That’s right, v4.31 is now on Steam, Itch.io, and the supporter download page. The changelog is on the supporter page and will be on the Itch.io devlog. I also installed butler on the mac and got it working despite Apple’s best efforts, so hopefully it will be able to generate patches and take less download time.
The update goes public on the 10th of June!
Development Update
I’ve taken care of all the major issues in chapter 5. This week I’ll be cleaning up some chapter 1/2 issues that have come up and going over the engine to clear out memory errors that may still be hiding.
Urimas is working on some 3D stuff, I have set Giga to work on getting some chapter 2 art finalized, and Wispy is drawing eyes.
Something is Coming
I am told that it will be ready on Wednesday, probably. I’ll post an update when it is!
The update can be found in the usual places, Itch/Steam/Secret Downloads Page
Changelog is at the bottom of the post
Update and Stuff
I’m going to spend some more shooting down the UFOs before I move on to Project Carnation, there are lots of small ones popping up all the time. I also want to spend some time using Valgrind to hunt down memory errors so I can get the code ship-shape.
Urimas is going to be working on idle animations for chapter 5 and the chapter 2 loading images, Koops and Chicken are busy with family stuff, Hund is mostly done the chapter 2 mountainscape. Everything is coming along.
Septima
“I have done my best to smile. Do you like it, bearer?” By Xandra.
That’s right, it’s now out to supporters. It is on both beta branches of Steam, is out on Itch.io, and is on the downloads page on the wordpress blog. Instructions for accessing that page are on Patreon and Subscribestar (I’ll make another post on those just in case you missed the first time).
Big Ol’ Changelog
//– [ ========Version 4.29 ========= ] //–Major *Added three new field abilities to chapter 5. Darkmatter, Steam Droid, and Electrosprite now all get field abilities. *Added new emotes (mostly yelling or being smarmy) to Unit 2856’s dialogue. *Added emotes for Agent Almond: ACTION MOTH! *Fixed the dialogue hang bug for really long cutscenes. *Added RAM paging for loading files. Should improve stability and decreases memory fragmentation while only increasing load times slightly. *New quests, trainer, fortune teller, forms, costumes :3
//–Minor *Added a dialogue topic with 55 about Inhibitor Chips, unlocked when you encounter a latex drone enemy. *Added a killphrases topic to Christine’s terminal so you know what they are even if you don’t examine any bodies in Cryogenics. *Added a topic after the Manufactory quest to discuss what happened with 55. *Christine’s profile will update during the latex drone sequence in sector 99. *Manufactory noise will now get louder as you get closer to the assembly line. *Added a new topic with SX-399 about what her name is. *Added badge to chapter 5 so Darkmatters will leave you alone when equipped. *Added a number of instances of the PDU appearing during conversations with emotions. *Updated the start of Regulus City sequence to better flesh out the relationship with Sophie. *Added some dialogue to the picnic golems in the biolabs movie. *Added some very angry dialogue to 2856 if you double back after fixing the power modulator in gamma. *You can now use Electrosprite form to bypass Hydroponics and the Datacore in the Biolabs. *You can now examine the glass in the amphibian habitat to get clues on the right amphibian for the puzzle! *SX-399 will now be available in the mines during NC+ after you complete the Sprocket City questline. She only helps out in the mines. *Pink slimes now have yellow eyes on the sprites.
//–Combat Balance *Christine’s shock-damage abilities are now color coded yellow (some of the electricity was blue) which should read better on the icons. (Thanks, Sigrid!)
//–Bugs *Fixed music not playing when loading a game. *Fixed layer tracks reporting errors when loading the game in certain rooms. *Fixed some offensive equippable items using the wrong strength indicator. *Fixed gravemarker paragon in the chapter 1 depths not actually triggering a battle when you say yes. *Fixed two Christines appearing after the first Equinox boss. *Fixed a missing “local” in Mei’s prestige job class. *Fixed a missing talk sprite in a darkmatter conversation. *Fixed the Tellurium Mines sometimes generating a 0 XP/JP item and printing a warning. *Hopefully fixed the non-existant Susan bug. *Fixed equipment cursor lingering in the empty slot when switching to a character who has fewer equipment slots. *Fixed invalid nude sprite images in Sprocket City considering the costume is never actually used. *Haunt should no longer be flagged as a buff. *Fixed some invalid sprite errors in the post-LRT scene in Christine’s quarters.
So What Now?
LIKE THREE WEEKS OF BUG FIXES. But seriously, I’m going to go over the code with Valgrind for a few days and try to suss out any remaining memory issues. There will also be tons of bugs and did you see that huge pile of slime costumes I have to add?
After that it’s off to work on the Carnation prototype. What is Project Carnation? You’ll start hearing more about that in the next few weeks. The art is mostly done, I have to do a bunch of scenario coding and combat redesign.
Niko Cat
Fan Art!
You thought you were getting out of May without maids? No way, Lydie’s back from her vacation and just in time to run into Natalie/Mei wearing the afternoon maid dress! This is why you pay attention to the time when you spend all day inside.
Maybe a bit more apropos for today’s update, but what if 55 got reprogrammed into a cute maid? Yeah believe me it was her idea.
