1.9 Staying the course.
Technical part.
The draft is still not finished... but I am quite sure that it will be finished in the first week of November, give or take a few days. Then it will be converted into a game. Those who have been here for a long time already know what this means, but for those who are new... Conversion is the transfer of the draft text directly into the game and all the technical matters related to it (translation, art creation, coding, playtests etc.).
Traditionally, writing the draft is the main bulk of the work (and all the creative pains of self-expression), while converting takes less time. So the deadlines I announced earlier are still valid, but (!!!) if I were you, I would be counting more on December.
A small part of the translation and art is also ready (I was busy with this when there was a vote on whether to release 1.9 in its entirety or split it into two parts). But I still have most of the work on this front ahead of me.
Perhaps the art section will be supplemented with images (not AI) of some items owned by Selene. Well, for example, art of the vagrant's dagger, the Blue Kiss vial, etc. This is not a promise! But rather a possible area of work, if I manage to finish in time... I also can't guarantee that these arts will appear in the entire game right away (meaning outside of the 1.9 content). However, a little later, yes, they will appear everywhere, starting with Chapter 1. But, again, this is just an idea that I like, not a promise. For now.
Creative part.
As usual, over speed, I prioritize the desire to make every piece of the game, every episode (update) unique and not repeat what has already been. And in this sense, I am satisfied with the content of the next update. There are... interesting scenes and unusual twists. Unexpected ones too.
As I wrote earlier, 1.9 follows a kind of "list" of points that need to be "closed" by the end of Chapter 2. Not all of them can and should be closed completely. And a good part of them will remain for update 2.0… But a number of situations will receive a logical conclusion and will be closed in terms of the plot.
As for the lewd scenes, oh yes, they are there. Including of nature that has not yet been there before… for good or bad. But, as always, some of them are tied only to certain combinations of choices already made, including those made by your Selenas long ago. Yep, replayability and all that.
There won't even be any light hints or spoilers until the update is released. I've done plenty of them in my previous posts about this update. My spoiler- and -hint meter shows "Enough" degree. So, this is for your own good. You can, of course, ask questions in the comments, but don't expect anything more than veeery vague hints and no specifics about any future events of the upcoming episode.
P.S. Thank you to everyone who keeps this boat afloat, filling its sails with the tailwind of their support. We are staying on course for the next episode. It is already looming on the horizon.