Public Release: TRS2 Update 23

 Tested and played through it a few times, and all the saves worked. But that doesn't mean things didn't slip by. So as always, if there are any issues, please report them on discord (https://discord.gg/GJK5kfKypg).

BUG FIX USE IT BEFORE YOU PLAY!:  https://mega.nz/file/yrQSASJZ#D-J-9-ZhcVXCqo-Lve9HFllOq3Nc6pNQD2QFokWI2Ow
Extract to the /game folder and let it overwrite scripts.rpa. Android build has been updated to contain the fix. NOTE! You need to install this even if you use the mod.

Uncompressed:

• PC (5.03 GB): https://mega.nz/file/v6xgQbyR#uHnsVnc9QdrmYtlSYoMORiXD6ec23hSxNeQ_S1OWtQ8
• PC Alternative: https://www.mediafire.com/file/3yamef0ucizy99o/TRS2-pc-Update23.zip/file
• MAC (5.01 GB): https://mega.nz/file/bupwVBqJ#arquOvjMbDogxBQNNG2IkbyI_IQ2Gkbn7zMO3jinnbQ

Uncompressed update only:

• From Update 22 to Update 23 (331.1 MB): https://mega.nz/file/buJUFDhb#byeINlx9TckO3fsuk7c6VlXaLZVgvJCksmLjWNouOaQ

Compressed:

• PC (2.27 GB): https://mega.nz/file/yvJHRZrB#UxguxLHcbLFxSQ_ftyRmG8qMSXgdQZD9-yr9zzQ5Too
• MAC (2.25 GB): https://mega.nz/file/nrYVnRZI#tDan7z7Z7Y6fa79RpUTijwuL963pfG3wRuZp9L_LzQI

Compressed update only:

• From Update 22 to Update 23 (161.2 MB): https://mega.nz/file/6qQjmJoJ#Eh84uU6pqj-2cqt4WRLe5ee9dif1rvDixPrDBT3WwaU

Android:

Android (843.2 MB): https://mega.nz/file/Omxh1ALD#H0SnzvJK23cpRsqVv_Kak2dSFpGyiM_MZWDzf4Yj2yI

Progress 30.01.2023

 

Good morning, world! Well, I guess you can call it a morning at this hour somewhere. Although, I need to reinstall Daz Studio at some point, annoying. Luckily, I have stored all the content packets I use, so there is no need to download those again. Well, at least it gives me the reason to install the bigger hard drive, finally.

So, where to begin? Rendering? Yeah, that's a good place to start, as always. It's going well. I had to do a scene with a variant over the weekend, but that's sometimes unavoidable. About two and half scenes technically left. Well, two but one of the scenes is in two parts, sort of.

Writing. It's going nicely as well. I got the update 28 plotted out. I just need to type the remaining bits. I have to say that 27 and 28 are interesting. Probably something is going to spill to 29 as well.

So what is this? A bit of an unusual setup... I wonder who they are meeting with.

The fantasy render on Friday irritated me to no end because I know I can do better. So I did. I changed the environment and then just improved the bits that irritated me. And yes, it's Alexander. I'm not that far into it that I have all secondary characters made.

This is titled "graduation day." I probably won't show the student era of the MC that much in the VN, but it will be referenced at a few points, at least according to the story notes I've written down so far. Although now that I see it, I need to change the material for the wood in the arena. It looks a bit... plastic.

The worlds I do aren't necessarily the safest places to live. Danger lurks behind every corner. So "graduating" from certain training involves live combat trials, whether against monsters or fellow students. But why are they focusing on the MC? Perhaps too many dad jokes...

Progress 27.01.2023

At times I think I'm insane. There are no sets for what I do in TRS2 for most parts. So at times, I build a set for three or four hours, and it's visible for like 5 minutes and never to be seen again. Luckily, when it comes to TRS2, many of the scenes happen in the same rooms or something I can easily change from existing sets. However, the next one is a bit more complicated, but that is a bridge I cross then.

So that ranty bit aside, rendering is going smoothly. I'm on the schedule I've set myself for it. So I'm happy.

And historically, I'm mostly happy with the writing. Update 28 is complex to write because I need to unify a specific split that happened ages back, so I don't have to do more work than I need to. Hah, whom I'm kidding? I expect to do double the usual amount of renders because of reasons. But it will be worth it.

This will be a heavy scene to work with. There are many characters, although most of them don't need to move that much, so it reduces the posing time.

