https://www.kingfear.com/c/microblog/atom.xml 2026-11-10T00:00:00+02:00 NoMoCo https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-11-10-so-yeah-there-s-been-a/ 2026-11-10T00:00:00+02:00 <p>So, yeah... there's been a storm of ludicrious numbers on the heatmap. I did try to avoid that from happening, but... I think I'll just not care from now on? To make things short: Basecamp activity is still limited, so we won't be seeing 100+ activies per day when I decide to clean up old notes, or something. But my GITEA server is going to report raw numbers -- on top of whatever Basecamp reports. I've added several new repos to my server, and I've been diligent on keeping them up to date, even though I do only small changes to documentation. So I've gotten some pretty damn big numbers. Honestly, that was an accident. I wanted to keep the heatmap simmering instead of screaming.</p> <p>So to speak.</p> <p>But I forgot that each additional repo will add "noise". At this point, I'm thinking I might even add my Obsidian vaults to my Git, since we're already such damn high numbers. I forget what the top number is but we're well over 30 activities per day already. So that's probably half Basecamp and half Git activity, if I had to guess. I have no way to tell them apart after the fact.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-09-23-okay-allegedly-i-should-find-out/ 2026-09-23T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Okay, ALLEGEDLY, I should find out THIS week what's my future at the company looking like. We're done with Wednesday, so I am... not skeptical, but it is a bit late in coming. Anyway, as you all know -- if I stay full-time employee, then I will have to "downsize" the Patreon into a tip-jar, because there is no way I can meet any schedule worth paying for. On the other hand, I can't close the Patreon because I am grandfathered into the lower fees, so closing the Patreon will just mean if I start it again, I'll lose bigger chunk of the money to Patreon. So, tip-jar.</p> <p>ALSO, you might have noticed the crazy growth in the activity of the heatmap. Don't get too excited, I just plugged Basecamp into it, although it does have a limit how much it contributes. Otherwise I'd have some insane numbers there for every time I write a note to Basecamp. This is just so that you can tell I am still alive and working on things, even if it might not be code or art.</p> <p>That said, cross your fingers that I find out what my employment looks like in near future. Then we can actually plan things.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-09-05-working-finally-on-some-new-code/ 2026-09-05T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Working finally on some new code. Now, I am the first to admit that I am not much of a coder. I am far more interested in the end-product than the actual process of coding. But I do love myself some systems design and rule work. I think I am finally getting used to the new job? I mean, I am not quite so totally blank after I come home from work. It's been a real struggle to work on the game, and the systems after work. I have NOT written anything, because I've felt like I have zero creativity to give. So... yeah, it's been a real struggle. I still don't know how this work pans out, but I can safely say that if it becomes regular 9 to 5, I will absolutely have to rework my Patreon as I have no idea what I can even feasibly push out.</p> <p>Of course, I still have no idea how it all works out. So, painting devils on the walls, as we say in Finland. But, at least this weekend has gone well so far, so that's positive sign for the game.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-08-30-this-week-weekend-went-a-bit/ 2026-08-30T00:00:00+03:00 <p>This week/weekend went a bit haphazard as far as working on the game went. My partner had her last week of vacation time, so I felt obliged to spend as much time with her as possible -- especially in light of her partially crippling injury that she received at the start of the summer. So I didn't have a whole lot of time to spare for the game. But I did occasionally di some minror things, but probably nothing that shows on the heatmap. That said, August is now done, and I'll see if I can actually work on the game a bit more now. The job is still stealing all the hours in the day, or that is how it feels sometimes, but I'll do my best.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-08-20-a-bit-late-bu-that-one/ 2026-08-20T00:00:00+03:00 <p>A bit late, but that one empty week there? For some reason this whole system that automatically builds the heatmap died. In addition, I don't know why. The error handling was robust enough not to do anything bad -- but not robust enough to give me useful error information. I might have not have noticed unless one of you Patrons told me that this was happening. I don't really look at this page too often -- it's pretty set it and forget it. That said, soon after that I got sick. Snot. Cough. Fever. All the fun stuff. So this week has been a bit of a disappointment.