#we won't get into the issues with the UI

[aria-i-adagio]

Work in Progress Whenever

I would say 'too much math, not enough writing this week,' but that would be less frustrating. 'Too much bullshit from an incompetent vendor that appears to have effectively DDOS'd themselves,' not enough writing this week.

Continuing with the theme of what my drafts look like, initial docs are frequently an explosion of bits and pieces, notes to self, etc. Eventually they get edited together into a coherent thing. My process would be modeled with an absurdly complicated exponential function.

Tagging: @hoochieblues @motherofqups @atypicalacademic and @cumbiazevran to share if you'd like.

[pawborough]

February Check In

Hello, all!

Closed Beta's been open for nearly two weeks now and we’ve been busy at work, and excited to share with everyone some of our progress!

First, let’s look at some art!

Gilded Helm Recolors

We are currently working on the Gilded Helm's recolors, here are some previews!

Recolors by Emma.

New icons

We’ve been busy with icons!

Take a look at the renderings for our eye type and eye palette metamorphic items—lenses and prisms!

We also have the white marbles ready, which allow you to adjust the white coverage of your cats.

Moreover, we’ve created icons for our various shufflestones, which change a cat’s colors to completely random ones or to colors within a specific range.

Last but not least, we have several new food and supply icons ready!

Eye prisms, Shufflestones and marbles by Hydde. Food and supply items by Remmie, Tybaxel, and Nik.

New decor

We also made some progress on decor!

WIP roundable by Remmie and Giulia.

Development Check In

See the initial UIs for our in-development item database and achievement system for archetypes!

Archetypes, as introduced in our January update, are a specific combination of traits which, when fulfilled, mark the cat’s profile with a badge and reward the user as an achievement fulfillment. Below are the initial UI for the achievement part of this mechanic.

Browse through all available items in the game with our item database. Filter by category, rarity, color, or obtainment method to find exactly what you're looking for. Whether it's food, supplies, or metamorphics, everything is at your pawtips!

How is Beta going?

We’ve had a great time with Beta! Over 1100 users signed up! 

While we did have server issues, we opted for optional  maintenance downtimes that lasted between 1 to 5 minutes each to implement solutions. But the server did not and never did crash, which we are very happy about. 

Halfway into the first week, we found a way to optimize, and since then the server has only had issues when we deploy fixes, which is expected during the application’s infancy. As we grow, deployments won't have these consequences, and patches will come out in big batches rather than small deployments. But it works for now as we make steady progress.

We do really enjoy this environment of testing. The amount of QA we get from the test is huge in helping us crack down on issues, and it's monumental in us improving the application. For the first two weeks of Beta, we did a lot of straight grinding to whittle down on the biggest issues, and we're very excited to get back to this pace. The energy has been a blast and a half, and we're happy with the progress we're making.

As we planned, we're doing less in the next two weeks before March. Our developers are taking a brief reprieve, and we’ll be making small updates in the meantime, but not nearly as frequent as the first two weeks of the test. 

Myself (Blue) also needs a few days of rest, and I greatly appreciate the patience with our planned catnap. 

But Beta has been fun as we make progress. That's a huge uplifter! There are a lot of ways in which development can feel thankless, demoralizing, or frustrating for the team. But the engagement from users and the community's joviality has lifted our spirits significantly. It’s great to feel so excited to keep working!

And the feedback has been juicy! There is a lot of very thoughtful criticism that has been sent for us to really sink our teeth into. We couldn't ask for anything better. This dedication will help us improve the application, and we love the time and energy put into feedback tickets. We care a lot about them, and value how much a user must care to send them.

Our projection of running through the summer is holding true based on our progress. We expect to see a very different application by the end of Closed Beta, and one which we’ll listen to the community on with how it's feeling. As we promised, we will not be moving into Open Beta until it feels good and we’ve gotten through our list of update priorities. 

The biggest thing we've learned since the Closed Beta launch is to be more proactive and prepared with our communication. We apologize for the ways we have fumbled in making sure information is readily accessible, sensible, and concentrated, and for not adequately relaying both our intentions and easy instructions for users. We have learned, and we take responsibility for the initial frustration. We deserved the criticism. Thank you for expressing your concerns to us, and we'll employ everything we have learned going forward.

To summarize: We shared decors, Gilded helm recoloring, icons, item database and closed Beta update.

What to expect next month: Further asset and development updates. Check-ins for how closed Beta will be going.

[acerikus]

Okay so after reading that article about what's actually happening on tumblr now:

It's not dying, they're just downsizing. I know 'skeleton crew' is drifting around but guys. In this time automattic has had Tumblr they've had around SIX HUNDRED PEOPLE working on it. That's ridiculous. That's overkill. There's no way they needed that many. Not for what tumblr is and that's probably part of their weirdly high costs.

They're not taking people away from the safety/security part of their tumblr team (and are allegedly even expanding it) - just away from new project work and marketing. So essentially, less new features and less time spent on marketing. New features could still happen, but likely smaller and less frequent.

They were contractually obliged to keep tumblr live despite everyone's hatred of it, which explains a lot. Seems like they've gotta keep it till January, and if it's still not doing better by then they're gonna 'reconsider' if it's actually worth keeping.

That DOES however mean that we need to be aware that Tumblr might push tumblr live on us more than ever for the next couple months as a last ditch attempt at making it successful. It's also possible they've given up and don't think it's worth the effort, but it's worth keeping in mind. Just a couple more months and we might be free of it.

Essentially: tumblr is gonna be treated more like the little microblogging site on the side that it is rather than a big corporate monolith with high risk high reward turnaround potential. I'm not saying there won't still be issues to call out, but hopefully things are gonna get better in terms of UI and usability, without it constantly trying to morph into a different social media.

[attex]

I love your UI design. Any thoughts on them like their interaction with others?

that innocence is pretty paralleled if we are being honest...

