The time has come. I am redoing the goddamn UI. It has taken a week and it’ll probably take another week but it is overdue. Restructuring the UI to be easier to work with, with less redundant code and more automation, is the right choice.
What does this mean to you? Nothing. Nothing at all because the whole thing will look identical when I am done. The code will just be easier to work with and less prone to causing bugs when I add new stuff or make new games.
Just know that I’m tired and it’s going to save 500 hours of work over the course of 10 years. Long term investments!
I’ve updated Carnation’s buy/sell stuff and am going to be working on getting the UI up to spec. I have also optimized some stuff in the C++ code so you can now directly load assets into C++ objects, which is another step on the road to fully moddable UI elements. Will that ever happen? Maybe! I really do want to encourage mod development but it’s a ton of extra work to do. Still, this will if nothing else slightly reduce loading times.
Oh and I have been considering changing the Harpy Tower Defense minigame in chapter 2 to Harpy Autochess. The purpose of the minigame is to both give the player something fun and cool to do besides beating the shit out of monsters (though that is fun), and to give you a better impression of the fact that the harpies actually do have an army.
One of the problems omnipresent in games is that the scope of things isn’t always clear, due to technical limitations. It’d be a lot of fun to put in 6000 harpy NPCs in a huge military camp but I think the call of “not doing that” is much stronger. Instead, you put in as many characters as you need in order to save on resources. So the player is always of the impression that the harpy army is 20 people over 3 game screens. It isn’t! There are thousands of them! Hence why TD/Autochess exists.
I’ll make a patron poll once Carnation is prototyped and ask the great mass of the patrons what they think. I’m sure everyone will be measured and reasonable.
What Could Have Been
Art by Xandra. You made Pyxxis cry. I’m not tearing up, you are!
Before we get to the Carnation stuff: Urimas has finished some more idle animations, Koops has finished the style bible, and Hund is working on the big map reveal. I’ve also got some TOP SECRET individual working on some more chapter 2 talk sprites.
I also borrowed a second monitor and bought a new HDMI cable (because the old one freaking broke) so I could greatly improve the engine’s support for multi-monitor setups. Unfortunately the version of Allegro it currently uses is bugged, but the SDL version works. I may have to update the Allegro version after Carnation is out.
Project Carnation
Possible Title: Witches of Ravenbrook
Carnation is an RPG dungeon crawler where your three humans must confront and defeat the so-titled Witches of Ravenbrook in a turn-based combat system with upgradeable equipment and changeable classes.
There’s TF involved, as if I had to tell you that.
After several iterations of design, we’ve settled on what I’m calling an Influence system. When a character’s HP reaches 0, they gain a point of influence, which advances the transformation. As you level up you can increase the influence cap, slowing down transformations, but when the transformation is complete, that party member is hostile for the remainder of the expedition.
Your party enters dungeons and is not always expected to succeed, as the difficulty is intentionally high but fair. If you fail to reach the end and beat the boss, then you keep half of the gained EXP and money. I wanted to make it acceptable and okay to go get transformed, make it part of the gameplay, while still giving you the ability to overcome it.
The art lead is Inkyfluffs, the internationally renowned artist who worked on such titles as String Tyrant and is currently making Covenstead. The characters of Chris, Beth, and Lore are also her design and she’s handling the overall setting and writing. I, Salty, am doing the more game-y parts, like balance, layout, and the actual C++ part.
Presently the prototype is a few months out. I want to overhaul the combat system some more. Navigation is mostly complete but will likely need a few more backgrounds, we’ll know for sure once the final product is ready. I have further ideas on how to handle the navigation part but we’re making a prototype to see if people are interested in this kind of gameplay.
The combat system actually uses a lot of RoP’s guts with a number of small changes I may go into in a later update. Dialogue is also using RoP’s basic talk sprite system.
So there you have it, the semi-reveal of Project Carnation. If you love it or hate it, let us know on Discord or email or just, flag me down in the street and yell at me from a rolled-down window. Do whatever you want.
Fan Art
Here we have SX-399 and Unit 499323, or as they are now called, CR-2-2 and CR-2-3! Brand new secrebots ready to serve. Please don’t look further into their pasts, they’re fresh off the assembly line!
These were drawn by Dias and you can find their DA pages here and here. Thanks, Justinkombat888!
The upcoming Windthrall form hasn’t actually been concepted yet though the base enemy has. So local maniac Xandrasubmarine asked, what if they were cool as hell. Here’s the answer. This is what Jeanne would look like if she merged with one.
Why it’s fan-art of Dmitri! Taken by Koops, it’s so realistic!
Koops is presently working on the art bible, Hund is working on a big map that I’ll show off later, and right now I’m working on Project Carnation. It’s not quiiiiite ready to show off, but it’s getting quite close to a point where I’d start showing off some teasers and progress reports. I’m making rapid progress on the layout work, though the UI leaves a lot to be desired. Yay!
