Hello everyone: the third build is out, at last! This one took quite the journey to complete - not because of any bad luck or technical setbacks, but because some of the fundamental needs of the novel had to be addressed now rather than later. Making space for more content, and one major revision, took time away from development. Thus, the update took longer than the anticipated two months; that won't be a regular thing. 

But hey, I'm proud of this update. Three characters have their storylines expanded, the sprite art is improving (@_@), and core concepts of the story are solidifying. On top of that, we're saving you space on your computers/phones. There's an infinitesimally small price to pay for that, so read on.

Here is the change log from this release (0.3).

NEW CONTENT:

• Chet and Mike storylines are expanded!
  • Unlike Danny or Rodrigo, there are two potential pathways your route can go based on choices you make in the novel. If you go to the bar, will Chet be there? Maybe. Will you help Mike loosen up with plants, or a lie?
  • We've also very much updated Chet and Mike's sprites. Lemme know what you think!
• Chet's introduction received a minor "revamp" - Chet was trapped between his 'confident' and 'embarrassed' personalities, which left his character arc a bit weak, according to test feedback. I much better like where he's at now, and you should too. If you started Chet's route in a prior build, it is worth re-reading :)
• Byron finally joins in on the fun. If you like eccentric fellas with appetites for emotional destruction, this beaver is your dude. Writing for him is going to be… something.
  • You can now choose the beaver from the route menu, but his route will end early, much like the other unexpanded choices (Joel/Malik/Zeke). 
  • We've cleaned up his sprite design, too!

• We have added +26k words (68k -> 94k) of dialogue.
• And new sprites for new side-characters! Do you like chickens and iguanas?

STORY EDITS/CHANGES FROM LAST BUILD:

• A major story change occurs in this build: the Void intro sequence has been changed. You now start "in the car".
  • This was also a piece of feedback I got from some seasoned readers that I trust. You'll get the information you know (if you read the first two builds) from the disembodied Voice, but through the dream sequences instead. ;) That being said, if you created a save file while you were in the Voice's "Room", you should restart the novel instead and save over it, or choose a different save file.
• Minor one-sentence additions or one-word changes to many parts of the story. 
• Plumbing and plugging story loopholes and contradictions (ex's: Ellie's purpose for running away from home, incorrect information about avian Anthroposapians)
• Background imagery updates (image compression).
• Sprite updates to Finn
• Sprite compression for Danny/Rodrigo

KNOWN LIMITS:

• IMPORTANT FOR BUILD 0.3: You may experience periods of silence when loading specific save files. This is because we changed the audio file's format. Continue reading until the music "kicks back on" before saving the file again. This will be a temporary side-effect until Build 0.4, or a 0.3 patch.
• You can't choose to go to the patio after entering the lounge with Mike.
• The Character Sheet gallery is inaccessible from all game menus.
• Some sound effects and music tracks are utilizing incorrect audio channels. This is a fix in progress.

ENHANCEMENTS & FIXES:

• Quality-of-life:
  • Imagery compression and audio file format changes to .OGG, to decrease installation size. This is an ongoing effort.
  • The textbox width has been decreased to provide more screen visibility
• The shake animation has been fixed so you can't see transparent pixels on the left-side of the screen.
• On Joel's path, fixed an error in code.
• On Danny's path, fixed issue where the phone sometimes didn't leave the screen when it should.
• On Exploration Part 1, removed pixelation dust on the recipe book sprite.
• In several routes, fixed issue where the default name was being used instead of the user's input name.
• The custom "mousetooltip.rpy" file was removed, as I could not make use of it in my code. Let me know if you see any strange problems crop up.

I hope you enjoy it! The first foray into a character's arc always feels like an opportunity to explore the different sides of same-sex relationships. Do any of these guys remind you of guys from your past?

Build 0.4 comes next. And, I'll be honest - this is an exciting one for me! The next two on the docket are Zeke and Joel; I've had their story arcs figured out for much longer than Chet or Mike. Since we released Byron's first part in this build, I want to get the Character Sheet page built next because it will aid in helping you remember the personalities of the characters you meet if you are that kind of reader.

I want to send a special thanks to the FVN Discord and others who continue to give me a chance to prove this is a project worth following. I hope you have a byootiful May!