My interpretation of UI is based on the idea of them just being attention and stimulation addicted... They were made like this on purpose, by the same group of engineers (not exactly the same persons though) as NSH, due to the seeming work efficiency in a more active and stimulation seeking personality. This is also why they are named ironically too, along with having a fake mouth! However, such a personality tends to give diminishing returns, especially when there isn't things to focus on constantly. Which is why UI leaned towards gossiping and messing around.

They don't do things out of malice, (the ordeal with 5P was not malicious lol) it's all just another little thing to pass the time. But they do feel guilty and awkward if pushed around a bit. They're more honest than they seem, they won't lie about their mean thoughts or opinions. They will lie if it causes more attention to be given to them or they dislike the way they're treated from their honesty; but this is all hard to achieve as they can get VERY stubborn. They're naturally curious in a gawking at things and not shutting up kinda way. If they see something weird, they will point it out and keep bringing it up to talk about it.

I interpret them to be the youngest, being built a short while after 5P. This is why they look the way they do, but they still have discerning traits due to the engineers that built them. Their design for the puppet should be obvious in the ways it's similar to how NSH's puppet is designed, at least I hope I managed to show that... I also imagine their structures have much bigger bio-engineering lab sections, not for actual production of purposed organisms but rather for experimenting with them and the like. Those two would be occupied with that often, along with their other duties. The small cloak, a lot of parts that light up to indicate status, fake mouth, more angular parts, focus on strip patterns, sturdier legs... Their cloak has patterns resembling rod cells in eyes, also!

As for their relationships with others in their group...

LttM gets along well with them, which usually surprises outsiders. She knows they just need things to do but does get disappointed at their more reckless behavior. UI likes LttM for being a bit too lenient regarding things they do that they probably shouldn't, but besides that they do see her as a trustable friend albeit not taking her senior status too solidly.

5P definitely doesn't enjoy having to interact with them at all after getting humiliated by them. He doesn't hate them or anything, he never did. While he wasn't surprised about them doing what they did, it still soured his view of them by a lot and feeling that many heavy emotions in one moment didn't help. Otherwise, he can't be bothered with them in general. UI sees 5P as an extremely difficult peer to mess with in any way, he is impatient and easily annoyed but his tendency to just cut things off makes anything silly near impossible. While they do find his issues interesting in a shallow way, a part of them secretly wishes to know more of him on a personal level... Most likely because he is the only one they've never gotten to engage with closely, their nosy interest in him got more blatant as time went on too.

SRS actually enjoys talking to them a decent amount, though they can't help but feel like there is always a barrier of sorts in fully understanding and connecting with UI. UI finds SRS very amusing. Definitely their "favorite" in the group due to SRS' extrovertedness combined with that iconic tinge of obliviousness. UI has always enjoyed snooping in on SRS, especially when they talk to outsiders. SRS isn't fully aware of the extent of UI observing them like a weird animal, though...

NSH is neutral, yet wary regarding UI. They both know how either one can behave pretty well. He still sees them as a friend though. He's the second person that tells UI to "behave" the most- but it isn't like UI can't snap back at him for being overly playful as well. UI is nearly the same way towards him. Both of them know of each other's mischievous attitude and that makes it difficult for them to mess with one another. They can get a bit too caught up in being silly if he eggs them on and vice versa… even if they don't fully notice NSH views them as acting more childish by a lot. CGW… I haven't thought of and characterized CGW well enough to say anything regarding them honestly… But the things I'm certain of are UI seeing CGW as being way too "put together" and unfun, because they act very proper in comparison to everyone else. That's more incentive to mess with them, though. CGW doesn't dislike UI or anything, but they see being closer friends with them as not entirely possible.

[burning-academia-if]

Hi again. If you've been around a while you're probably going to be like "Em, again??" But guess who got sick for the 6th time this year and this time it was a full on chest infection!! It has been three weeks, and somehow I am still Not Free!!

Anyway, BA fell to the wayside this month because it was Velox Fabula time and I've yet to miss a Velox jam (also...chest infection). I also needed to get my sudden and newfound Pirates of the Caribbean obsession out of the way so! I made a short pirate visual novel for the jam and I'm normal again. I also released the prologue of my side IF To Taste Sweet Silver (@sweetsilver-if) just to have it out. Feel free to check it out if you want, but it likely won't be updated for a while as I'm shifting gears back to BA for September!

I don't have much to report but:

UI update should be out in the next week or two depending on how I'm feeling. It won't look like much to y'all since it's more for my sake via cleaning up the code LOL but there were things added (friendship indicators, open dyslexic font option, character page updated, stat page updated, glossary page added) I'm not a graphic designer but it's better organized I think. There won't be an Official Post about it because it isn't new content, but I will make a small announcement when it's out. It'll also include the originally deleted Lars/Zoe/Nevio lunch scene in Chapter 2 as well. Sorry this is taking so long, I just really struggle with the coding side of things which has made the process slow.

Writing in August was also slow, and honestly, I think I really needed those few weeks off not thinking about BA. My inbox being very quiet helped as well, so I really did take a real break from BA. When I opened up the writing doc, I felt a whole lot better about working on BA again, and we have hit 100k words finally!

Anyway, I don't want to lament much, but I did have a personal goal of releasing up to Chapter 4 this year which obviously is Not Going to Happen. It honestly sucks I got sick so often this year because it cut into so much time for creative projects, be it BA or anything else.

I'm not really going to be hard on myself for it, though. I think releasing 3 chapters this year considering everything that kept Going Wrong this year is actually pretty good. I just think its annoying when I know I could have done it but the universe said no instead akfjalfa Anyway, I'm not sure when Chapter 3 will release but I do have a good feeling about September and I think I'll be able to at least get a decent chunk done this month!

Finally, September marks the one year anniversary for this blog and October marks the one year anniversary of BA releasing!! I feel like I literally just started writing this, the fact it's September already is wild.

