One more thing (sorry! )--that scroll @ the top-right: what is that?



I don't recall seeing it before.

It's the "status screen", you can see all the recipes you know, and the inventory. In the other screen is not shown because the status screen is open (so hides it).

I thought was better if players could quickly access their recipes/inventory from anywhere in the game (except during the VN scenes). So you know which ingredients to buy, and so on.

Good idea. I am getting old and hate having to constantly go back and re-do things because I can't remember or having to write things down so I have them handy when I get to the screen I want. So being able to easily flip back and forth will be a big bonus.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cyla9pNWgAAfRIy.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

Shops/vendors added!!

Typical dialogue in a market of Icesilia:

Merchant: "Hello dear customer. Looking to buy something?"

Amber: "Yes I'd like a few ghosts ectoplasms please"



I mean, I just wrote the code and they seem to work. Now I only have to do:

- actually implement the buying/selling buttons!

- test each shop/vendor

- implement prices randomization a bit

- implement seasonal/random events

- restock the items

and probably a few other things I'm missing. But still, another milestone!

Ah before you ask, the "zeros" are because the shop doesn't have those items, but the player does. I need to implement that thing differently. In the prototype, Anima put below each item the player quantity and the shop quantity. I might use that system too, need to check the layout etc but seems a good solution

OK today resumed scripting the scenes. I have around 68-70 in total, so with an average of 3-4 scenes a day, I should be done around Christmas. Then I'll resume coding the gameplay part, and with the scenes 100% scripted/tested I also can add them in the right "spots" (dates) of the story.

After that probably will need to check the various conditions, and also design the various recipes needed for the story (each character will ask Amber to craft something). Then at last, test the various endings, gallery, etc.

I'd say that probably around end of February everything should be done for the beta, but of course it's just a long-term prediction so not 100% accurate

Thought to update on development. As you know if you followed / read the other threads, Aleema is scripting the game now, however the story is being reviewed/edited, so not all the romance path are available to script (currently 3-4 are still missing I think).

I am focusing on the shop-builder mini/meta game. The art is being made (there are some rooms ready) but the rooms are very detailed. Artist said he should be finished by mid-February.

Then there are the bonus pin-up CGs. So far only 2 out of 13 are colored, but believe me ARE TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT! they'll be the best pictures to ever appear in any of my games (you'll see!).

What does this means? haha, that in practice there's still quite a lot of work to do, so the beta could still happen in Q1, but I don't think before March I'll do my best of course but if I need to wait for text/art, it's not like I can do much to speed up those things

All right, I checked with writer and there are 3 scripts left to edit/proofread (Lynn, Lair and the main route). Once she sends to me they will need to be scripted by Aleema. Meanwhile I resumed working on the shop builder, since I have enough art now (all the walls/roofs/underground walls) and I can use temporary placeholder for the remaining unfinished rooms.

The biggest challenge is to find the right size for everything! I am allowing zooming in/out, since the rooms are made at super high resolution.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3FpYr0WIAMC7Mk.jpg" style="max-width:100%">

the black guy shadow is a spirit that will haunt Amber forever! joking, it's just an image artist is using to draw the items/keep proportions but has become a sort of a joke with some people on twitter



Also you see different room types, however I don't think I'll keep them, since some of them don't match well with the items in the foreground (they're drawn separately).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3FpYr0WIAMC7Mk.jpg" style="max-width:100%">

Ya should use this for a future game, Jack; maybe a suspenseful horror-based thing. Could be really cool!!!

I'm doing the test with the "real size" now. The shop can be 6x4 in dimensions, a very BIG building. I spoke with Tom (the Ren'Py developer) about the resource usage, I think the game (well, the shop builder part) might not work at all on some mobile devices because uses too much video memory. Anyway I'll make some tests once I have all the rooms finished, but I definitely don't want to sacrifice any features of the game to make it work properly on mobile. It will work fine of course in "VN Mode"

This is a view of the real thing in photoshop:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3Ki8ITUEAEv_Uh.jpg" style="max-width:100%">

with some more rooms finished like Forge, Magic Cave, Store room



The size is 5950x3675px !! I'm using all the tricks I know in Ren'Py to make it use less resources, but... it's tough!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Simtower.gif: Amber Edition.



Also, that's a huge house! I've robbed from wealthy nobles who didn't have half as many rooms!

Well if Amber wants to become the best alchemist in whole Aravorn, must have a huge house/shop

The three sisters have already added her into the Noble house targets though...

Anyway I'll make some tests once I have all the rooms finished, but I definitely don't want to sacrifice any features of the game to make it work properly on mobile. It will work fine of course in "VN Mode"

Indeed, Jack, I've been looking forward to this a loooooooooooong time, and I'm sure I'm not the only mobile user!

This is a view of the real thing in photoshop:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3Ki8ITUEAEv_Uh.jpg" style="max-width:100%">

with some more rooms finished like Forge, Magic Cave, Store room

WHOAH! That's HUGE!!! I was expecting just a little wood-and-straw thatched hut to be the end result when I first read of this game (took the last pic to be just a mock-up thing)--this game is gonna OWN even more than I first thought!!!!

Yes for sure doesn't look realistic, but I think done like this is more clear. Besides, if you as alchemist can do metal/iron working, brew potions, craft jewels, etc you need to have a room for each thing.

Also being a famous alchemist means being rich, so it's not even too much unrealistic now that I think about it

One thing I meant to ask about: second-from-bottom-left there's what seems to be a cave; does that mean we even will have ways of mining for our own gems/coal?



That'd be a cool thing to see.

Yes it's the "Magic Cave" room

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3PxrcZWMAEKEJ5.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

OK I reduced a bit the "Amber's Shopping Mall"

I made it big because I wanted to make sure you could build ALL the room types if you wanted. But now I found some better solutions to make everything fit but also have the house/shop/lab on a more "realistic" size!

There will be total 6 rooms types undergound, currently there are 8 rooms. But two will be occupied by stairs.

On the first floor there'll be the shop (2 cells horizontal size) which I'll place at fixed location (otherwise the choice could just be left or right since needs to be near entrance). I'll have artist draw some stairs going up there, directly on the living quarters.



I don't think those two small "freedom restrictions" will matter much, since as I said it's not like you could have 301976 choices, but in practice just "left or right?" so it can be fixed and nobody should complain *.



Then the building will actually be quite straightforward: you click on the "+" button to build a new room (current screenshot, will list the room as vertical choices in the scroll frame) or if a room was already build, you can improve it, getting bigger bonuses/gameplay elements.

I am not sure if a "demolish" option is needed, since it's not a detailed sim game where you might build a room in a "wrong place". So I don't plan to have that.



I think finishing all this shop stuff, including applying all the modifier to the base game, will probably take me until mid-February. By then, the latest 3 plot files should be proofread so Aleema could begin scripting it. I still hope to have the beta in March, though that month will be quite busy because of a certain game coming out... (I'm a player too! I must roleplay my lesbian Mass Effect commander! )



* someone WILL complain, but that's just how life works

You appear to have chosen to place the entrance on the left side. But feng shui dictates the house entrance (as shown relative to the street in cutscene #35) should be on the right side. Totally not upgrading to the full version now.

You joke but I get stuff like this on mobile regularly, and sometimes even on Steam (the main difference is that to post a review on Steam you need to have bought the game, so reduces the noise considerably )

It's starting to look (a lot) like Fallout Shelter.