Maids & Masters v0.19 Release

The change log on this one is crazy short, but I think that's largely due to my being so focused on pushing forward and getting the update out while we're still in the vicinity of Christmas. I haven't heard much in the way of bug reports for v0.18 or v0.19, and I spent a lot more time than usual hammering out bugs on v0.19, so hopefully the change log is short because there's nothing to fix.

Remember that if you do find a bug, I do ask that you reach out. I leave comments enabled in places like Patreon and Subscribestar (where you can also find both the free and early access releases), my DMs are open on Twitter and BlueSky, and there are comment sections on the itch game pages, too. The way I find most bugs is from people reporting them, so if you see a bug that's been in the game for a while without getting fixed, tell me about it.

If you've already tried to tell me about it and it's still broken, tell me again. The burnout has been a bear to deal with this year, so I haven't gone out of my way to look for complaints/bug reports/feedback in general in the last few months like I have for the couple years before that. I know I've still got a few things in my notes to address, so we might end up with a v0.19.1 anyway, but that all depends on what needs fixing and how badly it's broken. 

For now, the change log:

v0.19
Added the next story segment - the third Freeze. Including:
- Freeze events for Vicky, June, Chloe, and Iris, all with bonus objectives.
- A new Estate feature, available after (finally) opening the shed.
Fixed a bug that caused some objectives in A Long Time Coming to not complete correctly.
Various other minor dialogue and event updates.

(I told you it was short)

Winter Adult Games Bundle

Looking for someone to keep you warm during these winter months?
Perhaps a snow-dusted fling forgotten with the melting snow?
Or just a good story to help you forget the cold?


The Winter Adult Games mega-bundle has 73 games from 57 developers, ranging from engrossing stories and unforgettable romances all the way to nights that leave your legs aching in the morning, all completely for free!

For those that contribute to the bundle, you'll also get nearly $30 worth of projects you'd otherwise need to pay full price for!

And if that isn't enough for you, the first stretch goal has already been met, so there are bonus renders available, also for free, right on the bundle page.

Come on in, get cozy, and enjoy, cuz baby, it's cold outside.

 

Maids & Masters (& More Progress on v0.19)

Despite my best efforts, reality seems to be conspiring against me to push the release of v0.19 back.

While all of the usual Freeze things are very likely going to be complete by Friday - Freeze events, chat options, special interactions, bonus events, all the new renders and animations, etc. - it's looking like the new story bit won't be. It'd be too much of a scramble trying to force it to happen, and it'd leave next to no time to do any kind of polishing or bug hunting.

 

A part of me wants to push the story bit into v0.20, or even v0.19.1, so that I can include the cult segment and end the Freeze in tandem with the story segment, but that would make for an extremely small update if I didn't also include something like the next round of affection quests. Doing that feels like asking for more delays between now and the end of the story, so I think it's in my best interest to swallow my pride and deal with the delay on v0.19.

I'm still not going to put an official release date on anything, because June and Chloe's bonus objectives are really unique, which of course is leading to some design difficulty. It isn't an insurmountable amount of difficulty by any means, but it's still enough that it's slowing me down more than I'd like. I also haven't really touched Cumhaill yet, and there are a few mechanics I'd like to finally include alongside the story revelations, so it's hard to say how much work is actually left to do. I still would really prefer to get v0.19 into early access before the end of the year, so that's still the goal, but we'll see how it goes.

The silver lining to all of this is that I don't need to go reaching for a lore post or anything for Friday's Patreon (and Subscribestar) post. As counter-intuitive as it is, it really feels like the best course of action is to take things however they come and putting out a near-complete test build. If all goes well, I'll then be able to get v0.19 complete and even have some time to go bug hunting. I've been less active in places other than Patreon and Discord than I'd really like to be lately, so I'm sure there are a number of bug reports out there that I haven't seen yet.

I just hope the last two posts of the year will be a little more positive. Or, failing that, that 2025 goes a little better. I'm still excited about finishing the story of Maids & Masters and then fully completing the game, and there are still cool things that I'm a part of happening that I want to talk about, but these past few weeks have been a little heavy on burnout for my liking. I really want to go back to being constantly flabbergasted that I get to do this at all, because I still love doing it and I still think it's extremely cool.

Maids & Masters (& Some Real Progress On v0.19)

Right when I was on track to have basically everything except the new story bit done in time for a test build on Friday, I get sick. I am still aiming to have a test build for Patrons on Friday, but this head cold has still slowed me down just enough that I'm not sure when a full early access release will actually become available. I really want to get it to Patrons before Christmas, but I'm not in a place where I can make that promise.

As for what I have gotten done - all the existing Maids have all their chat options for the new Maids, the new Maids all have Freeze versions, and the vast majority of that type of smaller interaction is done. There's still a little more left to do, but I've been working at it from multiple angles. Vicky, for example, is almost entirely done, only needing renders and animations for her event, but some non-characters (like the snowman and teddy bear) I haven't touched and still need updating.

That, unfortunately, is really as much as I can say about that. Everything being as in-progress as it is, there's not a lot for me to talk about.

In the interest of full transparency, I'm honestly not even totally sure I'll have a test build worth sharing come Friday. I might be able to manage it, but it's certainly not going to be as complete as I want. Plus, it is the holidays, so I'm busy with things besides work, which really only leaves me tomorrow to try and get more done before Friday.

I won't say anything else about possible release dates in the hope that I can still manage something reasonable.

Hopefully this cold passes quickly and I'm able to pick up the pace. It's frustrating wanting to get work done and not having the energy to actually be productive.

Maids & Masters (& A Little Progress On v0.19)

It still isn't a lot of details, but I think I've made enough progress that I'm comfortable talking about the cult segment leading into the Freeze. This one is a little more complicated than I'd have really liked it to be, and at the same time not as complicated as I really want it to be. I know that's contradictory, so bear with me.

This cult segment needs two versions. One where you won the election and are now leader of the cult, and one where you lost and are not. The trouble with that is that if you're the leader of the election, you should probably have some agency in what you do with that position. So, I set up the usual four choices plus the hidden choice, but if I'm going to do it right, that should be four completely different paths, giving you the option to do the most obvious things that the story might have led you to believe you'd be able to do once you finally got here. The trouble with that being that the story still has somewhere to go, so I need to find a way to somehow collapse all these different outcomes into the same conclusion so I don't entirely derail the story.

This is why this has taken me so long to reconcile. As burnt out as I've been, my brain just refused to process what I needed to do to make this any kind of coherent, much less as satisfying as I want it to be regardless of the direction you choose to move in.

I've finally reached a version that I think I'm happy with, though I haven't tested it very thoroughly. That'll come during the week, hopefully along with some meaningful progress on the Freeze events for the relevant Maids.

Because on top of this cult segment being unusual, this Freeze is also unusual, because it has some narrative that needs to happen during the Freeze to move the story into Act 3. 

Exactly none of which I'm ready to talk about in any more detail just yet.

Though one thing I am ready to talk about are the results of the winter bonus render poll. All those renders are done, but you'll have to wait until Friday to see them all. If you want to know the results (and see a preview), head over to Patreon (or Subscribestar). Also keep in mind that Patrons (and Subscribers) get bonus sets that I can't post publicly. Look forward to those on Friday.