quinfax

Active Member
Jun 4, 2018
510
1,555





Teaser Scene
A final teaser scene from the Amanda update. This one from her blue path. Just hanging out, watching some TV when a visitor arrives. Welcome company in the lateness of the hour? Depends on your preferences I suppose.

Progress
Strides, massive strides. Though to be honest it's been a bitter sweet kind of week. While we've made a lot of forward movement, it's become increasingly clear that the structural changes we are making to the game won't be backwards compatible.
We've looked at what it will take to modify an old save to work with the new internal structure of the game and the amount of programming involved could be better spent developing more story. As with anything programming related, it's all possible, but the payoff would be exceptionally costly in terms of development time.

However, we've spent this last week really fine tuning the new process and it's going exceedingly well! Using Layers and custom built objects to control the visuals has allowed us to combine the writing/coding/image-integration phases together into a single process.
So now we only have to touch the script once when we initially write it and again when testing the images and making bug fixes and minor adjustments. What was once three separate process is now one, and it's exceedingly fast. This means moving forward we'll be producing content faster than previously before. However, we have to bring the rest of the game up to "code" so to speak.

Since we can't roll out the changes incrementally as we originally planned, we're going to open the throttle and burn a shit-load of mid-night oil bringing the interface back up to speed. It will require you to restart your game, but we've been looking very far ahead with these changes and can't conceive of a reason we'd ever have to ask you to do it again. And, there's a touch of good news.
While the changes you see as a player will mostly just be cosmetic, we are making serious alterations to the way the game stores and uses data. This is really the part that isn't compatible with old saves, but to us it's important because it will allow us to export and import character data much easier. Why do we need to import/export this data? Glad you asked.

The intention was always to make this game part of a larger series, with multiple MC's coexisting in the same fictional universe. Now let's say you are playing the second or third game in this series and you find your new MC interacting with one of the characters from this game. Maybe it's Roger, maybe it's one of the ladies. To make your personal story more cohesive, we want to be able to export the character as you left them at the end of DAST-001 so that they are faithfully represented in the next game in the exact same manner in which you left them here.

That's one of the biggest reasons for the technical update. We needed a simpler way to get that information out of this game and into the next. And since this game consists of a large number of choices and elements we need to be able to do it efficiently with as little overhead as possible. We don't want to write 150 lines of code when foresight and planning at this stage here can let us do it in 5. But the best news is, we've done it!

Now obviously this isn't a benefit we'll get to enjoy in the near future. But when the time comes, it's comforting to know that all the pieces are in place and we'll be able to execute it with little to no effort. It's exciting stuff that is really driving us to hit this game hard and get it done so we can move on to the next. But we won't move ahead until we feel that this game right here is done correctly and is the best we can make it.
And so the work goes on.

Current Poll and Wallpaper
We've had to go on a temporary hold with this just for the next week or two. Since we can't make the next update backwards compatible, we want to focus all of our time and energy putting all the pieces in place so that this is the only time you have to restart our game.

But once we get this next update out we'll return to the normal flow of business sometime around the beginning of February. So hang tight just a little longer because we're busting our asses over here.

New/Old Tiers
So we've reopened some of the old tiers upon patron request, but the rewards for the higher tiers remain the same as the $5 tier. So at $5 you still get all the benefits and rewards, but if you want to give a little more, you have that option.
A special thank you to those patrons that have chosen to contribute heavily to this project. We are eternally grateful.

What's Next
Since the new changes aren't backwards compatible we're doing everything we can to get this new structure distribution ready. We can't put a firm release date on it yet, but it will be before the end of January. We've been developing it in parallel with the regular story, so when it drops we'll have the Amanda scenes, Nanami scenes, and we're going to see about throwing in a bonus scene as well.

So we'll be a few weeks off than originally planned, but we'll get you something meaty before the end of the month for certain.

As always, thanks for checking in with us.
We stand by the notion that our players and patrons are the best in the business! It's your enthusiasm that keeps us going.

