Aaron and The Void
Build v. 0.5 - Danny, Explorations (Part 2)
It's official! We are finally, finally back to developing Aaron's story. Two years in, and only five builds released... don't know what kind of project strategy this is. One of unreliable chaos? That sucks to say because we wanted to avoid that, and it happened anyway.
Please accept my apologies for keeping you on hold. There were 4 or 5 months after the release of ParaBEN in May 2024 where I didn't touch visual novel code, and I should have announced a brief hiatus. I didn't because I was indeed writing and proofing during that time. I just… didn't see much value in keeping everyone updated, but I was wrong.
Build 0.5 - What's it about?
Anyways, it's here. Let's talk about Build 0.5! With a year passing, one would expect a year's worth of content - right? Well, kinda. It's a lot, definitely more than any other build before it, though it may not feel like it because the focus was on one route, we removed another, and the "extras" you'll have to dig a bit for.
Build 0.5 is the first to interpret Part II of any branch. We start with Danny since he was extended all the way back in 0.2. You also get the second and last major expansion of the Exploration segments, which accounted for a huge chunk of development time. The exploration segments have to be written with other branches in mind, so they conceptually take longer. But I'm very proud of them, and I think you'll enjoy them too.
And since it's been so long since our last build, we've finally come through with something we've been promising since those first couple of builds… read below!
Here is the changelog from this release (0.5).
New Content:
- Danny's storyline is expanded through Part 2!
- Danny's sprites have been overhauled for (hopefully) the final time. The process for doing this was documented in our halftime report last year. Let us know what you think! Any additional edits to his sprites in future builds will be kept to minimums (clothing, expressions, etc.)
- Several new CGs along the way - some of my most confident art.
- Danny's family member sprites also received facelifts / additional edits.
- Part 2 touches on Danny and Aaron's developing friendship, how Aaron's life will progress forward, and what types of things Aaron will do to keep Danny close…
- Explorations: Part II adds new areas to explore: the computer, the television, and… a secret unlockable branch? (Hint: Who graduated highschool with Aaron?)
- Refreshed some old side-character sprites!
- New side-character sprites! Aaron works with some interesting people at the bank.
- Character Sheet: it's now accessible! As you read the story, any major characters you meet will be added to this page, along with details about their life. This option is found on the Game Menu and works best with brand-new save files. You can finally see the fresh-faced Aaron in all his glory, too.
- We added +25k words (111k -> 136k) of dialogue. It sounds huge, but much of this is exploration content.
Story edits or changes from Build 0.4:
- Minor one-sentence additions or one-word changes to many parts of the story.
- Plumbing and plugging story loopholes and contradictions
- Ex: Aaron would not know he went to Cambodia with Tyson on Mike's route. He only knows this information through Danny's route.
- Some eagle-eyed readers noted that the heights of characters compared to their sprites seemed inconsistent. We agree, so this has been rectified in their profile descriptions. Your favorite coyote boy eclipses 180 cm / 6 feet, so enjoy that factoid :3
- The Character Select screen has been updated for 7 routes.
- Malik is no longer accessible, as his story has been deprecated. If you have any saves for this branch, you are likely to run into issues. Any Malik branch saves should be overwritten or considered unsupported.
- Background imagery updates, sound additions, and sprite image compression.
- Aaron and Warren's house image has been updated as we were unable to confirm whether the previous image was free-to-use.
- Some CG art pieces have been updated to match current sprites.
- The odds that you can afford a month of rent have been slightly increased.
Known issues:
- Older save compatibility:
- When loading an old save that included older sprites (primarily Danny), he may not look as expected - he may even be shirtless! This is an expected bug - keep reading until his visuals return to normal, or scroll back in the script until he looks normal again.
- The Character Sheet is now accessible, but it is not expected to load correctly with older saves. Some of the art on the screen may be inconsistent with the sprites in-game.
- A change at 0.3 to music formatting means you may experience periods of silence if you update to 0.5 and start a specific save file from 0.1 or 0.2. Continue reading until the music "kicks back on" before saving the file again. If you see an error message, restart your save file (if possible) & save at a point prior to changing scenes. (This is the last time I'll have this listed as a known limit, as build 0.3 was released almost 2 years ago.)