Mostly because the next release comes out on the 15th so I’d rather post the whole update then rather than today, but if you’re just CHOMPING AT THE BIT for an update:
I need a couple more talk sprites from Koops, a couple more normal sprites from Urimas, and the finished TF from Dias, and we’re good to go. I am currently adding the fortune teller and updating some of chapter 5’s map code.
After that, I need to add the trainer and the new Secrebot abilities, and it’s all ready to launch.
Note: Urimas is the spilled cup and Wispy is the plate.
Coding and Assorted Hoo Ha
The basic quest for the chapter 5 update is done and I am now adding the big pile of silly gags and bad end stuff. Yeah, bad end stuff. It’s my silliest idea yet. I hope to be done it tomorrow at which point it’s time to add the fortune teller and trainer code.
Urimas got me the new sprites but has like 5 sprite sheets left to go. Koops is still working on the new 55 art (it’s still not done!), Wispy is updating the abilities, and can you believe it, Hund is STILL drawing mountains.
Also, I have seen the first page of the new TF sequence. It’s good stuff.
I’m about 1/3rd done the Secrebot quest scenario work. Got a bit distracted fixing up memory issues because I noticed a rare crash and now I’m basically cleaning up all the code’s latent memory problems. Hey, it’ll make the game more stable.
Urimas is making an explosion, Koops is drawing pretty dresses, Hund is working on a bunch of trees, and Giga is actually busy so I had to farm out the Secrebot TF to his friend Dias. It’s looking great so far but it’s a sketch so I can’t show it off on the bonus stuff quite yet.
Instrumentality
The secret project I mentioned a while back is now announced. It’s a String-Tyrant-adjacent light novel. 25 pages and a few illustrations! It’ll be available on Itch.io once the art is ready.
Look I get to make doll TF, it’s my thing that I’m good at.
Fan Art!
Holy cow, it’s a frightening amount of fan art by Xandra! Wow! I am legitimately mad that now I have to make Lydie taking a beach vacation canon and it wasn’t my idea.
No I don’t know why Kumquat commissioned a food safety course. I don’t think Kumquat knows.
Not to be outdone, we have a genie TF commissioned from Daimos by Justin Kombat! Sadly Genie is one of those TFs that you can put anywhere but doesn’t totally fit anywhere, so I don’t know if it’ll make it into RoP.
I do know that Verand doesn’t need a genie because she has everything she could wish for. Maybe she’ll wish for a dog.
Koops got me one of the needed portraits for the chapter 5 update, Urimas is working on a few commissions before finishing the sprites I need, and I have finished doing all the “not new stuff” improvements. Chapter 5 now has field abilities, a host of smaller fixes, new topics, new dialogue, emotes added to conversations that didn’t have them, and more!
I also fixed the longstanding dialogue lag bug and rewrote the loading code to use segmented memory, which should help with out-of-memory errors on some machines.
Next up is me working on the new TF and new quest!
GRZZRRKK
Heyo, my name’s Sigrid Vjeol, I’m a good ‘friend’ and colleague of Salty, she’s just given me permission to spruke the demo for my new game ‘GutterBlight’ a tf rpg where you explore a proto Victorian setting whilst trying to avoid being tf’d by ‘mysterious forces’ it’s a lot like runes in that it’s going to be story heavy and take place in a unique world, but also has a lot of it’s own stuff going on, like a special sub stories exploring what happens to folks post tf
I’ve added a number of topics, updated the meeting-Sophie part of chapter 5, and am working on adding a few new field abilities to the chapter. Chapter 5 wasn’t design with field abilities in mind, so you can turn invisible, heal yourself, and nuke enemies with electricity. Pretty basic stuff.
Next week I’ll be adding in the remainder of the topics and workarounds. Hopefully I can get to adding the new quest too, but that’s a maybe. There have been a ton of good suggestions for little improvements to chapter 5 over the year so I want to give them all a consideration.
Meanwhile, Urimas is recovering from dental surgery, Stinkehund is drawing a mountain, and Giga made the Harpy Sanya talk sprites. I’m hoping all the talk sprites for chapter 2 will be ready by the next release!
Last week was a bit of a vacation, having spent the last three months working like a dog to get the chapter 1 update out and bugs fixed. So as a way to take time off I got the working translation of Maiden Sealed in Stone updated. It’s currently being tested, but if you don’t mind some kinks you can get it here. The original game is here in Japanese, you need to install the translation’s data folder over the RPGMaker one.
Otherwise, it’s back to work this week on getting the combat in chapter 5 modernized and adding new stuff. New dialogue, new quests, and a new TF!
Urimas is presently working on the loading animation, Hund is still on the chapter 2 intro, Koops is drawing a yeti (don’t ask) and I sent off a script to Mario for editing. There might be a SECRET RELEASE soon!
Fan Art!
Holy cow it’s Ghost Maid Mei again, this time as Maid #7! It fits so well and I love the little tie on the sleeves. Thanks, Xandrasubmarine!
BUT WAIT
What if Jeanne got possessed by an ink slime and also became a french maid? Yeah this is what’d happen. Don’t worry she’s hypnotized so she’s going to be very happy, it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Also by Xandrasubmarine.
BONUS ALT: Black maid outfit to match the spooky ghost aesthetic.
Curious Cat
APRIL FOOL’S
The look on your face when there were cats in this post after I said there weren’t any cats.
Pandemonium Development 