We at Ianvs Salute You!
Can't wait for the Amanda content.
I guess I can wait for more polls.
I like the idea of seeing some cameos and the like in future games.
I don't mind losing old saves. It gives me a reason to revisit my favorite ladies again.
Thanks another technical update. appreciate the hard work to get these implemented earlier that way it won't be an issue later on in the game. Don't think this work hasn't gone unappreciated.

Excelsior
 
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RomanHume

Sommelier of Pussy & Purveyor of Porn
Game Developer
Jan 5, 2018
2,390
13,341



Evening Friends.

Just wanted to stop in for a quick update.

As we discussed in our previous weekly news release, we've worked out importing and exporting character between games. And thus while up until this point, what Roger looked like was unimportant, with the opportunity for him to reemerge as a side character in a later game, it suddenly becomes relevant to define some of his features.

Without further ado, the above four images represent your options for what your Roger will look like.

Now don't worry, for purposes of immersion we intend to continue doing as we have and show very little of Roger's facial features during the playthrough of the game. We want you to feel immersed in the story. Our hope is that by having a cross section of skin tones we can help deepen that sense of immersion for everyone!

Now we know our selection isn't all inclusive, but we strove to select a series of skin shades that together would represent the widest cross section possible. Without going into all the nuances of race and culture, we figure this balance will cover a lot of ground and four additional layers is a manageable amount of extra work.

Naturally we'd like to include every race, color and culture possible but that would obviously stretch our development time out considerably and add greatly to the size of the game. So please understand that this selection was based on technical factors, not social ones.

And of course while we still refer to this character as Roger (the default name), when we hit the road with the updated UI you will have the option to name your character. While he may always be Roger to us, we're doing everything we can to let you take him and make him your own.

Enough outta me, gotta get back to work.

Cheers mates!
 

botc76

The Crawling Chaos, Bringer of Strange Joy
Donor
Oct 23, 2016
4,419
13,182
@RomanHume There was a bit of discussion about daughter/not-daughter dialogue a while back because of wincest modding, but just wanted to clarify my thoughts.

I feel that yes, Roger rather awkwardly telling Amana that Cassie "uh, yeah, she's totally not my daughter" is reasonable, however, it doesn't make sense to me that in his actual interactions with her, that she calls him 'Roger' and not 'Dad'. His inner thoughts are what he's telling Amana in his therapy sessions. In his recall, he doesn't have to be telling her 'she called me Roger', but rather he remembers it as it should be, her calling him Dad. Unless it's a Dharma & Greg situation with Dharma, but I'm not feeling that here.

I understand that being on Patreon required the workaround in the first place, but it would be great if the backend code would accommodate this. For example, PhillyGames' Depraved Awakening [ ] has separate 'nickname' settings for three different characters. There are of course other examples and ways to do this, but the gist of it is to make it so the dialogue doesn't have to rewritten by hand for wincest mods.

Of course, there is also a whole 'nother level of modding where he tells Amana that Cassie is in fact his daughter, but that's a bit different.

There are kids who call their parents by name. It's not that uncommon, at least when the kids are older (which in this case where they are supposedly over 18years old, they are).
 

Dilettante

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2017
1,231
1,512
Gotta say I prefer the fourth, third is too young looking, the eyebrows on the first 2 make them look like evil villains.
I'm pretty sure third one is the default Roger. He might look younger than others, but i think i prefer him. He's handsome. Fourth is the close second. Two others, yeah, those eyebrows (especially first one) would surely suit some amazing antagonist. :) Add to that their menacing look, and that i actually saw second model being used as villain in few other games. Maybe first one too, don't remember.
 

quinfax

Active Member
Jun 4, 2018
510
1,555



Evening Friends.

Just wanted to stop in for a quick update.

As we discussed in our previous weekly news release, we've worked out importing and exporting character between games. And thus while up until this point, what Roger looked like was unimportant, with the opportunity for him to reemerge as a side character in a later game, it suddenly becomes relevant to define some of his features.

Without further ado, the above four images represent your options for what your Roger will look like.

Now don't worry, for purposes of immersion we intend to continue doing as we have and show very little of Roger's facial features during the playthrough of the game. We want you to feel immersed in the story. Our hope is that by having a cross section of skin tones we can help deepen that sense of immersion for everyone!