I was going to do art commissions, but due to surprise car issues, I don't really have the money for that now (next year for sure though!!), so I was thinking of maybe doing character Q&As to celebrate? I've also seen some authors do raffles, but I'm not entirely sure what I would raffle off? Maybe personalized short stories with readers MCs if there's interest in that? I'm not sure yet, but I have a month to figure it out lol

But also thank you to everyone who has followed along!! It's been a really fun time both writing BA and on the blog. I know I say this a lot, but I'm really glad this is such a chill place. It's nice for me the author obviously, but it's also nice because I always want the spaces I have to feel like safe places for others as well so! Thanks again!

Lastly, I normally would end on a little snippet or preview but since most of what I wrote was just the two different openings, I feel like I have nothing fun to tease (or maybe I'm too picky about snippets idk). Hopefully Zoe's bday post tomorrow makes up for it, and I'll post some snippets later in the month instead!

Thanks for reading!

[rainspicestudios]

Happy 2025! [RainSpice Studios plans & updates for the new year]

Hey everyone! Happy 2025 from RainSpice Studios. I hope this year will be kind to everyone and that many good things will be coming your way.

And speaking of good things, I'm cooking some projects that are just itching to be released and available for download. But before we get into that, let us talk a little about the games that were released in 2024.

This won't be a lengthy recap of 2024, as the games speak for themselves, but I am still proud of myself for releasing a full game, a chapter one, and a demo, during a very stressful year both in terms of world events and my personal life (I graduated college, I'm moving, all of that good stuff).

Stardust★Arcadis was my first ever release, and a game I struggled to finish. I lost all of my progress because of PC issues, I rewrote the story a few times, and I released it after working on it since 2019 (2022 if the moment when my PC broke doesn't count). However I love the characters, I love the setting, and despite the many hardships of game development, I had a fun time working on it.

I'm planning to release more games in this universe in the future, including a remastered version of St★Ar.

The Code of Crystals started as a novel collaboration with my best friend. Said collaboration never got finished, and I had a lot of inspiration for stories I could tell with these characters, most of these darker than the original project. Thus I used the characters I made for this former collaboration and started crafting this narrative, and the release of Stardust★Arcadis AND the 2024 edition of Phantasia Jam was a perfect opportunity to get started!

Chapter one will be re-release this January and Chapter two will be released in either late 2025 or early 2026. Stay tuned for more info!

Enter the Eternity, oddly enough, also started as a collaboration, but the idea of a dating simulator with magical girls was too good to let it collect dust and never get finished, especially since its inspiration board kept drawing me in.

With my best friend's blessing, I could re-use the idea, so I created a new cast of characters and got to work, and had to do even more work after I found out that the backgrounds I bought from someone on itch.io were made with an AI image generator, which disgusted me so much it powered me to redraw every single background by hand and I will keep doing so for the entire game. While it is more work to do on my part, RainSpice Studios will never endorse AI generation in any shape or form.

At first I worked on it while I worked on Stardust★Arcadis, which explains why the demo was done on such a short notice, but it has now became my primary project for 2025 and I am aiming to release it around November/December at best.

What's the plan for 2025 then?

My primary goal is to release Enter the Eternity and my secondary goal is to release The Code of Crystals chapter 2.

I aim to finish all first dates for Enter the Eternity AND re-release chapter 1 of The Code of Crystals in January. The dates are already written and coded in the script files, so my focus is to add in all the sprite expressions, draw CGs and backgrounds, and add all the necessary music. As for TCOC, I wanted to remake its menus and add a scene with Eranis that I did not have time to add before the end of the game jam. While the UI code I bought doesn't work, its images are pretty, and I am happy with the result.

2025 will be another busy year for me as I try to find a full-time job to sustain myself, launch some new projects more-or-less related to video games, move out again, among some other irl things. But here at RainSpice Studios, I love making games, and will keep making them for the foreseeable future.

If you read down to here, thank you so much!

There's a lot to do so I'm going back to work 💪 I'll update you guys when I reach a milestone or I find something interesting to share.

So stay tuned! And as said, I wish you guys a kind, good, exciting, fun, and game-filled 2025. Thank you for your continued support and here's to more projects this year 🥂

============================

[RainSpice Studios itch.io] [Stardust★Arcadis] [The Code of Crystals] [Enter The Eternity]

[idol-murder-mystery]

Let's talk about something juicy: Improvements to the game and how we plan on making this a MASTERPIECE

Since this was brought up, I thought it’d be a good time to talk about the improvements we have planned for the game and how we plan on making this a masterpiece!

We've made a lot of improvements to the demo and it's been very well received, but still not perfect and this was the biggest gripe people had. The intro was too slow.

It was indeed a mistake to have an autoplay cutscene, followed by huge chunks of NVL text...

How we plan on fixing it: Instead of info-dumping everything at the start - we'll intersperse the information during the investigation. For example, when interviewing Miyuki. This will not only make the beginning faster paced, but it will make these moments more meaningful too.

Another thing we did was we moved character backstories into the free time events - so you'll get to learn about them there!

The slow intro is the main reason why I haven't gone all out on marketing yet - since I don't want people playing for a few minutes then dropping the demo without getting to the good parts. We'll be ready for mass release when everything is fixed 😊

Choices that matter

There was only one ending in the demo, so the choices didn't really matter. However, in the full game, every choice will have consequences.

One of the feedback we got was people didn't really understand the point of the stats. Many people were confused when they reached 0 sanity that nothing happened. 

In the full game, there will be stat checks. And the stats will impact the endings you get, so make sure to keep your sanity healthy! 

You can improve your stats during free time events by visiting different locations, and through some random events.

Deduction Phases

Another feedback we got was during the deduction phases, when people were selecting the wrong answers, it shows you taking damage, but it wasn't clear on what damage you were taking. E.g. were you going to die if you got too many wrong answers?

Selecting the wrong answer results in your intelligence being decreased. It's not a huge amount, but will add up over time, affecting the endings.

In the full game, we'll add an indicator to show which stats you're losing.

More Free Time Events

Free time events are meant to balance the darker, serious atmosphere of the game with something more light. You get to hang out with friends, have a laugh, increase your stats, and learn more about the character's backstories.

These will be more frequent in the full game.

Into the Rabbit Hole 💀

As we head into chapter one, things are going to get more dark and intense. 

