Still not quite ready

The refactoring of the sex positions to account for taurs, along with implementing them into generic sex scenes, is taking longer than expected. As per usual, I haven't managed to get it done in time, but I hope to have v0.3.0.5 ready within a couple of days...

Almost there...

Hello again!

Sorry that there wasn't a progress post earlier this week - I kept on thinking "It should be done tomorrow or the day after, so I can just roll the progress post into the preview release post". That's gone on for every day this week, as more and more things kept cropping up to make centaur implementation take a lot longer than expected...

What happened

I know that these two things definitely aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but as I was getting the centaur code added, I realised that I was going to have to implement both udder/crotch-boobs and cloaca support (both of which are the major contributors to this delay). The former was needed for centaurs (they do have a fully animal lower body, after all), and has also been implemented for greater-morphs (behind a content toggle). The latter, cloacas (again with a content toggle for bipeds), is not needed for any of the initial taur races, but was vital as a part of the general 'LegConfiguration' framework that I've implemented, as it takes into account other types of lower bodies (tails, long tails, arachnids, and cephalopods).

I've now got both of these unforeseen features added, including full sex action and milking support for udders, as well as anal sex action availability changing based on configuration of genitals (if they have a cloaca or not). I'm now finally where I should have been at the start of this week, but as it's taken me so long to get this preview ready, I'm going to drop all of the remaining targets for v0.3.0.5, focus on getting centaurs completely finished, and get the preview out as soon as they're done. The other targets will then roll over into v0.3.1.

Preview version 0.3.0.5

So, with that being said, all I have left to do to get centaurs finished is to add a couple of sex positions based on their interactions with other centaurs or bipeds. There's going to be a significant amount of refactoring of the dialogue leading into sex scenes (both generic and unique ones), as well as the handling of centaur bodies for them, but I should be able to get a first rough pass of it done over the weekend. If it still isn't ready by Monday evening, I'm just going to have to release v0.3.0.5 on Tuesday evening/night, as it really has taken me far too long to get this preview ready.

Thank you all for your patience, and sorry about how long this is taking!

Another progress post

Hello again!

Sorry to disappoint, but the preview version isn't ready just yet. I spent most of this week remaking large portions of the Lilaya demon-reaction scenes, as I felt as though the first version I made was a little too limited in scope. Alongside that, I've been working on getting the centaur and world map mechanics sorted out, which are both almost completed now. I haven't crossed any related items off on the task list just yet as it's all still in various levels of completion. I'll try to wrap up what I have tomorrow, and will get the preview release out very soon!

As I'm sure you've noticed, this release is taking me a little longer to get finished than previous ones. While this is definitely a result of there being a lot of work to do on mechanics and content, I also feel as though that without a release date, I haven't been as under pressure to get this version finished. I'm not sure if it's working out well or not. I'll keep this 'task-oriented' progress style in place for 0.3.1, but if that version takes longer than I expect as well, I'll go back to giving fixed weekly release dates.

So, once again, the preview update should be out very soon (within a few days). Sorry about how long it's taking.

This week's plan

Hello again! I wanted to make this post yesterday to give you all an update on what I'm planning this week, but I lost track of time and forgot...

Anyway, my plan for this week is basically just to get the last couple of dialogue tasks completed ('offspring moving in dialogue' and 'orgasm denial'), as well as to get centaurs, world map movement, and the world map encounters added. In my previous post I couldn't resist giving a target date of Wednesday for the preview release, but, while I am still working with that in mind, please don't be too disappointed if it takes me an extra day or two to get it done.

Once the preview release is out, I'll make another detailed post to go over and reaffirm all the tasks I want to have completed for the full public release of 0.3.1. There should be more tasks crossed off the list by the time I go to bed tonight, which will let you know how far away 0.3.0.5. is. ^^

This week's progress

Hello again!

This week I managed to get all of the Lyssieth, Lilaya, and demon TF content completely finished. I also added in content for the condom-breaking mechanics that were added to the code a short while ago (from a PR by picobyte).

While I have started work on them, world map travel and centaurs are taking a little longer to get added than originally planned, but I hope to have those, as well as 'offspring moving in' and 'orgasm denial' content, finished for first half of next week. I don't want to have the preview version out by any later than Wednesday, so even if some of the planned encounters are missing, I'll get it out by then. (I suppose I can't keep to my plan of not giving release dates after all.)

Last week's progress

Hello again everyone!

