Hello! It's been a while since I last posted on this version, and for that I apologize. I just want to let you all know that this project isn't dead in the slightest, and I'm still working hard on it behind the scenes. I have posted a bit about it on twitter every now and then, but most of my status updates are currently on Patreon. This isn't a plug or me saying to go follow it, I just want you all to know that tangible progress does exist.

To be perfectly honest, my memory isn't very good. At the risk of repeating myself, I wanted to say what it is that I'm currently up to.

First, there's the sprite updates. This takes up quite a bit of time and energy, as much of a visual aspect of a visual novel is the sprites themselves. I'm pleased to say that they are turning out quite well! I'm very proud of the vast majority of them, and- by the time I reach the end of this update- I'm looking to have each sprite in a state where I'm proud of the work I'm putting out. In addition to some characters getting new lines, all the characters will be receiving this new style of shading. I've been told that it looks a little storybook, though most people have responded rather favorably to it. What I'm personally most stoked about where it comes to this is that this shading allows for some interesting new tools I can use to really make the shading pop.

I still have a few more characters to go (3, to be exact) and some tweaks to some specific characters, but I'm very eager to show you all what I have cooking for them.

(Ignore the white posters, I forgot to add something colorful to them)

Next, backgrounds! As you may or may not know, I previously had a very talented background artist. Fortunately, they left to pursue their future and best interests. Though it was sad to see them go and it does mean quite a bit more work for me, I'm happy for the choice they made- this game is my project. I don't want to see anyone shackled by it.

The repercussions of this is that I need to find a new background artist... kind of. Rather than hunt around looking for someone I can commission with my very limited funds that I'm going to need to spend elsewhere, I figured it was about time that I figure out how to draw backgrounds myself. Though I definitely need lots of practice and I need to learn some tricks to this, I'm honestly really happy with how the backgrounds have come out so far. Maybe one day (towards the end of the game...) they're going to be replaced, but for now I believe that they're perfectly usable while fitting with the style of the sprites very well.

There's a lot of backgrounds.

...I don't believe this one will actually be complete by the time of the relaunch.

Next, the music. Frankly, music is really hard. It's time consuming, and i could never wrap my head properly around music theory. Whenever I sit down and try to create something, instead it just doesn't stick. Though I have made lots of music for the game, I feel a massive, massive creative block where it comes to making anything else. Unfortunately, the tracks I have currently are not going to cut it- and for the game to sound the way I want it to, I also need to incorporate themes into the songs that I use for the game.

This is where I'll definitely have to spend some money, as I believe that music is truly at the heart of the greatest visual novels. I'm not sure yet who I'll find or where I'll find them, but that's something that will need to be figured out soon enough.

(Ignore the bits of fluff sticking out of his shoulder, i was lazy)

On top of that, there's the writing. Much of the first few days of the game are extremely old and were written when the game was a far different scope than what it is now. Even beyond those days, there's a lot of times where details don't quite align with the plans, or where the plans reference something that is no longer canon or going to be canon. Because of this, I'm doing a full revision of each route's plans, so as to make sure that each route isn't contradicting something that should not be contradicted. Certain scenes may change. Some characters and their motivations or actions may change!

For example, let's take Jehu. At the original core of his character was a very serious story about an emotionally stunted, shell of a man who lives more as a punching bag than a human being. He doesn't whine or complain or cry, or even act like it's cruel or unusual. He wasn't particularly personable, instead being pretty off-putting even to people who want to get to know him. He looks grumpy and like he wants to be alone, and his very face gives off the idea that you don't want to get in his way. Old Jehu didn't just divert from this in looks (he was far too cute), but also in terms of personality. He was like a kicked puppy most of the time, but got pretty excited and even happy. I understand that this is a big change, but it's my firm believe that a return to the true core of who he is as a character and the story he's meant to tell will be an improvement in the long run.

As such, Jehu has had his face adjusted to look more scary and dull, with a more intense, light-less stare and dark, sunken-in effect around his eyes. His expressions have become a lot more subdued, and the writing will change to match this. This will be not just on day 1, but also on every day after that. Lots of writing around him will change. I hope that you all will look forward to reading the direction Jehu is taking when I release this.

Finally, the mechanics of the game. There's a few things I want to do in order to make the game work better. 

First, I want to introduce a system with which you can see most of a character's full sprite, rather than only the cropped-off version you see in-game. Right now I need to use mini-CGs to show something off below the bottom of the screen, and that's pretty annoying to do. If I can set this up, it'd be real convenient!

Second, I'd like to introduce better UI, especially for those decisions that matter most. I want to introduce some animations even to show that you made a "right" or a "wrong" decision. This one probably won't be hard.

Third, I'd like to start the optional-scenes menu. The basic idea of this would be that you could see scenes play out that the MC isn't privy to, scenes that don't fit within the time frame of the story, or to see scenes that aren't necessarily canon to the story (kinda). I have some really fun ideas for this, but you'll have to wait and see~ (It's very likely that some of these will be locked to patreon-only tho)

Lastly, I think it'd be really cool to have a sort of gallery for the characters. Not only would it be nice to have a place where you could see CGs or perhaps even jump right to those Nice scenes of them in-game, but I believe I could have a sort of glossary within them as well that updates as the game progresses and you learn new information. 

Speaking of gallery, I think it would be very cool to have a fan-art part of the menu (of course, including asking for permission from fan-artists to put their work in the fan-art gallery, citations and all).

All of this combines into what I like to call the Great Sihai's Legacy Re-Launch. When most of this is done (or all the important parts, at least), I want to treat it as if the game is being truly re-launched. I plan on making a new page on itch.io even, with a more souped up... everything! It'll be quite the big event, so please look forward to it.

I apologize for the long wait, and I understand if you're frustrated. I know I am! I just can't wait to get back on schedule, but I really need to get this all sorted out first. I'm really excited about the future of this project, so please hold tight. 

(And if you're interested in seeing the progress I get done, I post weekly updates with pictures of some of the new art I get done for the game to Patreon!)

Thank you all again for your patience, I promise Sihai's not going anywhere o7