And then there is this... so many things wrong with this image. Lightning is too bright for the "period." The spell circle on the floor isn't the greatest, I have better, but I suppose it requires the fog effect to look good. But in the end, was it worth making the render? Yeah. I know what to do to fix them. Granted, messing around with the lightning will take a long time. Although, part of the problem might be the set itself. Need to try it with some other set. And yeah, probably need to do this kind of scenes outside environment. Something to think about.

Progress 23.01.2023

 

And good morning to all of you!

The rendering of update 24 has started, and it's going okay. No major issues outside Daz being sluggish, but that's its normal state, if we are honest.

As for writing? It's on update 28. Finished 27 and just started 28 right after no breaks or anything in between, as I had a good flow going. I will take a bit of time just to write today as well.

A short progress post, but there isn't much that can be said at this stage of the update process.

And yeah, we return to the Shuuxa for a bit longer in this update.

So I thought about it a bit more, and I might need to do a few more versions of the MC in various ages. And then a caveat of not everything seen is something that will be 100% like that, or even used, as I know how the story in the next one ends. I'd say 75 % of the steps to reach there not everything is set in stone yet. There are variations of how things started and how the past is. So how do I solve that problem? It's simple, I decide how I want to start the story, and everything that has happened before leads to that point.

And then, some images are made because I felt like doing them for random reasons. Granted, there is a pile of images that won't see the light of day, so to say, simply because they are just me trying things out, will it work or not can only be seen once you make them at times. No, the last image is known as "how Tomas learned about herbs", not "misunderstand with flowers part 2"...

Public Release: TRS2 Update 22

 

Tested and played through it a few times, and all the saves worked. But that doesn't mean things didn't slip by. So as always, if there are any issues, please report them on discord (https://discord.gg/GJK5kfKypg).

Image loop fix: https://mega.nz/file/2ypWjZpZ#j_k-cmLFzE-5JMy48V07bEb-PBsYa_MQxfIu5EAjMzs
Drop it to the /game folder and it sorts it out. If you don't use image loops you can ignore it. Android doesn't have this issue. Shaddy's mod has fixed version so it doesn't need the fix either.

Uncompressed:

• PC (4.71 GB): https://mega.nz/file/i6Yn0BDK#KpfPeINV6HdSVaXq7czNMNcGi1RGuMVVGWHhJO_TZvM
• PC Alternative: https://gofile.io/d/SLmIEg
• MAC (4.70 GB): https://mega.nz/file/zvZB1Rza#cIyzPDbLS3pmS4yIoBP1BZmcJsPsY5X-AUcPUJR8-6k

Uncompressed update only:

• From Update 21 to Update 22 (212.5 MB): https://mega.nz/file/bvxUCSTI#kmiyai-6CY2xGfku7kP0c4CmyzJSJ8NRq_fUl5eQ02Q

Compressed:

• PC (2.12 GB): https://mega.nz/file/j3xDmRIL#Ecrsy7Fa4FvGI1w0BN7SormkU8IO8YbJIO2bwbAuRO8
• MAC (2.10 GB): https://mega.nz/file/vuozyDhB#iSm2JoE3fpxZmEXeCoGi86SZ1NRMWUcmhNoVNdgtPhI

Compressed update only:

• From Update 21 to Update 22 (102.6 MB): https://mega.nz/file/CyJBkYxQ#DONGn3pStUmURMa7SJNz2mPHdhQvcIixS-bARerNvA0

Android:

• Android (795.1 MB): https://mega.nz/file/ayw1gJ5B#n4SnvykG6qwHZY9dIUf1fREh6a3oPcJvGqeiY35duWQ

Changelog: TRS 2 Update 23

Changelog: Update 23

• Day 23 implemented
• 500 renders
• Grammar, spelling, and other fixes (Thanks to Adry Lemon, Shaddy, BryonSmothers3DX, To Begin With, Bread_, OBE)

Hmm... yeah, not much to say here at the moment, so I'll keep it short and go straight to the release schedule.

Release schedule:

• $15 Tier: As soon as I have verified the links
• $10 Tier: 23rd of January 2023
• $5 Tier: 24th of January 2023
• $3 Tier: 25th of January 2023
• Public: 1st of February 2023

Progress 20.01.2023

 Friday and today, we have a more unusual progress post.

Update 23 will begin its release cycle this weekend. I'm not sure if it is tomorrow or Sunday yet since it depends on the upload speed, and it's being a pain in the backside at the moment.

As for rendering update 24, I'll start it on Monday, and I'll write the weekend. And speaking of it, update 27 will be a bit larger than the regular updates, simply because there are some variations due to the choices presented. Some good, some bad. Nothing too drastic, yet.

