Maids & Masters (& Completing Remaster Plugin Implementation & Rewrites)

It certainly took a lot longer than I wanted it to, but as of this weekend, all of the new plugins (including the quest log) are fully implemented. There are a few smaller, fiddly things to do, and a little more testing that needs doing (there's still at least once instance where the implementation and scripting is correct, but it still results in a bug), but this was easily the largest task to complete for the remaster, so this is a great milestone to finally be hitting.

The second largest task was reworking the dialogue, which I completed in tandem with plugin implementation. There are still a handful of events that I won't have changed at all, and nearly all of the object interactions are unchanged, but there were several events that I actively wanted to rewrite and those are all now also complete. I mentioned this in a previous post, but just to reiterate - the overall message and character beats of these events is unchanged. The changes are largely due to tone or specific wording, meant to correct either specific misinterpretations or plot inconsistencies (like Cornelius being referred to as Archibald's father in one place and his grandfather in another). Otherwise, the vast majority of updates to the dialogue has been improving clarity by simplifying or removing lines or text boxes.

The third largest task is also a doozy, though, and I haven't really started on it yet - the animations and scene reworks. Individually, the scenes are pretty easy to manage, but since there are over 50 (around 70, including the love shack scenes) of them, there's a distinct possibility that I won't get them all done in time for release on May 5th. That puts me in front of something of a dilemma.

I could delay v0.10's release, but I really don't want to. A delay would mean more time to test and bugix as well as work on animations and other new content, but it's also a slippery slope into delaying further, and I might still not complete everything that I want to complete. There are pros and cons every way you could possibly look at the situation. I'll still try to get as much done as I can, starting with the start of the game and working from there, but I think it's best to also ask my Patrons what they think on Friday, when the initial test build goes out to the Gratitude tiers.

We're officially in the home stretch, though. The animations and new content are all that's left before I move on to v0.11 and Act 2. It does seem like v0.10.1 will be necessary to catch all of the content I want the remaster to include, meaning it's still another month at least before development on Act 2 starts, but I really am chomping at the bit to get there. Hopefully you're at least a little excited to get there yourself.