After the unfortunate delay last year, I immediately began working coming up with a plan to resolve the progression and content issues mentioned. The plan was worked out fairly quickly, but over the holidays work just generally doesn't get done. But I went hard for the prior two months to get the release, so I guess that break was needed.
Come January though the plan is put into action and going well! At this point, it's basically mandatory the full story up to Act 4 is included in the EA launch. The reason is the progression system is well integrated with the story now. And this isn't just a surface level addition, it also resulted in some change in philosophy with how "Events" play out and if some scenes need dialogue or not.
But I think it's becoming more of what people expect. But there's still a lot of work to be done! And this added complexity on top of the other sim aspects means a lot of testing is needed even after everything "works".
What to expect?
The short of the story is thanks to a misunderstanding Naomi is a guest in your home. This is sudden so initially she doesn't trust you at all, but as the relationship grows you get closer.
Before this was just simple story progression, but now it's based a bit more on additional factors. Requiring some engagement with sim elements. But once things progress to the point of H content this progression affects things more broadly. I'm vague on the stat names for now cause they may change before launch.
- A stat will affect what outfits Naomi is willing to wear/Outfits you can purchase with "Spare cash", and later on what outfits she'll wear "going out"
- A stat may trigger an event where Naomi approaches you more directly rather than vice versa
- A stat may increase how much extra money you have at the end of the week
- A stat will unlock more positions the player is capable of, or affect how many times you can cum in a single session.
- Naomi's experience with certain activities will unlock more things to do in that activity
At the moment though while these stats will affect much of gameplay, for now there's no plans for a significantly branching story. It's more focused on allowing you to access content you're interested in, and reward engaging with Naomi in different ways.
This is a first project of this type for the people working on it, so we don't want things too complex but know complexity and depth is where the fun is.
As for when in the game H content is unlocked, I can't give an exact play time yet, but the goal is not too fast and not too slow. I can say there's a prologue and several acts before things kick off properly.
When is release?
We'll make a proper announcement soon, probably end of this month we'll set a release date or at least narrow it down.
Like I said much testing and polish will be needed to ensure these interlocking elements work and aren't too easily broken, and the addition of the story content requires an attention to quality too with some new environments and assets being added.
Thanks for your patience!
I know a lot of people were disappointed in the delay, but the response was very positive and I hope you guys are happy with the release when it comes. More news soon!
~sacb0y