Now we know our selection isn't all inclusive, but we strove to select a series of skin shades that together would represent the widest cross section possible. Without going into all the nuances of race and culture, we figure this balance will cover a lot of ground and four additional layers is a manageable amount of extra work.

Naturally we'd like to include every race, color and culture possible but that would obviously stretch our development time out considerably and add greatly to the size of the game. So please understand that this selection was based on technical factors, not social ones.

And of course while we still refer to this character as Roger (the default name), when we hit the road with the updated UI you will have the option to name your character. While he may always be Roger to us, we're doing everything we can to let you take him and make him your own.

Enough outta me, gotta get back to work.

Cheers mates!
Oh choices. Delicious.

All the roger choices look good. Though if you pulled my arm i would go with 3 or 4 leaning more towards the former.

Keep it up.

Excelsior
 
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Mondoblasto

Well-Known Member
Nov 13, 2017
1,374
2,190
Now don't worry, for purposes of immersion we intend to continue doing as we have and show very little of Roger's facial features during the playthrough of the game. We want you to feel immersed in the story. Our hope is that by having a cross section of skin tones we can help deepen that sense of immersion for everyone!
I believe I like 3 and 4. Although for the purposes of wincest, I wonder if you guys considered that changing the skin tone of Roger would effect Cassie's skin? As Roman mentioned before, true wincest ATM is not really a focus right now because Patreon, but unless the plan is to stick with Patreon-approved, or write her in as a step-daughter, I think it's something that you guys may have to consider.

As for skin tones in general, that got me thinking: how hard is it to actually change skin tone? I'm asking as a general open question to anyone to answer. In my mind's eye, I see someone at their computer going "Clickety Click—Barba Trick" and using a drop-down menu, but I'm sure it's MUCH more involved than that. Plus the pic, as has been bandied about constantly on this site, has to be 'rendered', but what does that really mean? :unsure: Does a change in skin tone mean re-rendering a new pic? How much can you get away with in editing before a new render has to be made?
 
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RomanHume

Sommelier of Pussy & Purveyor of Porn
Game Developer
Jan 5, 2018
2,390
13,341
I believe I like 3 and 4. Although for the purposes of wincest, I wonder if you guys considered that changing the skin tone of Roger would effect Cassie's skin? As Roman mentioned before, true wincest ATM is not really a focus right now because Patreon, but unless the plan is to stick with Patreon-approved, or write her in as a step-daughter, I think it's something that you guys may have to consider.

As for skin tones in general, that got me thinking: how hard is it to actually change skin tone? I'm asking as a general open question to anyone to answer. In my mind's eye, I see someone at their computer going "Clickety Click—Barba Trick" and using a drop-down menu, but I'm sure it's MUCH more involved than that. Plus the pic, as has been bandied about constantly on this site, has to be 'rendered', but what does that really mean? :unsure: Does a change in skin tone mean re-rendering a new pic? How much can you get away with in editing before a new render has to be made?
As for the first point, I like to point to the singer Halsey. Exhibit A, a picture of her and her father.
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Clearly genetics are a funny fucking thing. But like you said, it's a non-issue because Roger and Cassie aren't related....right....RIGHT!

As for the second question, each image that includes Roger, has to be rendered four times. Once for each skin tone. But, we only have to render the portion of the image that has Roger in it. So it's exceptionally fast to bust out four renders when you're only doing a single object with no background or other items.

Then in the renpy code itself, you'll pick a skin tone at character creation and each time an image is displayed that has Roger in it, renpy will select the correct render of the four and lay it on top of the rest of the image. The final effect is actually very seamless and once we get a scene done we'll post up the four comparisons just for show. Hope that answers your question.

If not, I'd be happy to expound further.

Cheers mate!
 

RomanHume

Sommelier of Pussy & Purveyor of Porn
Game Developer
Jan 5, 2018
2,390
13,341





Teaser Scene
This week's teaser scene is less about a scene from the game (though it is) and more about the power of layers. It is unfortunate that in our quest to master Daz we side lined tuning up our Renpy skills, but we're quickly closing that gap. Utilizing layers to build out the images not only speeds up the writing/coding cycle, but in many ways is speeding up the image generation process as well.
It's taken a little bit of time to settle in on a new SOP for production, but we're there now and we have a new streamlined method of development carrying us forward.

