Patron Exclusive (for now) Demo!

Omfg the Hype is real *^*

Raven_the_Husky

Haha. Well, you'll be the first to know that it's coming out in about two hours~

Howly

Its Friday ^-^/

Raven_the_Husky

ah, and pls upload it on Friday early as possible x3 so i dont have wait so long (in germany i have to wait like 6 Hours extra... crap :o)

Raven_the_Husky

Oh a release Date *^* <3 i can wait for it :3 thx for the Answer ^-^/

Raven_the_Husky

You can actually download the last update (with all the story) on the front page. It has the old UI and shouldn't have those issues. We will be releasing the next update on the 25th with all the new sprites and UI, though, so you could wait until then as well :)

Howly

I love the sprites, but the missing grey Box is a big issue... pls Post a Hotfix for this Weekend :3 i want to read the other Paths (yet i only read Leo's) but its so hard for my eyes to read without the grey Box ;_;

Raven_the_Husky

I really like the new design of the UI, it looks a lot more professional and clean, but I'm kind of getting a couple of weird issues with it, but I'm not sure if this is not because I have both version 0.6 and 0.7 on the machine and I did run both (not at the same time) to compare. One of them is that if I get to the end of the story with one character, or if I load one of my saves (that I created with the new build of the game) the text tray disappears (sometimes even the tray for the name as well) which will make the white text night unreadable. Once this has occurred, if I restart the program and start a new game everything will be back to normal. The other issue was with the new Backlog function: the dialog from the characters that have their names indicated in the text tray instead of the name tray are not recorded there at all (e.g. the the diner coyote lady). The backlog also loses the tray if the previous issue manifests. I'm also missing the Back function (I would gladly replace the "fast forward" function with that, as I dont think I would often or at all use that). As for the characters, I felt that the pictures themselves are a bit too big in the UI. If you have 3 of them on, then the pic will look a bit overcrowded (especially if it is Flynn, Carl and Leo). I really liked TJ's new sprite, the only thing that I felt weird about is that at first sight I found his neck a bit too long (but I guess its not that there are ISO standards for furry anatomy). Carl's design seems fine, but from the text I always imagined that he would have a bit more shy posture because of his weight or whatnot. Leo is okay (at first I didnt like his nose too much, but I guess I got used to it), I'm guessing I was imagining him a bit bulkier, and not this lean (or Chase has just a small head if it is comparable to his biceps). Jenna just looks a bit tomboyish compared to before, and has a very generic expression compared to the old up-to-no-good sly fox expression. I would think that her model would need some refining. Flynn overall looks great as far as the design goes, but neither his underwear advertisement pose nor his smile fits him in my opinion. I would think that he most of the time acts like a snarky bastard and walks around like a gargoyle, and would have expected that from his default sprite. Bear in mind that there is nothing wrong with him smiling, but it should look less warm and a bit more arrogant maybe? I'm not a writer, so I am not sure about this, but I didnt feel the need to cut the Leo/Chase dialog. I think it was a good exchange between the two, giving some pointers about their character and their relationship, so I would hope that it could be fit in the Leo route if it doesnt stay in the shared one. Overall it is a very solid build, I really liked the changes, it was a step in the right direction. There is nothing wrong with making bold changes, even if not all of them work out for everyone.

gumimokus

Wanted to add that I think the grey color for the fonts when Chase is narrating blends too much with the background. At times it's hard to even see what stands there.

MeekoWolf

TJ and Leo are spot on, I have no issues there. Jenna looks far too masculine, and her tail is a bit too long. She also looks a bit too tall, she looked quite small originally, which is correct for a fennec. Flynn I don't really like, his stance looks awkward and his new face is a huge let down from the original sprite. Carl looks pretty good, but his sprite makes him look too old. His old sprite made him look like a depressed stoner, while this one makes him look like a fifty year old trucker. He should slouch like he did in the original sprite.

