Updates!

Tier 1 Patrons:

By tomorrow, any Tier 1 patron will be able to ask me for the Build 0.58 Early Release for them.

That's right, from now on, Tier 1 patrons have access to the next public build six months before it's release on itchio. So if you want to check on it, just ask me by tomorrow, the files, link and password should be done by then.

Backgrounds:

I'm considering learning Blender to learn how to create sceneries, then apply shaders to it to make them look like drawings, or at least something less realistic, if I can do that I could use this as backgrounds for the game, and they's also a chance I would be able to get some cheaper art from Wagner Mutt, since instead of paying him for full artwork (which is insanely expensive), I could talk to him so he could only make the characters poses, and I could try to adapt that to the background, I dunno. He mentioned that it would cost way less without background since he hates doing those. So we'll see. However, I AM saving money for buying art with another artist, so that's a possibility still.

GD4 Build:

GD4 build is available for Tier 3+ patrons, for now, it's just a simple thing so they can see how the game will mostly work on Godot 4. Just Friends GD4-0.1.0 will be released by February probably! I'm working constantly on adding the remaining features, and since the core VN is so much more complex now, it's way harder to do the base stuff, however, the code is far better and well structured, so I doubt I'll have problems once it's finished!

For now, here's the last thing I coded into the Core:

That's right, multiple characters on screen. With the current system (Left, Right, and Center), I can only add three characters to the game but if I do some tweaking on how positioning works, I can have three characters on the left and three on the right too by changing the X offset of the sprites. However, this will be a future project for a future visual novel, Just Friends is meant to be quite small, however, this new feature means that if I can EVER pay for NPC sprites, they will be able to be displayed on the game, and I hope I can eventually :).

Next Game Build:

IF I can finish all the menus and systems for the Godot 4 engine Core VN, I can then, push the last two routes for Johan into it and release an early version for all of you right away! BUT I doubt I can, not this month, so I will be working on Johan's first PLOT route this month. This should make the Day2.JSON 100% complete for ALL characters. :)

Sorry for not adding polls for Tier 3 patrons but I REALLY want to finish the Godot Build as soon as possible. Working on Godot 4 is way easier and much better than Godot 3, and I can also use the core for other projects, instead of having to think of porting somehow what I have now to another project which frankly is not worth it. If I had to start a new VN and use the GD3 build of Just Friends I would rather jump into the hot mess that RenPy is.

A message for my FREE members:

Thank you ALL for following me here. Know that it would be an honor to have you all supporting me here too, any tier would suffice. If you can't spare a lot, remember that Tier 0 is only 1 USD. If you want rewards, Tier 1 gives you early access to the next public builds and has your name into the credits of the game PERMANENTLY. Tier 2 gives you access to unfinished artwork whenever they are available and access to the monthly updates on the game's builds. Tier 3 gives you access to finished artwork and polls, and Tier 4 gives access to a Telegram group that allows you to see all artwork and unreleased artwork from Patreon in one simple protected gallery, besides giving you direct access to talk to me if you so desire.

So I really hope you guys would consider supporting me. The next months will be very hard and it would be awesome to keep having a job by working on Just Friends. it would be horrible to have to stop the project if, for some reason I start making less than the bare minimum I need to survive (which is around what I make right now with the USD being as high as is today).

Either way, that's it for today. Thank you all for your timer!