</p> <p>Anyway, I am working on the travel system. If you squint, it is done. Ignore the missing content, missing combat and social encounters. I am now mostly working on the social encounter system, then the minimal combat, and then I'll work on the content and the encounters. Once THAT is done... I need to create the locations where the player can even travel into. So, yeah, it's still a lot of stuff to be done.</p> <p>That said, then ... I think we only have the "level editor" to be added to the game and all the "big" features should be in the game. I'll have to get back to you on whether that's actuall an factual statement, or wishful thinking. But... the end is nigh? Or something like that.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-07-23-okay-now-ctrl-skip-related-bugs/ 2026-07-23T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Okay, now CTRL-Skip related bugs (panels not showing, backgrounds not loading, music possibly not playing, etc) should be fixed and guarded against. This was quite the thing to do, because by initial design my dialogue system is "stateless". It runs independently of the game, the idea was that I can essentially show any dialogue anywhere and as far as game thinks: nothing happened. This is useful, for example for cutscenes. But, as it happens, I organically decided to add the control flow of the game (what music plays, what poses characters have, what background is on the screen, etc) into dialogue files... suddenly, skipping dialogue became a bit fraught with danger. It should all be fixed now, I think. Hope. Pray. I'm thinking I can probably push out the next version during the weekend. Friday might have been possible otherwise, but Fridays are baaad days for me to do any work on the game.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-07-19-fixed-some-minor-bugs-made-entering/ 2026-07-19T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Fixed some minor bugs, made entering Locations more intuitive. Now all "hotspots" highlight when pressing down ALT and also when mouse hovering over them, so you don't need to "pixel hunt" anything. Although to be honest, that was not really a thing in the game. Next, I'll probably see if I can address some bugs that can happen when CTRL-skipping text. I've already implemented several fixes on that end, but it has some fundamental issues that I might want to address first. Basically, trying to reduce jank.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-07-12-well-great-saturday-a-storm-hit/ 2026-07-12T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Well... great. Saturday a storm hit, and knocked out the power. There's trees down everywhere on the property, fences broken, the whole village is broken. So, yeah... I have power -- for now -- but it's intermitted. So, I am off to trying to fix the yard, fences, and that one tree that fell on one of the buildings. Christ.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-07-11-someone-turn-on-the-ac-outside/ 2026-07-11T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Someone turn on the AC outside. It's way too hot. Lucky that I don't have to do any GPU bound stuff, or I'd be melting in this office. This room has no central AC. So GPU running full-tilt will just straight up heat this room.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-07-09-i-think-i-got-the-location/ 2026-07-09T00:00:00+03:00 <p>I think I got the "location" system simplified and working much better. It's teh system where you click on a spot on the diorama in the room, and you get the VN panel display. It's now much simpler and better system, just need to roll it out every room. It's for now only in bathroom, donna's room, and living room. The reason for working on this? It simplifies the future "level editor" that I'll use to quickly create new rooms.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-07-07-so-just-as-a-general-informational/ 2026-07-07T00:00:00+03:00 <p>So, just as a general informational. Because of the new job, I won't be able to work on the game basically at all during mon/wed/fri. This should be reflected pretty well on the heatmap, but just letting everyone know. I'll still work when I can, but right now it looks like bulk of the work will happen during weekends.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-06-20-so-minor-delays-i-need-to/ 2026-06-20T00:00:00+03:00 <p>So, minor delays. I need to go to a job interview on Monday, since I am starting to run out of money and actually need to work on something else than the game for a living. Depending on how it goes, we'll see if there are any further delays. Otherwise things are going well. Sonja's nude sprite set is done and in the game. I am now writing a scene with her nude set in play. Once that's done, I'll add what systems I can. I have added the "SWAY" system in the game -- but it's ugly as sin. After the writing is done, doing proper art for that system is next on the line.