Caramel Mokaccino Demo [Late NaNo2016] ALPHA RELEASE! :D

[Deji]

Hi there!
We're still alive, just tired, haha.

I finished all the sprites (the ones I'm gonna finish for the demo, the rest will stay as sketches/silhouettes) yesterday, so now I'm going to grab Nuge's and J.Whitney's CG sketches to turn them into actual CGs. We have 5-8 CGs that will go into the game
Waffles is missing a few BGs and that's pretty much it, art-wise.
Kone managed to make the schedule/calendar work (woot!) but it hasn't been implemented into the test build yet.

Since there is no way we'll make it to the end of NaNo, we're aiming for April 15th!
We're at 18k words now as well

And we have amazing news! We now we have the lovely and talented TyberAlyx on our team to compose some original music!
We're super excited, since we weren't planning to hire a musician until... after the KS, haha, so having one this early is just amazing!

Thanks a lot for all the support here and outside LSF, and apologies for the lack of updates!! >__<;;;

[Deji]

Last day of NaNo, we're obviously not making it, but here's a ton of screenshots of what the build looks like right now

[Deji]

(Sorry for the lack of updates >>; )

THE ALPHA DEMO IS OUT!
https://apple-cider.itch.io/caramelmokaccino

So... it's Alpha because it’s still unfinished and unpolished, and does not have all the final intended features and assets.

The Alpha Demo has the following unfinished/unpolished features:

• A music-less Ren’Py default main menu (will be fixed in a later release)
• The placeholder GUI with many unpolished bits (won't be fixed much)
• NO RETURN TO MAIN MENU BUTTON (sorry about that X_X; Will be fixed/worked around asap )
• A lot of placeholder music only inserted in part of the game (will be fixed in later release)
• Most minor character sprites are sketches only or a black silhouette (silhouettes will be upgraded to sketches on a later release).
• Unfinished CGs (priority #1 to be finished for later releases).
• Texting/cellphone system is replaced by placeholder menu choices instead (will be properly implemented in a future release)
• Activities screen is replaced by menu choices (will try to implement it by the final release).

So next couple of weeks will be devoted to finishing CGs and implementing things not implemented yet.

We’re EAGER for feedback of all kinds (fav character, least fav character, thoughts on the art, the story, the music, things you liked or disliked in particular… anything!).

We’ll keep you updated when we update the demo >o<

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Mini walkthrough:

Although it's a short demo, there's already choices that make impact, among various variables. Of course scenes/variables will be adjusted as the game expands =)

- Monday 1st - Ask Nico for support (+5 Nico affection points)
- Monday 8th - Go to Barbara's class (+5 Barbara points. If you miss this class but attend the next one, there will be variable differences.)
- Wednesday 10th - Accept Ian's invitation -> I'd like to see it! (+5 Ian points). Declining or picking "let's just order pizza" will have Penny meet Damian early.
- Friday 12th - "Go to Franco's class" (+5 Franco) Declining/accepting will affect scenes taking place after it.
- Friday 12th - "Stop Ian" (+5 Ian affection points) or "Comfort Annie" (+5 Anne points). Stopping Ian or letting him go will affect a scene on Monday.
- Friday 12th - "Agree to go" (+5 Annie points)
- Weekend (randomized) - selecting "exercise" will have Penny greet Franco. Select "Stay and chat" for +5 Franco points.
- Sunday 14th - "Sure, I'd like to see" (+5 Nico points). Also the dinner scene will give the player hints on what stats they're strong in and what Penny is lacking.
- Monday 15th - If you got Ian to 10 points, he'll be more tsuntsun toward you.
- Monday 15th - "Have lunch at the cafeteria" to see Franco and Barbara. "I'll go grab a coffee with you" (Barbara +5) or "I'm good" (Franco +5)"
- Monday 15th "Go to Barbara's class" (+5 Barbara points)"

Random work scene -> "Ask Julieta for a suggestion" (+5 Julieta points.)

Wednesday 17th - whoever likes you the most will check up on you - Nico, Annie, Ian, or Julieta (you'll have to ignore the others and spam text her for now to unlock it). Franco and Barbara are TAs so they aren't close with her yet.

Random lunch scenes - right now they're randomly generated with some variables in check (i.e. Julieta's cooking adventures, or Damian knowing Penny or not). They're still in testing and may contradict each other for now. =)

We're still adjusting the pacing - we don't want the stat-raiser to be too full of content but we don't want players stuck with long stretches of nothing happening. Any feedback will help us balance out the pacing. Thank you!