There is good news and there is bad news.
The good news: the animations should be finished by the end of this week. That also gives us some extra time to properly playtest and polish the next update. And honestly, I think this is going to be an important update for people who love this game, no matter what your favorite flavor or route is.
Some of you probably noticed that Sin missed his usual Thursday post.
Unfortunately, Sin hit burnout.
He’s been carrying a lot lately. For the past months he’s been writing consistently at a pace of 50k+ words a month, while also helping other developers with feedback and rewrites for their projects. On top of that he’s been working on comics (for MBD) and other creative stuff with me, and helping direct the team. It’s a heavy creative load, and sooner or later burnout becomes unavoidable if you don’t get proper rest.
We’ve also been talking with someone from the art/render side of the team about stepping in to help more with art direction. That would have been great, as it would take some of the load off both me and Sin, while also helping push the project to an even higher level. Having an experienced artist overseeing and organizing the art direction would be a very good next step for us.
Unfortunately, we can’t afford the raise they asked for right now. Because of that, art direction will have to remain with me and Sin while we continue juggling our other responsibilities both inside and outside the game.
Because of that, Sin is taking this week off to recharge. He’s planning to play some Baldur’s Gate or Expedition 33, and spend more time with his wife and kids. It’s not the big escape he def deserves, but hopefully it helps until he can take a proper break.
So yes, the delay was probably inevitable sooner or later.
If anything, at least it happened at a moment where we can use the extra time to polish things properly instead of rushing the update out the door. I’d rather give you something better than something faster.
Thanks for sticking with us and supporting the project. We’ll keep pushing to make this update worth the wait. (Programmed release 25-27 March) ♥Jim