Hey, fellas.
Sorry, it's been a while since I last wrote a development update on this game - I've been joggling with multiple stuff behind the scenes, like actually having a well paying job that can support this project's development, and seems like there's gonna be some more personal things I'll have to attend to before I can actually properly focus on making this silly video game of mine!
So, long story short - without delving too deep into said personal things -, Stramedia's development will be put on a year-long hiatus until I get those things out of the way and have found a proper schedule that will allow me to work on this project with a fresher mind.
...Though, there is one personal thing I will tell, but it won't be pretty.
So, here's an amusing not-so-fun story that has put an end to my KFC addiction. After having one after work, I returned home to consume some of my momma's goods, then hours later I started feeling woozy and began vomiting excessively. Second time I barfed, there was BLOOD in my vomit from the esophagus burned by the 11 Secret Spices (but I didn't find out about that until after I've been let go out of the hospital with the "presumably gastritis" diagnosis), and my mom had to call an ambulance.
These 24 hours were not fun, especially having an endoscopic camera tube forced down your throat to inspect the inner damages - all that while being conscious, too. And the funny thing is, I turned out to be the fourth person this month to be sent to the Emergency Room over KFC, one of the other people being the cook at one of the establishments, but good lord. If you really care about your health or don't wanna be forced to choke on a tube two times for ten agonizing minutes, don't rely on KFC as your go-to place. Or actually? Don't rely on fast food places in general. That shit can actually kill you.
But right now? I am actually doing alright now, just taking my prescribed meds and finally going on a new diet, and should be even better in about 3-4 weeks now or so.
The game development side of things
Stramedia's development itself has been going. Not great, nor bad, but just going it's usual merry way, although currently been having some things that have been making me want to step away from my computer to consider if they're even good ideas or not. But after hearing about what's been happening last month, the ideas I've been having are definitely not as bad as the introduction of one that would have completely fucked up the development of not only this game, but as well as many other games, too.
As of May 2022, Stramedia: my_MISADVENTURE has been using the Unity game engine amid some unforeseen circumstances caused by a raging cishet balding piece of twat (you know the one, whose last name starts with the same letter and is as long as a word used to describe a male reproduction organ). Up until September this year (2023), the higher-ups at Unity Technologies came out of their den to announce certain... changes to their fee policies, and the presented changes looked very nefarious on paper, especially taking in mind that they would have affected every single user of the engine, regardless if they've purchased already-astronomically costly "Pro" and "Enterprise" licenses or not, and many hobbyist devs such as myself would have to pay the royal cheese tax - not even caring if that dev is dealing with poverty issues or trying to survive or recover from a natural disaster or straight up trying to not die in the middle of a fucking war, just to show that there was no thought put into these changes whatsoever.
Fortunately after a rightfully deserved revolt from many fellow game developers - including yours truly - Unity have substantially changed their fee policy that have fixed so many problems, as well as increasing the revenue threshold cap, dropping the requirement to use the "Made with Unity" splash screen for Personal license users and providing an option to give them 2.5% of the game's revenue instead (that is, if a Unity game is to be developed using the 2024 "Unity 2023.x" version). Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention that this thing was originally going to be a retroactive thing? No? Well, good, cos now it's a self-reported thing.
So, will Stramedia: my_MISADVENTURE have to change engines after this whole Unity thing?
Since Stramedia is being developed using Unity 2022.3 version - at least with the post-revault overhaul of the policy - it's definitely in the clear in terms of not getting screwed over by some ex-EA sack of- Oh no, would you look at that! He's gone now.
Guess someone forgot doing the same thing with EA after introducing the idea of charging Battlefield players real money per bullets, and now the history has repeated itself, eh?
Well, one thing I can say - Dear John Riccitiello, don't let the door hit you on your way out! Who knows, it might actually make you trip and fall down the stairs!~ Good riddance, "fucking Idiots™" guy... speak for yourself.
...Anyway, yeah no, Stramedia will still stick to Unity 2022.3, at least until it becomes completely unusable, but I have been exploring other game engines for possible future projects, but it will be a long while until I start any of such sort. But it's not like I'd be able to install and properly run Unity 2023.x anyway - not with my version of Windows - cos apparently it's using some stuff from a more modern Windows SDK that is basically incompatible with it, so that definitely sealed the deal for me, as if that coffin didn't have enough nails as is.
Switching Gears in terms of how this game's being developed.
I'll have to admit, after having been developing this game for as long as I unnecessarily have, I've definitely reached the point where I feel monotony having to remake the same game in multiple engines already, and I've been starting to consider my options for what I wanna do to change something about this?
And I've also been considering how I want to present development updates moving forward that might actually be somewhat more fun and engaging and stuff, like start a more proper video development diary on YouTube or somethin', in fact - I've decided to wipe out most news posts from the Steam News, that I've been having some kind of difficulty getting around there to share devlogs - in case if the following happens, this post will be deleted from Steam as well - I might have to try something completely different to make making this game (and the game itself) even more fun?
But if such changes will happen, you'll see them whenever you see them.
...Or maybe I just really need to take my time to actually take a break during my hiatus and stick to my initial plans.
I'm probably just tired, going insane and getting ahead of myself, right? đŸ˜…
...Right?
...
Whatever happens, I might make a short post on Mastodon and BlueSky (if you have access to it), cos I can't trust Twitter's current automated system to not suspend me after 30-ish days of inactivity throughout my hiatus, but just so you know that I am on those platforms too.
I will still be posting bigger news on indieDB, and perhaps should be doing that more frequently, just so you know that I didn't forget this thing also exists.
And now, this dragon's off to it's year of slumber.
~ someone who socially goes by as "Colbeala Moghes" now.