I can't say much about our plans for the future, but trust me when I say I'm DYING to show what we have in store for the next chapters because it's SO GOOD.

Even though our game was deeply inspired by Famicom Detective Club, Danganronpa, Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, what we're creating is completely different to them. 

Quoting Gaming Trend:

What we're creating is unique to Whispers of the Luminaries. In terms of story, atmosphere and emotion. There won't be any game like it.

And that's what I'm most excited for. We've been through so much trial and error to get to where we are, and now I feel like we're pioneering something completely new! 

A glimpse of what you can expect:

New music direction - even more atmospheric and tense at times!

A focus on gameplay that enhances storytelling

Improved scene direction to enhance storytelling

Deeper focus on characters, their secrets and flaws. Characters who made few appearances in the demo will play a greater role in the story (Akane and Sayuri stans rejoice)!

Moar murder and mystery!

I'm obsessed with learning about suspense and that's going to be reflected in the full game haha. 

In order for this game to succeed it's crucial that we nail the mystery and suspense.

Other Stuff

Make it clearer which character is speaking

Fix audio volume issues

Make sprites more expressive

Fix some UI jankiness

Add more transitions instead of fade in/fade out

[cornbread-but-minecraft]

Cornbread's Texture Fixer Devlog v0.9.0 - Beta 6 December 14th, 2024

another devlog? feels like we just had one of these last week!

oh wait. we did! and just like last week, it's bundle time. *bundles all over the place*

basically, in vanilla, because bedrock edition sucks at loading textures apparently, bundles flicker a little when you open them for the first time in a session.

wasn't sure last week whether i wanted to fix this or not since most of this game's flicker problems just aren't a big enough deal for me to feel like the micro-unoptimization that would come with fixing them would be warranted, but bundles in particular are kinda annoying about it, so i fixed them.

they still have issues when the first item selected when you open a bundle is also a bundle, but i'm not sure why.

hey, you see this dog?

this dog is off-center.

this dog is no longer off-center.

in Beta 5, i updated the appearance of the mob effects screen to match the rest of the game and, not being quite sure about my work, put in the to-do list "tweak mob effects screen."

i have tweaked the mob effects screen.

i don't have an installation of Beta 5 with which to show you what it looks like there, and probably won't until i wrap up Beta 6 and change the manifest file, but the changes are as follows:

the mob effects screen is now the same size as in vanilla.

the mob effects screen should no longer appear brighter than in vanilla during its opening and closing animations when in a dark space.

'hey, that second thing sounds weirdly specific. how did you break that?'

i'm so glad you asked, hypothetical and utterly unrealistic representation of one of my five followers! to understand that, first we have to understand how minecraft bedrock edition sets up its UI textures to begin with.

basically, when it comes to scrolling areas in a screen that is stylized as a dialog box (such as the recipe book), there are usually two textures that make up the background: the white, opaque background for the entirety of the dialog box; and the darker background specific to the scrolling portion.

this normally isn't an issue, but the animations for closing and opening the UI involve it fading in and out, during which time you can see the overlap. this is much more noticeable when the world behind the UI is dark because it contrasts with the bright white of the dialog box.

this itself isn't normally an issue due to how small a space on the game window the dialog box takes up, but the mob effects screen takes up 90% of it!

which also isn't normally an issue because it usually only uses one texture for this.

except, because i wanted to not add new textures where i didn't need to (for compatibility reasons), i elected to separate the scrolling portion and the dialog box into their own textures so that the dialog box could use a texture at a vanilla file path, while the scrolling portion could use a unique, custom texture. i think you can figure out how that ended up with the issue i described like eight paragraphs ago.

luckily, there are dialog box textures that have a large hole on them, used for dialog boxes that scroll but don't need to have the scrolling area change size mid-gameplay (like the play screen), so basically, i just swapped out the opaque texture for one of those. there's still overlap, but it's not as noticeable.

oh wait. i've spent wayy too long rambling about what i changed about the mob effects screen and i haven't even shown you what it looks like now. here it is:

while we're on the subject, in Beta 5, i tried to get the close button on the mob effects screen to change position based on whether or not left hand mode was active, like previous versions of vanilla did, but that didn't seem to work, so i've removed the JSON that would've been responsible.

the player list on the pause screen normally has issues. from incorrect clipping to the scroll box just not being aligned correctly. i've fixed them. vanilla on left, resource pack on right. ignore that i'm in windowed mode.

the player profile buttons also have a dropshow on their text when a scoreboard is displayed there in vanilla, which is not only nearly invisible, but also inconsistent with the rest of the UI. this has been fixed.

also about scoreboards on the player list, the cut-off fixes from previous versions of this pack now apply there. the fact that they didn't was an oversight.

also also, remember in Beta 4 when i fixed the scale of the font on the chat settings font type dropdown when using mojangles, but broke the scale when using noto sans? i fixed it.

[kosher-martian]

Ain't got no use for AI.

Look, I get it. I work in IT (if indirectly), but I think we need to kill this AI thing in its crib before it results in a majority of the US workforce doing back-breaking non-automatable jobs for pittance.

My job is 70% procurement and 30% e-waste disposal.

My job exists because:

Our procurement software has a UI that I would describe charitably as "openly hostile".

Far too many employees have access to the procurement software.

The finance department does not hold regular trainings on how to use the software and there's no process to notify finance of new employees who have been granted procurement access so the new employees can be trained.

Until recently, there was nothing built into the software to stop people from buying things with money they don't have or that is allocated to other projects. (A janitor could buy a high-spec Mac Studio using another department's money or simply not pay for it after it arrives.) Technically "not paying" is still very much an issue I have to solve.

Until recently, there was nothing built into the software to stop people from buying things without approval. After a few high-profile issues, we finally broke down and bought a plugin to correct this issue.

There is nothing built into the software to prevent people from buying devices that do not comply with our standards or are wildly inappropriate for their work tasks. (Secretaries getting high-spec gaming PCs just because they had the money in their budgets.)

