Steps of Debauchery News

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I shared any updates, so it's time for some news. I've mentioned many of these things on Discord and social media, but I'll recap everything here.

First, on a personal note, I've decided to take unpaid leave until the end of the year to focus on the game project and to get some rest and attend to my personal life. Thanks to your support (both through game purchases and monthly donations), I can start considering leaving my second job at the Fire Department and working less. I'm incredibly grateful to all of you for this, but it doesn't mean I'll be slacking off. This break will allow me to rest a bit and spend more time with my family and most importantly, focus on game creation.

As for the new update - Episode 3.1 is almost ready, with just the animations left to finish. I hope everything goes smoothly so we can complete them within a week. This update is half the size of update 3.0, but it only took us just over a month to complete, which I think is great. What can you expect in this update? I'll share the details in the change log next week.

We plan to release the new update on August 10th, which is about a week away.

Reminder: This is a small update. If you don't like smaller updates, feel free to skip this one and wait for the next release

I hope there won't be any delays due to the animations, but we should be able to meet the deadline. After the update, I'll need about three weeks to handle some work-related tasks before fully starting my leave until the end of the year.

That's all for now. Here are a few renders for you. Episode 3.1 is just about a week away!

Hey everyone!

I have a lot to share with you today, but let's start with a summary of the latest update and some of my notes. I've already shared these on Discord, but I'll summarize them here too.

The days after releasing a new update are always the toughest for me mentally. I spend them combing through every forum reading players feedback. This includes everything from trolls and long-time critics to supportive fans. I’m also on the lookout for bugs reported by players so we can fix them promptly.

[h2]Bugs and Issues[/h2]
We've fixed all the reported bugs. One critical bug related to the iSpy app was preventing further progress in some cases. There were also minor issues with minigames, Discord on Mac, and a missing scene in the replay gallery. These have all been fixed. We've also made the dance minigame a bit easier and we’re ready to fix any new bugs immediately.

[h2]Feedback on Update Length[/h2]
I've addressed this many times, but here’s my previous information about the developing job (I wrote it some time ago, so that's copy-paste):

...my job as a firefighter sometimes allows me extra time off, which I dedicate to game development. Over the past three months (aside from my vacation), I’ve been working 12-16 hours daily to create what we’ve released. Despite this, some still find the update “short.” I might need to slow down and give myself more mental freedom because no matter how hard I work, people will always complain about the update being too short. (edit. we are actively looking for additional Daz3D artists, but we rather want to improve the quality of the renders, so finding the right person(s) is very hard and we have not succeeded so far).

[h2]Content and Story Feedback[/h2]
I agree that we could have added more sexual content to the yacht scene, but I didn't think it was appropriate and really needed. We don't want to add empty sex scenes just for the sake of it. This update was not shallow in my opinion, as it containted three other sex scenes. I'm sure we'll soon get to the point where everyone will see what they're waiting for, but scenes in which sexual acts don't occur also affect the main character's mental attitude. You may disagree with this, but it does not change my approach to the storyline we are creating.

It’s important to remember that an Adult Visual Novel combines both - "Adult" content, but also "Novel" aspect. If someone is here only for the adult content and ignores the novel aspect, they might be disappointed—that’s not our aim (yes, I'm aware we are creating porn game :wink:)

Regarding complaints about the D&D, Elijah or any other plotlines: it's impossible to please everyone. Some enjoy these storylines, others don’t. Making them optional would undermine the main narrative. Every plot point, including D&D, has an impact on the main character, if not now, then in future updates. We don't add random storylines; everything has a purpose. We also can't feature every character in every update. Episode 2.2 focused on Elijah and Richard; 3.0 focused on other things; episode 3.1 will be about something else. We’re doing our best to release content quickly and on time. If you found this update small, you might want to wait for 4.0 and skip previous two small updates till then.

Lastly, regarding the bar minigame: it’s optional and doesn’t affect the main story, but we already made it easier for everyone. It will have its development in episode 3.1 but will remain non-essential to the main plot.

That would be it. I take every feedback to heart, we have our idea for the game, but we also take your opinion into consideration. However, we will not add a sex scene with Riley, just because we feel such pressure on our backs. I am always available to you and I write back to every message, however, if you need help with the game or you have encountered an error - share it on discord so that it is easier to solve them. If you would like to add something, feel free to comment and share your thoughts.



Progress on Episode 3.1 is going smoothly. As you can see in the image below, our scripts and writing are almost done. We've also completed about 40% of the graphics and renders, and started adding new scenes and content directly to the game. We're planning to add six main scenes, one extra scene, and more activities related to the park, school, and the bar minigame.



Episode 3.1 will be a small update. We're sticking to our plan of releasing two small updates (x.1 and x.2) followed by a bigger one (0.x). If you don't like small updates, please wait for the next one or even Episode 4.0. Respect our work and refrain from comments like "too short." We're doing our best to release updates regularly and spend all our free time creating the game. The new update will be out in mid-August.

(Who would I be if I didn't share a few new renders?)

Take care and see you soon!

* A hard crash that happened while playing in German language has been fixed.
* Some game assets have been compressed so that the game takes less space.

* Fix a crash where the game will refuse to start if the save name contains a single `[`.
* Fix a rare (but persistent) crash related to Discord which prevented the game from starting.

* Now the pole minigame only requires using the arrow keys and the duration to click has been increased slightly.
* Now the phone can be exited when clicked outside when hone is on main screen.
* A rare crash while replaying one university scene has been fixed.
* In rare cases, school test will only have four questions. That's been fixed.