😺 Update 5 😺 "Something For Everyone"

(っ●'◡'●)っ 🦄 Update & Status 🦄

🔥 ADDED | Steam Achivemenets

Same as the one from Demo. I will add more as I clean and expand the game.
🔥 ADDED | Leaderboards
🛠 FIXED | Fixed camera going crazy in some positions and angles.
🔥 ADDED | Added short tutorial
🔥 ADDED(?) | Story and Sandbox Modes

Story parts were moved and turned into a separate module. It's not functional yet. But I am paving the foundations for the things to come.
🛠 FIXED | Hopefully fixed setup saving when moving between locations.
🔥 ADDED | Over 40 interactions with objects

Remember those wiggling items and furniture? Well, that was not a bug, but my foreshadowing >:D ...But if you don't like those interactions, you can disable it in Utilities. T_T
🛠 FIXED | Videos on Steamdeck
Playing videos should be fixed on Steamdeck now. Please check it for me. I don't have Steamdeck :<
Sorry Deck bros >_<
🔥 ADDED | Trading Cards & Community Items
Done and finished. They are waiting for Valve to be reviewed and accepted. I do not know how long that process takes, but be ready for a nice surprise one day when you log in and BAAM - trading cards :D
🔥 ADDED | Time Limited Bundle
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/60083/Best_Waifus__TIME_LIMITED/
Huges thx to JNT Games team who approched me with a bundle proposal :D

I know it's not all that much, but remember - the last update was less than a week ago. This much is all I could do in such a short amount of time. I am sorry to disappoint T_T

Truth to be told: the game was not ready. But if you're reading this, you know why. I do see the negative reviews. I read all of them. I do not reply because, well, quite frankly majority of them are true. Arguing with them is pointless. Because they are right. People spent money thinking they were gonna get more content, and they got less. Hence, why Dreams of Amelia has a heartbreaking 24.2% refund rate. Literally 1 out of 4 people who bought the game wanted their money back. And kind a rightfully so. To give you a perspective on how huge that 24.2% is -> the official Steam average is 5%, and other devs told me it's more ~10%. Yet I have 2.5 times that. That is enough to influence the game's visibility and reach.

So I do the only thing I know I can - I keep expanding the game as planned. Hoping one day they might come back. That, in their eyes, I will have my own Redemption Arc.
I would REALLY advise people to play the Demo BEFORE they buy the game. That IS the entire reason behind Demo. That's why I keep it going and maintain two versions of the game instead of one.

(っ◔◡◔)っ 💬 What's next? 💬

- As the baseline for story mode is in there -> I will now expand on that and make you able to actually have a conversation with Amelia.

- Your progression in Story mode will unlock stuff in the sandbox. So in one hand you have something worthwhile, but in another... You can hop for some quick fun *^_^*

- More clothing, dresses, toys, locations, and positions. You can check the Roadmap. There's really A LOT in there, and I am really willing to add everything or almost everything.

(っꈍ◡ꈍ)っ 💋 Shopping time! 💋

As I said multiple times, I try to reinvest everything the game earns back into the game. And, well, some stuff is cheap and other - quite expensive. I would like to uphold the tradition of my transparency, so here's a list of where the money goes from now on:

1. Debts and Loans
Surprise, surprise! I was not able to cover all the costs of developing a video game from my salary (especially as I have been unemployed for the entire summer T_T), so guess what? Ofc! I had to set up an OnlyFun account and now I am playing with my flat chest for money wohow!

...NOT. XD

I did what swarms of people did before me and... had to borrow money. :<
The bank lady, after checking my income, gave me a very long stare and said all she could offer was a credit card... so I took that. But that was not really sufficient, so I had to borrow some more from a friend and my brother. So the moment the first paycheck from Valve comes (in around a month), it has to cover the loans and debts. I know, this doesn't sound like a good PR move to say that, but it's the truth. I am broke right here and now. Sorry :( Bank is one thing, but the people from who I borrowed money from knew what the money went for. They trusted me and want to sponsor my dreams. I cannot show my back to them. Just as I cannot do to you.

2. Buy or rent VR Headset
I did some research thx Steam stats from here:
https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/

And oh boy, I didn't know there are so many o.o Ofc I cannot afford to buy ALL of them, so I need to cut some corners. Oculus Quest 2 is a must-have. My reasoning is that if something is gonna work on Quest 2, it will also work on Quest Pro and Quest 3. I might go for Valve Index, because it would look weird to be on Steam, have VR support, and not support the official VR headset of the platform. But the price is steep... Maybe I'll get 2nd hand one. But I am sure I want to have both Wired and Wireless VR. I want to be able to walk around Amelia's room, and I heard you do too.

3. Steam Deck
Yeah, I know, I know - I don't have one. Hard to make a game for hardware you don't have, you know. At first, I thought, hey, it's just a normal PC, but handheld. Oh, how naive I was. The current pipeline is that I build for the Deck, and then send the build to a friend of mine. Wait for him to come back from work. Check the game. Go back to me. Some videos, some screensharing - it's really a Q&A nightmare. @_@
I am not a huge fan of Steamdeck (hey, it's heavy and I am weak, ok? >_<) but I now fully understand why one of the most popular reviews... is pointing that out.
https://steamcommunity.com/id/iEatDust/recommended/3411670/

4. Assets
Props are cheap and plentiful. The problem is with animations and clothing. I am a bad animator. I would really love for someone far better to remaster my animations. Oh, and did you notice the rags Amelia has been wearing, like the only clothes she has? This is because I rigged that myself. 5 days of full-time work down the drain. Yea, this is how much it takes me. I would love to pay someone to do that for me and ofc do it better than I do. It is not because I am lazy, but I just understand my limits, and I want Amelia to have a nice dress and stuff, which I, on my own, cannot deliver yet.

5. Voice over
Not gonna lie, the initial lines Amelia had were tiny and short. So I literally "paid" with two bottles of the actress's favorite wine for them. But things have changed now. The story will only keep expanding, and I want every single line of text that leaves Amelia's lips to have a VO. And I want the voice of Amelia to be properly paid for. "Job's done - pay's due", as they say.

Oh, and do not ask for the actress's details. You will never learn them. I am taking that with me to my grave. That was part of the deal. She didn't mind giving Amelia her voice, but in her line of work, the fact that she did that would have major negative repercussions on her career and IRL. Believe it or not, most people are not that open-minded when it comes to lewd stuff. Hence, e.g. Mastercard/Visa/Collective Shout catastrophe we are suffering right now.

Hmmm, what else? Nothing, I guess, as the list above already voids most of my earnings from the game for now XDD

(っ●'◡'●)っ 🦄 End Words 🦄

Thank you. Again. Yea. You might be fed up with me thanking every update, but I am just that grateful. My initial dream of working on the game full-time is yet to come true, but this is a start. A bumpy one, but oh well. So is life.

Also, terribly sorry I have remained a bit silent over the past days. I was literally told by some of you to shut up and go back to work XDDDD

So ok. I do that. But don't worry, this doesn't mean the end of direct communication. I just need to juggle my priorities better. I did in fact spend the very first days post-release on doing nothing but talking with ya >_<
For my defence, my ADHD is really making my time management skills bad. D:

Take care, my sunshines! :D
Till next time!~
~Laura/CuddlePoint