Couldn't get it to work on my laptop, but I managed to get it working on my desktop after a couple of attempts. Got this error with both. i.imgur.com/ED6cGwj.jpg I'll start with this; while I do like the backlog, I do miss the back button. And that I'm loving what pieces of new music I've heard so far. Gonna love this soundtrack. Now, as for the characters I'll just go through them one at a time and give my thoughts. A fair few of them seem to be staring at dead-air. Flynn: Now, I'm a real big fan of his overall redesign, the posture, the build, all of it. But something about his head/face doesn't sit right. I'm not sure if it's the smirk or what. And something about his muzzle-shape kinda reminds me of a Yoshi. Jenna: Her coloration looks strangely more pink than what it used to be, and her mandible seems a tad too wide compared to the rest of her muzzle, though not by that much. Other than that, she looks sufficiently tomboyish enough, all-in-all real well-done. Carl: There's a lotta things I like with the new design and a few things I'm not so keen on. The smile seems too confident for the guy compared to the vaguely hidden half-smile he had before. He's missing that hunch, and his arms look kinda awkward balled into fists at his sides. And I would be curious to see how the whole 'ram eyes' thing would look in this style, but I wouldn't mind much if it didn't. All that said, Carl's sprite's shaping up to be real nice, with the chest-fuzz, and his overall bulk. (Though, if you ask me, his shirt's color could be a bit more muted.) TJ: This sprite looks great. Probably the best out of all of them and the truest to character if you ask me. Also he seems to be, uh... Packing. So there's that. Leo: Few things going with Leo, between his ears and color-palette variation, which are just different (Not to say bad, though his old ears added some character). He seems slightly less bulky than before. Whether or not that's the angle he's standing at, I'm not sure. He looks pretty great. That's just my half-cent on the sprites as they are now. I'm not great with this feedback thing. (Also completely not sure if there's going to be different sprites for each character down the line, so a lotta this could be pointless.)

Milkweed Monster

Holy mother of Wall-o-text...

MeekoWolf

Below are my opinions on the revised sprites; overall I really like them. My thoughts on the UI need a little more time to percolate and will have to wait till tomorrow. TJ: Slam-dunk. He looks absolutely amazing; line-work, pose, palate, shading, all completely completely on point. And, I would be remiss not to point out, … damn, that dick; maybe its his smaller frame but it looks just huge on him. Its certainly not a bad thing, I just wasn’t expecting it based on the previous sprite or the text. If I absolutely had to complain about something it might be the line of the back of his ribcage looks just the tiniest bit off; I tried to compare it to some of the earlier teasers, and it looks like it is in the same place, and those don’t look odd. So, I’m probably just imagining that it looks out of place. Flynn: Again, like TJ, I am a big fan overall of this design; his new posture, especially, is doing so much to instantly generate character, but therein is the first problem, that little smirk is just so bizarre, its not the right character for what is in the text. He looks like he is really, obviously, trying to impress the PC; its all so “come hither”. Just giving him a more neutral mouth would go a long way to returning that cool, distanced, outwardly unattached demeanor to the character. His lean stops being just “hey, look at my abs” and becomes more “are you trying to start something with me!?”. I also really like that he is holding his shirt open now; is was strange, to me at least, when it was only just draped open. Who does that? Really, all the way open, and he wasn’t doing anything with it? Speaking of his shirt, the highlighting/shading on it is far too harsh; like there is a spotlight pointed at it. The rest of his body and his pants have a much more natural, pleasant lighting. And, that belt, where did he find a cream belt that completely matches his shirt? And why would he wear them together!? Jenna: I like this design, and I don’t think it looks especially masculine; but I have to admit, it doesn’t quite read fox, and it certainly doesn’t read fennec fox. It reads female wolf, with oversized ears. The face really needs to be more triangular; straighten the jawline down to the chin, narrow the upper part of the muzzle. The rest of her body looks good to me; proportions, musculature, pose, all read confidant, tom-boyish, but feminine. A couple people brought up her having a “bulge” but I don’t see it. There is a very slight tummy paunch that pulls in at her panty line, where then her crotch curves down and in pretty naturally. Seems reasonable that there might be some at least some fat in her pelvis; it looks fine to me. The highlighting in her paler fur, like Flynn’s shirt, seems a bit extreme in some places. Lastly I am not entirely sure she is actually looking at the PC, it kinda looks like she is looking a bit over the viewer’s head. Carl: Where Flynn has gained a mountain of character in his redesign, Carl seems to have lost all of his. He doesn’t look like that inverted, but friendly, guy who might share his blunt and get a bit mischievous with you; he just looks like a neutral guy, who’s only defining characteristic is that he is blitzed. That he is looking way off into space is just about it… Stylistically, I like the changes that have been made; his stronger physique, fuller face and that body hair, seriously can wait to see more of that; even that he has traded is beanie for a do-rag, I can dig it. But he is just standing there, back straight, hands at his sides. I can understand a possible reason why his hands aren’t in his hoodie’s front pocket any more, that is really hard to do and actually make it look natural, there is just so much fabric and body line deformation. And honestly, the previous sprite didn’t necessarily have it right either; his hands were becoming 2D inside his pocket or he was pressing them into his belly. But he needs something, some hunch, or to be twiddling his fingers, or something. Leo: On the whole, Leo has a solid redesign. Like TJ’s, it is mostly on point; it gives strong hints of his personality, and generally looks hot. The highlights on his shirt read a little weirdly, its that matte-shiny like spandex/lycra, but its fitting like cotton; perhaps making it a ‘slightly darker black’ would help. His face is maybe a little shinier than his arms, but it isn’t especially noticeable. There is an odd little tuft of pale fur below his ear, I don’t hate it, but it looks like it could be a mistake right now. The strangest thing though is the addition of the cream brow markings; I actually like them, but not in addition to the black eyebrows. My opinion on it is that it should be one or the other, that they are fighting for control of his face. And in general there is a colour/pixel distortion issue on all the sprites, where they look like JPGs rather than PNGs, if that makes any sense. I am assuming that since this is supposed to be a ‘rough’ look at the sprites, it probably wont be an issue with the final sprites. But it was too noticeable looking at the previous sprites side-by-side with the new ones to not comment on.

