[Status Report #4] MBML Chapter 2 - Episode 2

Hey, everyone!

Honestly? Not sure what clicked this month, but it was one of those stretches where everything just flowed. The dialogue came at the speed of light. I've been genuinely fired up working on this episode. We're already well past our usual release size, and this update is shaping up to be longer than usual. Barely any route or dialogue variations this time either, so what you're seeing in those numbers is the raw size.

📊 Progress & Current Numbers

Lines of code: 6084

Renders: 584

Animations: 7

Music & SFX: 39

The second half ended up way bigger than I estimated. I had to go back, rewrite some scenes, and add new ones in between—for reasons I can't get into just yet. Unlike Emma's Solo Ending, where we could lean on time skips and trust you to fill in the gaps on Kei, Leah, and Emma's dynamic, that wasn't an option here. The pacing had to be earned, beat by beat.

Now that the writing is done, I genuinely think we've got something special on our hands. One of those episodes where the vision held up all the way to the last line. Will it top Emma's Solo Ending? Probably not, and I'm not setting that bar for myself. ESE is my diamond, and it'll stay that way. But I'll let you be the judge. What I can say is that this episode is fully canon, and it sets the table for everything we've got planned for the future.

After a year of waiting, and I mean painstakingly waiting, the new UI has finally been patched in, and it's a serious glow-up. The main menu is minimalistic enough to where I want it to be.

The character menu, scene replay, and special images have all been consolidated into a single menu simply called "Gallery."

Click on a character and their scene replays expand on the left. The replay mechanic itself works the same as before.

Special images have their own dedicated section inside the base Gallery screen. The right side shows a preview; click the selection itself to expand the full image.

The in-game menu has also been cleaned up. It was cluttered for something that should've been simple. On top of that, I've heard that barely anyone knew you could rename the MC. There used to be a tiny button tucked above his icon in the menu. It's now in the in-game menu selection, where it always should've been.

Settings have been reorganized into categories.

On the Accessibility tab, alongside the usual text speed and auto-forward time, you'll now find dialogue text size, text spacing, and line spacing.

Fair warning: go too far with those sliders and your dialogue will start flying off the screen.

And last but definitely not least...The back button is back. FINALLY, NIICHAN. ABOUT DAMN TIME. 🤣

This is most likely my last status report for this update. From here on out, it's previews all the way; there's nothing left on my plate but renders and animations. The real grind starts now.

That's all from me. Take care of yourselves, and have a great one.

— NiiChan