Thursday, April 28, 2016

Ouroboros Preview

I'm happy to announce the side game I created while I was on my break! Patrons got a full report of some of the other work I did, and you'll be getting a schedule of releases in a few days, but for now I wanted to spotlight one of the things I've finished as proof that I haven't just been goofing off. =P

Ouroboros

Ouroboros presents a bright, cheerful world in which something is horrifyingly wrong. The hero has a princess to save and a quest set before him, but there are unsettling signs that all this has happened before. As you play the game, you'll come to realize that the dungeons and monsters are meaningless distractions from the task of uncovering the truth.


Ouroboros is an action-adventure with RPG elements. As you can see in the above screenshot, you have the ability to jump, for example. You may also note that this one was made in MV; while I will keep my current projects in VX Ace, I did want to play around with the new version. Though it doesn't have a rich set of resources yet, it does have some fun possibilities:


I've included a variety of features in an effort to make the game feel different from the usual RPG. As much as I love the genre, I get a lot of it between The Last Sovereign and Noxian Nights. This side project was an effort to make a different flavor, and hopefully you guys will find it refreshing as well.


The combat system is grind-free: there aren't any levels at all, your strength comes primarily from your equipment and tactical choices. Though you can't see it in that screenshot, you have the ability to change your equipment at any time in combat. You can see MV's new side battle mode, which is a nice change of scenery.


Of course, the game has plenty of adult content as well. ^-^ Throughout the game you'll find six different sex scenes, and I may expand that number later.

I'll give a full schedule at the official end of the break month, but this game will be released the usual way: patrons will get to play it first, then I'll release it publicly. But while I'm doing that, I'll be diving back into TLS - while I was glad to take a break, I really found myself missing it. See you soon with more updates!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

TLS 0.17.4 + Important Updates

Hey all, one more patch on this version. Almost entirely more polishing, plus some musical fixes for things that were above my pay grade (thanks, Lamsey!). So no need to replay if you've already finished, but if you're starting fresh, definitely use the new links in the previous post (discussion of this update can stay there too).

Now, with that released, it's time for some news. As I've hinted over the past while, I am running low on energy. I have a plan for dealing with it, and now is the time to announce it publicly.

What I want is not a total break, but a change of pace. I've been working on the same set of projects for months now, after all, and I think my brain needs some variety.

So I plan to take the next month to work on a mix of different projects. A short story set in the world of TLS is very likely, for example, and I might try to make a short, self-contained game. At the end of that time, I will give backers everything I create.

Then after that I will dive right back into TLS with renewed energy. I wanted to get this update out and fully polished first, both to finish the chapter and as a show of my commitment to the project.

Here's one bit of good news for anyone disappointed: the month doesn't start with this post. I may be getting 0.17.4 out now, but I haven't been working on it full time for the past several days. So I'm counting starting April 3rd, meaning I'll resume TLS work on May 3rd at the latest. NN development will be unaffected (it's just coincidence that the double update there is at the same time).

Also, since I don't want to have a month of radio silence, you'll get a full update from me here before the end of the month. I will report on new projects I've started/finished so you have a clear idea what's been done and what's to come. Backers will get weekly updates on Patreon as usual, of course.

I think this could be good for everyone. I get to change my routine up and you guys get some completed pieces of content. Though I can't say how much I'll accomplish during my break, I hope to have at least a few fun things to show everyone at the end of it. ^-^

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Version 0.17.3 Public Release

Download*: https://mega.nz/#!LkEyEZRS!1yr3VknzQ91GdrPW5bszjayQiFXb5UKmhyT4V-0XpxM
RTP: https://mega.nz/#!HxNDWCyC!XpRzH4tI3GNt1St6odf8ev0rEs6bMOZcMSUTpLJ6VgU

*Requires RPG Maker VX Ace RTP to be installed. If you don't know what that means, use the RTP link.

Version 0.17.0
 - All events in Ardford are finished, as is the second chapter!
 - Three new plot sex scenes.
 - Various minor changes throughout.
Version 0.17.3
 - Over 30 new musical tracks added.*
 - Over 50 new battlers added.
 - Several new debuff/state-related scripts: expiration is standardized and you can see the exact number of turns remaining. (Thanks, Decanter!)
 - A few more tweaks to the Hidden Port.
Version 0.17.4 (added to this post 4/6)
 - More polishing.

*Note for imported saves: your background music may not update until you re-enter an area.

Looking above, you can see part of why this release took so long. With the completion of the second chapter, I wanted to take some of the secondary aspects of the game up a notch. Almost all default RPG Maker resources have been replaced, in favor of new materials found from more obscure sites, commissioned, or provided by kind and talented fans.

It took longer to make all this work properly than I expected. Even aside from tweaking so many different choices so they all felt appropriate, RPG Maker has issue with certain formats that are a pain to work with - and unlike many aspects of the engine, I was learning from scratch on most of this.

Regardless, what I have for you now is a new version with a lot of polished new content. Aside from reworked previous sections, you can now complete Ardford, the summit, and the entire second chapter!

Stay tuned for more information next week and have fun. ^-^

Friday, March 18, 2016

Version 0.17.0 Released

New update for patrons! Version history updated, you know what to do, etc.

Version 0.17.0
 - All events in Ardford are finished, as is the second chapter!
 - Three new plot sex scenes.
 - Various minor changes throughout.

The schedule over the coming period may be a little different. While this update includes all the game content that I wanted, it doesn't have the custom music or battlers I plan to include. I hope to add those in for an additional backer update. That means that the 0.17.2 public update might be a little later, though I still hope have it out on March 25 according to the usual schedule.

Regardless, I won't be able to start working on version 0.18.0 immediately due to this update's extended development time. I will say more about this and some other scheduling issues later, but for now I'm focusing on the game.

Meanwhile, if you want a preview of this update, check your forum of choice for some screenshots.

EDIT: Sorry, it won't be today. There's no problem with the new story content, but the custom music and battlers I added require more polishing to reach the level I try to set for myself. Once I'm satisfied that I haven't added any new problems with my improvements, everyone will get 0.17.2. I have some hope it won't be too long.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Version 0.16.1 Public Release

Download*: https://mega.nz/#!Hw0yiRCa!MCxAYXnO8rjNvD9OPdfUVZ8BwxpA9LVLfeMsNMRzJNE
RTP Version: https://mega.nz/#!KscGxJpQ!FfWXN0aW6sX3URxg8-_u0FmrEodyKqU5XS9cUsPIw9c 
BKG Mirror**: N/A
Kimochi Mirror***: N/A

*Requires RPG Maker VX Ace RTP to be installed. If you don't know what that means, use the RTP link.

Version 0.16.0
 - New city, stage is set for the Ardford Summit.
 - Two new plot sex scenes.
 - Three conversations added to Janine's Retreat based on patron suggestions (no gameplay changes).
 - ProN now shows up in the menu (thanks Decanter!).
 - Simon's new armor has a darker color palette (thanks Scrambler!).

REMINDER: The vote on Patreon was to split Ardford into two updates, the same way Stineford was done. So this update you're getting the entire city and most of the investments, but there will be more sidequests and a ton of plot in the next one. Just bear this in mind, skip the update or bear it in mind based on your preferences.

**NoMoshing says he feels like the need for mirroring has lessened, so he won't be mirroring other games once he redesigns his site. Thanks to him for providing a mirror for so many months!

***In case you haven't heard, Kimochi is shutting down permanently. This is presumably why they didn't answer my emails about getting TLS updated on their client, so that's the situation.