Known Issues and What's Next for Project Red?

Hello!  Hope you've all had a nice start to the year. 

Just like that a full week has gone by already.  Time really is relentless.  I wanted to make a post here just covering some of the currently known bugs/issues in the demo, as well as addressing what's going on with the project and what my plans are for the next update.

Known Issues

• There's an issue where Red will be unable to cast magic without a corresponding magical accessory equipped, even if you've used a scroll or tome to teach her a Spell independently.
• The Crow Prison event will completely break if you escape once and then trigger the event again by losing another battle.

Now these are annoying issues but I don't consider them game breaking enough to warrant another emergency patch.  So I hope you won't mind putting up with them for a bit!

The magic issue is actually quite complicated to work out and is going to require a lot of play testing to make sure the fix i have in mind won't break anything else in the process.   The Crows one is just bad coding on my end so that one shouldn't be difficult to fix at least.

Plans for the Next Update

So I've been hard at work finishing up the remaining art assets for Chapter 6, many of which I've shared on my patreon already.  However I'm not planning on the next update actually going BEYOND this demos current ending.  I'd like to instead get more voice acting in and finalize some of the looser parts of the game.  I don't have a date in mind, but this should be more of a quality of life update that brings the game much closer to its intended final play style.  So I'll list out my ideas on what I'll be aiming to include in the next build(s) that will be publicly available. 

• A complete reworking of the Morality System.  Currently the way things work is after certain choices a bar appears and moves right or left on a scale.  This entire system is a very early placeholder and will be completely removed going forward. In its place is a Divine Scale, or Affinity system.  Effectively similar but with more outcomes now.  Basically when you make certain choices, or do certain actions, you will gain Affinity with one of Three Goddesses in Wonderland.  Whoever you have the most affinity with will be a key factor in determining which ending you get, between the games main A, B and C endings.  It also removes something I personally HATE about  a lot of games with morality mechanics.  Which is the idea that one answer is right or wrong.  Every choice is valid.  Every choice CAN be right, depending on what you're after.
• With the Divine Scale comes another placeholder in need of fixing.  The games Skill Trees.  Currently there are 2 distinct trees. One for the games general skills,  and one for the Eros skills. These will be further split into three trees, each corresponding to one of the goddesses.  The Vestal Path, The Eros Path, and The Ichor Path.  As you gain affinity with a goddess, you will unlock more and more skills on their specific trees.  Each one having a clear gameplay identity, where you can either choose to focus on one goddess to get all of their skills, or mix and match to have a wide arsenal of tools you can use.  Each Goddess will also have a distinct altar to pray at going forward rather than all sharing a single asset.
• A Reworking of how Lewd Events can be accessed.  With the shift towards the Divine Scale I'll also be overhauling the way lewd events work.  Like with the skill tree above, currently you can freely access these as you see fit, effectively going from one event to the next.  In the full game however these events will be tied to your Eros level.  The more things you put Red through, the more things you can experience.  It's simple, but it means you'll have to put a little more work into breaking down Red's will to experience some of the more hard core scenes.
• The option to switch between button mash or QTE style fishing mini games.  Not everyone will have issues running the event as is but if secret bosses are going to be tied to fishing, then it only makes sense to make these events as accessible as possible to all players and on all machines.
• Completely redrawn Icons.  This one has been a LONG time coming and is at this point DESPERATELY needed.  Icons are used in a variety of places and the default ones used now simply can not convey the items or status effects that I need them to.
• A complete remake of the Mirror World.  The current version of the mirror world is actually just a reskin of the old Alpha version of the map.  That worked fine for a bit but it's getting VERY crowded with the expansion of the games story and maps, so it's due for a complete make over.  But more than just visually I'd like to start implementing the features that are still absent.  Right now you can fast travel, restore relics, and access the Eros skill tree.  The final version of the space will be broken down into a few more rooms though.  The main hub zone will still be used to access mirrors and fast travel between spaces.  Another room will be dedicated JUST to the games relics.  The third room will be a "gallery" of sorts where you can view previously seen images.  The fourth will have access to an Eros altar like usual.  And the last room I'd like to add is a sort of challenge room.  A space where you can refight bosses or special challenges, with or without the additional party members that are being added to the game.  It'll also be a way for me to include bosses and enemies from beyond chapter 6 without you having to replay the entire game due to save incompatibilities.  Ideally this zone would be the main area to come to for future updates including new enemies and challenges while you wait for additional story content to be added.

