Development on the second act of this story already feels a little unusual compared to the first act. Mostly because I've got all these areas to set up that aren't going to be used immediately. I'm not sure how often I've talked about it publicly, so now feels like a good time to cover it.
Act 2 of Maids & Masters is going to be less linear. I'm still debating on whether I want to lock you into completing a segment once you start it (part of me doesn't want to, but I probably will for the sake of timing other events), but the general idea is that where the first act saw you moving through the eastern portion of Commorance more or less in sequence, the western portion will be opening in two big chunks, allowing you to approach the different Estates however you see fit and in whatever order you see fit. With v0.11, this first big chunk opens, but not all of the locations within that chunk will be open.
There will still be certain events that take place in a set sequence. For example, the story coming in v0.11 will always happen first. There will also be intermediary events that happen after you complete each Estate, and those will happen in a set sequence (they have to, since that's where the main story will progress). Other than that, though, there are five Estates across the three new regions, and you'll be able to approach those in any order you like.
As for how those will go individually - it will depend on the Estate's Master. In addition to the usual aggressive and diplomatic routes the game has used in the past, there will also be a third route. The third route may be a mix of the two paths, or a more espionage-focused path that avoids both combat and diplomacy, or something else entirely. I also want to make these paths more dynamic, rather than dictated by a single choice or determined by the outcome of one event, but it remains to be seen how well I'll be able to manage that. But that's all for later.
Getting back to v0.11 specifically, I've got nearly all of the assets created. There's still a couple face sheets I need, but all of the sprite sheets are done, and I've got all except one of the 3D models built out. The side content is about 85% complete now, with the main story content being closer to 70% complete - that still needs two major events and a handful of new maps (and if I have time, hopefully some smaller events). I'm not sure I'll have both the main story and side content complete by then, but I'm hoping to have at least the side content ready for a test build for my V.I.P. Patrons this Friday, with a sneak peek at the new Maid coming for all Patrons.
And for my fellow Americans - Happy 4th of July!
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