Hello there Steam people! It has been a while again and I'm finally able to return with some news. If you don't know what's going on, the very very short tl;dr is that my rendering equipment ( that contains all the character files that I can't recreate ) has been seized by the police and is currently being investigated because I'm getting framed for a crime I didn't commit ( crypto scam ). I had a very long talk with my lawyer on monday, since he has access to the case file now, and from everything we could read there, it's looking good for me. The only "bad" thing is that this is going to take a bit. We don't know an estimate, since all the cases differe regarding that, but I basically adviced him to write to the state attorney every week and ask him if I can get two of my crucial external ssds ( that contain all my rendering data ) back, as I can't work without them. That is sadly all we can do, keep pondering them and then waiting till they respond. I will get my stuff back eventually, and there is a good chance that I can get those ssds back sooner, but it all depends on how their investigations go. I don't think the law enforcement system here has a lot of knowledge regarding 3d rendering and making an Adult Game in general, so that is something we might have to explain to a judge/state attorney as well, if they have questions regarding that. But the TL;DR is that things are looking good in my case and that it's, like I said, just a matter of time. It can be days, it can be weeks but sadly, it can also be months. Rest assured though that as soon as I get a notification that I can get my SSDS back, Chapter 4 release will be extremely fast ( since I'm already writing a lot of stuff ahead ). I also want to answer a few comments and messages I received lately, mainly that I'm a scammer and don't care about Steam and you amazing people that bought the game. Those allegations are completely false, I deeply care for the Steam community and having a game on this platform was a dream I had for a very, very long time. I had quite a lot of success on steam and while the sales have drastically slowed down ( as expected with these games ), I never did this for the money. My game is below the average price of AVNS and even when I leave early access, all future updates and possible DLCS will ALWAYS BE FREE. If you buy the game you get the complete game, no matter how big the updates will be, I will never charge you again. I know that the long waiting, especially after the very exciting ending of chapter 3, is annoying and trust me, there is not a single person in the world that is currently more annoyed ( and actually emotionally hurt ) because of the current situation than me. Working on My New Memories has become my life, creating these stories filled me with joy that I never experienced before. Not being able to make renders with my favorite characters is actually affecting me emotionally to the point where I sometimes break down. Is that healthy? Probably not. Why do I tell you this? Because I want you to understand that I love my games and I love the Steam community. There is not a community I care more or less for, it doesn't matter if it's on my Discord or other social media platforms. Yes, I use Patreon, but I started my Patreon page for my first game back in 2019, before My New Memories was even a thing. That game is completed now and the plan was to fully focus on My New Memories, but you know what happened then. Being at a crossroad like this basically destroyed all the planning I had and while it is "only" on hold for now ( until I get my stuff back ), it still is an emotional rollercoaster. I fully and one hundred percent understand if people either here or on other platforms don't want to support me anymore - and I know that this is more difficult on steam, since you already paid for the game. There is no "But" here, if I'm not able to work on my game and provide you with promised updates, you have all the right in the world to be angry and disappointed. But please don't accuse me of not caring about Steam just because of other platforms - Because that is simply no true. It is out of my hand at the moment and I'm doing everything I can to get back on track. Hell, I moved to a new apartment in the hopes to start a better life and then I get raided by the cops at 7:20 am because of very thin evidence ( a photo of a screenshot of an unknown phone etc ) that even my lawyer is wondering why the hell they do all this stuff to me. What I want to say is that I'm not a scammer. I'm not simply taking your money and running away. Releasing updates and then reading your comments is a feeling I can't describe, especially after Chapter 3. I love to read your feedback, be it positive or negative. The only thing I dislike and that I will not tolerate are personal attacks, and there have been quite a few lately. I usually try to respond in a normal way to them and encourage these people to play something else - but sometimes it gets too much and I have to hand out community bans. But if there is something you don't like about me or my game, feel free to share it. I can only get better with constructive criticism. I might not agree with your personal point of view ( for example, that you dont like how a character looks ) but it's good to know what you think - in a civil way. Telling me that my game sucks and I should *** myself ( self censored ) is not something I like to read - Or even worse, telling me that you want to *** me. I'm just an average dude from Germany that is still very new to this whole game developer thing. This stuff has become my Job in 2021 and I'm still learning. All I can do is make the renders and write a hopefully, emotional and wholesome Story. That is not an excuse by the way, just trying to elobarate why I suck at certain things, I guess ( especially staying in contact with you people ). One last thing: Some people have suggested that I just start completely new with new models etc. Or that I try to recreate the models I made. While the latter is an option I would keep in mind if there is zero chance I get my data back, it is something I will probably not do. But since I will get my stuff back, it will just take an unknown amount of time, I'm not going to recreate the characters or "Start again" etc. I know waiting sucks, but waiting is way better than the alternatives. I think that's it for the moment. I will attach a few more renders I made with the two characters I have, Bethany and Sabrina, and like I said in the other updates, as soon as I will get anything back, you guys will be the first to know it. To be honest, I already have an announcement like that prepared for the moment it happens, so I can just be as fast with it...