I have been busy working on many different areas of the game to get it ready for the Steam Launch with the next update. Much of the recent development work has centered around Castle Helmsworth. Building the environments, various characters, posing scenes and rendering. These scenes will provide a climatic end to the next release as you will be hopefully rescuing Bransons family that is being held captive. Below is an image of the full environment for the lower level of the castle which contains the storerooms, holding cells, a large, vaulted room that serves as the guard barracks and then stairways up the next level.
In the previous release 0.3.1 if you avoided the encounter while on the road to Castle Helmsworth on either Damerek or Bransons path you would instead find a place to set up camp for the night that evening. I have been working on finishing all the needed renders for those scenes and ensuring that events that might occur during the campsite scene are considered for the next release during certain dialogue and story events.
I am working with a few translators to help expand the story from just English. Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese will be added as languages to select when playing the game. While the script is being translated by others, I have been working on redoing all the image buttons that are used for the main menu and new Gallery system. This way all images that have text on them will have a matching graphic in any official language. Below are some images of upcoming content.

The different paths in the upcoming release will offer very different scenes and each will introduce us to multiple new characters. These new characters will all have a part to play now and well into the future with some causing a hard split in certain paths. If you have Branson in your group from the 0.3.0 release, then his past and choices you made for him will play a major part in the direction of the scenes. A life hangs in the balance and certain choices you have already made will dictate the outcome of this situation. Having Damerek in your group instead will open up new scenes that will give us some insight into his background. His path will also lay the foundation for a future story arc and companion quest while also introducing a new antagonist. Here are a few images from the upcoming content:


Alongside the story writing and image creation I have been continuing work on the updates for the galleries and journal mentioned in the previous development update. Here are some screenshots of the new Images and Dreams selection screens. Each time you enter the screen, the Others image will randomly change to show different characters that fall into that category. The images also change from black and white to color when you hover over them.

The different dreams that you will be able to see during your story will be listed here. They will be black and white and will change to a color version once you have unlocked it for replay.

Here is another high-level update so those of you that want to follow along with the development can read through some of the recent progress. Story wise I have been working on using my notes and outline to write all the scenes and dialogue for the next update. There has been lots of work to create all the needed environments as well as new characters. There is a large scene in a village outside of Castle Helmsworth that needed a large cast of characters as well as background NPCs. Both the current Damerek or Branson paths will have scenes in the village, but they will be very different and take those stories in different directions. Afterwards you and your group will arrive at Castle Helmsworth for some climatic scenes and a few choices that will branch the upcoming story in very different paths. I added a few images of some recent work, a flashback from the Branson path and an image of your arrival in town with Damerek. Following that are some updates on new improvements for the gallery, replay system and journal rework.

Gallery
I updated the Gallery screen to include more than just the unlockable images. Now when you enter the gallery you will have 3 choices: Images, Dreams and Scenes. The Images button will take you to a new screen that will have images of a few of the main Characters: Qinara, Kaela, Viviara and Varisha as well as a fifth option with will be an Others category. Clicking the images for each character will take to you an image gallery of just their images. The Others page will contain images of side characters who might not appear as much during the story but have special renders. This will hopefully make it easier to find images you have unlocked for specific characters easier in the future as the number of special renders grows. The Dreams button will take you to a special replay gallery that contains just the scenes from your character's dreams in the game. New dreams will be added as you experience them during your different playthroughs. Your dreams will give clues about your character's past and since they are not shown in chronological order in the game, I thought it might be nice to have a place to replay them. This will give you the opportunity to play them in a certain order to see if you can piece together your character's memories. Lastly is the Scenes button which opens a screen that contains certain scenes from the game that might be of importance or that you might want to replay. I am still working on the code and images for this screen, but I am planning on it being divided by the main characters in the same way the images gallery will be. Journal
The overhaul of the journal system is underway. It will no longer appear as a long wall of text detailing all the actions and interactions you have made. It is instead turning into more of a codex of the game world and the people that inhabit it. Created to appear as an actual journal book from the period on the left side is a scrolling navigation area. It will be broken up into a few sections for characters that appear in the story, the different factions you will encounter, locations and items and lore. As you progress through the story, new entries will be added to the journal or existing entries will be updated. A small notification will appear also to let you know when new information has been added. The journal pages will contain information and details along with images such as character portraits, maps item images etc. The journal pages by default are displayed in a handwritten font style. The options menu does have a toggle that you can use to change the font to a more traditional typed font for easier reading.