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-06-17-today-no-progress-report-i-ll/ 2026-06-17T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Today, no progress report. I'll be making them bi-weekly, to save on time. It's not that they take THAT long, but let's say it takes an hour to write, then I have to post it to both Patreon and Subscribe Stars, and all that, plus add screenshots. It's a problem, because I can't start a job I can't stop -- I always know that <em>at latest</em> on Wednesday I need to write it up. So it quite often 'interrupts' my flow. Let's see if this is any help. Writing these microblogs is much less work. Like, it's just throwing dirt in Twatter or something.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-06-16-today-forwards-the-hetmap-now-includes/ 2026-06-16T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Today forwards, the Heatmap now includes some of the stuff that wasn't counted before. It now also tracks some stuff that isn't strictly speaking "ready" for the game, like some writing stuff and so forth. Basically, it more accurately grabs when I work on the game on some level. On the other hand, it also now is less clear when I am actually contributing to the code of the game -- but I don't think most of you really care about that. In short: it's less of a pure Git tracker now.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-06-16-man-this-whole-sway-system-i/ 2026-06-16T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Man. This whole "sway" system I've been working is making things... spiral out. Basically, I am now tying it down to Power (e.g. you'll use Power to attempt this), and this will have THEMATIC repercussions, that I need to start tracking. The initial plan to just give players a tool to change the opinion of Anchors and speed up the plot -- is intact. But it ended up having far reaching consequences all over the game. Not that this has stopped me, it's just one of those "well, damn." realizations.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-06-12-i-ve-made-an-attempt-to/ 2026-06-12T00:00:00+03:00 <p>I've made an attempt to move from my other task management software to Basecamp. Since basecamp now has a CLI, which is basically the non-negotiable requirement for me to use a task management software. I do prefer the systems which are file-locked and local, but... I just can't compete with how useful the syncing is through basecamp, and the notifications on my phone are just perfect. So, I'm trying to modify my schedule... I hope this means I am more efficient, but we'll see how it works out?</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-05-21-i-m-designing-a-cutscene-for/ 2026-05-21T00:00:00+03:00 <p>I'm designing a cutscene for Day 5 night now. It'll be, if all works out well, the first view of other Great Ones. So that'll be a thing. I'm also toying with the idea of some potential RNG "voyeur" content for the earlier days. Basically some % chance of seeing one of the Anchors in the shower. Although that probably won't be part of the next update. Or maybe it will be? I have no firm plans beyond doing this cutscene, after that I will see what my budget as far as time goes looks like.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-05-20-ugh-i-ve-been-a-bit/ 2026-05-20T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Ugh. I've been a bit sick. Also since my partner is injured, I've had to help her dress and do all the housework, etc. Now I also need to study for a test, so I can pass it (requirements for being unemployed) -- so things have gone slower than I like. But they have progressed, at least. But still. Do not recommend sickness. 1 star review. Do not recommend.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-05-12-because-of-plot-reasons-i-now/ 2026-05-12T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Because of plot reasons, I now need to tackle combat and exploration (e.g. getting further from the house than front yard). I have been thinking about this for ages, but if the Kitchen minigame taught me anything -- it's that the amount of UI work will be crushing. So, I am making an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), trying to trim down extra stuff to minimum, and leaving a lot of the art unfinished. But still, it is quite the project.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-04-20-because-the-latest-update-had-a/ 2026-04-20T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Because the latest update had a major features, but zero plot, I am concentrating on doing some small jobs this week. Anchor screen, finessing the way new journal entries are notified, implementing the "known facts" system to Anchor screen. I am doing a minor redesign on the anchor screen, although it'll get more work before the alpha is done. I am also composing a "timeline" of the game in a wiki-style in Obsidian. The idea is to create a comprehensive timeline that I can use to get a better landing strip to the story. I always have hard time to get into what needs to be written, because I do so many other things that it takes me days to "get into" the story and start writing something usable. It'd be a lot easier if I didn't have to still work on the engine. But... yeah, that's what I am working towards. I am going to concentrate on more on the story side in this update, since I skipped that side completely last time.