Maids & Masters (& Following Up On v0.20)

My brain is still mush in the wake of completing v0.20, so this post isn't going to have any active development news. I do still want to thank those of you that sent in bug reports; there were a couple bugs found in the new content for v0.20 that now have a patch available to fix them, and v0.20 has been pre-patched and re-uploaded so the patch is only necessary if you downloaded the game during release weekend. Only one of those bugs was truly game-breaking, but the other bug disabled a feature that I'm sure a number of players will find useful, so I'm glad to have both issues fixed.

 

I do want to do a bit of a post-mortem on what the "strategy mechanics" in the change log pertain to, but I need a little more time to recover before making my brain slog through all of that again. 

So this week, all I really want to do is lay out my plans for the rest of Maids & Masters as the game approaches completion.

 

First up is going to be the next April build. It's something I really wanted to make for last year because it's something people will not stop asking for, but I just didn't have time. With v0.20 done, I kinda do have time this year. I also don't want to go back and make it after Maids & Masters is complete, so if I'm doing it either this year or never.

After that, it's on to v0.21. v0.21 might end up being the first major update that doesn't include mechanics that are something I've never before. It will still be a fairly large number of maps, but despite that, I'm expecting v0.21 to be pretty straightforward, so it shouldn't take too long to complete. Being brave, I'd say v0.21 will release in April. Being cautious, it may not release until May.

When v0.21 is done, work on v0.22 will start, which will most likely be the last story update. I might end up splitting it up into two updates, because I want the final region and "estate" to be more content-dense, but it's hard to say exactly how much work that's going be. Mechanically, v0.22 should also be fairly straightforward, but I want to give the "end boss" some extra attention. Things like multiple phases and choices so the end of the story forms over the course of the fight instead of pulling a Mass Effect and just giving you a choice box. It's hard to say how that will all pan out, but I'm hoping v0.22 will release in May. It'll probably take until June or July knowing how things usually go, but I want to be optimistic.

Once v0.22 is out, v1.0 will happen when I've finished all the side content. This is mostly the character quests, since all the Maids are meant to have 3 or 4 character quests and they currently only have 1, but there's a bit of post-game content I want to add, too. If all goes well, v1.0 and everything I want to do with Maids & Masters will be complete right around its 4th anniversary.

 

With the release of v1.0, the rest of the year will be spent on Precious Kouhai so that project isn't sitting at v0.2 forever, supporting Maids & Masters with bugfix releases, and getting started on whatever the Patreon/Subscribestar poll decides I should start working on next.

Maids & Masters v0.20 Release

I feel like I need to go into hibernation after finally finishing this. There are already a few things I want to go back and polish or little side things I want to go in and add, but there's not enough there for me to justify actually delaying the release.

 

Maids & Masters is  now just two more major updates away from the end of the story, and one to three more small updates for side content, bug fixes, and polish before it's fully complete. It's taken nearly five thousand hours of development time over the last three years to get here, so if you think I'm worth supporting, go to Patreon or Subscribestar (or itch, I'm not picky; though you might have to wait an extra day for me to finish uploads sometimes) and consider kicking me a few bucks.

 

Or just wait until v0.21 hits early access and play it for free. That's also valid.

Here's the changelog (which is the longest the changelog has been in a good while): 

v0.20
Added the next story segment - the start of Act 3. Including:
- The end of the third Freeze and its associated trophy.
- The final cult segment before the end of the story.
- New turn-based-strategy style gameplay mechanics.
- Addressing long-standing plot threads; Lothario’s attic, Griselda’s prisoner, and more!
Added the Estate Info entry and trophy room events for Trophy 36.
Added a bugfix feature to discover Trophy 36’s Estate Info entry to the trophy room.
Added the missing Freeze chat variations for the new Maids to Katrina.
Added a transfer to the war room to access the laboratory from inside the mansion.
Added an option for Vicky to take you to the North Desert after completing Raven’s segment.
Added Bosch to the Freeze version of the Estate yard.
Added Chloe’s Freeze scene to her Service options after completing her event.
Added June’s Freeze scene to her Service options after completing her event.
Added an alternate version of Phoebe’s first affection quest, available during the Grow.
Fixed a bug that locked Vicky’s affection quest if Archibald had been present.
Fixed a bug in Willow’s Service options that resulted in the wrong scene playing.
Fixed a bug in the Ravenswood Estate that caused a blue pedestal to incorrectly remain active.
Fixed a bug in the Mind Hold that caused upgrades to not correctly diminish Silcrow.
Fixed a bug that caused Archibald to appear by Evdokia when he shouldn’t.
Fixed a bug that could prevent the player from leaving Aimadh under certain conditions.
Fixed a bug in the mountain pass that could prevent the jump from becoming available.
Fixed a bug that would cause an enemy in Clannestad to trigger a fight indefinitely.
Fixed a bug where Torgill was mad at you before you got Deirlinn pregnant.
Fixed a bug that caused Setri’s progression to count as complete during the Grow.
Fixed a bug where Celine may appear during the second Freeze’s feast.
Fixed a bug that prevented entering the Hold in the east wilds of the North Desert.
Fixed a bug that caused the player sprite to clip into the throne in the player Estate’s study.
Fixed a bug that allowed Beguile skills to be used while the affected unit was Silenced.
Fixed a bug that caused Maid’s Heeled Boots to not be picked up in Emily’s shop.
Fixed a bug that caused Silk Maid’s Ribbon to not be picked up in Emily’s shop.
Fixed a bug that allowed Preventative Stance to miss.
Fixed a bug that caused Oblivion Strike to target all enemies instead of one enemy.
Fixed a bug where the top of Fekhacht’s BGM would continue after using the Homing Stone.
Updated the wardrobes to allow selecting the default vest costume when others aren’t available.
Updated Katrina’s Freeze instance to account for time having passed.
Updated the Mind Hold with “Unlock Potential” options.
Updated the Freeze version of the Estate’s pool to improve event flow and triggers.
Updated Anne to have new dialogue if you have the Dog Collar trophy.
Updated Emily with new chat dialogue in reference to actions taken with Master Emmerich.
Updated Attack With Me! to repeat 4 times instead of 3.
Updated Wait For An Opening! to cost 50 SP instead of 60 and have much higher skill speed.
Updated Let Them Have It! To repeat 8 times instead of 6.
Updated Whirlwind Barrage to target 3 random enemies twice instead of one enemy five times.
Updated Sweeping Strike to cost 20 TP instead of 10 TP.
Updated Wild Barrage to award 5 SP per successful hit instead of zero.
Updated Whirlwind Barrage to award 5 SP per successful hit instead of zero.
Various other minor dialogue and event updates.