January Update
11 months ago
– Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at 08:05:51 PM
Hello everyone, Happy New Year! Posting this a few days early as I will be busy on the 12th.
Starting off with some not-so-great news, I had a death in my family over the holidays and it's been a difficult time. I took a short break from Celestial Crowns to process everything. But I am not the only one working on this project, so other assets are still being pushed forward.
Writing
On a brighter side, I was able to finish the second draft of all routes and send it to the testers before the New Year as promised. There are now testers for all three routes, and I hope to have all the feedback in by the end of January, so that I can review everything and start making a plan for the third and final draft. Unfortunately, some of the feedback has been delayed, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone will be able to turn things in soon.
That's right, the third and final draft! Of course, it is also the draft that will require the most work since I will be adding in all art assets as they're completed.
On that note...
Backgrounds
Check out the new background Stef has made!
The all important field background! This will be used for most of the traveling scenes, of which there are a lot. I promised you new and beautiful locations all through the Celestial Crowns world, and I plan on delivering!
Incidentally, this is also the next background that needs to be added to the game programming-wise, so I can finalize a lot more scenes now!
New Sprites
I am adding a new sprite to the game, namely horseback riding sprites to add immersion to those scenes. Here is Sahi's! Leo will also be getting one.
CGs
Erupan has been hard at work with the CGs! There are six CG sketches already complete, as she is working on finalizing all sketches before moving on to full renderings. I can't show you them just yet, but I have been slowly posting them to the sneak peek channel of the Discord! I can say they look AMAZING and I can't wait to share.
Music
More music is underway! Here is a sample of the bad end stinger that the composers just shared with me.
Programming
Not much going on on the programming front, but I did figure out how to fix a bug that was terrorizing me thanks to a kind soul on the lemmasoft forums, and so CC will have the lovely camera work I was envisioning.
Rewards
The route gameplay video release has been pushed back due to the news I mentioned earlier, but I hope to get that to you guys sometime next week.
Pinups are still underway! I have a few more to finish. That and the gameplay video will be the last reward sent out before the completion of the game.
If you are expecting but have not yet received:
- Discord permissions
- Love letters
- Digital posters
Then please contact me at [email protected] and I will ensure that's taken care of.
Marketing
Unfortunately, I was laid off and was unable to continue paying the person who was assisting me with marketing. With it all on my shoulders I've had a bit of trouble managing, but I'm hoping to get into a new posting schedule in February, where I can show off all the new things I've been adding to the game, such as new transitions, animations, and sound effects.
Voice Acting
Now that the script is in a semi-final state, I'll be sending out more scripts to the voice actors to record the rest of their lines.
Conclusion
Things are still on track and I'm very pleased with how the team has been working.
I will be traveling through late January to mid-February, so there will not be a February update, and instead, I'll post the next one in March to give myself time to get everything together. However, work will still be moving forward on the art side of things.
As always, thank you for your support! If you'd like more Celestial Crowns content, join the Discord where I've posted fun AU stories, fanart, and the latest game updates.
https://discord.gg/mnRyKvMyXx
I also have a Patreon where I post WIPs and post a monthly story whose pairing is voted on by Patrons: https://www.patreon.com/harlevin
We did it! 🎉
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Oct 12, 2023 at 06:01:47 AM
It's over!
Thank you to everyone who made this possible! Not only did we meet our goal, we hit a stretch goal! And in the last 24 hours!! Incredible. I cannot thank you guys enough for the support and the encouraging words.
Where do we go from here?
Development continues! I have finished the second draft of Aalam's route and am doing some final programming before sending it off to the beta testers. I'll then be moving on to Sahi's route!
+ The love letters have been written! I will be getting these to the VAs to record. As soon as everything is wrapped up with the Kickstarter funds and I have the backerkit surveys sent out, they'll be sent to all backers.
+ The route gameplay video will be streamed on 10/20! I'll be letting chat choose the answers, so join me on twitch (harlevinvns) if you want a say! I'll be recording a clean copy without all my chatter to send out to backers afterward.
+ The artists are arting! There is already a new CG WIP in the sneak peek channel that I can't wait for you guys to see! All backers who pledged at a tier for the special discord channel, I'll be sending out instructions in the backerkit surveys so you can get access to it.
+ I am adding extra polish to the prologue! In between writing I've been experimenting with new scene transitions, subtle background animations, and planning out extra sprite assets that will be needed for the final game! For example, additional outfits for the LIs in key moments, like...nighttime attire. 😏
I will also be adding in the new skin tones for Terra for our stretch goal! I will share pictures in the discord SOON.
TLDR, there's so much to do and I can't wait! Development has gone relatively smoothly when you consider the fumble with funding when the first Kickstarter failed. Though it was very discouraging, I told myself to keep writing and I'm glad I did, because now it'll be just a few months until I'm on final drafts! FINAL DRAFTS! Can you believe it? That's crazy. And so far, I have actually stayed within my desired word count instead of going wildly overboard! ...Knock on wood.
I am so excited and promise to bring you guys a game you will love and play over and over again. 🙏🏾 Thank you for helping me make it happen!
450 Followers! Andrea microfic! Did you forget? I didn't!
We hit 450 by the end, just in time for Andrea's microfic! I'm so excited to share it with you all since we don't get to see Andrea in the demo. Here it is, for your reading pleasure.
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Andrea thought love was a waste of time. They certainly believed it existed, had seen it between two people. The way their eyes would go dough soft and their activities favored their paramour. Time taking long walks through a field could have been spent making lists. Time holding each other on the nearest soft surface that could have been spent optimizing one’s workflow. Love was real, Andrea was sure. They just preferred to keep it far away from their schedule, which was planned down to the last detail.
That was one reason why falling for the monarch of Lauté was incredibly inconvenient.
The second, of course, was that the Monarch was engaged to Aalam, and was, as such, off limits.
Andrea had never believed in doing things the easy way, but they hadn’t imagined their heart would betray them by feeling the same.
Planning the wedding meant long hours discussing this color or that garment, meant forcing down smiles at the Monarch’s wit and politely refusing when they suggested tea together. The less time they spent with each other, the better, because it was less time spent pining. Andrea had never considered themself a ‘piner,’ yet here they were.
The Monarch returning their feelings was, somehow, even more inconvenient.
The wise thing to do would have been to ignore it, deny it, and never speak of it under any circumstances. Instead, they were locked inside a cramped closet, kissing like they needed it to breathe.
Aalam would be furious when he found out. He’d have every right to be.
He could fire Andrea. He could call off the marriage. He could freeze the room over in a fit of pique.
And yet, still, they did not stop.
-
Do you guys like the microfics? Would you like to see more? I love these little snippets into 'what ifs' and think it could be fun if there's interest!
Conclusion and Update Schedule
I plan on posting Kickstarter updates monthly from here on out! They will be backer only, this will be the last public update. However, I also update the discord periodically with things I'm working on implementing, so feel free to join me there and say hi! I post screenshots when testing new features, snippets or gifs in writing vibes about the scenes I'm working on, and of course, the CG and BG WIPs will be posted in the locked channel!
I will also be posting weekly long-form updates on Tumblr and itch.io, and posting various random things on Twitter/insta/tiktok as inspiration strikes!
If you have any requests or questions like the LI's ideal dates, drop them here or AMA on tumblr anytime!
Well, that's all for me folks... Min out!
