Ren'Py World's Crossing Academy [v1.3.5.1] [TeamEmberWings]

[VictorSeven]

[PROGRESS REPORT] The Home Stretch​

Hey, all! Before I start gabbing, here's where we're at:



So Necro got his new PC and got it all hooked up, and he's saying everything is massively improved. No longer does he have to wait 2 minutes for a single character to load or 20 minutes for the studio program itself to load. A character takes 10 seconds and the studio is down to a couple of minutes. He also has 4k graphics now, and did some test renders in 4k with full upscale and... good god.

I've also done a bit of an experiment. For a long time, I've had this idea of "Butter-Smooth Slowmo" that involves shooting video clips at high framerates, slowing them down, and then using AI frame interpolation to insert the missing frames so there's no jerky stutter. And the result is... fantastic. I wanted to post some of them here, but it doesn't seem like I can. We've been asked to create a Pinup Pack with our tests and it's on the way.

But that's not what you're here for! You want the update. That's right, there are 2 SCENES LEFT and then we can work on full release testing! We have to make sure all the new scenes work from a fresh game AND from a game that's saved at the last checkpoint. But yes, 2 scenes left, and one of them is an H-scene. That's 3 total H-scenes in one patch, which we've never done. And one of these has I think 32 video loops. We do not fuck around on H-scenes lol. And the H-scenes I've done for this patch are the best I've ever done.

Once we've got everything all tested and confirmed to work, the release cycle will start with our T5 and T4 Supporters as usual. We'll use this time to fix initial bugs and make sure things are working. Then it'll be on to the rest of Supporters, and finally, the Public as usual.

Sidenote, we've got some designs going for Goblin Roommates finally, which will be a separate project. This will be a far shorter project with only 5 love interests. Goblin Roommates will have a much higher focus on H-scenes than WCA, and it's not gonna be a free-to-the-public project. We really want to have a completed project out there that takes advantage of all the stuff we've learned during the making of WCA. Better lighting, fixed necks, fixed jiggle issue, all of it. But that won't take time away from WCA; I'm only working on that in my free time where I can't do anything for WCA. So there will be zero impact to this project at all.

Anyways, after WCA 1.3.5.0 and its inevitable bugfixes are released and finalized, it's onto 1.4.0.0 with Season 2 Episode 4 and 1.4.5.0 with another batch of 4 girls and getting them up to 5 scenes apiece. So far, this approach seems to be working wonderfully well. The main goal now is picking up the speed of the updates without compromising on quality. The new poser seems to be doing quite well, and I have him working on the Senia DLC as a sort of trial run. He's currently doing Senia's 4th scene, and when she hits 8 completed scenes, she'll be released for early access to T5 and T4 folks to test out and give feedback.

That's it for now! We're gonna try to power through these last two scenes and get this patch out to you! This is the home stretch!

See you on the other side!

- Vic

 

[VictorSeven]

Quick little mini-update here:

1, I had a massive issue with the jiggle physics in the editor that I finally solved. Things were bouncing along just fine in the editor, but when I rendered the video, them thangs weren't hardly movin' at all. Massive thanks to Fouetty for helping me solve that issue. Because of that, I'm considering going back and reshooting Mouse's Scene D, as she's rather gifted and had hardly any bounce at all.

2, You'll see DemgelPhoenix in here pretty soon. He's a member of Team Emberwings, and he'll be handling a lot of the marketing and PR soon. I'll still be doing posts, but the more help I have in other areas, the more scenes I can shoot, and the more we can speed these updates up.

That's it. Short addendum.

 

[DemgelPhoenix]

Hello, F95 community! It's been great to hear all the feedback, and hopefully I can form this input into useful data so we can improve. We're constantly looking to improve and get more support so we can take more time to put into development. I've put myself in a Jack-of-All position, so I'll be doing my best to handle whatever I can wherever I feel I can help! If you have any suggestions on things we can improve. I'm still fresh here on F95, but as soon as I get full account approval, I'll add in the helpful links the Bossman has in his sig.

