I've actually been working on v0.20 for a few weeks now, with the first test build and patch notes already being up on Patreon and Subscribestar. There's quite a bit that I could and kinda want to talk about, but I want to keep as much of this part of the story a secret so you get the experience and the reveals at the same time.
Obviously I can't do that with the patch notes that Patrons and Subscribers get, because the patch notes cover what's going on in the test build, and the test build contains those reveals. If you really want to know what's going on before the update enters Early Access and I start talking about going from v0.20 to v0.21, you know where to go.
I've been itching to work on this part of the game since I started on Act 2, so it's both a little surreal and really exciting to me to finally be here. Right now, the test build just introduces the update, wrapping up the Freeze and setting the scene for what comes after the cult meeting.
There's still a little bit of story to address with Lothario before the update really starts that I haven't put in yet, but adding just that would make for a pretty weak test build, so I want to get at least the core systems of the new mechanics functioning properly before I put out another test build so I can hopefully get some feedback on how that feels. As much as v0.20 Test 1 is already out, v0.20 Test 2 is at least another week away. And it'll probably still just be the story segment with Lothario and an opportunity to play with the base mechanics.
This is why I have no idea how long it's going to take me to make v0.20. These mechanics are complicated. I've spent entire days (yes, plural) putting together a single aspect, and that aspect is still incomplete. I (hopefully) know RPG Maker well enough at this point that I won't need to tear the entire system apart and remake it from the ground up to get it to work the way I want it to, so that shouldn't cause any delays. At the same time, I'm already at around 20 variables and 20 switches dedicated to just this part of the game, and both of those numbers are definitely going to go up from here. It's going to take a long time to put everything where it needs to go and tell the game how to behave. There's no real way around that.
And that's before all the story and special events, some of which will be based on "time" (using quotation marks because it's not really measuring how much time has passed, that's just the consideration behind it) and some of which will be more progress-based.
Thankfully this part of the game is something I've spent a good long time thinking about, so it's only the finer details I need to iron out as I build it up. The big things that might cause delays is if I build a piece of it one way and it doesn't work, so I need to spend however long figuring out how to fix it. I'd like to get this update out in February, but it might not be until March when it's actually ready. Only time will tell.
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