Two news.

Yep, one bad, one good. Classic. 

The bad one. 

The very circumstances "beyond my control" that I used to mention from time to time. I won't bore you with the details, who needs them just google something like: "Ukraine, energy system, missile strikes". I'll only say that blackouts since the second half of November have become systematic. There is no power from half a day and up to 24 hours. Every day. How does this affect game development? Badly, obviously. 

Poor me poor, pity the good me... Do you think that's why I'm writing this? Fuck it. No. Despite all the difficulties I continue and intend to continue working on the game as long as I still have at least some technical ability to do so. I'm even trying to adapt, particularly working at night, when electricity is present. Mostly. Like vampire mode - wake at night, sleep at day... My fangs haven't grown so far, and I still don't have an unbridled lust for the blood of virgins. That's already something.

The good one.

Chapter 2 is slowly getting more content. There's even something to play in my developer's version already. It's not enough for an update, though, in my opinion. The rest of the update is still in draft form (~70 pages in Word, partially translated). I still need to do some more writing, translate it all thoroughly, proofread and edit it, turn it into code in the game engine, test it, and catch bugs... In short, I think at least 3 weeks of work. Assuming the circumstances described above don't worsen even more.

So I'm still holding out hope for the first content update in December. Let's hope I can make it happen. Somehow.

About the finished and upcoming content for the beginning of Chapter 2 (no spoilers).

General. The variability of choices has grown a bit. Some of your choices from Chapter 1 remind you of themselves very early on. Chapter 2 has a different narrative structure, with almost no freedom of movement (at the beginning), but choices from one scene affect choices in the next scene, and those, in turn, affect choices in the next one... Such a tangle in a juicy, even perhaps savory overall situation in which the protagonist will find herself. So the upcoming update, while not particularly big in linear terms, is highly variable and should especially appeal to those who like to explore different options and look at changes.

Mechanics. A new special mechanic (already in the game) has been developed for interactions with one of your companions. Technically, it's one of those "hidden" mechanics, but attentive players will quickly discover that checks of one Ability will dynamically become harder or easier, depending on your choices. Only characters with level 0 of that Ability will find themselves without much choice... but that's fair enough. Besides, some people even like it. Do you want to know which Ability it is, hmm? Okay. That's Willpower. For those who never want to lose control, I would recommend raising the Willpower to at least level 1 as soon as possible.

Origins. Most of the unique content and scenes at the beginning of Chapter 2 are for the Vagrant. The Heiress has some meaningful lines too, but not so much. Noble has only a couple of purely decorative lines. And the Survivor got nothing. But that's okay. All Origins will have unique opportunities when it's consistent with the events' progression. Just give it time.

Lewd stuff. Two scenes are already in the game. There will be a few more. Anyway, I don't want to release an update until these scenes are ready.

Well, that's all. Let's hope together that this update will be this year. I really want to share all this juicy new content with you. The very thought of it makes me excited. I mean it.