 

[Soulpuppet]

Hello, F95 community! It's been great to hear all the feedback, and hopefully I can form this input into useful data so we can improve. We're constantly looking to improve and get more support so we can take more time to put into development. I've put myself in a Jack-of-All position, so I'll be doing my best to handle whatever I can wherever I feel I can help! If you have any suggestions on things we can improve. I'm still fresh here on F95, but as soon as I get full account approval, I'll add in the helpful links the Bossman has in his sig.

 

[Symphatic]

Hello, F95 community! It's been great to hear all the feedback, and hopefully I can form this input into useful data so we can improve. We're constantly looking to improve and get more support so we can take more time to put into development. I've put myself in a Jack-of-All position, so I'll be doing my best to handle whatever I can wherever I feel I can help! If you have any suggestions on things we can improve. I'm still fresh here on F95, but as soon as I get full account approval, I'll add in the helpful links the Bossman has in his sig.

Hi there!

Please open up a ticket requesting developer status. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Lerd0]

Hello, F95 community! It's been great to hear all the feedback, and hopefully I can form this input into useful data so we can improve. We're constantly looking to improve and get more support so we can take more time to put into development. I've put myself in a Jack-of-All position, so I'll be doing my best to handle whatever I can wherever I feel I can help! If you have any suggestions on things we can improve. I'm still fresh here on F95, but as soon as I get full account approval, I'll add in the helpful links the Bossman has in his sig.

 

[VictorSeven]

Hi there!

Please open up a ticket requesting developer status. Welcome to the forum!

Hey, while we're at it, is there any way we can get rid of the Sandbox tag? This is a linear game. It has brief sections where you're allowed to choose a girl to hang out with between Main Story segments, but it's really not Sandbox. I've been getting feedback that this tag has been turning a lot of people away. There are no stats, there's no grind, and there's no clickable map areas.

 

[Lerd0]

Hey, while we're at it, is there any way we can get rid of the Sandbox tag? This is a linear game. It has brief sections where you're allowed to choose a girl to hang out with between Main Story segments, but it's really not Sandbox. I've been getting feedback that this tag has been turning a lot of people away. There are no stats, there's no grind, and there's no clickable map areas.

..make a report....and i might depending if it comes ma way....remove it.......

 

[VictorSeven]

Does anyone have any insight as to how I might handle the more inflammatory reviews of WCA from back when it was in pre-release, and far inferior version than the current one? The product is no longer the same and I'm wondering if I'm stuck with them or if some of the reviews that are more caustic and referring to things in the game that have been changed can be removed.

Also, if you're playing WCA, please do take time to write a review here on the site! I'm happy to listen to any comments and constructive criticism, as well. If you see something you disagree with or find to be a problem, I'd love to know how you would go about fixing it. You'd be surprised at how much the community feedback has shaped this project.

 

[tmu500]

Does anyone have any insight as to how I might handle the more inflammatory reviews of WCA from back when it was in pre-release, and far inferior version than the current one? The product is no longer the same and I'm wondering if I'm stuck with them or if some of the reviews that are more caustic and referring to things in the game that have been changed can be removed.

Also, if you're playing WCA, please do take time to write a review here on the site! I'm happy to listen to any comments and constructive criticism, as well. If you see something you disagree with or find to be a problem, I'd love to know how you would go about fixing it. You'd be surprised at how much the community feedback has shaped this project.

While I quite like the game, I think the game tips can be improve upon. While most dialogs you can easily see which choice is better, it is not always the case. For example, when you first time talk to pink hair pixel (fairy) girl, she ask about her appearance. Between the choices, I am not sure which choice is right since I do not want to block my path with her. Likewise, when you see the bird-girl for the second time. Lastly, I choose to help the knife girl, would that choice block other girls???

 

[VictorSeven]

While I quite like the game, I think the game tips can be improve upon. While most dialogs you can easily see which choice is better, it is not always the case. For example, when you first time talk to pink hair pixel (fairy) girl, she ask about her appearance. Between the choices, I am not sure which choice is right since I do not want to block my path with her. Likewise, when you see the bird-girl for the second time. Lastly, I choose to help the knife girl, would that choice block other girls???

