Arena Circus [GxB][BxB][GxG][Fantasy] Beta update 4/27, ch 4 coming soon!

[minyan]

I told you your backgrounds were fantastic! ^_^ That double staircase looks awesome.

Aw thanks ;u;

The next one is slowly... slowly coming along:

A long way to go but... once this is done only 4 backgrounds left for the first half of chapter 2 OTL Thankfully, I think I'll be able to re-use them later, so... yaaaay -waves tiny flag-

[minyan]

I'm going home for a couple weeks, so AC will be going on a short hiatus while I visit family!

[otometea]

- Did you enjoy it?
I thought it was more enjoyable than I had initially thought. I was recommended this game by a few friends of mine who had already played the demo, and I am pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed all the interactions and artwork. Also, everybody had such distinguished personalities; it is very well-done comedy. I did find some grammatical errors, but other than that, good job!

- What was your favorite part?
I enjoyed the part when Leslie and Aldrich talk to each other. The part when Leslie supposedly had a crush on Aldrich is absolutely hilarious, and seeing him blush in embarrassment makes him very adorable. It's fun to see Aldrich and Lilié spoil Leslie's childish pride. I enjoyed all the scenes involving Aldrich; he was very funny and optimistic; he's very loveable.

- How do you like the battle system? Were the right/wrong choices obvious, too subtle, or just right?
The right and wrong choices definitely were not obvious. To me, they actually seemed right. Although, I lost the second battle due to a mis-click. It's a good thing I had saved before the battle had started though! I think the timed choices really make you think fast, but I guess that's part of the fun, no? Knowing that they will supposedly increase in difficulty, I'm hoping there will be some kind of guide at the official release! I don't think I can do it without that.

- Were there enough scenes? Did you find yourself with a lack of things to do? Were the scenes long enough?
The scenes were somewhat short compared to other visual novels I have played, but they were very entertaining, so I don't have any complaints. I love the free times, when I get to shop for different outfits and walk around town. Also, dressing up was pretty fun to do. I have conjured some outfits and screenshots down below.

- Did you enjoy the clothing options?
I actually did, although there wasn't so much to choose from. I like the Dark outfit set the most thus far. I expect that more outfits will be released in the full version, so I look forward to seeing what outfits are in store! I like the comments that the characters give, so I'm encouraging you to do more of this!

- Were the story/mandatory scenes paced well?
I find nothing wrong with them. I thought they were well-paced enough.

- Who is your favorite character?
* Seigfried (first and foremost favorite character)
* Aldrich (runner-up)
* Fenris (on deck)
My favorite characters are from what I have read in the demo, so this is subject to change as I read through the entire game when it does come out. I hope the hiatus ends soon, but have fun with your family!

- Who did you start to romance? Were the romantic scenes paced well considering this is only the first chapter?
I was trying to go for Aldrich for Lilié, and Leslie for Aldrich. As for the romance, I didn't really notice any romance, to be honest... or it may just be that I have high expectations for romance. However, the friendship and interactions between the characters are all well-paced, so good job!

- And I'd love to see screenshots of the outfits you guys put together!
Here are a few screenshots I've conjured up. Hope you enjoy:
* image
* image
* image
* image

[minyan]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yaaay a Siegfried lover! He's such a sweetie >w< The romance is very subtle since it is just the first chapter, but there are a few more 'romantic' scenes available! Don't worry, I'll definitely release a guide as well, I've heard a lot of people say it's difficult, so hopefully that will help xD

Update
I can't remember if I posted this here or not yet, but, I'm setting the release date for chapter two at September 15th. Tentatively. If I can keep up the pace I've had, that should work, but we'll see xD There are only a few tiny, tiny changes and bug fixes in chapter 1, so hopefully people should be able to just pick up where their save file left off.

But, I did find a bug that prevented one of the natalia/aldrich and natalia/lilie scenes from being shown (oops) so that might be the reason why so many people had a hard time xD

Outfits during testing xD Love those gloves <3

[Zelan]

I was actually wondering if it was a bug when I had so much trouble romancing Natalia! I hadn't seen the code, though, and I'm kinda used to sucking at getting the route I want, so I never suggested it. It's nice to know that it wasn't just my incompetence, hehe. cx Although I'm sure it still would have taken me at least five tries to succeed anyway.

[Pace]

Slowly trucking along!

Preview of one of the cg's for chapter 2:

Screen Shot 2016-07-03 at 8.18.36 PM.png

I love that dress......XD

Background art is impressive too, keep up the exceptional work!

[minyan]

Back! Still working on BGs... there are so many for chapter two OTL thankfully chapter three I'll be able to just recolor a few...

[minyan]

Finished kitchen bg:

Sorry everythings a bit quick and dirty but at this point I'm more focused on putting everything together xD I can't believe I've gotten this far

[Harliqueen]

Backgrounds are looking great!

So excited for this you have no idea

[minyan]

Backgrounds are looking great!

So excited for this you have no idea

Thank you Harly! Can I call you Harly?

Update

One of the guest rooms in Emilie's house!

I'm so close... just a few more bgs and the house is done \(*-*\)

[Zelan]

*cheers you on* I fall deeper in love with your art every time you post a new background. You draw them so well! ^_^ And the differences between the way you draw your sprite art and your background art are really interesting.

[Agashi]

Just wanted to pop in and say that your art is absolutely lovely! I played the demo and found it to be a very promising start. The amount of effort you've put into it is obvious, and you should be super proud. I especially liked Aldrich. He's completely adorable.

[minyan]

*cheers you on* I fall deeper in love with your art every time you post a new background. You draw them so well! ^_^ And the differences between the way you draw your sprite art and your background art are really interesting.

xD aw thanks. I really hadn't noticed any differences xD It might be because while my style has changed, I force myself to draw the way I used to for AC in order to keep all the sprites looking the same, but my backgrounds used to be terrible, so I let them change and develop normally. Maybe? Not sure, haha.

Just wanted to pop in and say that your art is absolutely lovely! I played the demo and found it to be a very promising start. The amount of effort you've put into it is obvious, and you should be super proud. I especially liked Aldrich. He's completely adorable.

Thanks! I love Aldrich too, he's my second favorite xD Such a sweetie. I am proud, I really never expected it to become what it did. I'm glad I got that second wind, and hopefully chapter 2 will be done soon!

[minyan]

Sneak peak!

I think there's only two more backgrounds before I'm DONE with them for chapter two. Then I'll program everything and finish the free roam stuff... and then the glorious cgs. My September deadline might yet hold! ...Probably be the end of September though. For right now imma just say I can do it. I'm feeling ambitious >:D

[minyan]

Update
The last background of Emilie's house... for now. Watch, this time next week I'll be like: Oh, but it would just be so nice if there was a background for /this/ room...

Gotta pick and choose if I want this thing to get done! With this I should be able to get about half of Chapter 2 programmed. Probably won't be releasing a demo to anyone but my testers, but... we're close guys!