As you can see from the cutaway above, each character is now rendered out in three to four layers:
The mannequin is underneath everything and rendered with the background. This ensures the lighting and shadows all interplay with the remainder of the scene correctly.

The skin is laid over the mannequin and can be swapped out for different materials/make ups/skin tones/etc.
The clothing is rendered out and laid over the top of all this. Being a separate layer, clothing can now be changed, altered etc. with a single line of code.

Finally, we have two smaller layers that comprise the mouth and eyes which can be turned on and off to depending on if a character is talking or looking elsewhere in a scene.

We know what we're doing here is nothing new. But it's new for us and we're excited about it because it's opening up all kinds of possibilities that we'll discuss below in the What's Next segment.

Progress
Another busy week come and gone. At this point we've been splitting our time up between two parallel projects. The first project is completing the new interface. The new structure of the game's code is going to fully utilize the layered tech as well as encapsulate characters and their choices into easily exportable objects.

This will allow us to export characters as they appear in this game and import them into other games. It's a complete 180 degree turn from the previous coding structure. So part of the time we've been going back and recoding all of the previously released material to work with the new interface. We're not really changing anything or doing rewrites. Just recoding it so that it will work with the new design.

We're also re-rendering a lot of the old material. Previously we settled on a 1280 x 720 resolution because for purposes of file size it was manageable. But now that we are using layers and compressing everything into a webp format, we can afford to upscale to 1920 X 1080 and still save memory. (Plus when you blow up the 1280 x 720 image onto a large monitor it looks like shit and this has always bothered me.)

So with the upgrade we'll be getting some enhanced imagery as well.
Now I know what you're thinking....Wait, are you fuckers really starting all over again? Didn't we do this once last year? Don't worry, that's the second half of what we've been working on.

Because we are still over a month away from having all of the previous content updated for the new UI, we are still moving forward with our plans to release Amanda, Nanami, Jane and Lupita updates over the course of the next month. But to avoid having to rework all of this new material in two months, we're coding it in such a way that it will not only function with the previous version, but with a couple of small tweaks will plug right into the new interface when it is done.

This has left us a little behind on our update schedule because we've been going back and making sure that the new scenes are compatible with both versions of the game. This way we can release them to you now with the version you have, but when we do the launch of the new UI we won't have to alter those scenes at all. We can just plug them in and keep moving forward.
Just to show off some of the progress we're making with the new UI, here's a sneak peek at the Character Creation Scene, Kink Selection and the new Story Menu.



When you start the game in v1.1.X you will begin with character customization. This is where you will name your character and select his portrait.




Next you will be taken the questionnaire that asks you about your preferred choice of kinks in the game. This is all the same information previously available in the "kinks menu" but in a more user friendly format.




The new character menu is a lot cleaner and contains useful information. Now, when a character has a scene available their image will be lit up. Their character image will also change depending on whether you are on the red or blue path. This not only confirms which path you're on, but will help signal when you've made a change to a different path via your choices.

You will also notice in this image that Amana is highlighted in purple. People have been asking for awhile that Amana play a bigger role in the game, so this is our way of implementing it. After you've played through a scene this will queue up a "therapy session" with Amana. By clicking on her you can discuss what just happened in the prior scene and dig a little deeper into Roger's psyche and really drill down into why he's behaving the way he is.

As we said, these "therapy sessions" will be queued. So it's up to you if you talk to her immediately after a scene of if you want to build up four or five sessions and go through them at once and have a nice long cry on the doctor's breasts.....I mean shoulder. I meant to say shoulder.

Alternatively you can just skip them altogether as they are not mandatory to complete the game. They just offer opportunities for more character development and immersion.

So that's what's up. Not much to drop in your hands just yet, but we've really been busting ass to bring you the best that we can.


What's Next
Pushing ahead with the update Amanda is almost ready. We're almost finished with the recode and then we'll drive that one out to you. We have a little ways left to go with Nanami though in light of the new structure.