Kedoe

Nicely done! The UI looks simply lovely! The only thing that looked rather odd was Jenna's sprite, she just looks so different, her ears are smaller and her snout is a little big for a fennec fox. Also, the fact that she's not looking at you makes her look a little less interesting, Leo was bulkier in his previous sprite, right now he looks like the guy that lifts weights and only weights (not that I mind, but a little more bulkiness would be very aprreciated). Flynn looks great, TJ looks so inviting, and Carl looks very nice, except for the part that his looking at a wall and not at you. Please keep up with the wonderful work!

ObscureBotany

Alrighty! Overall my thoughts on the sprites are relatively good, I'll go over each of them individually~! Leo: Love the face and the body shape, although the coloring seems a bit weird around his face? Maybe just a result of being the "rough sprites". Overall I like it :) Jenna: This is the only one that I really dont like.... As has been said earlier, she just looks way too masculine and... not fox-like? She honestly looks more like a kangaroo than a fox to me. This is another area where the coloring looks kinda weird for me... Carl: I like this one! Although he seems a lot more confident than before, which seems strange to me, otherwise, i've got no complaints. Flynn: This one is the only one that I completely like more than the original. Everything about it just seems much better than before, love it! And TJ: I can't really say much about TJ, because I just generally dislike lynxs and their stupid cheek tufts. Personal feelings of contempt on his species aside, face is nice, body is nice, and other than the fact that he looks like hes a bit, uh, "excited", everything seems good to me. And as far as the UI is concerned, I love it, everything seems great so far, and fits Echo quite well. Although one small problem i've encountered is when I load my previous save, right before the route selection, the backround for the textbox dissapears, which kinda just leaves the text floating over the image, nigh impossible to read. Obviously this is an easy fix on my part, i just have to skip back to where i was, but i just thought i'd inform you of it :P ...... sorry about the essay....

afoxbutt

Just looking at the sprites, I feel that a lot of the characters have sort of... dead eyes, somehow. Carl's got his teeth showing in a smile, but the rest of his face doesn't really express that, while he looks hazily into the distance. TJ's eyes seem to be focused a bit higher than perhaps they should, but other than that the art seems okay, though it doesn't seem to be particularly demonstrative/expressive of his personality. Flynn I actually think is fine, even if his art now stresses more his confidence rather than his disdain as with the prior art. Leo's art is decent, but everything about him is just so neutral that it fails to express his character or really catch they eye in any way. I feel that, as other have said, Jenna's femininity might be enhanced more, as well as her ear size (if she's supposed to be a fennec fox, anyway), but again I sort of feel that the pose and lack of particular expression (as well as the lack of eye contact) don't really portray her very well. Just my two cents.