The Elephant in the Room

Now, on the subject of additional story content, we've reached that awkward spot in a developers life where they need to decide where to draw the line at how much content they're willing to give away in an incomplete state and for free.  For those who aren't aware, Project Red in total features 13 playable chapters.  The current demo ends about half way through the games 6th chapter.  That's just about the half way point of the plot.  Now regardless of anything else, I'm really not interested in sharing more of the game in such an incomplete state without endings or voice acting.  And while some chapters beyond 6 are fully voice ready, the fact of the matter is that 5, 6 and 7 in particular are the most lacking due to the amount of new characters introduced in a relatively small space.  My priority will be to get the currently available content as fully featured and finished as possible.

So I wouldn't get your hopes up for seeing what happens next any time soon.  That does NOT however mean that demos will stop coming or even that this is all the story content you WILL get.  After all, while the demo reaches chapter 6, it omits chapter 1 and 2.  There will be more updates.  There will be more story content added.  There will be more to come.  But the closer we get to the games climax, the less I want to spoil for everyone.

The plan is to have the full game launched THIS YEAR.  I've already started sending commissions to the remaining voice actors who still have lines to record.  Scarecrow and Hati are the top priority for now.  Devlogs will continue to show content that I think is worth sharing as I create it, regardless of if it'll be available to play in the current build or not.

The End? Don't Bet on it

So with that all out of the way.  The final thing I'd like to leave you all with for now is the titles for the games chapters and endings.  It's not much, but I hope it'll get your brain flowing with ideas as to how things will play out.  As mentioned above there are 13 chapters, as well as that there are 26 individual endings.  These endings will hopefully start being implemented in the next build that I release, and should continue to get more added in every following update.  Of course not all 26 will be possible to get, but some of the dead ends and other fun ones I'd like to have open for you.  But for now the titles are the best I can do.  So onto the main event!

Chapter 1: Prologue - The Girl in the Red Hood.

Chapter 2: The Witch and The Wolf that Howls my Name.

Chapter 3: Awakening.

Chapter 4: Dance Under the Moonlight.

Chapter 5: Family.

Chapter 6: What it Means to be a Hunter.

Chapter 7: The Cave.

Chapter 8: The Witching Hour.

Chapter 9: The Grinning Cat.

Chapter 10: Synthetic.

Chapter 11: The Wolf.

Chapter 12: Grandma (Epilogue).

Chapter 13: Project Red.

Endings List (Some titles may change before the final release.)

Ending A - A New Day Dawns

Ending B - Bathed in Blood

Ending C - Vessel Claimed

Ending D - The Better to Devour You With

Ending E - The End of The Long Night

Ending F - A Feast for Beasts

Ending G - The Gift of Death

Ending H - Home Sweet Home

Ending I - Idiotic Discovery

Ending J - Just Desserts

Ending K - She Wasn't Yours to Kill

Ending L - The Girl Beyond the Looking Glass

Ending M - Caught in a Mousetrap

Ending N - Never Shoot the Water

Ending O - Out of Time

Ending P - Pain Overwhelming

Ending Q - Quiet Reflection

Ending R - Reunion of Flesh

Ending S - Shameful Display

Ending T - Clockwork Tears

Ending U - UFO Ending

Ending V - Contract Voided

Ending W - Worth it in the End

Ending X - X Marks the Spot 

Ending Y - You Delved too Deep

Ending Z - Zero Remorse