Dev Log #59 - Home stretch(-ish)!

Hi all! I'm back from my previously mentioned absence and this week, I had to physically be away from my devices unlike last week, which was unfortunate, to say the least!

Now that I'm back, it's time to get back to the usual flow of updates as the month of December is now here!

First things first...
It has been back and forth in recent weeks regarding a preview build of Episode 2, to which the conclusion is to not have the preview build altogether. Note that this does not affect the planned release window as specified before (8th to 15th December)!

I understand this is disappointing news but this is due to multiple factors that I will detail below.

1. The preview build would be too close to the actual release window
With the release window being early to mid-December, it wouldn't make much sense for a preview build to be published possibly a week or two before the complete episode. In a sense, I would much rather spend the time I would have used on uploading the game files on polishing the episode instead!

2. The preview build would be an incomplete product, and is hard to gauge the value of.
If the preview build did happen, it would be hard for me to place it within a tier (i.e. 'have to be XXX tier to access'). Not only would the preview be incomplete, it would be unfair for me to place it in a higher tier and potentially disappoint anyone who increases their pledge who may end up feeling cheated in terms of the content available in the preview, which would have all been available just several days later.

3. Poor planning
It has been a bumpy month in terms of availability for me despite being freed of my full-time commitments just early on in the month. I want to make it clear: this is on me. Previews will happen for future episodes as I will have much, much more time to plan these things out in advance and I'm sorry for promising a preview build without proper planning beforehand!

Progress update!
In terms of development, I was not able to progress much in terms of game development and dialogue writing due to me being away for the majority of the weekdays. However, rendering of all H-scenes is completed, with potentially a few more renders left to round out certain scenes (i.e. correcting mistakes, adding a few more angles, etc.)

I will be taking the entirety of next week to focus solely on dialogue writing and game programming and finish strong on this last leg of development!

There will be no dev-log next week as I will be taking the week to focus on tying up all loose ends and settling any outstanding tasks! However, previews and additional previews will continue as usual for next week!

------------------------------------------- PROGRESS BREAKDOWN -------------------------------
Story: 100% done. The story is now finalized and will not change.

Renders: 92.5% done. Mostly render-complete, the remaining 7.5% is for any mistake correction or additional angles. Up 7.5% from last week. The total render count sits at 3787 (+252 from last week) renders.

Dialogue: 70% done. No change as I was not available during the weekdays.

Game Playability: 70% done. No change as I was not available during the weekdays.

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

It is the home stretch and there's still much to do! However, I remain fixed on the target release window and will not be budging from this. I understand the wait is painful to some but do lend me just a bit more of your patience!

Thank you and stay safe!