I wanted to post an update to share some details for the next content release 0.4.0. I am working on finishing the renders as well as dialogue and some code for the campsite scenes. These are various scenes that you will see if you decide to skip the random encounters. I am making sure the dialogue works for when you choose to avoid an encounter and also for if you are kicked out such as case with some choices from the Raelynn encounter. Along side this work is development for the continuation of the story as you and your group finish your trip to Castle Helmsworth and will have to deal with the situation there. I will have more details in future development updates. I am planning to release the campsite scenes ahead of the 0.4.0 release. It will also include numerous other updates to the game and interface.
Ongoing Updates

• Changed the links to the Preferences screen as well as the screen title to now say Options. This is inline with the main menu naming and buttons.
• Added a Text Size slider to the Options screen to increase the font size for dialogue text. The Lowest setting is the current text size and it grows larger from there. (This is for in game dialogue only, menu text and choices remain unchanged since increasing that would cause display issues on the screens.)
• Added a Name Save Files setting in the Options screen that allows you to enable or disable the prompt for a filename for your saves. (Save Names are on by default)
• Fixed an issue with the labels for the Gallery Images that was preventing them from displaying correctly.
• Updated sub menu font and color for text to match the main menu screen.
• The background images for the Main Menu have been updated and will now start at a different part of their rotation each time the game loads.
• Updated the warning screen to expand on some of the darker themes that appear in the game.
• Fixed a few lines of Damerek dialogue to make them more consistent.
• Fixed a Moria image where she still had her original version's brown eyes.
• Fixed a few images that had certain character's hair poking through their faces.
• Updated the Jonah gravesite images to have a small stack of stones instead of a cross.

Set out on the road and play two paths with either Damerek or Branson as you head towards Castle Helmsworth. Explore some of your own character's past and get answers to some questions while prompting many more. Conflict between elves and humans spills over as you learn of a new antagonist as well as get a brief introduction to a possible future companion. Discussion with Qinara and Damerek will add to their backstory and also show you that there is more to their past that needs to be explored. NOTE: This version contains the first of hopefully many Random Encounters. During the story you are prompted to Investigate or Continue on your Journey. Continuing will eventually lead to skipping the encounter and continuing on to a campsite scene for you and your group. These campsite scenes are currently still a work in progress so they will be added in a follow up patch. Ending up at one of these scenes will notify you that the content is coming and then take you back to the start of the encounter so you can choose another option. Future updates will include new encounters to add to the list of possible scenarios so that when replaying different paths you will see different content even if you chose the same choices as before. This release contains the following new content and updates: Images: 1,549 new story renders added and 1 movie (3,630 Images total) Audio files: 28 new music tracks and 11 new sound effects Word Count: 29,000 added (84,000+ total) New Gallery Images: 5 New Achievements: 3 Revised Main Menu Grammar updates for previous content Fixed a line of dialogue after losing the tavern fight that should not have displayed if you lied to Qinara about not helping Damerek. Fixed an error with a journal variable for Damerek from version 0.2.0 Updated Ren'Py version to 8.1.3 --------------------------------------------------------------- With the release of version 0.3.1 the next steps are to finish the campsite branches and scenes for if you decide to skip an encounter. Following that will be the next major update 0.4.0 which I plan to be the Steam Release. As far as advancing the story and the upcoming content, the next release 0.4.0 will have you arriving at Castle Helmsworth and hopefully performing a rescue of sorts. Damerek and Branson paths will have different events that will provide more details and flashbacks into both of their pasts. The last little bit of travel for you and your group will help provide a little more detail and backstory for many of the characters, because once you arrive at Castle Helmsworth to help Branson's family, there will be some pivotal choices that will change the direction of your story significantly. The pacing will change somewhat as we have learned enough of many of the characters and the world they live in to start to have a good foundation for the lore. We will see a new cast of characters with Branson's sister Kaela, her handmaid Moria and his mother Elwyn taking an active role in the events that unfold.

I wanted to give a report on development as we are nearing release of the next content update. If you have not read the previous update, you can do so here. All of the details for the path and direction of the next release has not changed except for the number of random encounters. Originally I was trying to write, pose and render the first three different encounters to be put in the random encounter pool. The encounters are large in size and it soon became apparent that trying to cram all of them into one release was just going to cause a much longer delay. So I decided to stagger them to help shorten the time needed to release game updates. In the upcoming version 0.3.0, the system is in place for random encounters, but there will only be one that is available. This one will give you a close view of some of the conflict your character will be pulled into as well as introduce another main character and potential love interest for further in the story. The following release of version 0.4.0 will include a second random encounter to be added to the pool, unless I can release that sooner on its own. And then another one in the release following that. This way by the time in the story another encounter would trigger, the random pool will have a few options to choose from and the releases do not get held up trying to create all the encounters at once. After a second encounter is added, if you were to start a fresh playthrough or were playing for the first time, you would have more than one option for the first time an encounter is triggered.
Along with the encounters I have created optional paths for if you want to avoid them. These will lead to your group finding a spot to camp for the night. This update will have a scene like this for each of the different paths. While shorter than doing a full encounter, they will offer new information and background for the various characters in your party. Also as your relationship with certain individuals progresses these overnight scenes will provide other opportunities as well.
I have updated the main menu and reduced the size of the platform links at the bottom so they do not take up as much room. I took out the black buttons so more of the background shows through. I want to add more images, especially some that will unlock as you progress through the story, but that can wait for another time. I want to overhaul the in-game journal and turn it into more of a Codex instead of the play by play history it feels like now. I am thinking of including maps of where you have been in your journey, write ups on the various factions as well as stats for the characters you meet along the way. With a rework on the horizon I decided not to spend time working on journal entries for this release since they would end up being scrapped for the new system later. Achievements and gallery images have been created and added. Currently the update is getting close to 30,000 words added with 1,100+ images. Many more are queued up and there is still a chunk left to pose. This does not include the images that were created for use in the Stay With Me video as those will be converted into the video file. That main push now is finishing renders for all the various paths and alternate scenes as well as music and sounds. I added some more images below and tried to pick some that do not give too much away as well as a link to the latest clip from the video. Feel free to message, comment or post in discord if you have any questions or want to discuss anything.



