Aaron)
- improved may of showing phone conversations between characters (supporting face expressions)
Outlook/Release
For the 0.6 release we will follow the usual release schedule of Alpha/Beta/Public the we did with 0.5 - however, this time we will not add additional content/artwork moving from Alpha to Beta.
Two simple reasons:
- We do not have any placeholder artwork in there as the scenes will all be released complete
- We already have content that actually happen on “Monday” in the game world near the finishing line.
So we will focus right on the mid release 0.6.5 after 0.6 reached public and all the bugs are ironed out.
Now as for the release date we estimate the the final wrap up will take us a couple of weeks (including the internal testing) until we have the release version done. Our goal is to release it in Q3/2025 but rest assured we are working on it to get it out as soon as we can.
Frequent ongoing external infrastructure issues (power outages) still hamper the progress of our artist and coder so we are a bit cautious to name a date yet.
We will, however, increase our dev log frequency again and see if we can go back to the old schedule and also add more public information in between as well. We have been so focused on content creation that this part fell a bit short (as some of you also mentioned).
Teaser artwork
Some peeks into what’s new for you to enjoy:
New phone conversation artwork
Our new title screen for 0.6 (WIP)
(Spoiler Alert!)
Conclusion
We continue our work and will update you more frequently as we close in on a release date - we appreciate your patience and support and hope you will like what we have in store for you for version 0.6.
Until then thank you and feel free to reach out to us on our Discord or leave a comment here.
Take care
The City of Dreams Dev Team
