A Different Kind Of Project Update...

It suddenly occurs to me that I haven't posted many updates here. I had a different update planned, but I want to address one of the most common recurring comments I've noticed, and summarize what's been going on with me personally as well as the project.

First, I'll just tell you the obvious, the project isn't dead by any stretch of the imagination. I work on it weekly in some form or another. You should - and I can't stress this enough - become a free member of the Patreon page.  It costs nothing and you gain everything, you will always stay updated with progress on the game.  I've also posted bi-weekly and when I can't do that, bi-monthly updates on that page for months now.

Secondly, I'll apologize for lack of activity on itch . io, I'm actually active everyday on discord and weekly on Patreon, as I mentioned.  I have valid reasons for that, which I'll explain near the end of this post.

But, before that I just want to address comments like the one below.

While I understand your feelings, it's just not true. I've done more than "1 update on HPC" in the past year. They are technical updates, all rolled into a single release to improve the overall experience. I spent roughly 4.5 months working solely on improving the game, and also preparing for the future. I did this so that I only need to focus on creating content after version 3's release.

(WIP Image, not how I plan it to look in the actual release.)

Here's a more specific list of things I worked on:

• Battle System has been improved. I'll most likely revamp it a little more in the future until it's perfect.
• Skills are in the process of being revamped. I don't like the way it's set up now, so I've decided to attach skills to characters and when you select them as your party members, you'll acquire the associated skills during battle.
• I worked on enemy options in battle, so that they can offer more than just attacks.
• Better info about what's going on in battle.
• The inventory system (which was one of the biggest complaints of players) was improved.  I actually revamped this twice, once to account for stackable items and another to account for the new way I choose to handle materials (currently).
• I concepted and designed roughly 12 (maybe a few more) new characters.
• I scripted the beginning events of Chapter 1.
• I scripted  story outlines for 40% of the new characters.
• Created a new system for better looking maps / environments.
• Created a new system for navigating the overworld, regions and areas of the game.
• Created a new system for "exploration" of battle zones.
• Worked out how the Foundation Field System works / elixirs.
• Worked out Dual Cultivation mechanics. In fact, I've been working on perfecting that for the past couple of weeks now.

(WIP Image, not how I intend it to look in the final release.)

All of that (and more off the top of my head - I actually did over 200 changes, fixes , features and improvements over the past year) has been covered in great detail on the Patreon page through a series of updates.

On top of that, I'd also been managing to do releases on Those Golden Days each month - up until mid April.  And, once again there's a valid reason for that which I'll now share.

I've explained it several times on both of my Patreon pages already (HPC and TGD), but I am currently dealing with a life threatening illness. I have sepsis and I have had it for at least 8 months now.  As a result, I spent 4-5 weeks unable to function between late April and late May (during my birthday, go figure).

For those of you who don't know, blood poisoning, aka sepsis is fatal if left untreated - 100%, no exceptions. There is a small chance I have kidney disease,  but it's more likely that the kidney problems are a symptom of sepsis and not the other way around. This is very good news, if I can get rid of the infection, it *should* solve the rest of my troubles.

For context, these are the symptoms I've been dealing with for the last months - even as I committed to my normal release schedule:

• Lack of Focus
•  Delirium (At Times)
• Lack of Cognitive Function (As in, it's taken me nearly 2 hours to write this post)
• Excessive Fatigue (I have the urge to sleep roughly 75% of my waking time, and unless I make a conscious effort I would literally sleep my days away  - no matter how much I rest.)
• Shortness of Breath
• Poor Circulation

I thought I was just burnt out, but it was actually much worse. Despite all of those symptoms severely crippling my productivity I've still been making updates to both HPC and TGD consistently.  

In fact, I was going to announce another project FOR MY SUPPORTERS  until HPC is ready, a casual cultivation game:

Then I saw this :

If I'm milking naive people why aren't I doing a better job of it?  After all,  I've offered full versions of TGD to my supporters on Patreon, and as previously mentioned I'm creating something for them to enjoy during the wait. 

That doesn't seem like someone dedicated to milking money from others in my opinion.

It would only take 1,100$ to completely resolve my current health issues, yet I didn't even ask that of current supporters.  If I was so good at milking money from people, why can't I use it when I *actually* need it?

You were so verbal about this, I'd sincerely like to hear what you have to say. Don't be shy now.

The reality is, I don't even have enough money to save my life currently. I'm stuck between two choices,  paying my bills / eating or removing those teeth and starving for the rest of the month. Both great options - but I'm leaning towards starvation for a few weeks.  I could stand to lose some pounds.

It would actually be easier to suspend my Patreon pages for a few months rather than try and continue to be productive.  In fact, I already discussed all of this with my Patrons. They voted for me to leave the pages active. The reality is, I've been transparent with them about all of this from the beginning.

This is something you'd know....if you actually took a moment to read the Patreon page instead of making comments like this....

Even with my health situation, I've not once asked for money from anyone (not my parents, siblings, banks - anyone). A few people have offered, but I haven't accepted. Do you know why? Because I have principles. I'd rather fucking die than leech off of people - and that's a sentiment that is being tested currently.

So even as I deal with all of these issues, I've opted to keep my word as best as possible, stick to my own principles (no matter how stubborn they are) and even take additional work onto myself.

Don't insult me, especially if you don't know what you're talking about.

- My Big Little Brother