We're all about characterization. We like well developed characters. It's just our thing. Well to that end, sometimes we write characters that we enjoy so much or that we think are interesting enough that they one day should get their own Dr. Amana game and be the MC. One such character is Val Jones, the detective we are about to introduce in Nanami's next chapter.

Now it's going to be odd if we present Val a certain way here but at a later point you play his game and completely change his appearance. Breaks continuity. Now that we've got the ability to easily import/export characters, we've come up with a solution. Anytime you encounter a character that we think may one day get their own game, we'll let you pick their portrait and name them right here in this game.

Then, later, should you chose to continue in another game, you'll have the option of importing your choices from this game into the next and have one unbroken narrative. On our end, it's not a whole lot of extra work and the end result will be something really fun.
Since Val is one of those characters, we've had to delay Nanami a bit while we work out the implementation and get it going. It'll be a short delay and well worth the wait I promise.

For now, that's all I got.

Stay frosty my friends.

Salute!
 

TheDevian

Svengali Productions
Game Developer
Mar 8, 2018
13,652
31,938





Teaser Scene
This week's teaser scene is less about a scene from the game (though it is) and more about the power of layers. It is unfortunate that in our quest to master Daz we side lined tuning up our Renpy skills, but we're quickly closing that gap. Utilizing layers to build out the images not only speeds up the writing/coding cycle, but in many ways is speeding up the image generation process as well.
It's taken a little bit of time to settle in on a new SOP for production, but we're there now and we have a new streamlined method of development carrying us forward.

As you can see from the cutaway above, each character is now rendered out in three to four layers:
The mannequin is underneath everything and rendered with the background. This ensures the lighting and shadows all interplay with the remainder of the scene correctly.

The skin is laid over the mannequin and can be swapped out for different materials/make ups/skin tones/etc.
The clothing is rendered out and laid over the top of all this. Being a separate layer, clothing can now be changed, altered etc. with a single line of code.

Finally, we have two smaller layers that comprise the mouth and eyes which can be turned on and off to depending on if a character is talking or looking elsewhere in a scene.

We know what we're doing here is nothing new. But it's new for us and we're excited about it because it's opening up all kinds of possibilities that we'll discuss below in the What's Next segment.

Progress
Another busy week come and gone. At this point we've been splitting our time up between two parallel projects. The first project is completing the new interface. The new structure of the game's code is going to fully utilize the layered tech as well as encapsulate characters and their choices into easily exportable objects.

This will allow us to export characters as they appear in this game and import them into other games. It's a complete 180 degree turn from the previous coding structure. So part of the time we've been going back and recoding all of the previously released material to work with the new interface. We're not really changing anything or doing rewrites. Just recoding it so that it will work with the new design.

We're also re-rendering a lot of the old material. Previously we settled on a 1280 x 720 resolution because for purposes of file size it was manageable. But now that we are using layers and compressing everything into a webp format, we can afford to upscale to 1920 X 1080 and still save memory. (Plus when you blow up the 1280 x 720 image onto a large monitor it looks like shit and this has always bothered me.)

So with the upgrade we'll be getting some enhanced imagery as well.
Now I know what you're thinking....Wait, are you fuckers really starting all over again? Didn't we do this once last year? Don't worry, that's the second half of what we've been working on.

Because we are still over a month away from having all of the previous content updated for the new UI, we are still moving forward with our plans to release Amanda, Nanami, Jane and Lupita updates over the course of the next month. But to avoid having to rework all of this new material in two months, we're coding it in such a way that it will not only function with the previous version, but with a couple of small tweaks will plug right into the new interface when it is done.

This has left us a little behind on our update schedule because we've been going back and making sure that the new scenes are compatible with both versions of the game. This way we can release them to you now with the version you have, but when we do the launch of the new UI we won't have to alter those scenes at all. We can just plug them in and keep moving forward.
Just to show off some of the progress we're making with the new UI, here's a sneak peek at the Character Creation Scene, Kink Selection and the new Story Menu.



When you start the game in v1.1.X you will begin with character customization. This is where you will name your character and select his portrait.




Next you will be taken the questionnaire that asks you about your preferred choice of kinks in the game. This is all the same information previously available in the "kinks menu" but in a more user friendly format.




