Well, this post is going to be tough for me but I think it's finally time I make it.
As all of you are well aware, it has been almost 3 years since the last real update for My New Memories. Chapter 3 released in May 2023, and in September 2023 my stuff got taken by the police. I have been waiting for almost two and a half years to get any sign from the state attorney that the SSD that literally only contains DAZ3D render files, nothing else, should be handed over to me again, but to no avail. No reaction. And the reason is that the investigating police officer thinks some characters of my games are "questionable". No objective view or anything. No seeing that my games are still available on Steam, or just available on the internet in general. Nothing. Just "Nope, a render-preview that contains Lena and a render that contains Sabrina and a render that contains Olivia seems sus". Not even the render itself, a 91x91 pixel thumbnail where you can't make anything out. But I'm repeating myself. I said this a few times already.
You guys remember that I set a deadline to myself where I will remake the characters. Well, that deadline has been reached on January 1st.
I will remake every main character in My New Memories. But there is going to be something different and I'll explain it. I'm not going to try to recreate the characters I already had. No, I will make completely new characters from scratch. The only thing that those characters will have in common with the characters I so deeply love and miss so much that it physically hurts will be their hairstyle. That's it. They will look extremely different and while I will probably not like it, I also think it's the only realistic way forward. I will start the work this coming week ( January 5th ) and I don't think it will take long to remake them ( this includes Karla and the twins, by the way ). It's going to be a painful process but I will most likely also love these characters I made. You guys will see them beforehand, of course, but I'll ask you to not ask me to change anything on them. Like I said, they're not going to look like the characters you remember. At all. At the beginning of Chapter 4 there will be a warning message explaining why these characters look different.
I know I will get my rendering assets back. I know this 100%. And once I have my hands on these files, I will remake every single render I made already, even if Chapter 4 has been released already. This process will take weeks but I will do it, no matter what. Even if some of you will like these new characters more, they're not going to stay once I have my stuff back. I hope you guys understand this. I hope you guys will accept that I'm going to do that, no matter what. No matter how long it takes and how long this means an update for MNM: The Beginning has to be delayed. This is a deeply personal decision and I hope you guys can respect that.
This is all I wanted to tell you guys. This means that Chapter 4 will release sometimes this year, my guess is in late spring. I'm sorry you guys had to wait so long, I completely understand your frustration and the decision to stop supporting me. Two and a half years is a long ass time, I could have done this two years ago already but...No. I could not have. The most important part is that I made this decision myself, without anyone forcing me.
From the bottom of my heart I want to thank each and every person that accepted and respected my decision to wait this long. You guys are truly the most amazing community in the world and if it wasn't for you, I would not be here anymore. Thank you and I love you guys.