That Foolish Fox

They may be permanent. I felt that Leo and Chase's relationship was overemphasized and bogged down the common route. I moved some of the dialogue over to Leo's actual route.

Howly

No problems in what I can see, most of the people just dont like the sprites, but the general neutral emotion for each character sprite looks fine to me. Good work, and a big thumbs up on the team for a good update.

Feels like it's a lot of repeating but I also agree about Jenna. And I think Flynn looked kind of chubby maybe? The way he leans backwards while the text covers his lower body makes it difficult to se that he's arching, and he ends up looking a bit too big on the belly. Or maybe I'm just imagining things, but that's the impression I got from a quick look see at the new demo. Another thing I disliked was the removal of the back button, personally I liked being able to go back a bit and also to bring back previous sprites and choices, it would be a pain to redo some paths only to see the different responses for some minor choices. If you don't explicitly want it to not be there, I'd return the back functionality. Otherwise, I really like the UI and general changes, great job! I'm guessing the image quality for the sprites will be updated, at the moment they looked kinda wierd in color and pixelated, or is that just on my pc?

Plumm Bum

Excellent work on the UI. It looks very polished and fits the VN much better than its predecessor. As for the sprites, I agree with the other comments on Jenna and Flynn. Jenna does look rather masculine, looks strikingly similar to Leo in terms of facial structure and her previous sprite fits better than the newer installment. Flynn doesn't have the same expression as he once did which did match his personality and mannerisms and the sharper tapering of his head was a better fit. TJ and Leo look great but I wonder if Leo would look better with more upper body bulk. As for Carl, I prefer his more modest expression and facial structure of his previous sprite but I really like improvements to his horns. Of course, this is just my opinion.

Vitrified_Heart

I agree with the others that the Jenna sprite looks to masculine. It's mainly her face and the imposing stance I think. Also that bulge doesn't help. I think the ears are a bit small for a fennec fox. I also agree with what Chris said about the Flynn sprite. And personally I like the monitor head better but that's just a preference.

Mechwarrior

I share the same sentiments with RunicWolves. Jenna's sprite looks a little bit too 'masculine', I'm not sure how to describe it. The Jenna sprite done by Dragondrawer absolutely nailed her IMO. I also agree that Flynn's old sprite was better, mainly cause of the pose. The way his head was facing you, that look in his eyes, the neutral facial expression, how his arms were off to the side, etc. It made him look like he didn't give a single fuck. This new one adds a smirk and also has him spreading the shirt open, which really doesn't fit with his supposed uncaring attitude. I could see if it was a sprite that appeared when he's flirting with Chase or something, but I personally don't think it works well as a neutral. Other than that, I think everything else looks pretty great. I love the new UI and the sprites for TJ, Carl, and Leo look fantastic. Some of the new music also sounds really nice, especially the new music that plays during those dream segments. Also, are those story cuts only for this demo? Some really nice moments got removed.

Chris04

Agreed on the being slow to adjust to Jenna and Flynn's sprites. I think for me its mostly an issue of expressions. I think Flynn's old sprite was perfect for his assholish persona, and Jenna's somewhat critical expression matched her dialogue pretty well. I'm sure I'll get used to them, but they feel the most different from their old sprites.

Alain

First impression: I think the new UI is great. It looks slick and blends nicely with the background. However the only thing that bothered me a bit is the Jenna sprite, as well as the new Flynn. For some reason I think Jenna looks too... masculine? In my opinion her old sprite was better, but maybe she's yet to grow on me. Regarding Flynn, I think his old sprite was perfect the way it was. It fitted his personality well. The rest of the sprites are excellent, so I have no specific comments on them.

MeekoWolf