https://www.patreon.com/stormsingerstudios

Hello everyone!

As a reminder, this is the last build that is going to release on our old release schedule. You can read more about the changes going forward into 2024 at this link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-year-new-97396726

This month we continue the project I started last month of revamping the dialogue for select characters. For this build, I finished up the rest of Bryan’s route (and also his portions in the Neutral route), then hopped over to Nate. One thing that bugs me when I reread Santa Lucia is how flat the characters sound early on, especially compared to how I write them today. I’ve grown a lot as a writer over the four years working on SL. My goal with Nate’s revamp was to make his voice a little less “one note” and to let the cracks in his persona shine through earlier in the game. I feel this will make him a more interesting character, even to readers who aren’t necessarily into his character archetype.

I also decided to make some changes to the way I portray one of Nate’s side characters, the bull Niall. Over time he’s become much more standoffish than I originally envisioned him to be, so I’ve adjusted his role in the narrative to sorta parallel the way that Kane and Cam are in Bryan and Carlos’s routes respectively. Niall is pretty set in his ways, but hopefully my adjustments are enough to move him in a more likable direction.

We also have an important new short story that’s in the final stages of writing right now. We’re looking to release it very soon, and we’ve gone all out with it. There will be two new CGs attached to it (with one of them being done by a guest artist named Drake, who you may recognize from his work on Chord Progressions) and a plot concerning one of the unseen factions at play in the narrative. Following the new release schedule, this short story will be available to our higher tier patrons for two to three months before getting coded into the general build.

Lastly, on the art side Dev finished a sprite set for Kai, a character introduced in Carlos’s most recent update. We’re really happy with how his design came out, and we’re eager to see if anyone can recognize the various references we’ve made in the details, hehehe…

See you all next build!

~Dzahn

Build 49 Notes:

+ Continued dialogue adjustment for Bryan (mainly the Neutral route, which I forgot to update)

+ Updated dialogue throughout game for Nate (the goal was to make Nate sound less static and give him a more dynamic presence)

+ Updated dialogue for Niall (I haven't been happy with Niall's portrayal, so I'm doing my best to adjust his role in Nate's route to be more likable)

+ Small updates to Russell's dialogue (not much, just fixing some phrasing issues)

+ New sprite set for Kai

If you're interested in checking out the next build early, please consider supporting us! Every little bit helps!

https://www.patreon.com/stormsingerstudios

If you'd like a more direct line to us, we're usually active on our public Discord server:

https://discord.gg/WTjM3S5

We hope you enjoy the build!

~ Dzahn & Dev