Hello everyone!

It's already been three weeks since the last devlog, so here's a new update on the next chapter's development!

What's Been Done?

• 215 renders and 4 animations

It should have been 5 animations, but the last one is still giving me some trouble to finish.

• Started rewriting the prologue

I had some issues with my computer last week and couldn't work on the renders, so I ended up tackling the prologue a bit earlier than planned.

No worries, my computer's fixed now. I usually prep scenes bit by bit on weekday evenings, then render them over the weekend... so it only threw off my schedule a little.

• Rough scene setup for half the events

This will help me speed up rendering over the next couple of weeks.

• Added a 'Hide' option to the quick menu.

Nothing like a quick two-second job to sneak one more line into the changelog!

Preview Pic

Finding a proper house for MC and Sayuri was a huge headache. I wanted one of those classic Japanese-style homes you always see in slice-of-life anime and manga. That's how I ended up with the one you can spot in Chapter 2, behind MC's lemonade stand.

Of course, that created a new problem for Chapter 3... What the hell am I supposed to do with the interior?

I've already shown MC's bedroom and kitchen, so I couldn't just go with a traditional Japanese house layout, it wouldn't match what's already in the game.

In the end, I decided to handle it the same way I did with the school. So uh… please don't look too closely at the missing tatami mats or the questionable house dimensions.

...

What? Sora being carried over MC's shoulder?

Totally not important.

But if you're worried about this fictional character's well-being, don't be.

Both of these fully grown, entirely fictional adults signed a certified Fictional Consent Agreement™, in triplicate, witnessed by a neutral NPC, and archived in the Hall of Narrative Compliance.

We take our imaginary paperwork very seriously here.

What's Next?

• More rendering and animating...

You know the drill.

• The return of Takeshi's Sneak Peeks

I've changed my workflow a bit for this chapter, now I'm working on patch content alongside the main (vanilla) content.

It should help me standardize the characters' poses between versions, thus reducing the workload... well, at least it should.

I'll also be trying out a new format for this Tier 3 perk, so you can expect something next week!

About the Itch Situation

I'm a bit late to the party because of work, so I'm not going to repeat what every other dev you're following has probably already said.

I'm not sure what will happen to my project. Actually, I haven't noticed any drop in views or downloads, so I guess I'm safe for now?

Well, if it happens, it happens.

Although it'd be pretty funny to wait three months to get my project indexed, only for it to get removed a month later!

ETA?!!!

It's a bit of a long shot right now, between work and everything else, but I'd really like to have the chapter fully rendered before the end of August.

There'll still be plenty of minor stuff to wrap up before release, but that's just how it goes.

Final Word

I've been really busy the past couple of weeks, so sorry if I missed anything or didn't get back to you. I'll do my best to catch up next weekend!

Just a quick reminder to vote in the popularity poll if you haven't already!

And for my subscribers: entries for the Scene Scribbles perk are still open until August 13!
Don't miss out!

And that's a wrap for this 2nd devlog.
As always, a huge thank you to everyone supporting and following this project!
I hope you'll enjoy what's coming next in RomCom: Divergence!

For Classmate-tier subscribers, I'll see you next week with a little sneak peek of Chapter 3's "plot".

As for everyone else, I'll catch you in the next devlog (scheduled for August 20, hopefully).

Thank you for your time!
-Haptales

P.S. Only TWO weeks left for the Scene Scribbles!!!