- When Danny sings at the baseball game (yes you read that right), you will not be able to scroll forward or click. This is intentional. However, if you scroll back on PC after the scene completes, you may run into replay errors and issues.
- You can't choose to go to the patio after entering the lounge with Mike.
- When a character moves across the screen and the reader clicks to read the next line of dialogue, the character's movement may repeat itself.
- Some thought bubble dialogue doesn't display in the right color or format but remains legible.
- Sometimes an error occurs when clicking an unread entry in Zeke's glossary.
Enhancements & fixes:
- Quality-of-life:
- Imagery compression and audio file format changes to .OGG, to decrease installation size. This is an ongoing effort.
- For mobile devices, interface controls (menu buttons, textboxes) have been adjusted to make it easier to press and minimize text runoff.
- An "Ambience Volume" setting has been added to the Preferences page so you can control ambient soundscape volume separately from sound effects.
- Optimization of certain void scenes and path intro text to take advantage of Renpy capabilities and cut down on installation size.
- It was possible to encounter an error after unlocking Joel's route if you used a save file where you didn't go see him at the bar. This has been fixed.
- Accessibility: Added a visual indicator for exploration discoveries. Sound is no longer required for these segments.
- The number of mid-sentence stops has been reduced for a smoother reading experience - about ⅔ of them are gone. Many of the remaining breaks have been included in the Interruption Time control introduced in 0.4 so you can manually set the break speed (after all, who am I to dictate how fast/slow you read!) You're still going to encounter them when the story calls for it.
- Code optimization for music pausing, character names, sprite tinting, etc.
- Renpy build updated from 8.1 to 8.3.1
Final Word
I hope you enjoy this as much as I have! Deep diving 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 0.6 comes next. We will extend Byron to the end of Part 1, and - because he's become a reader favorite (not surprised) - we are working on Part 2 of Chet. Now that the character sheet is available, we owe you one last tool: an Explorations tracker sheet. It will help you remember what you've discovered and what details from those discoveries are important. Some of that will become apparent as you unlock character information, but non-character related info you'll have to jot down for now.
Once again, special thanks to the folks following me on Bluesky and the FVN Discord who held a group readthrough of my novel. They gave great feedback that helped improve the story. Additionally, all readers out there who provide words of encouragement - you're the best!
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NOTE: If you have any problems with your Android install, please notify me. It's working on my phone, but my level of confidence that it'll function alright on all other phones is a bit lower than usual!!
Files
Get Aaron and The Void
Aaron and The Void
Explore his world, heal their heart, and find your purpose. (18+)
| Status | In development |
| Author | eyematerror |
| Genre | Visual Novel |
| Tags | Adult, Bara, Dating Sim, Exploration, Furry, Gay, LGBT, Romance, Slice Of Life |
More posts
- Build 0.5 Release Announcement!24 days ago
- Devlog for 0.4.x - Halftime ReportMar 27, 2024
- Build v. 0.4 - Joel, Zeke (Hesitations)Sep 23, 2023
- Devlog for 0.4 - Halftime ReportJul 09, 2023
- Build v. 0.3 - Chet, Mike, Byron (Reservations)Apr 30, 2023
- Devlog for 0.3 - Halftime ReportMar 14, 2023
- Build v. 0.2 - ExplorationsFeb 10, 2023
- Devlog for 0.2 - Halftime Report!Jan 09, 2023
- Build v. 0.1 (Demo) - The BeginningNov 01, 2022
Comments
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It been so long so I have to start from the beginning.
Ah right because he is a deer! X3 I forgot just how deep the existentialism is! Danny! Being who you are is important but be natural and do not let it be all that defines you. These new sprites do look better! Aww!
Mind your head! XD I love how everything is rational. What happens if you actually get to live your fantasy. Scared but reply. Nothing wrong with being honest, but phrase it to downplay concern if you must. Don't like it, but this isn't our world, so things should not be all the same, answer. Zeke mixed feeling. Now that what being a good friend IS! He can be so cute! ^^ Hard not to overthink!