The choices that are critical decisions will be marked as such and have parentheses () around what the outcome of those choices are. Nearly all of the other choices are more for alternative dialogue and to make the story feel more interactive. There are a COUPLE of instances where I put little extras in if you made the right choice, but I usually warn you if you're going to opt out of someone's content.

This story was designed in such a way that it only takes one playthrough to see everything you want to see. Opting into one girl's content cannot opt you out of another's.

That being said, all Core girls will be available at some point, and you'll choose whether or not you'll engage in their content on the Free Time screen by picking them or ignoring them. You cannot accidentally lock off these characters. The only one here that gives you a choice to close her route is Eshtel, and it's very clearly defined in Season 1.

All the DLC characters will be external downloads. Buying any of them guarantees access to their story. They won't be romanceable otherwise.

Now, the Secret characters DO each have unlock conditions.

From left to right, the characters and their unlock conditions are:

Spoiler: Secret Characters and Unlock Conditions

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What I might do is include a .txt guide like this with the game releases. I'm not quite sure how to put this in the game itself, though I HAVE seen other games do it (where if you have the Guide option turned on, the menu choices tell you what those choices do)... I just don't know how to code it. If someone could show me and link all that to a menu option, that'd be a massive quality of life improvement.

 

[tmu500]

The choices that are critical decisions will be marked as such and have parentheses () around what the outcome of those choices are. Nearly all of the other choices are more for alternative dialogue and to make the story feel more interactive. There are a COUPLE of instances where I put little extras in if you made the right choice, but I usually warn you if you're going to opt out of someone's content.

This story was designed in such a way that it only takes one playthrough to see everything you want to see. Opting into one girl's content cannot opt you out of another's.

That being said, all Core girls will be available at some point, and you'll choose whether or not you'll engage in their content on the Free Time screen by picking them or ignoring them. You cannot accidentally lock off these characters. The only one here that gives you a choice to close her route is Eshtel, and it's very clearly defined in Season 1.
View attachment 4274765
All the DLC characters will be external downloads. Buying any of them guarantees access to their story. They won't be romanceable otherwise.
View attachment 4274780
Now, the Secret characters DO each have unlock conditions.
View attachment 4274781
From left to right, the characters and their unlock conditions are:

Spoiler: Secret Characters and Unlock Conditions

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

What I might do is include a .txt guide like this with the game releases. I'm not quite sure how to put this in the game itself, though I HAVE seen other games do it (where if you have the Guide option turned on, the menu choices tell you what those choices do)... I just don't know how to code it. If someone could show me and link all that to a menu option, that'd be a massive quality of life improvement.

Thank you for answering my questions. Regarding coding, I noticed that people request different items (like program designer) in the first page of F95. Maybe that is a good point to start. Thanks again and keep up the great work.

 

[tmu500]

Thank you for answering my questions. Regarding coding, I noticed that people request different items (like program designer) in the first page of F95. Maybe that is a good point to start. Thanks again and keep up the great work.

By the way, have you release any DLC yet?

 

[VictorSeven]

By the way, have you release any DLC yet?

Not yet. We're working on shooting the 4th scene for Senia's DLC. Once she's up to 8 completed scenes, we'll release to T5 and T4 Supporters for testing and initial impressions. We'll factor those in while we work on completing the DLC, and once all 20 scenes and the Chapter Select at the end are complete, we'll release it for sale to the public

I do believe we'll also be starting Saffryn's DLC soon, but we still have a lot of planning to do on that one, so we're still undecided there.

 

[CollectorTivan]

theres a trap tag but no anal sex tag, whys that?

 

[Soulpuppet]

theres a trap tag but no anal sex tag, whys that?

Spoiler: Reason

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[CollectorTivan]

Spoiler: Reason

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a female as in with a vagina or are you talking about a trans?

 

[Soulpuppet]

a female as in with a vagina or are you talking about a trans?

Spoiler: More Info

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[CollectorTivan]

Spoiler: More Info

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Well that's a bummer hoping for some fun with a trap, good thing I checked the tags.

 

[Zagnut]

Well that's a bummer hoping for some fun with a trap, good thing I checked the tags.

I think I heard that there's plan's to add a separate character who's a femboy but I might be thinking of a different game.