[previewyoutube=y3Y95ZHsuzc;full][/previewyoutube]

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to play through the demo of Shards of the Past. (Chapters 1 and 2) If not, you might want to hold off on reading this update so as not to spoil anything for yourself. We have seen the introduction of a few characters and some of their backstory as well as details into the time period of the world they inhabit. Your character has also taken on a task that will kick start your adventure, whether you did so willingly or not was up to you.
Branson was a wildcard since much of what you learned was through him and sometimes things didnt happen exactly as he was telling you. The choices you made during his flashbacks determined how certain scenes will play out in the future. Will he be a possible, if not arrogant, ally? Someone who at least was willing to show mercy to Caleb during the execution and immediately came to his sisters rescue. Or will he be a possible enemy you must watch out for? Someone who was willing to execute a young boy and stood by watching while Kaela was attacked for his own perverse desires for his sister. This is a person who, based on some of your previous choices, might be traveling with you. Can you depend on him if the situation arises?
Chapter 3 development has been coming along nicely and this update is shaping up to be a large one. We currently have two main paths that depend on your choices from Chapter 1, traveling with either Damerek or Branson. These paths are further split with many scenes and dialogue variations depending on your previous choices. Scenes have been written to further give us more information about both of these characters and their backgrounds. While on the road traveling to Castle Helmsworth you will have the chance to learn more about Bransons history and his familys conflict with the elves. Your choices for him during the previous flashbacks in Chapter 2 will also change details of his background story as well as how he will react during encounters during your travels. While traveling with Damerek you have the opportunity to try and find out more details of his past as well as set the foundation for a possible side quest and future path. Talks with Damerek while traveling, as well as at night at the campsite, will allow you to slowly earn more of his trust and learn just why he is so far away from home and what he might be hiding from you. Both of the main paths will have scenes as well as a flashback that detail how your character and Qinara met, plus some of the details of your character's origin. On top of this will be a dream that your character has that will give some hints as to where he came from. A large bulk of this content has been written and coded with images to go along with it.
I have been working on writing dialogue and code for the random encounter system I want to implement starting in this update. My goal is for each Act of the story to have a pool of encounters that you can possibly see while you travel from major story points in the game. The first example of this will be on your way to Castle Helmsworth you will encounter people or an event taking place. This will be randomly pulled from the list of possible encounters for Act 1 to improve replayability of multiple playthroughs. The event itself will also have changes depending on if you encounter it in Chapter 3 or later in chapter 4 or 5 as changes and choices you have made will create variations on scenes in these encounters. When you come across one of these encounters you will have the option to continue and play out the encounter or to avoid the situation and continue on your travels. The encounters contain a good amount of content and will also serve to introduce possible new characters, give lore and history to the world and recent events as well as provide the opportunity for you to learn more and grow closer to certain companions. Examples for Act 1 involve coming across an encounter on the road and when choosing to participate, playing out the scenes for that encounter as well as an overnight stay somewhere followed up by morning after scenes and then your group heading back out on the road. If you choose to avoid an encounter then your group will continue on their way and set up camp somewhere on the way to Castle Helmsworth or their current destination. Campsite scenes also provide different scenes and dialogue than the encounters will and will also give important character background details as well as grow closer to certain individuals. The goal is for participating in and avoiding encounters to both feel rewarding.
Some dialogue that the elves speak will be in their elvish language, especially when they don't want humans to understand what is being said. I have been testing various fonts to try and find one that works as an elven language. Many times this will also be presented with translated text for us the players to read, but in some situations you might need to rely on Qinara or others to translate what is being said. I have been doing a lot of work in Unreal Engine and Blender to learn enough of both of these applications so I can create and export new scenes for use in Daz Studio which is the program I mainly work in for creating the visuals. Chapter 2 saw a few new custom music tracks I created and I am working on developing more for chapter three. One such track I created is a 4 minute long(skippable if you desire) montage of Qinara singing a song in elvish that will be used during a flashback. I have included a small demo of the first minute of the song. [previewyoutube=uFhYThA-2ww;full][/previewyoutube]