Until I pointed it out, there was no policy in place to divert newly-delivered IT equipment to the IT department for set up and endpoint management. Until I pushed for a policy change, IT equipment could (and often would) be purchased and delivered directly to the department unmanaged or in a few cases a less-scrupulous employee's home address for personal use.

Our inventory system is arcane and there are a sum total of three people with access to it. And that's the system we primarily use for IT lifecycle management!

All of these things could be fixed by just buying better procurement software, let alone procurement software enhanced by AI. The only reason my employers haven't liquidated me is because right now the annual cost of having a human clean up all the human errors caused by the cheap lousy software they bought is still lower than the annual cost of software that would prevent the human errors from happening in the first place. But for how long?

What about all the jobs AI is already taking? All the writing and editing and media production jobs that simply won't exist because it was easier to let a machine do it? (Ignore that all the CGI people have four thumbs and 12 toes, human. Watch our slop content and enjoy it! You aren't worth real art.)

All the marketing jobs that will be liquidated because the algorithm knows us better than we know ourselves. Where are they supposed to go?

What about all the programmers and developers being laid off because ChatGPT does a decent enough job and if you lower our expectations enough, people will just accept a lousy app to purchase their burritos and yell at the human driver when the burrito is wrong?

Where are these people (and many, many more) supposed to work?

We closed the factories. We didn't find new high-quality jobs for the factory workers, did we?

All the factory workers went to work in low-paying retail and service economy jobs. Oh wait, they've been laid off from those jobs too because we had to have self-checkout and self-service kiosks and now entire Dollar Generals are staffed by one employee.

Drive a taxi? Sorry that was replaced by sharing your car with strangers (Uber). Oh no wait sorry, the self-driving cars are taking that too.

Call centers? We shipped those overseas and then shuttered them because a phone tree with a realistic human voice and intentionally vexatious wait times will take care of the pesky callers.

Gig work? If AI hasn't taken them already, they will soon.

Agricultural work? Slaves Prison labor will replace that soon enough (and frankly prison laborers will likely also take many other menial tasks like package delivery or fulfillment warehouse jobs soon)

Again, what are the vast majority of people on this earth supposed to do? Because if you think we're getting UBI in the US, you are deluded.

When the car replaced the horse as the primary means of transportation and other machines took the place of horse labor, the population of equines declined. They weren't needed anymore.

Between 1915 and 2006/7 the horse and mule population declined 63.07% in the United States. The US equine population in 1915 was 26,493,000 (horses and mules). In 2006, the United States had around 9,500,000 horses (1), and the United States Census of Agriculture for 2007 (table 31) counted 283,806 mules and burros (2).

And while the horse population has rebounded in the years since, it's because of enthusiasts wanting to breed more horses for entertainment and luxury purposes.

No one found the horses new jobs when the horse jobs disappeared. We simply stopped breeding horses. (And that's assuming, charitably, that we didn't juice the decline by culling the horse population.)

When our jobs disappear, do you think our overlords will just keep us around? I mean sure we're taking care of the population problem for them (a little too well actually, thus the anti-abortion laws), so they likely won't turn us into glue.

They'll still need people to fix the machines when they break and to continue building and creating better and better AI and machines to take care of their every whim.

And they'll need some people to do all the work the AI and robots cannot do yet.

And they'll want people for entertainment and luxury: Actors, singers, athletes, and playthings they can use as they please.

But ultimately what all these "tech-bros", "technocrats", "effective altruists", and "techno-progressivists" really really want is world that caters exclusively to their needs and all the inconvenient people who have needs of their own are swept into the recycle bin and discarded without a second thought. All problems are easily solved when you eliminate all the people:

Littering? No people, no litter. You, glorious techno-overlord, would never litter.

Climate Change? Less people, less carbon. You'll still be here, though, don't worry my liege!

Economy? The robots do all the work you used to have to pay people to do. And all the profits go to you, sire!

Taxes? LOL you don't have to pay taxes. Taxes are for the peasants.

You get my point.

The techno-overlords are tired of negotiating with us because they don't believe they should have to. We aren't their equals, if they even consider us human. They need some of us to do their bidding and some of us to keep around to torture and dominate to make them feel like gods. Beyond that, the rest of us are just excess people breathing up all the air.

AI has to go, not because the AI itself is dangerous, but because the people whom the AI ultimately serves have told us time and time again who they really are. It's time for us to believe them. We know their vision for the world, and it's a world without us. 1. This figure comes from a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and is often cited in writings about horse population decline, but I could not locate the actual report on their website.

2. https://agcensus.library.cornell.edu/census_parts/2007-united-states/

[melissagt]

PSA for anyone with PATCH 4 broken kissing scenes who happen to be using mods. My kissing scenes were broken and I was able to get them to work by disabling my mods. All of them. The only thing I have enabled are Improved UI (was just updated today) and ModFixer. I have to keep those enabled or else my saves won't load because of the mods I've disabled. But...kissing scenes work! Yay, kisses for all!

For additional testing, I tried enabling my other mods one at a time to see if I could isolate the culprit. Sadly...there isn't just one. As soon as I enabled any other mod, doesn't matter which one...even just hair mods...then the kissing scenes broke again.

So if you are having issues with mods and the kissing scenes, give that a shot. It sucks, but that's the risk we run with mods. And hopefully they will get updated. I'm just lucky that all of mine are cosmetic!

[xxmissarichanxx]

✨XMACX Monthly✨ | April 2024

lol i hope u enjoyed the silly update yesterday~ here's the answers to the lil game:

2 TRUTHS • i did draw the line art with my left hand c'''': • may's cover model MAY in fact be a yummy mommy. it's up to youuuuu~

2 LIES • i'll never stop drawing hunks. who would i be without them sobs • i am dropping a BL comic this month, just not on April 20.

you may read this month's update on PTRN for free or below the cut~ you can also view the previous issue here.