I have also completed the third and final String Tyrant Story. Taken together all three are the length of a medium-sized novel. They’re going into editing, and then we’ll look at publishing them in full.
Version 4.35 is a very small update BUT it fixes a crash so it’s important to update to keep game instability down. You don’t want to lose progress because the game crashed, right?
It also fixes the paragon menu bug. There are a few other minor bugs I need to fix but those can wait for later. They are minor chapter 5 issues that don’t crash the game.
There have been some shakeups in the studio! Giga has left to pursue other major projects, we wish him well. Wispy is no longer working on RoP as an artist but is staying on as a programmer, he’s also got lots of big art projects to deal with. He may be the art lead in future projects, who knows!
This means Koops has been promoted to art director, having the time to spend on the job. We’re also going to be hunting around for a new talk-sprite artist to help fill in the gaps. This means I don’t have any idea when or how chapter 2 is going to progress, it depends on us finding artists up to the task. We’re still going to move forward just not at the pace I had hoped.
Project Carnation is still being prototyped, there may be other projects in the future if it takes us too long to get caught up on the art. I still want to finish chapter 2 ASAP so let’s hope we find some people.
It’s in our public downloads folder (Mega / Mediafire) or on Steam/Itch.io. You can find the changelog in the public downloads folder as well.
There’s still a few bugs left to go but I have most of them sorted out in this release. I’ve also completed that useful developer and modder utility I mentioned last week. It will be getting updates as I go, and will be incorporated into the modkit… sometime after the Carnation prototype.
It’s basically an in-engine utility that lets you create abilities, enemies, and other things and generate the scripts so you can plug them into your mods. Saves a lot of copying.
Meanwhile, the chapter 2 intro background is done and Koops will be adding the characters soonish. Urimas is still doing those chapter 5 idle animations.
We’re also filling in the various pieces in chapter 2. Sanya’s got a lot of other form poses where she uses her gun but I wanted to capture the alternative to gun violence: fist violence.
There’s a bunch of bugs I need to handle, but I spent last week working on some very valuable automation stuff. It’ll be useful for modders, useful for RoP, WHI, and even Carnation. Basically, an in-engine UI that lets you generate prototype scripts!
Anyway, Urimas is working on the chapter 5 idle animations, Chicken got really sick so Koops is taking care of him and the cats (our prayers are with Niko and Dmitri). Giga got some more Sanya stuff done and Dias will be working on the Sevavi TF sequence.
Next week I’ll clean up the bugs as best I can and release a patch.
That’s right, version 4.33 is now public for everyone. I’ll be taking down the secret chapter 1/5 update page since it is no longer necessary.
I’ve switched over to using public downloads folders, where you can find all our demos and free games, as well as a changelog. Just click on your preferred download site (Mega.nz / Mediafire), or go to Itch.io or Steam since it’s free there, too!
If you’re hopping back in to see what’s new: Chapter 1 got two new transformations, some new quests, a big bonus dungeon, new features like a fortune teller who marks catalysts for you and a trainer so you can buy EXP for Platina, and some new costumes. Chapter 5 got a new transformation, two new quests, new costumes, and even a few idle animations (more on the way) as well as the fortune teller and trainer NPCs. Chapter 2 has a few art updates. Chapter 1 and 5 got voice acting in combat, now you can hear Mei shout insults as she attacks! And all chapters got a ton of bugfixes, from typos to script errors to low-level memory fixes.
Both chapters got a new trailer! They’re on youtube (Chapter 1 / Chapter 5)
I wrote a Light Novel, Tales of Strings: Instruments, which you can find on Itch.io. Art by Xandrasubmarine!
Our tester Ack released a game called Research Tower 4. Go check it out, it has doll TF in it (woah!) and it’s free. Itch.ioTFGS LinkDeviantart Link
The tie-in novels are going to be uploaded to Itch.io once their exclusivity agreements expire. More on that when it happens.
Pumpkin continues to be really cute.
So now you’re all caught up!
Now What?
I’m going to be working on a prototype for Project Carnation. Much like the previous prototype (which was Project Monoceros, later Witch Hunter Izana) the fan response will determine if it’s a game we actually make or if it’s an idea that gets shelved. I expect this will take a few months.
Once that’s done, some more minor housekeeping. Releasing WHI Hard Mode, the JP Translation for WHI, getting WHI on DLSite, some minor updates for String Tyrant, and the usual code modernization.
And then, it’s Chapter 2 until it’s complete. I would love to have it done by the end of 2024 but that’s quite unlikely given the sheer size of it, so it’ll probably be done in 2025.