And then, to technical matters, in this update, there are a couple darker environments, and while they are fine for me, they might not be fine for everyone. Thus, I've added a toggle to the Extras section in Preferences:

In those scenes (and going forward from this update), this toggle will use different images, well, not different, but differently, tone mapped. Example below.

Sample set 1:
Original:

 

Tone mapped:

Sample set 2:

Original:

Tone mapped:

In the first sample set, the difference isn't huge. That's because the lights you see would turn unnaturally bright, so I couldn't increase it more. The second set is more clear on what I mean. This change will always vary between scenes. Some might have a noticeable difference, some not so much.

So there is the technical side of things. Now for more fun stuff! Technically, you have two different previews of the update up there, so time for something different.

After I mentioned and showed the few renders of the next MC's youth, I thought about it a bit longer. Obviously, most information should be given through the VN somehow. But at the same time, some information, like people who were his friends before the VN starts, could be beneficial. Or how people in certain locations know him.

Of course, this can be extended to show how he has specific skills, granted this isn't exactly how it will go. His origin story isn't that he got combat training under some master. Well, not like this, anyway.

Progress 16.01.2023

Hah, I almost forgot to make a progress post. So... 22 is in your hands now, so we move our gaze to 23.

And then the totally shocking revelation is that I have about one and a half scenes left to do, although that probably doesn't mean much because it needs tons of renders. Probably. So all is good and on schedule rendering-wise. Also, past 400 renders, according to the render folder, it isn't entirely accurate as always but somewhere there.

Writing is a bit in a phase. I got some done but not as much as I wanted, as sleeping has been a bit horrid over the past week because it's warm, and I like cold. Anyway, not worried about it. Mostly annoyed at myself, but I'll get over it.

What to show... what to show... Oh, this. This isn't really a spoiler, as it was explicitly said that it is going to happen if you are on this particular path.

The mage. Her name is Ayaka. Naming isn't something I really concern myself with too much. Sometimes I know the character's name before I make the character like it was the case with the main character. Sometimes, I don't know it until I write the first line for the character, well main characters have always been named before writing, though. And if it hasn't come up? I just look at name lists, and I know what the name is when I see it. The sole exception to this are titles... I hate making them up. One of the reasons is that you have to do a ton of research to see if someone has used that particular word combination in any work. And let me tell you, even the trusted old method of random words in a hat isn't that reliable method anymore. Ah, well, one day I'll find a combination I like.

Progress 13.01.2022

 

Man, I'm tired. I didn't sleep that well last night. But that doesn't prevent me from making stuff. Especially since it's mostly rendering from things I made last night.

So what's up? Update 23 is being rendered, and I'm about halfway through the script, somewhere around 300 renders. It's a bit slow to render at the moment due to needing to build stuff and, let's say, complex environments in a certain sense. But it's chucking along decently.

Writing... hmmm. It's in a good phase, update 27 might be a bit longer once again but not sure anyone is complaining about that. But if rendering goes well enough, I should be able to get really close to finishing it up over the weekend. If not, well, still within schedule with it.

This is a WIP render I did last night while building the scene. In this particular render, I'm looking to set a certain uneasy tone, dimly lit, that seems a bit menacing, followed by a dark, emergency light-lit corridor.

Partially tempted by having some sort of xenomorph jump out. But that being said, I can easily understand why movies have a whole team doing the lightning. Getting the right mood for the scene is challenging, and flooding the set with light is easy. Granted, at times, it might be necessary to have more lights than you originally intended just to see the details.

Writing a story is easy. You start by creating the ending somehow. What is hard is how you begin it. The same goes for characters and their roles, as their role in society defines how the characters are going to meet. The road has been fairly straightforward for most of the characters I've shown. The Naga, however, is giving me some issues. Idealistically I'd like the "main cast" to be introduced early enough so there is time to build their characters properly. However, that might feel rushed if done wrong.

Changelog: Update 22

Changelog: Update 22

• Day 22 implemented
• 406 renders
• Grammar, spelling, and other fixes (Thanks to Adry Lemon, Shaddy, BryonSmothers3DX, To Begin With, Bread_, OBE)

It took a bit longer than I anticipated but not too badly, and all is good. Anyway, I'm off to render once I've done the release post. Some grammar fixes aren't in this build cause I had to use a different build to make this than normally, but what has been reported thus far is coming in soonish.

Release schedule:

• $15 Tier: As soon as I have verified the links
• $10 Tier: 14th of January 2023
• $5 Tier: 15th of January 2023
• $3 Tier: 16th of January 2023
• Public: 23rd of January 2023

Progress 09.01.2023

 

Today is one of those days when you just can't be bothered. Unfortunately for me, that isn't something that my subconsciousness allows me to do. To be fair, my irritation comes from the fact that I need to tweak every single pose at the4 moment for them to work correctly. But that is the price you pay when you have height differences and "non-standard" bodies. Ah well.

