Next steps

After the last version, there's a lot to consider on how to manage things going forward. Obviously, the current rate of release isn't really ideal and how long I think something might take is nowhere near the reality. The real problem is that I don't take a consistent amount of time for any given bit of content. For example, I had been working on the karaoke and bar scenes since November last year, but it was the last content finished for the current release. I started to make the optional dungeon in the same month I finished it, while also getting done with all four of the new training lessons and Delia 3. I got the forest dungeon and pre-body swap content done in a similar, though not overlapped, timeframe.

So, why did this release take so much time (besides it being 2020, a year that continues to be rather horrible)? The biggest stumbling block was the Karaoke outing and the still-not-complete bar. If I ignored those things I would've been able to the release the rest of the current content way back in April.

On top of that there were a variety of other things that took a lot of time. Resource editing/creation is something that always eats away hours, a lot of those resources that I took time to create have yet to show up in current content.

I also had to edit some plug-ins to work together without breaking the game. I still need to figure out how to solve the issue with the earth shield skill (at the moment I'm getting around that issue by giving it a massive amount of health so it doesn't come up).

Another thing that took a massive amount of time was trying to figure out why Windows 7 users were experiencing all sorts of issues (zoomed in battle screen, hair colors showing up as blonde, etc.) and what caused framerate drops on lower end machines. I tried to look into ways to edit the plug-in in question to not cause this issue, but it didn't work out.

And, since I was breaking saves anyway, I endeavored to pack in as many new features to the current version as possible, and that includes features that I plan to use in the future. These caused their own issues and required some editing work to patch together.

I also had some problems with a handheld laptop that I used to work on the project on the go that lead to lost time at the beginning of the year (ended up just buying a new one since it helped with productivity so much).

In total, those are the things that have taken the most time and lead to massive delays.

While retrospective is nice and all, what's important is the course of action going forward, right? 

In the near future the two things that are likely to happen is a Blood Magic release (I've also been getting content done for Blood Magic to get around my Karaoke writer's block) and content through the Arena fight for Afterlife. Since I already have the arena fight itself done, I just need to get the connecting sinew finished.

Another major thing that I need to do is rebalance satisfaction and points. At the moment the only time that points have the balance I want them to is the first week. Past that, points accumulate so quickly as to become no issue whatsoever. I'll be tackling this from both the income and the cost end. This won't change how much money current saves have, so consider that a bonus for importing saves.

As far as satisfaction goes, there's not enough that drags against it. I don't want satisfaction juggling to become a focus, but I also don't want it to completely disappear as a mechanic once you hit certain conditions. So, I'll make it so that satisfaction will drain even after getting your room in order. There are enough events that give satisfaction for this not to be unmanageable.

After that?

-Kita 2 and Seki 2 have been mostly written for quite some time, I still need to do mapping for them.

-The promised Vanity dungeon (I went with the Erin dungeon instead since it was easier to finish, but a lot of the work needed for this has already been done).

-Week 4 first half (Something will be happening outside the usual during that period).

Note, the bar outing is not on the to-do list there. I'm weighing whether or not to just repurpose the bar outing to be used at another time, but regardless, for the time being, I'm not going to let myself be tied up in the writer's block it's caused me.

In any case, that's what's planned for the moment. I won't be giving specific ETAs on anything for the moment since those haven't worked out in the past, but I hope to have the near, near, future stuff done relatively soon now that (hopefully) all the major bugs are sorted out of the current release.