The new character menu is a lot cleaner and contains useful information. Now, when a character has a scene available their image will be lit up. Their character image will also change depending on whether you are on the red or blue path. This not only confirms which path you're on, but will help signal when you've made a change to a different path via your choices.

You will also notice in this image that Amana is highlighted in purple. People have been asking for awhile that Amana play a bigger role in the game, so this is our way of implementing it. After you've played through a scene this will queue up a "therapy session" with Amana. By clicking on her you can discuss what just happened in the prior scene and dig a little deeper into Roger's psyche and really drill down into why he's behaving the way he is.

As we said, these "therapy sessions" will be queued. So it's up to you if you talk to her immediately after a scene of if you want to build up four or five sessions and go through them at once and have a nice long cry on the doctor's breasts.....I mean shoulder. I meant to say shoulder.

Alternatively you can just skip them altogether as they are not mandatory to complete the game. They just offer opportunities for more character development and immersion.

So that's what's up. Not much to drop in your hands just yet, but we've really been busting ass to bring you the best that we can.


What's Next
Pushing ahead with the update Amanda is almost ready. We're almost finished with the recode and then we'll drive that one out to you. We have a little ways left to go with Nanami though in light of the new structure.

We're all about characterization. We like well developed characters. It's just our thing. Well to that end, sometimes we write characters that we enjoy so much or that we think are interesting enough that they one day should get their own Dr. Amana game and be the MC. One such character is Val Jones, the detective we are about to introduce in Nanami's next chapter.

Now it's going to be odd if we present Val a certain way here but at a later point you play his game and completely change his appearance. Breaks continuity. Now that we've got the ability to easily import/export characters, we've come up with a solution. Anytime you encounter a character that we think may one day get their own game, we'll let you pick their portrait and name them right here in this game.

Then, later, should you chose to continue in another game, you'll have the option of importing your choices from this game into the next and have one unbroken narrative. On our end, it's not a whole lot of extra work and the end result will be something really fun.
Since Val is one of those characters, we've had to delay Nanami a bit while we work out the implementation and get it going. It'll be a short delay and well worth the wait I promise.

For now, that's all I got.

Stay frosty my friends.

Salute!
That new UI stuff looks really good. Very professional.
 
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Reactions: RomanHume

quinfax

Active Member
Jun 4, 2018
510
1,555





Teaser Scene
This week's teaser scene is less about a scene from the game (though it is) and more about the power of layers. It is unfortunate that in our quest to master Daz we side lined tuning up our Renpy skills, but we're quickly closing that gap. Utilizing layers to build out the images not only speeds up the writing/coding cycle, but in many ways is speeding up the image generation process as well.
It's taken a little bit of time to settle in on a new SOP for production, but we're there now and we have a new streamlined method of development carrying us forward.

As you can see from the cutaway above, each character is now rendered out in three to four layers:
The mannequin is underneath everything and rendered with the background. This ensures the lighting and shadows all interplay with the remainder of the scene correctly.

The skin is laid over the mannequin and can be swapped out for different materials/make ups/skin tones/etc.
The clothing is rendered out and laid over the top of all this. Being a separate layer, clothing can now be changed, altered etc. with a single line of code.

Finally, we have two smaller layers that comprise the mouth and eyes which can be turned on and off to depending on if a character is talking or looking elsewhere in a scene.

We know what we're doing here is nothing new. But it's new for us and we're excited about it because it's opening up all kinds of possibilities that we'll discuss below in the What's Next segment.

Progress
Another busy week come and gone. At this point we've been splitting our time up between two parallel projects. The first project is completing the new interface. The new structure of the game's code is going to fully utilize the layered tech as well as encapsulate characters and their choices into easily exportable objects.

This will allow us to export characters as they appear in this game and import them into other games. It's a complete 180 degree turn from the previous coding structure. So part of the time we've been going back and recoding all of the previously released material to work with the new interface. We're not really changing anything or doing rewrites. Just recoding it so that it will work with the new design.