I cannot believe we are four months into 2024. What have I to show for it :''''D Anyway, a few announcements:

I got accepted into Citrus Con's Artist Alley this year! I had the honor of sharing my wares during the online BL convention last year. I'm excited to do it again this year! I'm hoping to debut physical copies of some BL comics, and if not, digital copies will be fine too. My bootiful patrons will be the first to read them. Starting this month, I'll be dropping pages. Whatever I finish, it's going up.

You might have also noticed that the banner on the top of my Patreon page changed. It's to reflect the transition I'm making from one project to the next. :^)

Schedule

April 1 - The Fool's Cover

April 2 - XMACX Monthly Update

April 5 - May Cover Model Polls

April 12 - April Cover Model Process

April 19 - Kiki's Sakura Date Part 2

April 26 - Cover Story, Ippon!

April 28 - FBDC Update

April 30 - Sketch Dump

Cover Story Preview | Ippon!

I think I am ready to take on a slightly longer comic than the short ones I've worked on the past few months. SO, I'll be dusting off this old project that features Masa sparring Ken in a judo match.

April OC Birthdays

April 1st is Satoru's birthday because he's a silly goose. He was featured in my short comic last month, Kiki's Sakura Date Part 1. He'll also show up in Part 2.

VN Development Update | FBW

This month I'm picking up where I left off in developing Froot Basket White! I'll be starting with Sutoro's route, which means his will be the first to release!

I've also decided that for Froot Basket White, I'd like to have some pals onboard to help me create assets, so I'll be hiring peeps to draw the background art, food items, and other things I need assistance with. I'll still be the sprite, CG, and UI artist and writer.

I'd also like to properly have the script proofread before I hand it off to our cast members. And when it comes down to it, I'd like to have the episodes tested before release. I'm excited for this project and I hope I can wrap up the story well!

Other Stuff this Month

I'm sorry, but I am STILL catching up on commissions orz. And because I am an Ainosuke and SK8 simp, I'll be partaking in another Adam Zine. I simply enjoy being in the fandom and seeing and supporting peeps who create in the fandom. And I think Ainosuke is an amazing character and if given any opportunity to support him and other Adam lovers, I WILL BE THERE.

In other news, I'll be on a teeny tiny vacay around mid-April. I won't be taking my tablet or laptop with me, so I won't be able to work on stuff. I'll do my best to build a buffer for May because...

Next Month

I'll be gone the first half of May. I'm peacing out. I'll be spending some time with mi mama. I don't wanna even think about projects or work. In fact, I wanna catch up on a backlog of playing some friend's games and reading some friend's comics and novels.

And then I'll cram everything in the last half of the month (like I usually do) LOL.

WATCH BRAVE BANG BRAVERN AND CRY WITH ME SOBS

Mahalo nui, Ari

[manonamora-if]

This time appropriately at the 6-month mark(ish), if a bit too late...

So earlier this year, I made a resolution:

Get things off my desk and shelf it for good!

This... didn't really happen. I had shelved MtP, before fixing some more stuff again... I think it's shelved for good now? I hope so at least.

Another one was avoiding adding new projects to the pile (failed), entering jams and comps on a while (absolutely failed)...

There's still 6 more months to correct that (and so many new shiny jams to participate/organise), so maybe I will keep my promise? We will see...

Looking back first:

(Damn it, it should say Chapter 4 in May... and missing the Orifice Comp in June...)

In the past 6 months:

I have been or helped with organising 4 game jams/competition: the @seedcomp-if, the Anti-Romance Jam (ongoing), the @neo-twiny-jam, and the Orifice Jam (ongoing)

I have participated in 5 other jams/competitions: the French Comp (which I won 🥳), the SpringThing, the Spring Jam (Twine Server), La Sens Dessus-Dessous, and the Text Adventure Literacy Jam.

All this saw the release of: DOL-OS, The Rye in the Dark City, The Roads not Taken, À la Campagne, Entre d'oeux Coquilles/An Eggcellent Preparation, Collision, Intersigne, and Clarence Street 14.

I also updated P-Rix - Space Trucker, and The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt (twice!).

And finally, I added the Settings Template, the Space/Tech Template, and lately, the SubgarCube Guide (along with answering SugarCube questions on this blog).

As one extra points, I reviewed a bunch of games too (@manonamora-if-reviews) and actually played games outside of Comp/Jam times.

It's been more busy than I think I realised... and I've done more than I thought I did (I really have been feeling like I've not done enough, that there was more I could have done, that I've wasted some my time...) So while progress on the planned things has not really been happening, or not as much as/the way I hoped (i.e. shelving projects), I did:

Make P-Rix mobile friendly, with some QoL (I still need to fix some)

Add 2 chapters for TTATEH (with one coming soon-ish?)

Actually released all the points about the templates from last January, with the Sci-Fi and Settings ones, and added the Guide on top of it.

On the other hand, Exquisite Cadaver and Crimson Rose & White Lily were more or less just pushed to the side. Other smaller games like La Petite Mort or Goncharov Escapes! have also not been opened in a while... And, having created new games, there's still the issue of finishing those (The Rye), or editing them a bit (all of them).

On the other other hand, I was able to test ideas and gameplay with those new lil games, try out new IF programs, win some prizes and get lovely reviews, played some really good games and learned from them through reviews...

...and most importantly: I've had loads of fun.

What now?

Preferably... fulfilling this year's resolution to shelve projects. So actually finishing them without crumbling under new WiP ideas. Aside from more jams I'll be organising, I probably won't be part of large comps. There are some ideas I want to test out still, so you may see new smaller things that I've done in like... a week, popping up here and there.

Concrete things to look forward to:

the new chapter of TTATEH dropping some time this summer (with potential of completion by the end of the year?????? <- infinite question marks)

fixing some issues of An Eggcellent Preparation and getting the French version up to speed.

the translation of Clarence Street, 14 (and fix of the UI, cause it's a bit of a mess)

the Disco Elysium inspired UI (I am this close with the base page, I still need the Main Menu, Class Choice, and Level/Inventory pages to finish)

more Guide pages (and a better organisation/linking)!

more jams!

more reviews!

