First, we have the last of Sehad's pieces illustrating some of the game's dialogue. ^-^ This week I also uploaded another art post for $10 patrons, moving us much closer to finishing Chapter 4. I will have to do TLS releases and updates again soon!
Anyway, with those things taken care of, I want to talk about the longer term trajectory for Omnipocalypse.
"Art debt" is not a real term, but I think it's a coherent neologism. Though I haven't put a ton of effort into the placeholder art, it does create various restrictions, from map layout to special effects. For example, fancy new maps would not have exactly the same layout as the old ones, and mappers have a huge problem with adding unwalkable tiles that turn old cutscenes into game locks, so everything will need revision. The more of this I create, the more work will be required later to update everything.
There's a part of me that wants to find a pixel artist and begin working on this... but I think that would be a mistake at the moment. Picking an artist and doing design work for Omnipocalypse would be very fun at first, but I know I would find it distracting and it would also increase the amount of management in my schedule. Doing that right now would be premature, especially before I finish some other important work (for example, I'm in a similar "management mode" with DStP and Slave Rehabilitator).
So no artist hunt for Omni, not quite yet. I'm not sure how much content I will produce in placeholder form before beginning that process, other than generally saying that I don't limited myself in either direction. Point is, the visual overhaul and updates will have to come a little later, when my schedule is ready for it. Until then, I'll do whatever I feel maximizes my productivity in the long term.
After a period in which I put out bunch of Omni builds, there will be fewer in the near future. I don't intend to leave this project on the back burner for long periods, not the way Once Ever After was paced out over years of mostly TLS work. That said, I do need to take a break for things like finishing up DStP, which is approaching that limit-like final stage where more work just keeps appearing.
Pacing out Omnipocalypse for backers is tricky, actually. Often TLS updates were one new area plus a dungeon or two, but Omnipocalypse works in big phases. Waiting to add the entire second phase would be an enormous update, but the alternative of putting out the phase in chunks seems tricky. Maybe I can focus on "paths" through that phase and trust players to understand. That will be something I have to figure out as I keep moving the project forward, though at least saves should remain compatible from now on.
Feel free to chime in on that if you have opinions, either now or as builds come out. The most important thing is the final game, but I want the process of getting there to be enjoyable as well. Since this is a slightly different format than TLS, it'll be something we figure out together.
So yes, that is the situation and plan. Please look forward to all kinds of things. ^-^