FreshmenVN
patreon
Game Update #31
🕑 Added 2023-05-01 23:08:07 +0000 UTCA new month means a new game status update. The most significant news from the past two weeks is that I was finally able to release a new dev build for the game!
I realize I throw the term "dev build" around without necessarily explaining what it is, but to be brief, it's an early in-development build for the next big game release. Whenever I have enough content done, I share these unfinished in-progress builds with Seniors & Graduates so that anyone who isn't concerned about playing an unfinished product can play through what story is there.
This most recent dev build added the Isaiah and solo paths to the evening at the club, joining the Alex and Griffin story paths that were in the first dev build. If you're a Senior or Graduate who hasn't played yet, or if you would like to become one, you can find the release post with all the details here:
Dev Build 0.1.5.2 - Club Update - Isaiah & Solo Paths
This is a pretty significant milestone in that it represents around 2/3 of the next release being completed. The rest of this status update will go into what is left to create - so let's get into it!
Script
If you've been around on Patreon for awhile, you may remember the flowcharts I shared in past updates. As I move into this last stretch, they are making their triumphant return!
Specifically, I have flowcharted out the hookup sequences that can be unlocked in the Club Update. There are three hookup scenes total, plus one I refer to as hookup-adjacent. (If you played this most recent dev build, "hookup-adjacent" would be something like the ending that can take place in the common area.)
So far the hookups have been very straightforward and linear. Marco's is the most complex in the current version of the game in that you can enter into it from many different angles and there are choices to change how far you go. But so far, these scenes have only included oral and mutual masturbation.
A the game progresses, the hookups will open up to let you choose what sort of position you want to take - bottom, top, or side - with some unique CGs for each choice. One Club Update hookup in particular will be the first time you can make those choices - though how far you're actually able to get as a nervous virgin remains to be seen.
Navigating the various choices is where the flowcharts come in. Here's a screenshot of the flow of this particular scene; the image is purposefully small to avoid too many spoilers:
I won't say who this scene involves, though if you're eagle-eyed, have figured out my color-coding system, or played one of the dev builds, you can probably figure it out. (And if you do know my color-coding system, you might have spotted something very interesting included here...)
Structure-wise we have an intro/foreplay area at the top, the climax at the bottom, and then a variety of sequences in the middle showing each of the choice-determined paths. Disregarding the mysterious red section, the middle sections are divided into Side, Bottom, and Top, and then into two separate parts within each of those sections. The two parts represent spots where you can enter, exit, or continue a chosen path.
This looks very complex, and it will be when I'm doing the coding. But when it comes to the writing aspect, I'll be able to write fairly linearly and just add extra transitional dialogue where needed.
This scene is going to be very interesting to write for a variety of reasons - but I think delving more into Connor exploring his preferences for the first time could be the most interesting part. Or maybe that red section there could end up taking the title of "most interesting"... hmm...
Coding
I banged out a lot of code in order to get the dev build done, which involved some complicated linking of scenes since there are so many ways to jump between story blocks. But I didn't actually find it too taxing to get done this go round, which means I must be getting a tiny bit better at this. As usual, the most annoying part was the testing.
For this next stretch I'll be coding in the Asher story alongside the hookup scenarios. And then I have a notepad full of all sorts of things I have to go back and check or add or fix - notes for a big polishing pass that needs to be done before the release is ready. I would love to say I'm very organized for that, but it's literally a bunch of notes to myself in a notepad file. I'm very particular when it comes to planning out the story via outlines/flowcharts, but sometimes I go quick and dirty instead of making fancy pictures ð
Art
Art is the biggest deal this month. The hookup scenes will have a lot of CGs. The flowcharted one above has 36, in fact. While I may cull that down a bit, it'll still be a significant amount of work that needs to be done, especially since there will be an additional 40+ across the other hookup sequences.
Yesterday when finishing April's bonus gallery, I proved to myself that it's possible for me to do up to 10 CGs in a day if I need to - although it's really not ideal. There are also still sprites I need to make as well as a few backgrounds. I'll be making a strict art creation schedule for myself that I will do my best to follow - we'll see how I do...
