Hi :)

Its been a little while. We missed you.

We said in the last patch notes that there was going to likely be a pretty big pause between updates, and that remains true, but we thought it was about time to reach out just to give you all some more information on what we have in the works, and why were going to be working for a good while longer before the next update can come out.

As hinted at in the roadmap we shared earlier, were currently in what we view as phase 1 towards the completion of IN HEAT, and this involves work on the third gameplay mode: the Arcade.\n

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/42271935/1257985ca8a736734b97acd6ed510b398cea8740.png\"][/img]

This is going to be an entirely new way to play IN HEAT, similar to how Nightclub changed things up from Security Office, but the core mechanic of sitting in a room with two doors on either side of you is going nowhere, dont worry about that.

Arcade is by far our most ambitious level, featuring more characters, mechanics, and rooms than any other. Without spoiling too much, you can expect some neat visuals that depart from our more grounded presentation up to this point, and plenty of new animations, voice lines, and gameplay features with your favorite girls.\n

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/42271935/4b79785cc332bb517d83f05a6a8d356c225a28b0.png\"][/img]

Unfortunately, the cost of ambition is time and effort, and were not satisfied with rushing out a product that none of us would want to play, so youll have to bear with us.

In the time since the Romancing the Rabbit update, weve gone through a couple of iterations of the map until we landed on one were pretty happy with, and were now working on modeling out the interiors while we test characters and make sure that the mechanics all gel into a cohesive, interesting gameplay loop. The core gameplay loop is a tricky one, as we have to balance enjoyment with variety and challenge, and thats proving to be, in itself, enjoyable, variable, and challenging.

Right now, were at the stage where weve got the map roughly where we want it, with a few rooms modeled out, and most of the pre-planning for the designs done. Weve got characters implemented and playing as they should (some even with their animations), and a whole laundry list of additional characters to add. We have the narrative structure plotted out, some lines written, and its all just a matter of painting by numbers until we have the full picture.\n

[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/42271935/4335d50bcbbe663d589c00d03202ee3204267429.png\"][/img]

Well likely be putting out another one or two of these logs before the Arcade is ready for shipping, so stay tuned for those. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we work, as were just as anxious as you are to have more content out there for you all to enjoy.

\nXOXO MonsterBox