Dev Log #90 - More bells and more whistles!

Hey all! Just a little bit more before the test release! Let's get into the dev log!

Poll result!
The winner of last week's poll to decide Sarafe's outfit color is...

Apple Red!

The deep red color and black shirt must contrast really well with Sarafe's complexion to have the lion's share of votes across the two platforms! As usual, thank you everyone for voting and participating!

Development update
As of the time of this writing, the test release is about 90-95% complete, with juuust a few scenes left to write for and polish! There has also been a big influx of renders as I've been quickly pumping out a lot of the in-between scene renders that tie everything up nicely!

While this test release will contain the largest and most varied free roam yet, it will also look to innovate on what has been presented in previous episodes. After all, this is the third time everyone will be returning to this all-too-familiar location...

Whereabouts status
From 29th August to the 5th of September, I will be away on a short trip! This trip was arranged just a few days ago which is why this notice seems rather last-minute (which I apologize for!).

As a result of this, there will be no dev log or previews for the 30th of August!

Would this have an impact on the test release?
Most likely no, as I plan to have the test release ready a few days before my departure. I will draft the posts on the two platforms as well as the Discord to go live on a schedule, and will also be available on my phone should there be any hiccups.

The real concern is any game-breaking bugs that may cause complete stoppages or lack of progress in the test release, which is why I'm going through everything with a fine-tooth comb before releasing it a few days before I go off (to also catch any missed bugs or crashes).

A few other updates
The side story for Fathiyah that is from the August side story poll will be released in September instead. This means there will be no poll to decide September's side story, and instead, a poll to decide October's side story will be done during September!

I do apologize for this backtracking as previously I did mention that there would be a side story for September! This change was mainly done so I can catch up with the monthly render requests and continue the development of Episode 3!

---------------------------------------- E3 TEST RELEASE BREAKDOWN --------------------------
Story: 100% done.

Renders: 97.5% done. A big focus this week. The total render count is 2,612, which is 752 more than the last render count update two weeks ago. Up 5% from last week.

Dialogue: 97.5% done. A few scenes are pending completion. Up 5% from last week.

Game Playability: 90.0% done. Mainly refining and polishing the new gameplay mechanic (shh!). Up 7.5% from last week.

--------------------------------------------- END OF BREAKDOWN --------------------------------------

I'll be back to work and I'm excited to share more with everyone very, very soon!

Stay safe and healthy!