A co-existence with sperate species types of places in order to optimize efficiency, it's not intentional separation, it needed separation in order for things to be smoother. In some cases, this could be useful for real. Mhm, after all we don't want anyone who stranger than normal strange, we must still have decency! God... saving grace this is friend group and in private! X3 ROFL, in part because I'm not one for this scene either. Yeah I prefer moderation and not displays, but he does look good. Cute! ^^ Oh he's hot! X3 DMV DX
Cringe but normal cringe. Let see if I can repeat... food first. Things start to really matter here, but I can always come back. Stay. Fries. I don't like mindless things either, do something with good reason, live a little is fine, but not too much that you lose reality. Me neither! ^^; Well he IS super cute! :D Even if you want to part with the name no need to be so harsh, they are both you, you just have a preference. Always something to be admired to those who actually pay attention to others by being aware of how they make others feel. Accommodations are nice but should be in general for each issue. In short THEY are hopeless, no wonder I'm bothered *sigh*.
Drink. Middle, don't want to intrude. Birb! Hilarious at my own expense I don't drink! DX XD Greatful for the consideration but drink liberate here! XD Oh deer!... That is sad... he will sort of my bird of feather, that shyness! I love that feeling of being genuine.
Dance. Bit much but they are supposed to hype it up. God it is E M B ARESSING to be singled out like that. I mean in this case not wrong! Danny. Sensory overload is a thing! I've shut down over it before! Good question! The light playful ribbing I do enjoy.
Too cute! XD It's bothersome, but sometimes you just have to move on and enjoy it for what it is worth. Oph but cleaver when hit by something you forgot you made exist! XD It looks nice and is considered a private area and isn't going beyond that, aok!
Danny, while I like the others, I'm a sucker for BF. *sigh* ever thought trying to stand out is an ALARM? seriously... Does have some standards, but I guess it he mixed messages feelings that throw off. It is a bit unfair but also a bit much. Part of life, not whole life. When so much is off from normal you know something is up. ... Stick with more immediate concerns. It helps a lot to have a walkthrough. Taking care of oneself is very important and so to others. It is important to be able to lean on each other.
The unknown always begets fear! I LOVE LORE! It is a good name! That is an interesting reveal! Aw... but I wanted to see more! Bleh cold soup! There are some perks! Oy... and oyl... X3 !!! Don't forget what reality is and entails! Wiskas! <3 Aww! Wouldn't want your bones in another's body after all! DAD! D: Be careful around children they will pick up on things, like it's something normal! HARSH and SUDDEN but not entirely unreasonable, aside from the fact that belongings are in there! Long as there is way to fix it. Oh... now if that is the case, it does sadly make sense to have collateral... Ever wonder what it like to inherit a mess someone else made? You can either make it better or make it worse.
Only by calmness can we find the best answers. Sleep be kind. Clarity is important for sanity. Cannot express that enough.
Mondays they always blue. Cheers! Wait no its not that kind. Things won't get better by wishing, take action, take responsibility. ROFL!!! Yeah he bad at toast. Oh god, one of the problems of big families. Hah! Didn't expect a QT! Funny but weird way to use strife to cope with strife and then be forced to live the pain you created as an escape from your own. Exactly don't deny the mess you made. OMG wut, please get out of my face! ^^; Oph!!! Did not expect this development! Perhaps something to mend. WORDS TO LIVE BY! Moving on isn't as easy for those who may have some sort of emotional attachment, it's the hell I suffer, when both my love and misery are one. Help is one of the most important things we can do for each other. Heartfelt to a level that make me sniffle. Cute and sweet too! Oph good questions, to the point, but also sidestep, damn.
Yay Explore! Laws seem fair given scientific findings. Always important to think about the amount of effort it goes into making quality goods and even memories. Nooo I'm not finished! Darn! XD
Hitting the nail on the head! I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be my sona, so much power that is double edged if not careful! Oh cleaver! Jeez if creations could talk to the developers!
Change yourself to be a better person. Do I ever need to make some changes of my own. Could call it Divine Cervention! X3 It is amazing how thoughtful those with less can be. Advice! Now that is a truly horrible thing, for there was no real choice allowed. Interesting no horse play allowed. Do our best and move on. his what? Always a mistake to think you are the only one with problems. A person like is deserving of love, for he gives love. It's never about one over the other, it's about both in turn and/or together.