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-04-03-well-this-is-awkward-for-this/ 2026-04-03T00:00:00+03:00 <p>Well, this is awkward. For this page, I mean. While on holidays, I am on my laptop. Not a big deal, since I am working on the Kitchen Minigame gameplay. So it's all about balancing, rules, UI and all that stuff. But, my Gitea server won't get any "contributions" to it while I am here. So, uh, it'll look like I haven't done a thing. Which is funny, because the Gitea server is on THIS machine. But I just can't be bothered to fix the configuration issue (different IP addresses and all that) for just a few days. It will mean, though that on Sunday or Monday there will be an overwhelmingly disappoinrting "1 contribution" that contains the totality of all the work I've done this weekend.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-03-26-finally-done-working-on-the-tile/ 2026-03-26T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Finally done working on the Tile graphics (for now) for the kitchen mini game. I also have coded the basics of it down, and now I need to plug in the art, and see if it's actually worth playing. Which is... eh, interesting. I hope it's compelling enough to play, because I'd hate to redesign the whole thing.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-03-16-well-i-ve-been-traveling-and/ 2026-03-16T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Well... I've been traveling and not being able to do a damn thing, except travel. But I got an access to Windows computer, so there's a good chance of this working out fine. Now I just need to set up the system so that it works out on that windows computer. Most recent versions of code, etc. It'll be a total pain in the ass, I am sure.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-03-14-finally-card-system-is-mostly-done/ 2026-03-14T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Finally. Card system is mostly done. We've got cards, booster packs, each card has rarity + art associated with it, the cards have "variants" which are mostly the same pose but with different expressions. There's also different art for the Booster packs, but currently only one is in the game, so you won't notice. But eventually that's also collectible. You can open the booster packs in the new "gallery" view, and you can browse all the cards that you have unlocked for each character there as well. Still so much missing, but we're 90% there.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-03-11-graah-so-much-work-to-do/ 2026-03-11T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Graah. So much work to do a simple card game system. It's not that it is hard, but I want it to look right and not have to re-do it. Which I had to do for character creation, and will have to do for Anchor and Character screen eventually, so I'd like to skip that pain in the ass by doing this correctly the first time around.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-02-23-so-sorry-about-the-lack-of/ 2026-02-23T00:00:00+02:00 <p>So, sorry about the lack of messages lately. But I had some unforeseen technical issues with this system. I actually had to cobble together a temporary solution while I am working on a better system. That said, I also managed to completely botch a commit to Git server for UNFOR and had to spend nice few hours on weekend to fix all the issues. When it rains, it pours.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-02-07-uhh-there-s-a-bug-that/ 2026-02-07T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Uhh... there's a bug that you can access Sonja's room before you meet her. <strong>And</strong> potentially see her portrait in rooms (since her schedule is procedural, you might not see her). Not sure if this is worth a hotfix? It won't <em>break</em> anything, it's just... uh, stupid.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-02-06-i-think-i-m-done-rendering/ 2026-02-06T00:00:00+02:00 <p>I think I'm done rendering poses for Sonja's Casual and Terra's Casual outfits. Not sure how many poses that is going end up being with all the different expressions, arm poses, and body poses. Terra especially always has that extra multiplier of her tail being in different positions.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-02-03-working-on-the-general-0-0/ 2026-02-03T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Working on the general 0.0.16 stuff now. Removing the old save migration code. The save files are now totally incompatible with older versions.</p> https://www.kingfear.com/posts/2026-02-02-been-working-on-renders-also-planning/ 2026-02-02T00:00:00+02:00 <p>Been working on renders, also planning the next TV show episode. Although only in the most vague sense.</p>