I've got a lot for you guys this time, but it's all pretty similar.

Right now, I'm working on an extensive UI overhaul, and as I go through each screen and menu, I'm also correcting and improving relevant code snippets (a lot of these menus and screens were made a long time ago and use some very poor methods to go about collecting the data they show the player). So I'm going to show everyone what I've been up to.

Note: Itch is a bit stingy with file sizes on these images... I have this same post visible to the public on Patreon, with animated versions of all of these images (I could crunch some of the animations down enough to be accepted by Itch's upload limit, but not all of them).

Mirror Screen:


The static text buttons have now been replaced with animated buttons, and the various menus have been tweaked for efficiency. This new menu will actually run slightly smoother than the old one, even on older devices (I had previously used one giant screen to call the mirror information, but now the screens are individualized, so only the information visible is being interpreted by the game code).

Appraisal Screen:

The player now has access to Liam's self-appraisal screen (earned via the Succubus Dungeon). This allows me to add some additional story elements, as well as the Professions. Professions are *NOT* a big deal (as far as my development time is concerned). They're like little Title boosts that are reset at the end of every lifetime.

Inventory:

The inventory has additional functionality and improved efficiency. It now offers sort options, auto-equip (which equips the current character with the highest battle power possible, and then cycles through each additional party member with any remaining equipment). The animations have been reconfigured for efficiency and no longer have stutters or speed-ups based on your activity. And icons have a snippy little animation when selected.

The item rarity is now shown, as well, and higher ranked items have a small text animation to give them a little bit more oomph.

Flag Menu:

Nothing incredible here, but it's been spiffed up a bit to match the other menus. The text buttons have been replaced with icons, and have a similar little selection animation to the inventory icons and various elements have been moved around. Moving on.

Dungeon Selection Menu:

Again, nothing huge to mention here. I've cleaned it up a bit, and added a strikethrough for all dungeons that have been cleared already in the current life (to give it a slight visual indication). Other than that, there are some text changes and some color corrections. I'll likely be visiting this screen again when additional dungeon types are available, so I didn't sink too much time on it in this round of upgrades.

Cooking Menu:

This one was a big change. There have been consistent requests for additional features on the cooking menu, so I sunk a lot of time into this one. In addition to the visual changes, we have:
- A sorted list of recipes. Recipes with enough items to make are starred and placed at the top, recipes that are known but cannot be cooked are placed in the middle, and unknown recipes are at the bottom.
- Recipes that can be cooked have a one-click arrow button to push all of their ingredients into the pot.
- The poison meter has been made pretty.
- If Lani is in your party, you'll see a two-part meter for Lani's opinion of your cooking. The portrait changes based on how she WILL feel about your current meal choices (this is only partially related to the safety of the meal), and the color behind her is a circle graph that changes based on her overall opinion of your cooking (pink for good, blue for average, and puke green for bad). New dialogue in the camping section will be added for each of those, and alterations will be made to tell the game which recipes Lani has eaten in each life, to avoid her not knowing that she's never eaten this or that recipe.

Skill Book Menu (and skill pop-ups):

The Skill Book Menu has been remade with much better efficiency, and a slider to allow finer controls for how many books are read at a time. But what took the most time was getting the notifications to work correctly. The skill notifications for all sneak and light skill learning (and actions like sneaking at night) have been moved from in the dialogue box to a non-obtrusive pop down display. When levels are reached, an additional side pop-up is slotted (they dynamically stack along the side of the screen, so multiple skill notifications can be seen at once).

In-Game Console Menu:

Android players have been asking for a way to easily access console commands, and I've been telling them it was too hard for me to implement. But that has changed. This console is not as fully-featured as the standard Ren'Py console (shift + O), but it does allow any python command (but no Ren'Py-specific commands), and has some basic error handling. I'm going to add some stuff on there that warns players that the console can utterly break their game, but 'cheating' via console commands has never been something I'm against, so I'm pleased to offer this to my mobile players.

Soul Box Menu:

Finally, the Soul Box has been remade. In addition to efficiency improvements, it now offers: - Live values for the various wallet amounts (they update as you go along). - An option to read all skill books or sell them. - Items can be moved into and out of the Soul Box (previously, they were permanent once placed). - Your previous Soul Box is remembered, and anything you brought before that still exists in your inventory is automatically placed into your new Soul Box upon death.

And that's all I've finished for now.

The additional UI elements to be upgraded:
- Maps need to be remade (home and town)
- Main Menu is going to get a make-over.
- Shops will be upgraded with a shopping cart and live values for your merchant discounts and cart cost (a rework of the new functionality in the Soul Box).
- All existing menus will at least be updated with current fonts and border settings.
- Dialogue box styles will be made available as player-selectable options in the in-game settings menu (opacity, border style, default fonts, etc).
- In-game sprites will be remade with higher fidelity and more emotional range. While I'm at it, I'm going to add some additional purchasable clothes for the girls to change into randomly... doing it after the fact take a good bit of time, but adding an outfit to a sprite in progress doesn't add a lot of production time.

Additional Gameplay Changes Planned:
This one is a major overhaul intended to remove all 'aged' gameplay and replace it with visuals and lore in the modern style of the game. There will be small visual changes (like the ones listed above), but also some larger modifications.
- The prologue (on Earth) will be remade and expanded.
- The early life content will be remade and expanded.
- Liam's Awakening Ceremony will be rendered.
- A universal quest system and overhaul of Guild and Temple quests... This may have to wait until a later update, but I'd like to make it happen. - Kermit's Micro Transactions will be implemented. These are alterations to the game variables paid for with Kermit's special premium currency (earned via in-game achievements). Things like changing when Threadbare opens, stat booster packs, or purchasing premium items will be purchasable in Kermit's store. I'm a little hush-hush on exactly what I want to do with this, but I hope that Kermit will open up a world of possibilities.
- Man, I'd really like to get the Merchant's daughter in this one, but I don't think I'll have time.

And that's it. How long will it take? Shit if I know, it's summer and I have no idea how much time I'll get to work on it. Most of this stuff is coding, and it's easier to code while my kids are at home than it is... you know, doing the other stuff. That said, my estimates have me at roughly 3 months of work left (maybe 2 more weeks of UI coding, then a month of writing, and 6 to 8 weeks of 3D work). I'm going on vacation with the family at the end of October, and wouldn't it be great to have this thing out the door by then... but I really just can't say.

I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Cheers.