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to give you all an update today on how work is progressing towards v0.3.0.5. I'll make these progress posts at the start and end of each week, so that even if there is no release, you know what I've been working on.

Last week's work

So, again as I said in the last post, I got back to work after the Christmas break on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I had some computer issues that day (which some of you may have seen me briefly mention in the discord a few days prior), which took me about 8 hours to fix. The issue is completely resolved now, and won't be a problem again, but that annoyance cost me all of Wednesday's planned progress.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday went a lot better, and as you might have seen from the crossed off items on my plan, I completed work on the alternate demon TF options, as well as writing in the Meraxis and Lyssieth repeat scene dialogue. I also got a lot of bugs fixed (although there are still quite a few more I need to get sorted), and added in the framework for Lilaya's reaction & content related to the player's demon TF.

Today there were a couple of things I wanted to add as extras to the demon TF scenes (which I thought of on Sunday), and then those led into some refactoring of old code and alterations of the previous week's demon TF work. I've got it all sorted now (minus some very small things that will take me about an hour tomorrow morning), so I'm ready to move on to writing Lilaya's reaction scenes...

This week's plan

While the framework for Lilaya's reactions to the player's demon TF is all done, there is a (moderately-sized) extra part that I really want to include. Taking that additional content into account, it will probably take me up to Wednesday evening to get all of it added and written in.

After that, I'll work on getting the world map movement sorted, and then I'll move on to adding the condom breaking mechanics, fixing more bugs, and adding taur-body support. I know I said that I wouldn't give dates, but as a rough estimate, I think I'll get to this point by Friday or Saturday evening. (If taur bodies take longer than expected, I will put out the preview release at this point, so that you aren't waiting too long.)

With all of that done (assuming taur-body work doesn't take a lot longer than expected), I'll just need to add in the offspring moving-in dialogue, a few orgasm denial scenes for use in generic NPC sex, and then the world map tile encounters. If this is pushed back due to taur-body work, it will all be in 0.3.1.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I will make another one of these posts at the end of the week, in order to keep you informed on how well the plan is going. I will also continue to update the tasks in the previous post as things are completed. ^^

Changes in 2019 and plan for v0.3.1

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year's eve/day, and I wish you all the best for 2019! ^^

As it's the start of a new year, I thought that now would be a good time to look back and see how I could improve my workflow, and then to go over my plans for the next few versions. I think that it would be best to begin by addressing the issues with the past few releases, so I'll do that first, then go over what I'll be changing to address those issues, and, finally, move on to outline my plans for 0.3.1.

Issues & Changes In 2019

I think that there were three main problems with the past few releases, and it seems as though the vast majority of grievances in the comments were focused on one or more of these:
1. Missed deadlines.
2. Incomplete content.
3. Bugs.

I feel as though all three of these are very closely related to one another, and all stem from the core 'missed deadlines' issue. Whenever I run over past the deadline (which seems to be a lot of the time), I end up rushing to finish the section that I'm currently working on, which results in more bugs being introduced.

I think that the main cause of this issue is my 'optimistic estimation' habit, whereby I always give the shortest time estimate for my current targets. I think this habit stems from the early days of Lilith's Throne, when I was still building the engine and adding the most basic of mechanics. At that time, all the work which I was doing was far more compartmentalised, and it was a lot easier to estimate how long each section of work would take. As a result, the weekly releases were a lot more structured, and, while there were still delays here and there, I feel as though it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it has been over these past few months, when updates have been a mix of content, bug fixes, and refactoring/expanding mechanics.

Another couple of things that have changed since then are my work routine and my interactions with all of you. To address that first point, before Christmas I'd allowed my sleep schedule to slip into a very bad way, and was waking up in the late afternoon, working through the night, and then going to bed early-mid morning. Looking back, and having now fixed my sleeping pattern over the past week, I can see that my previous routine was having a negative effect on my energy and work efficiency. In turn, this was contributing to the missed deadlines, as I wasn't able to get as much work done as I'm capable of.

Finally, to address the point of my interactions with all of you having changed, I think that I should first point out that it was inevitable that as the playerbase grew, my ability to keep up with what all of you are saying would suffer. Just so that you all know, the four places which I use to gather feedback are: the comments on the blog, comments & messages on Patreon, the LT threads on /hgg/, and the LT discord. For a little while now, I've been unable to find the time in which to respond to comments on the blog and /hgg/, but I still try to respond to all Patreon comments/messages and discord messages. I've seen some people questioning these priorities, and, after thinking about it over this break, I agree that I spend too much time trying to keep up with what's being said on discord. Once again, this is contributing to missed deadlines, as I'm spending too much time checking feedback instead of concentrating on actual development.

