Been a bit slow updating you all, sorry! Most of the work right now is just on creating assets and sorting out code. It's pretty unsexy stuff, at least until it's done. That being said, what is done?
Well, first and foremost: a new header for the page! Here's the high quality version. ^^
It replaced the previous placeholder one depicting Kutita, but thinking on it, I realized there hasn't been any way of seeing older ones. Can't hurt to see some progress over the years:
There are some predating even these, but they're pretty far-removed from where we're at now, so we'll save those for some later point.
LUMO (Meaning "LIGHT") is obviously based off of LIFE Magazine, and tends to be where we reference some of our sources of inspiration for aesthetics, story beats, or pieces of the world. The latest cover take heavy inspiration from Dodo's 1920 piece "Logenlogik".
This was a featured piece within a 2017/18 art exhibit at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, "Glanz und Elend in der Weimarer Republik". "Glanz & Elend", or "Splendor & Misery" is actually directly where S&M got its name from. Prior to this, as mentioned in previous posts and vidlogs, the project had the placeholder name of "Mourning Coast".
Had we not seen coverage of this exhibit, I'm not sure what S&M's trajectory would've been! It was incredibly influential for a lot of things you'll see, especially as you reach Kunfluejo in some of the upcoming content. Keep in mind, the last time we got a look at the capital (in a semi-canonical state) was in the original S&M, which was 20 years removed from what's there now. Plenty has changed!
LUMO aside, we have an extra feature done that had been abandoned for quite some time: the world map.
The world map is made available to you around the same time as the thoughts, and is the second of three planned mechanics involving menus. The third is intended for the final stretch of the game, so we'll skip over that until we get there.
Each nation has its own baseline description, which can change as you interact more with the world. It's integrated into our other systems, allowing the game to reflect Jensey's thoughts within your unique playthrough. It's a small thing, but we thought it'd be helpful when it comes to visualizing the various parties and their aims later on.
We also have the "Resolutions" mechanic fully functional, allowing you to know when major events are unfolding. Depending on your choices, some may fire and others won't. Jensey is far from the most influential figure involved in the narrative, but through him you can tip the scales where it counts, or sit back and watch things unfold on their own.
This is the first you'll encounter, and it occurs in our newly added prologue. Also included in the prologue are some new portraits, including younger versions of Jensey, Vilĉjo, and Kupro. We thought the first two chapters had some pacing issues due to needing to establish so much upfront, so we now have a bit more room to let the narrative breathe, especially with our rework of the transition between Aresia and Occidentia.
As posted on Bluesky previously, we also have reworked Vilĉjo's portrait, as well as a few others that appear here and there.
There are a few more still in progress, including an overhaul for Özbey, as we've moved some things around.
There's plenty more included in the v.505 update, and we'll showcase more as we get closer to a proper release. Not sure when just yet, but hopefully within the month!
'Til next time! ^^
–Lajos