1.5.6 is out. You can download it from the attachments box!
This update officially concludes Act 5. Now the pool day contains all the events for each girl. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do a full quality check as I would have liked, and I hope to resolve any issues that arise as soon as possible. I'll be a bit busy over the next few days, but I'll still try to respond and help with any bugs. Thanks for your patience!
That said, below I would like to continue the talk about the future that I started in the 1.5.5 post. I have received some questions privately and in the comments, so I will try to clarify a few things and also make a few semi-announcements.
First of all, I am very happy with how subscriptions are going! As I said before, the financial situation is sustainable for now. This is first and foremost a passion project that I enjoy myself. I have a lot of fun working on the game, even if the visuals are not the best at the moment, having to rely on AI tools in the sprite creation process. I am aware that the game has had some success in the niche of WG games; however, subscriptions have only been at similar levels for a few months now (I started Patreon around June), and after taxes on revenue, fixed taxes, and expenses to keep the business legally operating in my country, what I earn is quite small. This prevents me from investing any money in artist commissions at the moment.
So, as I mentioned in my previous post, the only viable option for the future seems to be launching a Kickstarter campaign if there is enough interest in visually “leveling up” the game. As a player of traditional VNs it would be a dream come true for me, but I think it's quite unlikely to happen. For now I'm focusing on creating a decent base for future improvements. As you've seen, over time I've gone back into the older parts of the game and tweaked many little things, but what I add each time is what that part of the story needs to contain in broad terms.
I've said this to give you an idea of the situation before talking about what will realistically be in the final act and in the continuation of the various routes. I've already explained the details of how Act 6 will work in the previous post, so now I'd like to add some more details.
Harem Route
The harem route/ending is the thing I've been asked about the most. So, my intention is to do it if there is enough interest. Rather than an ending, it would be a continuation of the story in case the player has not clearly chosen any girl. Using the terms from last time, it would be a continuation of the common route that will end in Act 6. I don't want to spoil too much, my intention is to add it as the last thing after completing the game (all routes), but it depends on how much support there is.
CGs
As for the CGs (full-screen illustrations), the only one that really qualifies as such at the moment is the one at the end of pool day featuring all the girls playing in the water. My philosophy is that of the classic japanese visual novels, so I would like to use CGs only at key moments (ideally one for each girl per weight stage here, showing the girl in poses other than the usual sprites).
For now, I have decided to wait before adding these CGs retroactively. I would like to release a “Plus” version of the game one day with all the human-made art upgrades, including all the CGs.
However in Act 6 there will be another CG featuring all the characters. In addition to that I will try to vary the presentation as much as possible using variations of the basic sprites (such as side sprites, rear sprites, full body sprites, arms in different positions, etc.). I have experimented with animations but I will not use them in any significant way (if at all) because they do not fit well with the visual novel dialogue progression style. So basically I will continue exactly along the same lines as I have done so far.
Gallery
There will be a gallery where you can view all the stages you've unlocked. I actually wanted to release it with this update, but I decided to wait to make it a little nicer :)
New rewards + New fantasy visual novel (?)
You may have noticed that I've updated the rewards for the “Galactic Love Elite Pilot” tier, so I'll take this opportunity to make the official announcement. Currently, the new rewards include Rin's route, new illustrations that I'll post from time to time (as I did for summer and Halloween), and occasional polls. Rin's route will only be added once the rest of the game is complete (just like the harem route). I will probably tweak Rin's sprites slightly to make them a little more accurate in terms of proportions as well. I want to make it clear that this is a support tier, so I only recommend it to those who want to donate more to the project.
One other way for me to try to fund the project more could be to release another game exclusively for the Galactic Love tier. Actually, I've been thinking about this for a while. As I explained above, what I can reinvest at the moment is almost zero. For this reason I may decide to release another visual novel, with a fantasy setting but very similar to Fattening Office and focused on comical slice-of-life. In this visual novel I would use some CGs made with AI tools from the start, in addition to the usual frontal, side, and rear sprites. The project doesn't have a name yet, but it's a real possibility, even if it will obviously remain a side project, an extra for the most dedicated supporters. Let me know if you would be interested in such a game!
What's next?
The next thing will most likely be a sneak peek of Act 6 (or part 1)!
I hope I haven't bored you too much. As usual, let me know what you think and I'll probably say some more things in the Weight Gaming thread.
- eisenwg