Love of Magic News

And with that, I'm done with Act XI: The Black Sun, and so with the story of The War. It's been a real rollercaster; I hope you guys enjoy it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1570980/Love_of_Magic_Book_2_The_War/

The full book is coming on the 31st of May; give it a wishlist if you'd like to help give it a boost at launch.

So what's new in this build?


The big thing is the final 12 days of the Book, eventually leading to the end of the story. This is a relatively short act (most acts are ~20 days), but it certainly took some doing to write. I hope you like it. It ends, of course, on the Spring Equinox.


I added in a bunch of the final touches that goes into making the game complete. All the memories are now set up, most of the quests complete (I have three more to do, which will go in over the next week or so), and I added 25 new collectible card backgrounds (which you can use for your poker-cards), which unlock as you play.


After painful deliberation I decided to axe the strategy gameplay; it wasn't fun, it was confusing, and making it fun would be at least another month of development, likely more. To replace it I introduced a new system of Military Points, which will change in small ways how various events play out. If it's something people enjoy I'll likely expand on it for Book 2. I also added some more kingdom events for players to enjoy, and made sure they're all playable.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

What's left?

I'm working on achievements; I'm aiming to have 50-60 achievements; they'll be a mix of story, side-content and the occasional hard to get ones you'll need to chase down yourself.

I've got a bit of work on Elsewhere to do; a travelling salesman, new gems and some additional enemies.

Finally, I need to finish up those last three quests, and fix any bugs testers find. If you want to help report bugs, the best thing is to join my Discord. They're an amazing bunch of people that've kept me sane-ish over the last 2 years, and who've been amazingly helpful at bug fixing and typo-checking the game.

https://discord.gg/NQrQrht

Hope you all enjoyed Act XI. Once I start writing Book 3, it'll show up on the Developer and Beta branch of Book 2, in the same way as Book 2 showed up on the beta branch of Book 1.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1570980/Love_of_Magic_Book_2_The_War/

Love of Magic Book 2: The War is closing in on story complete. With Act X now done, there's only 12 days of in-game story to go before the book is complete. As always you guys can play it here on the Beta Branch of Book 1 as I develop it. If you haven't had a chance yet do give the game a wishlist, it'll really help it at launch.

In Act X: The Destroyer of hope the story takes a turn for the darker. Much like the Act III/IV inflection point marked the end of the player's relaxing days of fun at the University, the beginning of Act X marks the beginning of a new central theme of the story.

It's also the first time I've tried writing any other characters than MC as a lead, with Katie getting to star in some sequences. She's a lot of fun to write; much darker, more introspective and more moody.

Hope you enjoy the sequence, and that you'll come along for the rest of the ride as we approach the end of Book 2, and the beginning of the final part of the trilogy. The Return.

The bulk of this update is just small bug-fixes for continuity issues. I fixed up the streamer mode, redid a few graphics and scenes, fixed up typos, and tweaked a few images.

I also added a cheat to let Steam users access the Game of Friends (other NSFW gamedevs I know whose games show up on MC's ingame-PC). You can enable them by enabling the debug console (CTRL+J), then adding the flag GAME_OF_FRIENDS. This was removed from the Steam version because it's considered in-game advertising, so use with care.

Full changelog:

1.2.4
- Added support for Game Of Friends (little snippets of other games from devs I know) to Steam version, locked behind a secret key
- Added visual information for streaming mode

1.2.3c
- Added a new image for the Akane/Kitsune Elsewhere call screen (used for after Kitsune gets her full three tails)
- Fixed a bug where Narration wasn't responding correctly to the large text flag

1.2.3b
- Fixed the Princess costume being set as not-SFW
- Fixed a bug where entering the name for a character would auto-advance the story

1.2.3
- Redid Emily's power eyes
- Improved flow day 106
- Improved streamer mode

1.2.2
- Updated visuals on the day 106 sequence
- Added a new video for day 106
- You can now have 5 gem sets
- Fixed typos

Beta Branch just updated with the complete Act IX+ for Book 2.

I usually leapfrog development; the normal Acts (Act I, II, etc) will advance the timeline, adding more main story events. The Act+ updates will update the sandbox, adding more activities that fill the world, tell optional back-stories and side-content that you can track down.

Act IX+'s focus is on the King's Dragon, the bar that your Chosen runs. You can optionally upgrade it as the game progresses, adding more rooms, more activities and more people that live, love and get drunk there.


The underlying theme of Act IX+ is to tell those stories; a mixture of epic backstories, romance, erotic content and the occasional humorous episode. Some of the highlights:

Teach your pet dragon how to be a Natural Born Killer


Discover the backstory for the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Xochiquetzal.


Bring your wife for a relaxing time at the Onsen.


Get drunk and have fun with the resident Demon Foxes.


And much more.



Act IX+ is definitely the largest World Expansion update I've done so far, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Hope you all enjoy it too!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

It's Christmas time, and the girls of Love of Magic send their regard. I often enjoy doing little side renders, never intended to go ingame, just to play with lighting and learn a little.



Of all the renders I did over Xmas, I think this one's my favorite; there's something very sexy about their expressions, and they sit very nicely against the background. It's also related to the new content I'm working on, which I guess makes it a little hotter.


A lot of the wallpapers I make are a little raunchy, but sometimes the innocent ones are the nicest. This one was what I used as the motif for the Winter Sale event, so I guess most of you have seen it already. I still love the effect of lighting on Emily's face.


Some image don't make the cut to wallpaper, though they're nice in their own way. This one's got my two favorite redheads inviting you to have a drink with them, and the reds and golds of the foregrounds plays perfectly with the blue/white background.,


On development side, I'm around 2/3rds through Act IX+, a section of the game that's playable across most of Book 2, dealing with the people who live, drink and love inside the King's Dragon. If you've got Beta enabled on the game the first 6 events are already playable, with more coming more or less daily this week.

With that I wish all of you a happy holiday. May every day be magical, may you be with the love of your life, and may a door mouse never leave your pantry with a teardrop in its eye.