Ren'Py Rivers of Astrum [v0.2.1.5] [Paper Tiger]

[Paper Tiger 83]

Ok, been a minute, so i figured i'd fill everyone in. The free roam is complete, and we're now rendering the final scene. But *most importantly* The new studio rig came in. AMD Ryzen 9 7900x, 12 cores @ 5GHz. 128G System RAM, Geforce RTX 4090 with 24G VRAM. Renders that once took 2.5 hours, now take 20 minutes. It's glorious. This is what I was waiting on before going into full 60FPS animations. After this series of renders, I will begin the first one of those to make it to the game, now that rendering them isn't painful.

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Also, poll answers aside, monthly releases may now become possible. Though I am still going to release at natural breaking points. I'll just be able to get to them MUCH faster now.

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Alright, so the first full animation is complete. That said, it took a lot longer than i thought, set my production time back by nearly 3 weeks. So, the new approach to animations will be this: I'll put them in as the same stop-gap loops that they were before, and will have to render them as full 60FPS animations at a later time, perhaps i can update one or two of the stop gaps per release. Still ironing the logistics out on that, but just wanted to keep everyone posted. This is my first game, and i work full time, so i do the best i can with the time i've got. To that end, the above mentioned plan sounds like it'll probably be the best bet, to keep the time between releases as short as i can, moving forward.

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

As a sort of "thank you" to everyone for being so patient, I threw this one in the render queue the other day. It won't be in game, as it's a more modern genre, but figured I'd show everyone what Sandra gets up to in her spare time

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Ok, so i kinda lied. Just finished rendering the second full animation, but this one isn't new, just replacing one of the stop gaps, and i decided to do it because it would render quickly. But that's the only trip down "reworking old content" lane that i'll be taking for this update. I don't want to promise, but it should be relatively soon. THAT SAID - My voice actress is on extended vacation for a few weeks, so this update may be released with a large part of it unvoiced. I'll work it all in for the following update once she returns

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Hey gang, just another little tidbit i thought i'd share. So, incase you're wondering why the update is taking so long. For context, the demo after the overhaul contained 375 renders, with all paths explored. As of now, the current update is sitting at 626 renders, and 2 animations in *addition* to the previous content. The new machine has sped things up, and allowed me to place more renders to properly convey the emotions and events of a scene. Just wanted to let everyone know. We are getting very near the point of completion for this update.

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Voice lines for this update have just been sent off to Claire to work her magic! wewt!

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Hey everyone, just wanted to give an update on where we're at. So, everything for the main characters has been sent off for voice work. I've got a couple of new additions to the voice cast with this update. There are some characters (all minor) that will not have voice work for this update, and one that almost did, but it didn't work out. So, that said, I'm now in "production mode" for the update. I'll spend the time until the voice files come back working on transitions and flow, inputting sound, and making sure all flagged content displays (or doesn't) as intended. This update will conclude Chapter 1 of Kim's story ... As soon as it's ready and published for early access, I'll let everyone now.

Now, for the update *following* this one, i intend to make it a QoL update that will focus primarily on a few things: Getting all characters voiced || Finalizing the UI || Finalizing the Character Screen || Finalizing the Gallery pages || and going back and bringing all stop-gap animations up to full 60 FPS.

Ideally it shouldn't take very long to do all that, but when you're working with freelancers, it's hard to judge. I'll do my best to make it quick, before continuing on with the story.

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Since it's not going to be an in-game image, figured i'd share this one. Claire - the voice actress for the main cast - has chosen her favorite , and we worked out a deal where i get some voice work for free, and in return she got this

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Alrighty! Last time i'll bug you guys before the update, just wanted to let you know production work is done for the entirety of it All that's left is to get the voice lines back, and plug those in, and then it'll go live for early access, with a public release 2 weeks later!

At the moment, the final set of voice lines is scheduled to be done no later than June 6th. So, a couple of weeks slower than I had planned, but we're there now!

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Ok, so. Everything's ready for release. Just waiting on the last scene's voice work to come back. But, this leads me to a question. Moving forward, if we hit a spot like this, where the update is done but im waiting on voice work, would you want me to release it without it? And just release a smaller update once the voice work comes in? Or wait until it's all voiced?

 

[GokutheG]

Ok, so. Everything's ready for release. Just waiting on the last scene's voice work to come back. But, this leads me to a question. Moving forward, if we hit a spot like this, where the update is done but im waiting on voice work, would you want me to release it without it? And just release a smaller update once the voice work comes in? Or wait until it's all voiced?

Personally I enjoy making up voices for the characters myself so I'd rather have the game release when ready and having a VA patch released afterwards.

 

[Joe Steel]

Personally I enjoy making up voices for the characters myself so I'd rather have the game release when ready and having a VA patch released afterwards.

Agree.

 

[LonerPrime]

Honestly, I play games without voice acting on.

Please note, it's my personal opinion only and in no way asking or dictating the dev anything. I simply like the "reading in silence" factor as otherwise I feel my immersion takes a hit.

In short, my own 2 cents: Please, by all means get VAs involved. Just don't feel it's a priority over the game

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Fair enough. Personally, I feel like the voice work amplifies the experience, but I've also stated a few times that my goal with RoA is to craft it so that it interests as many people as it can. That said, I'll take one final polish run through it today. Spotted a few minor typos and a couple of spots of missing sound. And then we'll get the ball rolling on release

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Alright, the next update has been dropped for early access. Public release is scheduled for June 15th!

If you wish to have access to the newest version now, all Tier 2+ subscribers on RoA's

You must be registered to see the links

have that privilege. Feel free to stop in and support the project!

I can't wait for everyone to continue Kim's story!

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

I can only speak for myself but I love when my choices actually have impact even if it means I may miss out on something for taking a certain path and I appreciate devs who take the time to support different choices.

That's one of the reasons I liked Witcher 2 so much so much of the game changes for siding with the elves/non humans.

On that note, it's a while away, but i've been hard at work writing the plan for Chapter 2, and if you love meaningful choices, then you're going to *adore* Chapter 2

 

[Afasius]

very interresting game bro...keep up the good work

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

very interresting game bro...keep up the good work

Much obliged. And, if you've just tried it for the first time, then your timing is perfect. The next update goes public in 7 days

 

[Paper Tiger 83]

Alrighty, throwing some last minute spot fixes into the game. Public release of version 0.2 is in approximately 5 hours!