So, in conclusion, the three main causes of the 'missed deadlines' issue are:
1. Overly-optimistic time estimates.
2. Poor sleep & work schedule.
3. Too much time spent keeping up with discord.

To address these issues:
1. I'm going to stop giving time estimates for releases, and instead I'll give the targets for the next preview and full updates, crossing them off as they're completed.
2. I will fix my sleep schedule. I've mostly managed to do this over the past week, and will fully get it reset by this weekend.
3. I will only check the dev-related channels (bug reports, modding/wiki discussion, etc.) and PMs on discord from now on, and will only log in to check them a couple of times each week. If I come into the other channels, it will be at the weekend when taking a break. I'm sorry to have to do this, but it is for the good of LT's development.

By taking these measures, I should be able to fix the 'missed deadlines' issue, which, in turn, will result in more complete content each version, and releases that have been more thoroughly checked for bugs. I will still be aiming for releases roughly every 7-10 days, but I will now be focused on completing tasks, instead of doing as much work as I can before a cut-off date.

Version 0.3.1

For version 0.3.1, I want to finish off the Lyssieth content and the basics of the world map. Once that's done, I need to go back and finish off the promised Dominion/Submission content. There's quite a lot to do as part of that, and I expect it to take me up to the end of 0.3.2. If you don't see some of the promised content in the tasks below (such as Axel's quest, size-difference sex, and other sex improvements), then rest assured they will be covered in 0.3.2.

So, with the focus now being on tasks instead of release dates, the tasks that I want to get done for 0.3.0.5 (preview) and then 0.3.1 (full public release) are as follows:

v0.3.0.5
1. Finish Lyssieth's Palace placeholders.
    - Add incubus and trap variations for the demon TF scene.
        - Framework.
        - Dialogue.
    - Add lore dialogue for repeat Lyssieth visits.
    - Add dialogue for repeat Meraxis visits.
    - Add Lilaya reactions & content related to the player's demon TF.
        - Framework.
        - Initial reaction scenes.
        - Consequence scenes.
        - Dialogue changes based on consequences.
    - Test all scenes.
2. Finish world map basics.
    - Add world map travel system.
    - Add centaurs.
        - Add sex positions for taur bodies.
            - Taur-on-taur.
            - Taur-on-humanoid.
    - Add ability to explore fields tiles.
        - Add a field exploration encounter.
            - Add mechanics.
            - Add dialogue.
            - Test.
    - Add ability to explore woodland tiles.
        - Add a woodland exploration encounter.
            - Add mechanics.
            - Add dialogue.
            - Test.
        - Add a woodland travel-interruption encounter.
            - Add mechanics.
            - Add dialogue.
            - Test.
    - Add ability to explore river tiles.
        - Add a river exploration encounter.
            - Add mechanics.
            - Add dialogue.
            - Test.
3. Bugs and minor things
    - Fix at least 15 bugs.
    - Add in condom breaking mechanics.
        - Add condom types.
    - Add unique dialogue for offspring moving in to live with you.
    - Add orgasm denial scenes.

v0.3.1
1. Add Claire's quest.
    - Set up framework.
        - Add new map.
    - Initial scenes.
    - Main quest scenes.
    - Post-quest repeat scenes & testing.
2. Add Enforcer encounters.
    - Add alleyway encounter.
        - Companion variations.
    - Add human-specific night encounter.
        - Companion variations.
3. Add buying Brax from Candi
    - Test.
4. Add Alexa's quest
    - Set up framework.
    - Initial scenes.
    - Main quest scenes.
    - Quest completion and follow-up scenes.
    - Post-quest repeat scenes.
    - Final reward scenes & testing.
5. Bugs and minor things
    - Fix at least 15 bugs.
    - Work on race/item/sex modding support. (Will not be completed for 0.3.1.)

I will be fully returning to work tomorrow, and will be crossing off each item in the list above as they're completed. In this manner, you should know approximately when to expect the release. As mentioned up above, I will still be aiming for roughly a 7-10 day release cycle, but I will not provide any fixed dates, as they are always incorrect.

Thank you all for your continued support and interest in Lilith's Throne, and I'll do my best to add as much new and exciting content as I possibly can over the year ahead. I wish you all the very best for 2019, and I'll make another post on Monday to let you all know how things are progressing.