Spoke to Adry this weekend. He has the final 1/3rd to proofread, and knowing him, he probably read the thing couple of times over after that. But as you saw in December, it matters little in the grand scheme of things.

And meanwhile, the rendering of update 23 continues as scheduled. I can't really complain outside of what I wrote above. Still, that feeling passes once I get enough tea in me and get my brain in a proper working mood, which most likely happens as soon as I've done this post. Go figure.

Funny how things changed from how they originally were meant to be. This scene was set up on the fourth day, and I originally planned it to happen after the Kraed event on day twelve. However, the flow wasn't suitable for it as there were other more important matters at that point. But now? There are still important matters to deal with, but now the timing is right. However, not everything is what eventually was said... Also amusingly enough, the Mevaar Embassy lobby is one of the few areas that had little changes from TRS1, namely the ceiling height is more realistic in TRS2.

The concept phase is one of the more interesting ones before I start writing. Granted, before Daz, it was mostly random stick figures or blobs since I can't really draw. Which is amusing, considering that I do have a drawing tablet. Regardless of that little fun fact, before I start to create a story, I create the characters. And I'm pretty certain that I've mentioned before that I use dice and a gigantic spreadsheet to make them. However, their role in the story (or profession) can change what I initially thought. At times a character I thought was minor would become more prominent. In this case, and regarding the render? The Orc's role. Or more of a profession, if you will. Originally I had a certain role in mind for her, but over time I've thought about it, and I see her fitting into something else than I originally envisioned her to be.

Progress 06.01.2023

Wow, I have an odd feeling. Normally the timing of the writing "break" happens during the weekend. This time it was midweek. Not that it actually hindered anything.

So. Update 22 is still being proofread. Adry is MIA since I haven't heard from him since I sent the test build and script. But have to see how it goes overall. It isn't like it's the first time I've published something without proofreading, either.

I've started rendering update 23, it's going fine. However, there are a few more complex scenes, both building, and rendering-wise, so I have to see how it goes. I'm not expecting problems as I did a prototype of the area month ago.

Writing, on the other hand, is progressing. I'm writing update 27. I found a sweet spot regarding my creativity right between 02:00 (2 AM) and 06:00 (6 AM), so I got update 26 done with couple extra pages, but it needed them.

So this is kind of a mild spoiler, but kind of not. It just shows that the Wraith is meeting someone from previous days who should have been gone but is still around. But why shall remain a mystery!

And then there is this. This is kind of today's "daily motivational render" for me. I said it in August. My mind never rests. So I'm always thinking of things, stories, events, things like that. Partially it's the reason I'm writing so far ahead, simply because I have the "material" for it. This particular render resulted from one of the previous progress posts and the short discussion about the "failure" states. It got me thinking of the next VN's MC's youth. And then the thought became how to expose it to you guys and gals. Flashbacks would be an obvious choice, but too many of them and the storytelling of the VN might suffer since not everything from the past is relevant to the present. There is no solution for that at the moment outside of random renders that I might do. Also it's argument about cutting trees, notice the axe on the stone...

And then there is this, it's not technically the young MC anymore, mostly because I forgot to make him young. No idea why though. This just popped into my head while I was building one of the sets I needed for TRS2, so I quickly put it together and rendered it while building the set. I have no clue whether this is a true scenario of what happened to the MC in the past. Still, I finally got this particular underwater set tested out.

Progress 02.01.2023

 

Happy New Year to all of you! And just when I got used to writing 2022 it had to change ;)

Update 22... I'm sending it to be proofread later today. I'm doing the final coding tasks and post-work on the renders. So... that's about it for the progress stuff?

After I send the update out to be tested and proofread, I'll write the next two days and start rendering update 23 on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the writing. I've actually managed to do some writing over the weekend as well, so overall, it looks good.

And some serious discussions with Sage... or maybe not. I just like the render, so I added it as a preview.

And then we have this... The funny thing is that... the worm is about 7000 meters (4.3 miles) away from the group. So if I ever want to use it, it needs to be scaled down, or I have to get creative with it. Granted, not every threat needs to be taken care of, either. Regardless of the setting, there should be things that even the mightiest heroes couldn't defeat easily or alone. And yes, there is one in Terminus Reach, at least one you've already seen. They just don't come into play in this particular story in any meaningful way. And now, I shall return to finish up the update.