For the rest... it is a bit more up in the air. I will try to complete/fix the smaller WiPs (especially the ones started this year) as fast as I can so I can go back to focusing on the larger projects (and the new ideas I've been stewing).

On to trying to fulfill my new year's resolution :D

And having fun while doing it!!

[ilc-yt]

Tech Illiteracy for Upcoming Generations

I believe ever since Windows 95, the tech industry on the consumer side has went down a path of simplifying things too much, and instead of it helping us understand how computers work, they've also harmed us. Win95 for example, for all the amazing things it did with innovating UI design, added one of the worst options that would be enabled by default in all future windows versions: "Hide file extensions of known types."

This is bad from both a educational and security perspective. It's an educational issue because people starting out with Windows won't know what a file extension is. File extensions are important because they tell you what a file is; a program, a text document, an image, etc. Yet Win95 just expects you to know what a file is just by it's name and the icon alone. Unfortunately some file types share the same icon, so that method isn't reliable. It can also be frustrating to a user who's trying to import something like a photo into a program and it doesn't import because it's not the correct file type, but because the user doesn't know what a file extension is and likely believes all images are the same, that user would just be confused and wouldn't know why they can't import that photo (feel sorry to any new user downloading a webp.) Moreover, hiding file extensions is bad from a security perspective because you can't tell when a file isn't actually what is seems to be. Your only clue is if the icon doesn't match, but that can easily be changed by a virus author. Many users who were expecting to view an image, video or document ended up getting a virus likely because they couldn't see file extension and realize that file didn't share the same extension as the user's other documents, and instead matches the one for a program. That would have given a clue to a new user that something's up.

Later from Win98 and on, Microsoft would add the "My X" series of folders to try and simplify things further. While not a bad idea on paper, I believe this screwed with some users by thinking everything needs to go into those folders and that you don't have to worry about creating your own folders. I'm sure many users just dropped stuff into those folders and didn't think much of it, not knowing how to organize or create folders. And most programs didn't appear in those folders, so users might not know how to navigate the file explorer outside of the "My Documents" folder, or learn that removing a shortcut doesn't actually remove the program that's associated with it (and that's despite the popup in Windows XP about deleting shortcuts, which just tells you the uninstall control panel setting and not where the program is located.) Sure some users might learn to make their own folders and to organize better, but I'm sure more stubborn people, especially old people, will never realize that and just have their sets of "My" folders be a mess. And not all the "My" folders were used correctly. My Documents isn't "My" Documents any more, as programs would later use it to store stuff like user information, options and plug-ins, making it's purpose more unclear. Nearly everyone's My Downloads folder is a mess after Chrome made it a standard to save everything there rather than ask the user where to save. Lastly the short lived My Games folder, which I'm pretty sure a majority of games didn't actually save anything in there other than a shortcut.

I don't think we really realized the damage this has caused until we reached the smartphone era, where phones just automatically save images, videos and downloads to their own folders, and the file browser is seen as an app to ignore and most people don't know how to use it. Ask any kid or teen if they know how to navigate through their phone's file explorer, and a majority of them will answer no. Simple tasks like transferring files via USB are becoming less and less known with file and music streaming services becoming the norm. Everyone is just letting their phones put files where it wants and aren't really thinking about it. And this might not be too bad of an issue if apps weren't too inconsistent on where to actually place everything. Your camera photos might not be in a folder named "Photos", and are instead in a folder named "DCIM" in the root directory. Your phone might update your camera app too can cause your photos to be saved in an entirely different folder too (that happened to me.) Saved images or ringtones might be in their own weird folders separated from each other even if they are just audio or image files, because that's how they programmed the app. This isn't even a new user issue, it's an issue for everyone because experienced computer users don't even get to choose where an app should save it's stuff. You might not think this is an issue if apps just work fine despite this, but what if your phone gets full and you wanna delete files. Well if it's not related to clearing out cache or deleting apps, you're fucked if you don't know how to navigate through the messy and bloated file browser. I also wonder how much processing power is wasted on the phone searching for these files rather than looking on one or two folders where everything should be.

I could go on and on, but I think I've said enough. Things have been simplified to much to where it no longer teaches people how to use something. "Just ignore, you'll be fine, you're not letting anything build up. Oh is something not working correctly, well then the program just sucks. There's no super easy conversion method that will make the file magically work with the program, it just sucks! Did you get a virus? Well that's not our fault, you should have purchased an anti-virus! What do you mean you thought it was a video?"

Ironically in an attempt to make computers more accessible, we're soon gonna get more people that don't know how folders work.

[lizardlicks]

"we won't leave" isn't entirely true though. We have in fact left Tumblr in droves before. And going back, plenty of other websites saw their userbases entirely collapse because of unpopular changes in either policy or UI. We aren't currently leaving because they isn't a better option. All of the little Tumblr clones have security, transparency, or functionality issues. That doesn't mean that someone won't get fed up, get their shit together, and make the Ao3 version of Tumblr (that is, a co-op or non-profit social blogging platform). This is a game that they will lose. They just also don't care.

i get the point of the polls informally showing that the vast majority of tumblr users have been here for years and barely anyone is new. the problem is that the suits don't look at that kind of data and go "ah, we understand. the majority of our users are oldheads who want things to stay the same. we misunderstood our audience." they absolutely have hard numbers on these things. they surely know most active users have been here forever. but they look at these stats and go "wow, our growth rate really IS shit. we're still relying on an ever-dwindling pool of users who have been here since they were teenagers in the early 2010s. we need to be working even harder to make this place appeal to new users"

the higher ups and investors on sites like this want infinite growth forever. this is why they keep changing the layout to make it look like other, more popular sites, even though we hate it. this is why they try out shit like tumblr live that doesn't appeal to the established core userbase in the slightest. it's not for us. it's also not for the ~5% of active users (if the poll going around is to be believed) who signed up within the last year. no, they're chasing after the hundreds of millions of people who use twitter and the BILLIONS of people who use tiktok, hoping to appeal to them and make tumblr more popular again

this is, of course, deeply stupid. nobody is leaving tiktok to hop on tumblr live. they already have tiktok. and we're on tumblr because we like tumblr, not because we want it to morph into something else. but i'm sure automattic's got venture capital investors breathing down their necks going "why isn't tumblr more like twitter or tiktok or facebook or instagram or" etc. etc., and so here we are

[fmp2rt]

Previous project 6: Chroma

My first teamwork project aside from our game jam. Winner of the games Anglia best student game awards, Chroma was a very successful game. I loved creating the mechanics for the game. It was a game about painting with different colours to allow to you progress through the level through platforming. We even included a little puzzle elements to the game with the pipe puzzle.