We're also re-rendering a lot of the old material. Previously we settled on a 1280 x 720 resolution because for purposes of file size it was manageable. But now that we are using layers and compressing everything into a webp format, we can afford to upscale to 1920 X 1080 and still save memory. (Plus when you blow up the 1280 x 720 image onto a large monitor it looks like shit and this has always bothered me.)

So with the upgrade we'll be getting some enhanced imagery as well.
Now I know what you're thinking....Wait, are you fuckers really starting all over again? Didn't we do this once last year? Don't worry, that's the second half of what we've been working on.

Because we are still over a month away from having all of the previous content updated for the new UI, we are still moving forward with our plans to release Amanda, Nanami, Jane and Lupita updates over the course of the next month. But to avoid having to rework all of this new material in two months, we're coding it in such a way that it will not only function with the previous version, but with a couple of small tweaks will plug right into the new interface when it is done.

This has left us a little behind on our update schedule because we've been going back and making sure that the new scenes are compatible with both versions of the game. This way we can release them to you now with the version you have, but when we do the launch of the new UI we won't have to alter those scenes at all. We can just plug them in and keep moving forward.
Just to show off some of the progress we're making with the new UI, here's a sneak peek at the Character Creation Scene, Kink Selection and the new Story Menu.



When you start the game in v1.1.X you will begin with character customization. This is where you will name your character and select his portrait.




Next you will be taken the questionnaire that asks you about your preferred choice of kinks in the game. This is all the same information previously available in the "kinks menu" but in a more user friendly format.




The new character menu is a lot cleaner and contains useful information. Now, when a character has a scene available their image will be lit up. Their character image will also change depending on whether you are on the red or blue path. This not only confirms which path you're on, but will help signal when you've made a change to a different path via your choices.

You will also notice in this image that Amana is highlighted in purple. People have been asking for awhile that Amana play a bigger role in the game, so this is our way of implementing it. After you've played through a scene this will queue up a "therapy session" with Amana. By clicking on her you can discuss what just happened in the prior scene and dig a little deeper into Roger's psyche and really drill down into why he's behaving the way he is.

As we said, these "therapy sessions" will be queued. So it's up to you if you talk to her immediately after a scene of if you want to build up four or five sessions and go through them at once and have a nice long cry on the doctor's breasts.....I mean shoulder. I meant to say shoulder.

Alternatively you can just skip them altogether as they are not mandatory to complete the game. They just offer opportunities for more character development and immersion.

So that's what's up. Not much to drop in your hands just yet, but we've really been busting ass to bring you the best that we can.


What's Next
Pushing ahead with the update Amanda is almost ready. We're almost finished with the recode and then we'll drive that one out to you. We have a little ways left to go with Nanami though in light of the new structure.

We're all about characterization. We like well developed characters. It's just our thing. Well to that end, sometimes we write characters that we enjoy so much or that we think are interesting enough that they one day should get their own Dr. Amana game and be the MC. One such character is Val Jones, the detective we are about to introduce in Nanami's next chapter.

Now it's going to be odd if we present Val a certain way here but at a later point you play his game and completely change his appearance. Breaks continuity. Now that we've got the ability to easily import/export characters, we've come up with a solution. Anytime you encounter a character that we think may one day get their own game, we'll let you pick their portrait and name them right here in this game.

Then, later, should you chose to continue in another game, you'll have the option of importing your choices from this game into the next and have one unbroken narrative. On our end, it's not a whole lot of extra work and the end result will be something really fun.
Since Val is one of those characters, we've had to delay Nanami a bit while we work out the implementation and get it going. It'll be a short delay and well worth the wait I promise.

For now, that's all I got.

Stay frosty my friends.

Salute!
Damn son.
You guys seem to be working quite a bit in the background. It's not for naught though because from all the images it looks pretty good.
Nice to see Amana getting a bit more of an interaction in the story.
Everything seems to be shaping up quite nicely.

Excelsior

P.S. What manner of devil powers has Amanda performed to show her three forms?
 
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UnDeaD_CyBorG

Well-Known Member
Apr 6, 2018
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Nice update. Lots of stuff happening.
I'm probably a bad judge, but I feel that all options for roger look ... not-better than what you had.
 
