The wait is nearly over! As we close in on Chapter 9's release, it's well past time for another update. As of today, our render count sits at 1200, with one remaining scene requiring animation, and about three remaining scenes requiring art. Chapter 9 will feature two crossovers from other popular titles, both of which leave a mark on the story. (Sorry, no spoilers!)
This chapter is taking a bit more time to finish, but it's also a somewhat longer update, as you will know your character's ending when the credits roll. This will be the last time you see the chapter summary screen that's become a hallmark of this title. This will also mark the end of "Early Release" and the title will head into the mainstream on the Steam Store. To be absolutely clear, this is NOT an episodic property that will be released over multiple "seasons," but rather a self-contained story. As teased previously, some of these characters will have roles in in future titles.
The last update (targeting late Nov/early Dec) will be something between a normal chapter and an extended epilogue showing how your ending plays out once the immediate crisis is past. At least one choice made in the first five minutes of the game comes full circle as the sun sets on the present for the final time. Assuming we finish the game by the end of the year, we'll will then remaster the prologue and first chapter to bring the art/animations and sound up to the standard our current state-of-the-art.
All of that nitty gritty aside, we are shooting for a July release for Chapter 9. This will be a bit of a squeeze for us, but that'll mostly fall on the coding side of things to make sure everything is as bulletproof as it can be before being released.
On a personal note, when we started this, it was a different time. People were locked down with COVID, there was less war in the world, and the AVN community was full of promise. As we begin putting a bow on our first game, Kentyrr and I want to thank everyone who's supported us from the bottoms of our hearts! Early release asks a lot of the purchaser, and we couldn't be more pleased that we're on the cusp of delivering on the promise we made when we launched on Steam!