Throughout the project we had some issues but they were combatted by focusing on the parts we were behind on. With that we managed to create a mostly completed vertical slice of our game and get the message across.

However not all went perfect, the game felt a bit too tough as we had not done enough testing. We only got our game tested before changes and not after which I will ensure to do next time.

I won't be taking much other than the UI coding from this game, and maybe the puzzle as it was quite nice.

[appcrafterss]

Top Features Offered by a Mobile App Development Company

In today's rapidly evolving digital world, mobile apps have become integral to businesses and consumers alike.

From enhancing user experience to boosting brand visibility, mobile applications are at the heart of digital transformation. This has led to the growing demand for professional mobile app development companies that can deliver innovative and high-performing applications. But what features should businesses look for when partnering with a mobile app development company? In this blog, we will explore the top features and services offered by a mobile app development company to help businesses make an informed decision.

1. Custom Mobile App Development

Every business has unique requirements and goals, which means a one-size-fits-all approach to mobile app development simply won't work. A top-tier mobile app development company specializes in custom mobile app development, providing tailored solutions that align with your specific needs. Whether you need an iOS app, Android app, or cross-platform app, developers use the latest technologies to craft solutions that match your brand and business objectives.

With custom app development, you get a unique product that is designed specifically for your target audience, ensuring better engagement and user experience.

2. Cross-Platform App Development

One of the major challenges businesses face is reaching a wide audience across different devices and platforms. Cross-platform mobile app development solves this problem by enabling companies to create a single app that works seamlessly on both iOS and Android devices. This not only reduces development costs but also ensures consistency across platforms, providing users with a unified experience.

A skilled mobile app development company uses frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin to build apps that perform well across various platforms without compromising on quality or user experience.

3. User-Centric Design

A well-designed app is more than just aesthetically pleasing; it needs to provide an intuitive and seamless experience. The user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design are critical components of a mobile app that contribute to its success. A mobile app development company with a focus on user-centric design ensures that your app is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and functional.

Top app developers use techniques like wireframing, prototyping, and UI/UX testing to make sure the final product meets the highest standards. By focusing on user experience, they enhance customer satisfaction, which leads to higher retention and engagement.

4. App Testing and Quality Assurance

A mobile app's success depends heavily on its performance and functionality. Bugs, glitches, or crashes can quickly lead to negative reviews, impacting the app's reputation. To prevent such issues, a professional mobile app development company ensures rigorous app testing and quality assurance throughout the development process.

Testing includes various methods such as functional testing, usability testing, performance testing, and security testing to ensure the app is bug-free, runs smoothly, and meets the highest quality standards. By conducting comprehensive testing, developers can identify and address potential issues before the app reaches the market.

5. App Maintenance and Support

The launch of an app is just the beginning. To ensure it continues to function properly and stays up-to-date with the latest technologies, app maintenance and support are essential. A mobile app development company provides ongoing support to troubleshoot any issues, implement updates, and add new features as needed.

Whether it's fixing bugs, improving security, or optimizing the app for newer devices and OS versions, reliable maintenance and support are crucial for the longevity of your mobile app. A dedicated support team helps you keep your app running smoothly post-launch, ensuring your customers always have a great experience.

6. Mobile App Security

With the increasing reliance on mobile apps for both personal and business transactions, security has become a top priority. A reputable mobile app development company prioritizes mobile app security, implementing robust security measures to protect user data and prevent cyber threats.

This includes encryption, two-factor authentication, secure API integrations, and secure cloud storage. By using industry-standard security protocols, app developers ensure that both user and business data is safe from breaches, fostering trust and confidence in your app.

7. App Analytics and Reporting

In order to make data-driven decisions and improve the app's performance, app analytics and reporting features are indispensable. A mobile app development company provides detailed analytics to track user behavior, app performance, and key metrics such as retention rates, downloads, and in-app purchases.

With this valuable data, businesses can gain insights into how users interact with the app, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions to enhance user experience, engagement, and profitability.

8. Integration with Third-Party Services

Many businesses require their apps to integrate with third-party services or software to offer additional features, such as payment gateways, social media sharing, or customer relationship management (CRM) tools. A professional mobile app development company has experience in third-party integrations, allowing them to seamlessly connect your app with external services and platforms.

By integrating third-party APIs, your app can access powerful features, improving functionality and creating a more connected and cohesive user experience.

9. App Marketing and Launch Support

Once your app is developed, you’ll need a strategy to launch and promote it. A mobile app development company that offers app marketing and launch support can help you generate buzz and ensure a successful launch. From optimizing app store listings to running targeted marketing campaigns, they ensure that your app reaches a wide audience and attracts the right users.

App marketing strategies include app store optimization (ASO), social media marketing, influencer collaborations, and paid advertising to ensure that your app gets the attention it deserves.

10. Cost-Effective Solutions

While developing a high-quality mobile app requires investment, a leading mobile app development company offers cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality. They work with businesses to create a clear roadmap and budget for the project, optimizing resources and time to deliver the app within the set timeline and budget.

Through streamlined processes and efficient development practices, a mobile app development company ensures that you get the most value for your investment.

Conclusion

Choosing the right mobile app development company is crucial to ensuring that your app is a success. Whether you need custom development, cross-platform solutions, or ongoing support, these key features are essential for a seamless app development experience. By partnering with a reputable company that offers comprehensive services, businesses can create apps that not only meet their objectives but also provide a great user experience, increase customer satisfaction, and drive growth.