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RomanHume

Sommelier of Pussy & Purveyor of Porn
Game Developer
Jan 5, 2018
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That new UI stuff looks really good. Very professional.
We appreciate you saying so. Our programming background is in analytics and mathematics. We use languages like R and python, but for churning out numbers and charts. So we have a very good understanding of the "flow" of a program. But this is our first foray into developing any kind of user interface and it's just as much art as it is science.

So we've been studying other UI's and reading up on UI design and development to try and bridge that divide. We want it to be useful, intuitive and artistic. Hopefully we're hitting on all those. Cheers mate.

Damn son.
You guys seem to be working quite a bit in the background. It's not for naught though because from all the images it looks pretty good.
Nice to see Amana getting a bit more of an interaction in the story.
Everything seems to be shaping up quite nicely.

Excelsior

P.S. What manner of devil powers has Amanda performed to show her three forms?
I know it's not true, but I often feel like if we don't release an update every two or three weeks people think we're blowing the project off. So when we go long periods of time like this I start to get this self imposed pressure to get shit done. But the reality is, stuff just takes time. And it's better to take the time and do it right than rush it through and have to patch it up later.

As far as Amanda's devil powers, we've actually changed her story a bit. Now instead of a live girl she's an android. Truth is all of our characters are androids. I had Fecal take this picture of me at my desk designing characters for our game. Enjoy!
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Nice update. Lots of stuff happening.
I'm probably a bad judge, but I feel that all options for roger look ... not-better than what you had.
I mean, I have my favorite of course. But I imagine everyone will have a different opinion. And for others, the choices provided may help them immerse in the story just a little bit more. I'm for anything that enhances people's enjoyment of our story.

Cheers mate!

We appreciate everyone commenting!
 

RomanHume

Sommelier of Pussy & Purveyor of Porn
Game Developer
Jan 5, 2018
2,390
13,341
THAT'S BRILLIANT! \o/
Thank you! I like that it's not only more intuitive and informative, but it looks a lot cleaner. And less "out of the box" than the standard renpy selection menu.

@RomanHume glad you took my advice about webp! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
Well yes, it was solid advice. And always a good suggestion. We nearly rejected it just because we were just struggling finding a Photoshop plug in that worked well. Then @Penfold Mole suggested doing all of the post work in jpeg and png and then just batching everything to webp and it didn't take us long to find a good tool for that. So yeah, we're up and moving now with the webp.

Thanks again to the both of you for the suggestion!

Analysis and mathematics, huh? Allow me to impress you with my knowledge/skills in 1 word:

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Add Pandas and Matplotlib to your vocabulary and the ladies will whistle at you and ignore their boyfriends and husbands. Happens to me all the time. :cool:

I've been diddling with Tensorflow but I have to get better with Linux before I'll ever be able to dig deep into it. Truth is though I don't know if I want to. As much as I like doing analytics (and the pay is excellent), I'd rather make a go of just writing porn all day. I mean, getting up, having a cigar and a drink before noon while smashing out some hot Cassie action! That's the fucking dream right there. :ROFLMAO:
 

TheDevian

Svengali Productions
Game Developer
Mar 8, 2018
13,652
31,938
We appreciate you saying so. Our programming background is in analytics and mathematics. We use languages like R and python, but for churning out numbers and charts. So we have a very good understanding of the "flow" of a program. But this is our first foray into developing any kind of user interface and it's just as much art as it is science.
Gotta love math! :geek:
Yeah, the art side of it is important, and you seem to be nailing it pretty well here.
 
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UnDeaD_CyBorG

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Apr 6, 2018
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Ah, UX design.
Heard a lecture on that just 2 days ago.
Everytime you think you got it all someone comes around with something you also need to look at.
 
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Sancrest

Member
Jul 5, 2018
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I know it's not true, but I often feel like if we don't release an update every two or three weeks people think we're blowing the project off. So when we go long periods of time like this I start to get this self imposed pressure to get shit done. But the reality is, stuff just takes time. And it's better to take the time and do it right than rush it through and have to patch it up later.
Well you don't have to worry about me. I am still in the middle of the seas so I won't know if you don't work for 2 3 months XD
 
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