We have some new artists on the team, a cool new method of doing TF sequences via comics, a much streamlined map production system, and an internal method of handling quest writing that is way better than the previous one. In addition the “code debt” that I had built up over the years is mostly cleared. There’s always more I’d love to fix but the huge backlog of bugs is gone and the game is more stable than ever. If anyone can pull off finishing Chapter 2 in 2025, it’s us!
There’s also some stuff happening in WHI that I haven’t even revealed yet but it’s big. You’ll love it.
I’m so tired.
Curious Cat
Fan Art!
A collection of zombees by Xandrasubmarine to “celebrate” the new Zombee Queen Mei costume. That evil cultist really deserves a whalloping I tell you.
Yep, it’s out for your benefit. Itch.io and Steam as well as the direct downloads page.
Minor *Added Zombee Queen costume (Thanks, Xandra!). It’s unlocked same as bee queen and works when you’re a zombee, duh. *For convenience, 55 will now appear from the vents when checking the runestone upgrade console so you don’t have to go to the 2nd floor just to bring her back. *Getting the gravemarker TF scene will now toggle on the runestone quest flag in the journal so you know to ask her about it. *Trainer UI will now show level-ups if the amount of XP purchased causes one. *Added Sanya profile entries for bunny/harpy form. *Added higher-quality Zombee portraits. Thanks to Xandra for fixing the (thought to be lost!) original files up.
Combat Balance *Added “Unstunnable” and “Unpredictable” buffs. These make it a bit more clear in the combat inspector when an enemy cannot be stunned or ignores threat. *Adjusted Florentina’s Mushraune stats to differentiate them from Merchant.
Bugs *Fixed being able to activate the wisphag TF whirlpool during the rubber sequence. *Hopefully fixed catalysts not counting on loading game FOR THE LAST TIME. *Fixed Zombees spawning in the beehive basement if you just got the Zombee scene from transforming during the boss fight. *Fixed always resetting volumes to 0.75 when returning to the title screen. *Removed some diagnostic text. *Fixed Secrebot not handled by the golem in the ExteriorEA tram station. *Fixed Trainer UI not crossfading correctly on the spend/confirm windows (WHY DID NONE OF YOU REPORT THIS???) *Fixed extra empty textbox at end of bunny TF in chapter 2. *Fixed incorrect flag being set when turning in bunny quest pamphlet. *It should no longer be possible to lure the goose far enough that you don’t need to see the hunting tutorial prompt in chapter 2. *Fixed being unable to open the map in the warrens cave after getting Angelface to meet you there. *It should no longer be possible to talk to Marigold from behind by giving the springwater and then walking all the way around Fort Kirysu. *Updated Cave Crawler turn portrait to use the correct image. *Fixed a bunch of mixing pixels on the Izuna carried sprites. *Sanya’s Flank Tactics now costs the usual passive JP. *Fixed some erroneous tiles in NorthwoodsSCB. *Fixed warping giving an erroneous message at the very start of chapter 2. *Fixed wisphags not having sprites or a combat portrait in chapter 2. *Empress’ Move Move! description fixed to correctly show it increased Evade and Initiative. *Zeke’s Nuzzle prediction fixed to show 1 turn and not 3 turn duration. *Fixed diagnostic text rendering for Close Assault. *Fixed Close Assault only providing one instance of stun if multiple attacks crit.
I want to make some more light novels like this, short and sweet with a few illustrations. But will I? Depends on sales! I have tons of ideas that are all rock solid don’t you worry.
Art by Xandra, writing by me, Salty (hi!) and editing by MarioneTTe.
If you’re a patron/subscriber over 5$ for the month of May or June, just send us a DM on Patreon (or Discord if that’s easier for you) and we’ll get you hooked up with a copy.
Development Update
Giga has finished the new Sanya Sevavi combat pose but I’m not sure it’ll make it into the next update. It’ll definitely make the public release on the 10th. Urimas is currently working on the chapter 5 idle animations, Koops is doing some UI stuff and then character designs, Stinkehund has spent a riotous amount of time making a very cool forest scene for chapter 2, and Wispy is going to draw eyes. You’ll see (oh that was a pun I hate myself)
Fan Art!
Hadezmuze asked me for an art prompt for a warmup so BAM, Rilmani Mei! I like this better than her classic design, especially those shoes. But we all know what you really want is the ears.
If Rilmani Mei is too elegant for you, what if Septima wore a bikini? Yeah she’s still pretty elegant.
And finally we return to Hadezmuze’s favourite subject, Lotta. I gotta say she’s my fave, too. Well maybe not fave but she’s definitely in the top six.
And then we have a silly scene from Tales of Strings: Instruments, by Xandrasubmarine. Who the hell is that? It’s Scarlet, she’s from the String Tyrant prequel/sequel series which is also going to be published as novels when it’s ready (which might be sooner than you think).
Kumquat also commissioned an extremely NSFW version which I am going to post here without censoring because I BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH.
Pandemonium Development 