Developer Log 0.18 (Patreon)

While Act II - Chapter 1 is well on the way, I'd like to begin this developer's log with the rework plan. 

As of today, the rework for the prologue and chapter 1 are complete. Story-wise, it also fleshes out Bailey's character more and improves our interactions with Jessica, both solidifying their characters throughout the story.  Of course, players can skip this and continue using their old saves, but why miss out on better character development, right? I've also made a few additions to Jessica's café scene in Chapter 1.  

Chapter 2 and 3's rework are in-development as we speak. Said reworks will feature longer and better-animated scenes, more dialogue and lines, and other moments with some of our characters. Still, Act II's Chapter 1 will still take priority over these.  

The Act II Interval Chapter, "The Assistant" is almost halfway finished as well, and despite being skippable content, some decisions in it will have an effect on the main game if you wish to play through it.  

The main menu has also undergone a redesign. Clicking "Play" will now take you to an 'Episode select' of some kind, where you can choose whether to play (or replay) The Arson Betrayal's main story or to play side stories like the upcoming Act II Interval. Just a minor thing in case y'all start to wonder if it'll be released separately or included in the game itself. 

For the game's file size, I'm currently working on optimizing the game's size as much as I can without sacrificing quality, especially for our Android ports. The main reason for this is that we've recently hit the 1GB mark for the port on the last update. Without optimizations, we might hit the 2GB mark before the conclusion of Act II (hitting the 2GB mark causes installation errors on some Android devices). 

Last, but not least, update releases. If my schedule is to be believed, the rework for Chapter 1 as well as "The Assistant" will both be released sometime between the end of August or early September. Act II - Chapter 1 will be released by the end of September or early October if no problems arise. These dates are still tentative, but it's the best I can give for now at the speed I'm working on at the moment.

Our Discord server's just a stone's throw away from reaching 400 people! We hold polls and we've got upcoming custom emojis, as well as you get to interact with Tiffany bot (though, she's an ass sometimes). To stay up to date, join our growing community there. You can also follow us on Twitter.

That's about it for my Dev. Log. Again, I would like to thank everyone for their support, comments, and feedback. Cheers to you all!

I'll see you all in the next update.

~ Crispy Chicken