👋 Hello there! 😄

I hope you're all rocking those beautiful smiles today because it's time for the latest scoop from Stray Paranormal.

This past week, I've been on a wild ride:

🖼️ Rendering: This week, my primary focus was on rendering for the upcoming demo. As my trusty PC diligently churned out those visual wonders, I was doing a bit of my own exploration. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon an absolute game-changer in the world of 3D rendering—DAZ's "optimizer" script. I kid you not, this piece of code is nothing short of wizardry. It took my render times, which were once languishing at nearly 3 hours, and transformed them into a blazing-fast 20-30 minutes. This is the kind of gem that the countless internet tutorials should be raving about—those cool tools and processes that make all the difference, not just how to navigate a screen. 🪄🌟

🖥️ Coding: With freshly-rendered images in hand, the next mission was to code them into Ren'Py. Here's where I hit a roadblock. I've dabbled in several programming languages, but Python isn't in my toolbox. So, tackling anything beyond coding dialog lines set me back for a bit, especially when Ren'Py's documentation proved to be quite the enigma. But you know what they say, challenges are just opportunities in disguise!

🎨 Customization: The fun didn't stop there. I started customizing the game's main menu and various interface elements. That includes fonts, artwork for the interface, custom buttons, and actions that make the game uniquely ours.

👩‍🎨 Models: Thought I could take a breather, but then I gave the main character (MC) a second look and realized I wasn't entirely thrilled with how he turned out. My inner perfectionist reared its head, and back to the drawing board the MC went. On the bright side, I'm over the moon with how the girls turned out.

Now, here's a sneak peek into my plans for the week ahead:

📄 Patreon and itch.io: I'll be dedicating some quality time to work on the Patreon About page and an itch.io landing page for the game.

🎨 Look and Feel Customization: The game's aesthetic needs a makeover. I've got a vivid picture in my head of what I want the main menu to look like, and now it's time to bring that vision to life.

📱 Coding Adventures, Part Two: There's no shortage of coding to do. I'll be working on features like a text chat, a gallery, and a game version of Instagram. While there's no way I can squeeze all of this into a single week, I'm determined to get a solid start.

That's all for today, my friends. Stay tuned for the next girl reveal coming your way this Wednesday. In the meantime, keep those positive vibes flowing and make sure to keep your feet warm—it's getting chilly out there. Stray Paranormal, signing off for now! 🚀👻