Fall update - Yes boss, I can confirm I did nothing.

Last post I said I had found a schedule where I could work on my game again, and I was hoping to have a playable release by the end of the summer.  I should know better than to make such claims.  It wasn't two weeks after that, and my boss called me up and said my full time work from home job was being flipped back to full time in the office.  I didn't take it so well.

After a lifetime in the office, you'd think going back wouldn't be a big deal.  Needless to say, it's been harder than I expected.  And my side projects like this have not received much love since.  So, no update on the game.  I would like to start posting here a bit more often at the minimum, however.  Nothing worse than a dead website.  Er, well, okay, lots of things worse really, but I have some control over this one.

So, chalk this up as a non-update. But figured I'd at least check-in.

Since I have nothing "new" of my own, let me offer some filler content y'all might have missed:

1)  This is a link to several old JSK flash games, with many of them at least partially translated into English.  Good chance you've seen one or more of them if you're here.  If you don't know JSK, I'd encourage you to try the last few. Just be aware there's some seriously not okay non-consensual rape in there.  If that's a trigger for you, skip this one.

I'll add that I have some fond memories of these games, but going back & playing the oldest ones, wow, they really are a bit rough around the edges.  Goes to show how much better they've gotten over the years.  If you don't want to play through all of them (and I don't blame ya), maybe just try the newest ones.  Oh, and be sure to check out the FAQ further down in one of the folders.  Some of the games you have to know what dialogue options to pick in order to get all the possible endings.

2) Enlit3D is working on a single game engine, but he seems to be building two games at once inside it.  The 'main' game of the two is a turned based combat/card/exploration game.  And that's fine and all, but the game that interests me more is the fighting game he calls Scuffed Rumble.  Which for a while, it looked like he wasn't going to release at all.  Fortunately, he recently released a public demo through his Patreon.  It's here.

3) Mr Z has been working on what I would call a "filler" game - IE, a small game to keep his Patreons engaged until his next big game is developed enough to have a playable demo.  That small game has shaped up nicely.  It's much better than I expected when he pitched the original concept.  Seriously, if I said "3D Pac-Man, but the ghosts are trying to rape you" - would that really sell you on the concept?  Being tied up and running around a maze avoiding sex doesn't sound like a winner, but it works.  It's much better than I can describe in a paragraph anyway.  

He's got it listed on Steam, which I believe means he is getting close to releasing it as a stand alone game.  If you haven't checked out Dungeon Coup, now is probably the time.  We're reaching the point where the free demos stop being free for a bit to build hype.  Also, if you like it and want to support him, he would love it if you pre-ordered a copy on Steam.

That's all I've got for now.  Stay well!  

-DirtyC101

I don't know, have you tried turning it off and back on again?

 Hello again internet!

Yeah, lotta hate in the comments from last time, and they're well deserved.  It *HAS* been a while.  Not intentional.  "Funny" how life just punches you in teh face when you're just minding your own business.  But enough about me.  

Those of you still checking this blog probably know I only post when I've actually worked on the game.  And hey, I'm posting.  I wake up early maybe twice a week and work for like half an hour.  It's not fast progress, but it is progress.  (I suppose it's light speed compared to 2020 - lol).  Normally I'd wait and post when the next game update is actually ready.  But two events have forced my hand - figure I better get in front of both of them.

First, Patreon closed my account.  Oddly, this is a mixed blessing, something I was waffling on doing for a while.  As much as I like the idea of a side hustle that actually makes money, having it connected to my real life just isn't okay for me.  And without a real name and address, Patreon decided I wasn't serious enough to have an account.  I may come back to this later in life, I kinda like the idea of picking it up seriously as a gig once I retire from the day job.  But for now, I'm content to make games for fun (and hey, that means they're free again too).

Second, Flash died.  Okay, that's not a shock to anyone, they've been announcing it for years.  What I didn't expect was that they would actively remove old Flash installations and prevent new ones.  I just sorta assumed it would linger on like a zombie forever.  Sorta like Cobol and Fortran.  But that's not what happened.  

So this is the part where I start asking y'all for help.  If you know of some good alternative programs to run old Flash games, please post them in the comments.  There's no shortage of "How do I run this" in the comments, but I'm lousy at tech support.  If you know the answer, don't be shy!

For what it's worth, my game uses ActionScript2, which is one of the older 'flavors' of Flash.  It doesn't port automatically to HTML5, but by the same token it should be easier for Flash emulators.  At the moment, I'm aware of Ruffle, but my quick attempt didn't seem to work.  I'm also aware that NewGrounds has built their own emulator (maybe?), and that old Flash games there seem to still work.  So maybe I just need to upload my game there?  Talk about going full circle - that's where this show started in the first place.

That's all for now.  I am aiming for a release sometime this summer, hopefully with the beach/Naga level completed.  But we all know how bad I am with release dates.  So here's hoping we speak again before 2022.  Til then, take care!  It's been a scary world these days.

-DirtyC101