The Qixia Diary – Development Progress Update
Hello, dear soon-to-be residents of Qixia Little Nest—long time no see!
This is the Qixia Diary dev team, Pianchuan Culture. It feels like an eternity since our last progress report. We haven’t been slacking off—we’ve been heads-down working. Today, while taking a little breather (ahem), we’d like to share our latest developments.
The Steam version of the game is already live! (Please note that it’s still an early‑access build.)
1. Engine Switch – 50% Rebuilt
We’ve moved The Qixia Diary to a dedicated visual novel engine. The upside: more efficient production and smoother performance going forward. The downside: we had to rebuild everything from scratch! We’re about 50% through that process. Our producer is learning on the job, and honestly, staring at error messages while frantically opening tutorials feels a lot like cramming for finals.
2. Major Script Overhaul – Narrative Pacing Redone
Based on your feedback, we’ve worked extensively with our script consultant to significantly rework the pacing. In short: we’ve trimmed redundant exposition, adjusted the reading flow, left more room for subtlety where it matters, and kept things moving where they should. The full script for all six chapters plus the ending is now complete! Our producer is currently plugging everything into the engine day and night, and we can’t wait to get the complete version into your hands.
3. UI Upgrade – New Modern Chinese Minimalist Style
Our old UI was… well, barely there. We’ve now brought in a professional UI designer and are moving toward a sleek, modern Chinese minimalist direction. Draft designs are already done, and we’re continuing to refine them. Once the final version is locked, we’ll share it with you. We’re always open to your suggestions and feedback!
4. Achievements & Food Illustrated Guide – Coming Soon
With the new engine, we’re also making the game more feature‑complete. This update will add an achievement system and a gallery feature. In addition to standard CG scene viewing, we’re including a Hangzhou Food & Scenery Illustrated Guide—where you can browse all the classic Hangzhou dishes and scenic spots featured in the game. After all, Hangzhou cuisine is at the heart of our story! We’ll show you the system screens once they’re ready.
5. The Steam Build Is Still the Old One…
Sorry—the version currently playable on Steam is still the early‑access build and demo from April this year. That build is far from polished and feels rough in many places. As soon as the new build is fully ready, we’ll update it immediately. Please bear with us and give us the time we need to get it right.
6. AI Art – We’re Working on It
We’ve received a lot of feedback about the game’s art. Early on, due to limited resources, we did rely on AI assistance for some visuals, and we’ve heard your concerns. Our stance is clear: we will gradually reduce the use of AI art in future development, especially for character‑related assets. This isn’t just a slogan—we are actively working toward it. But it takes time, people, and budget, so we ask for your patience during this transition.
7. We’re Hiring Artists!
Seriously—we need you!
All the main character designs are finalised, but some character art needs upgrading and refinement.
We’re looking for a professional original artist to help revamp early character designs and unify the art style. If you:
Are interested in The Qixia Diary’s story,
Excel at modern Chinese‑style character visual expression,
Have experience with visual novel character sprites and expression variations,
please reach out to us via private message! We also need to redo all the official‑version character illustrations, and we’d love to find like‑minded partners to join us on this journey. If you’re based in Hangzhou and can meet in person, even better!
8. Our AFDian Page Is Now Live!
Last but not least—The Qixia Diary’s AFDian (Love Power) page is open!
Link:
https://www.afdian.com/a/pianchuancc
If you’re excited about this project and would like to support us—even a little encouragement goes a long way—we’d be deeply grateful. Every bit of support fuels our late‑night coding and rewriting sessions (truly!). And as a token of thanks, every contribution will come with a corresponding game activation key.
That wraps up this progress update. Thank you for reading, and thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions and constructive criticism. We’ll keep pushing forward and hope to deliver a more complete and polished The Qixia Diary to you soon.
See you in the next update!