Time skip so can assume things were fine. That is very sweet. Confusing, convenient, and curious, such can be how things go. I guess that is what throws me off, they start off with saying something odd, but then slowly started sounding a little more normal even if still them style. It keeps setting a strange vibe. They may not be that bad, but it feels like they are trying too hard even though it may be natural for them. It confuses my perception *shrug*. Think I got what I want to say here, they do all this meandering, to do something nice, but with clear ulterior motives, the combo becomes awkward from the sudden shift. Going with the flow is great, unless it crashes with itself. In this case though it only being supportive in own way and not going over boundaries too far. It certainly is something to wrestle with own feelings and to not judge too harshly. Greatest part in being allowed to see more than one side to them.
... Always a problem if one doesn't have organizational or prioritization skills and get lost in own world or frivolous things. Even I get distracted too easily at times for my own good. There though is the kicker! It was the fault of another! That desire to take responsibility thought is something worthy of respect. Oph its surprising how much it can actually matter what you wear, never forget that. It can be frivolous, but it's about what kind of message you are showing, time and place. Fooood, we ALL need it. Information OVERLOAD! I know I do that... *sigh*. Smart ass! ^^ Hard to not think deeply sometimes. It is just a game, but it doesn't mean can't learn from mistakes! Learning, growing, and moving forwards, all important. OMG! XD Having trouble figuring out which ball game is being played here! XD The choices! You are killing me! XD I am like Mike only if I am unfamilar with something. You mean high "three". Yeah, one reason I don't enjoy baseball, a lot of nothing happens. I wasn't expecting that either! XD That was perfect! Can't blame them here everyone does this! WOAH that is just perfect! I like it when something can say many meaningful things at once! The hidden danger of baseball, spectator injuries. Does go to show you how important it is to be aware of your surroundings and others. God, that why I don't like medaling too much. Photo for the memories. Now that was CUTE! Easier to accommodate when you got clear visual indicators that have fixed definitions. No idea how much anger I have inside, and that does include losing my own car as one of a plethora. Worst situation to be in, is to lack situational awareness of the situation. Sad fact at a time like this humor is all you got.
Me too, in spite of everything I got, I don't have what I need, to allow me to move on. Grr... this is why I've come to have such a general resent for those like THEM! They go about sticking themselves into places, then wonder why the hell no one wants them, all the time! that is NOT being supportive, that is INTRUSIVE! It does not represent ALL of THEM and THEIR KIND but it's the most VISUAL and SEEN kind! GODDAMMIT! STOP MESSING WITH OUR LIVES THEN PRETENDING TO BE THE VICTIM!!! STOP THINKING YOU HAVE TO BE SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT!!! This IS my anguish about ALL of US having to be portrayed as something that DOES NOT DEFINE US, BECUASE the ones we are supposed to TRUST SAY SO!!! That is what IRKS me is the disrespect for boundaries like it is nothing to them. In this case they took advantage of situation for their own gain by making assumptions, even if some are true without knowing the whole story. This is why I ME MYSELF like to analyze things so that I am not misinterpreting things. But to even question something is "Diabolical". Give me a fucking break! There a reason each letter is its own letter!
I ask though the flip, why is it good things happen to bad people? Why is we try to defend the bad behavior of others? Why is it people aren't being held responsible anymore? Can we even call people people anymore?... I shudder...
We need more stuff like this, genuine connection to others. It's complicated though because we should get along regardless of our differences, yet our differences are what is keeping us apart. We don't know how to talk to each other anymore. We need to show we truly and honestly care about others... so many of us these days are in the dark or ignorant of reality... This is what get me here, this what I love, when I can truly find a way to place myself if temporarily in another's... hooves. This is how you send out a meaningful and universal message. Make us feel it as if it was us. This something serious, this is something real, and this is something that defies categorization. This could be thought of as "The Gift of the Magi", to offer something even when you technically have nothing. The thought of another over oneself.
Live for today but never forget the past, learn from it.
You clearly poured your heart into this, so I can only pour my heart on back. I wish to meet others in the middle, but that is its own struggle.
Respect for such thorough patchnotes! Really eager and excited to dive back in and see what's new <3 Many vns that take breaks of that length don't always come back, so it's a testament to the work you're putting in to see it return! Wishing you lots of luck and success, and hopefully many more builds to come!
Thanks Chief, that means a lot. And the engine can't stop now!