New Connor
If you haven't heard, Connor is getting a new character model. I shared a Sneak Peek a few days ago showing many samples of what the current version looks like in the context of game sprites and CGs - and I was happy to receive many positive responses to the revisions I made.
If you're at a patron level to see Sneak Peek posts - Junior, Senior, or Graduate - and haven't seen that post yet, you can find it here:
Sneak Peek #22: New Connor, Round 2
If you're a Freshman or Sophomore, here are a few of the images I shared:
The model isn't officially finalized yet, and I'm very open to feedback, so I'd love to hear comments if you have any to share. I do think I'm nearing the end of this revision process, but I also plan to make a few tweaks before I consider him completely done. I can certainly make a few more tweaks if I see any common concerns - or even uncommon concerns that I find myself agreeing with.
Looking Ahead
While I won't venture a guess at a release date for the full Club Update, I do very much want it to be done ASAP - not least because it's coming up on half a year since the Frat Party Update. I want all of you to get to play, and I would also like to finally write the consequences for Connor's choices at the end of Day 2. So know that I'm doing everything I can to get this done as soon as possible. I'll have a better idea by the mid-month update on timeframe, so stay tuned!
I think that's all I've got this time! Thanks for reading ð
Comments
Danny Nym
Sorry for the confusion. There are two build types. Dev builds are *only* shared with senior & graduate patrons. They are early, unfinished builds not ready to be shared widely yet - there's missing story content, placeholder art, bugs, etc. They do not go out to anyone but senior & graduate patrons. Release builds are the full, completed updates that get shared in early access before being posted for free a month later. The next release build is the club update, which I'm nearly finished with. These are the polished final products with all story & art content implemented and tested. I'll DM you to elaborate a little bit more, so look for that shortly.
Tom Swift Sr.
It's been well over a month and a half now and I am still finding that I cannot download the Dev. Build 0.1.5.2. I'm a Sophomore supporter. I have to say I really get am totally confused as to what and when new Builds will be available to me. The emails I get when you announce a new Build I also find confusing as they apply to Juniors and Seniors(?) -- so why am I getting them?! It's *frustrating* to be made aware of a new Build, only to find I *CANNOT* download it. I'm on a very fix income and cannot support at a higher monetary level (and I'm also trying to support other gay game developers on Patreon as well) and it seems to be *months* after these new Builds are released before I can download any of them! I thought it said in my Tier benefits info that it would be 3 weeks. I'm just so damn confused. *argh* **
Danny Nym
Dev builds are unfinished, in-development builds that are only posted for Senior & Graduate patrons. The early access releases that go to Sophomore level and above get posted when the entire build is finished and ready for everyone to play. I'm finally nearing the end of development for the next big content update, but it's unlikely to be in early access by next week. Early access releases come as they're done, so unfortunately I can't guarantee them monthly like I can something like the Patreon-exclusive galleries. This pinned post lists all that each level has access to: https://www.patreon.com/posts/finding-your-67078326 After this club update, I've arranged the content creation schedule in a way that should enable me to get early access releases out much more regularly. At the start of the year I shared a roadmap with the planned releases, which has more info on how I'm changing the scope of each release so they don't take so long to produce: https://www.patreon.com/posts/game-update-23-76684192
Tom Swift Sr.
I'm a Sophomore supporter, so I guess the newest development, Dev Build 0.1.5.2 - Club Update - Isaiah & Solo Paths, will be available to me sometimes next week? I hope!
Danny Nym
I'm being facetious - if I truly didn't want anyone to see who the scene was about, I wouldn't have color-coded or added pictures ð I've thought about doing a behind the scenes post about going from outline to final game scene. If there's enough interest I might do that, and I would share one of the flowcharts in a bigger, readable format in that type of post.
Exizel
You don't need to know the color code to guess you can tell by the photos one of them is easily recognizable and there are enough hints to guess the other. I was wondering if it was possible to see one of the past chart in a bigger format to really tell what happen in them, I'm curious how you use them to organize the events
